In a highly anticipated matchup, Team SoloMid took on Cloud9 during Week 5, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series. Ruining C9's undefeated streak, TSM took a 2-1 series win to close out Saturday's action in Los Angeles.
Cloud9 had a strong start to Game 1 as support Andy "Smoothie" Ta's Thresh picked up first blood in the bottom lane at four minutes, but TSM quickly took control with a pick in the bottom of the map. Top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell was huge for TSM on Maokai, engaging several fights including a 3-for-0 fight at 14 minutes to put TSM ahead in gold. TSM's Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg's Orianna hit a massive three-man Command: Shockwave to secure a teamfight win and Baron kill around 24 minutes. Snowballing out of control, Bjergsen picked up a pentakill en route to his flawless 8/0/2 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), aiding in taking down Cloud9's base and securing Game 1 in 32 minutes.
Team SoloMid picked up where it had left off in Game 1 as jungler Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen's Kha'Zix earned first blood early on. In a chaotic early-mid game, TSM came out ahead in gold thanks to winning cross-map skirmishes while taking towers on the back of Bjergsen's fed Jayce. TSM overstepped its lead, however, getting pinched inside of C9's base and subsequently getting aced near the 28-minute mark. Securing their first Baron kill shortly afterward, C9 took control of the game through top laner Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong's Nautilus, sweeping through late-game teamfights to take Game 2 in just over 40 minutes.
Cloud9 jumped ahead early in the crucial Game 3, but Hauntzer responded on Shen by picking up a solokill at the nine-minute mark. After a back-and-forth early game, Team SoloMid carved out a lead with a 5-for-1 ace at 22 minutes on the back of Bjergsen's Zed, but a Baron steal from Cloud9's Juan "Contractz" Arturo Garcia Kha'Zix threatened to blow the game open in C9's favor. Retaking control, Bjergsen and Hauntzer combined to take a 3-for-1 fight in the bottom lane, shutting Cloud9's momentum down. Hauntzer was an unkillable beast in the late game, initiating along with Bjergsen to earn a 4/1/10 KDA for 70 percent kill participation, while Bjergsen carved C9 to shreds, dealing a game-high 30,900 damage to enemy champions. Picking up a charged Elder Dragon buff and a Baron kill, TSM had all the tools it needed to push through C9's defenses and take Game 3 in just over 39 minutes.