North American third seeds Cloud9 have advanced to the 2021 World Championship quarterfinals after beating Rogue in the second-place tiebreaker on Oct. 15.
Cloud9 have ended the LCS’s Worlds drought as they qualified for the bracket stage, a feat LCS teams have failed to perform since Cloud9’s semifinal appearance in 2018.
The thriller between Western third seeds was the longest Worlds match to date, ending a little short of 54 minutes. In the end, Cloud9’s solo lane play and team fight coordination prevailed over Rogue’s.
Perkz’s LeBlanc reigned supreme, bar few questionable moments. The mobility, side lane pressure and burst damage he provided swung the game in Cloud9’s favor at critical moments before Dragon and Baron Nashor setups.
Although Rogue showed good form, Cloud9 controlled the game’s tempo early on (with Blaber and Perkz’s strong play) and from the mid game onward as their wave management allowed them to be aggressive. Rogue’s hesitation near Baron Nashor and Blaber’s clutch Lee Sin plays eventually decided the outcome, a C9 triumph.
NA’s third seed did it in a way reminiscent of 2018: they advanced over a former World Champion (Gen.G in 2018, FunPlus Phoenix in 2021) and a European third seed (Team Vitality in 2018, Rogue in 2021). They also did it in the group of death, and down 0-3 in the first week as was Fnatic in 2017.
