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FlyQuest kept its World Championship dreams alive, albeit barely, with the narrowest of 2-1 victories over Team Liquid on Saturday during Week 9, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split in Los Angeles.
In case anyone forgot that this was a matchup of last-place teams, FlyQuest (5-12, 15-27 match record) and Team Liquid (4-13, 12-29) made sure to remind the audience throughout the series. No victory was remotely decisive, as teamfights were traded back and forth until one eventually caused each game to end. Trying to pick a winner any more than 30 seconds before the end of any game was equivalent to playing the lottery, and each game stretched longer than the last.
In the chaos, the constants for Team Liquid were recently returned jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett and support Matthew "Matt" Elento. The former had consistently good early games, lending Team Liquid much of its early success, while the latter absolutely shined on hook champions Thresh and Blitzcrank. Meanwhile, recent import Son "Mickey" Young-min in the mid lane was disappointing. He was positively lackluster in the first two games, and when it finally looked like he was getting it together in Game 3, he bought a Mejai's Soulstealer and immediately died. Liquid is now locked into the Promotion Tournament but should have little trouble surviving it if Matt and Dardoch can keep up this level of play.
FlyQuest was only marginally better, and mostly succeeded because it picked up scaling carries in Corki for mid laner Hai "Hai" Lam and Tristana for AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran in its wins, both of which put out massive damage as the games went late. Despite the sloppiness, this was a crucial win for FlyQuest, as its destiny is now in its own hands. If it can nab a win over Phoenix1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, FlyQuest will not only avoid the Promotion Tournament, but due to its fourth-place finish in Spring Playoffs, keep its Worlds hopes alive, however dubious.