NRG upset previously unbeaten Cloud9 on Friday, allowing Evil Geniuses to grab a share of first place in the League Championship Series Summer Split.
Cloud9 slipped to 5-1 after losing to NRG (2-4), while Evil Geniuses (5-1) handed Team Liquid (4-2) their second consecutive defeat.
The 10 teams in the top North American League of Legends circuit will play every other team twice in the group phase, which runs through July 21. All group-stage matches will consist of a single map.
The first- and second-place teams will head to the upper-bracket semifinals for the double-elimination playoffs. The third- through sixth-place teams will open the playoffs in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. The seventh- and eighth-place teams will enter the postseason in the lower bracket, while the ninth- and 10th-place teams will be eliminated.
The playoffs will feature best-of-five matches. The top three finishers will earn berths in the League of Legends World Championship, to be played in South Korea from Oct. 10 to Nov. 19. The fourth-place finisher will head to a wild-card qualifier with a chance to land a spot at the World Championship.
On Friday, NRG topped Cloud9 in 30 minutes on red behind a 6-0-10 kill-death-assist ratio from the United States’ Cristian “Palafox” Palafox. Australia’s Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami had a 5-5-1 K-D-A ratio for Cloud9.
Evil Geniuses needed 38 minutes on red to get past Team Liquid. Sweden’s William “UNF0RGIVEN” Nieminen compiled a 6-2-7 K-D-A ratio for Evil Geniuses, while South Korea’s Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon finished at 2-3-2.
Golden Guardians dumped TSM in 32 minutes on blue thanks to an 8-2-1 effort from the United States’ Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes. Canada’s Jason “WildTurtle” Tran logged a 4-2-6 K-D-A ratio for TSM.
100 Thieves worked for 36 minutes on red to defeat Immortals as South Korea’s Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung amassed a 5-3-4 K-D-A ratio. The United States’ Edward “Tactical” Ra finished at 2-1-2 for Immortals.
Dignitas, playing on red, stopped FlyQuest in 26 minutes. The United States’ Frank “Tomo” Lam starred for Dignitas at 5-2-4, while South Korea’s Lee “Prince” Chae-hwan wound up at 4-2-1 for FlyQuest.
Week 3 starts on Wednesday with five matches:
–TSM vs. Evil Geniuses
–FlyQuest vs. Team Liquid
–NRG vs. Golden Guardians
–100 Thieves vs. Dignitas
–Cloud9 vs. Immortals
League Championship Series Spring Split group-stage standings
T1. Cloud9, 5-1
T1. Evil Geniuses, 5-1
T3. Golden Guardians, 4-2
T3. Team Liquid, 4-2
T5. Dignitas, 3-3
T5. TSM, 3-3
T7. 100 Thieves, 2-4
T7. Immortals, 2-4
T7. NRG, 2-4
10. FlyQuest, 0-6
–Field Level Media
