100 Thieves vs Counter Logic Gaming – NA LCS Spring Split 2019

North America was amongst the last of the major regions to enter the 2019 League of Legends season. In all, ten teams are looking to end the 2019 year on a high note. The format of the current edition of the championship did not show significant changes compared to 2018. As a result, the main highlights were the transfers: some past world champions that were part of Korean organizations hired by North American teams.

The increase of the technical level of the disputes is not the only attraction of the tournament. The days that symbolized the preparation period were also marked by hits, conflicts, mysterious statistics and provocations against the Europeans, the main rivals of the North American teams.

Each team will face twice in best-of-one matches (BO1) throughout the season. The top six are on the table for the playoffs, with the first two teams moving straight into the semifinals.

We picked this game for you since it is of two teams, 100 Thieves and Counter Logic Gaming who are struggling equally in the League. 100 Thieves hold a very decent roster but have more games than the mid-table finisher Counter Logic so it will be interesting to see which side comes out on top.

100 Thieves LoL vs Counter Logic Gaming LoL (NA LCS 2019 Spring Season, Best of 1 match, FEB 26, 2019, 1:00 AM CET):

100 Thieves

After a dubious performance during the 2018 World Cup and unconvincing performances from the former ADC, Cody “Cody Sun” led to 100 Thieves hire none other than the former AD Carry World Champion Bang from SKT in the 2019 Split. With this great upgrade, the cast looked promising, though the arrival of Huhi (who comes from CLG) represented an almost equivalent exchange with Ryu, who is now the coach of the team. AnDa displayed good performances at FlyQuest Academy and now 100 Thieves is struggling to make an impact.

An unimpressive start

The Thieves have made an unimpressive start to their league campaign. After eight games played, they have won only three and lost five. On paper, their squad looked near perfect and were tipped by many to finish in the top three at the end of the split. However, they are unable to prove their mettle. The side has yet to pull out convincing performances that the team promises on paper. The team had one of the worst starts of the 2019 season losing its first three games, against Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Team SoloMid.

A ray of hope

100 Thieves had to wait till the last day of week 2 of the season to get a victory against a newbie team Golden Guardians which is not much of an achievement. Then onwards the side got two consecutive victories, one against Clutch Gaming and the other against their upcoming opponents, that’s right Counter Logic Gaming. In that last games, 100 Thieves managed to get an early lead, however, couldn’t close the game sooner and had to wait for the 41-minute mark to destroy the CLG nexus. This isn’t the full story of the game since it was full of mistakes from both teams. Even though 100 Thieves got off to a flying start, they couldn’t capitalize on their advantage, which could be a problem for the team in this 2nd meeting.

Repeating the same mistakes

Meanwhile, after a hard-fought victory against CLG they met up with the high-flying team of the NA LCS, FlyQuest. The side surprisingly got an early lead, where 100 Thieves not only took the first blood but also the first Turret and dragon of the game. However, just like against CLG they couldn’t push their advantage. The top laner of Fly, V1per made some impressive plays on the Riven which was picked for the first time in the 2019 season. He, along with his teammates, overturned the advantage and got the decisive victory. Unable to finish the games early could be a problem against CLG the second time around.

Counter Logic Gaming

Huhi exchange for the German mid laner, PowerOfEvil, was a decision that probably bothered a lot of fans of CLG. In reality, we have to admit that the fans were right. The mid laner has not been so clinical and with the meta being highly dependent on mid, it is not surprising that CLG is off to an average start. Another signing, Wiggily is a talent who has come up a shot on to the expectations and is not the perfect improvement over Reignover. He has shown disappointed plays throughout the season and has not proved his worth. Although he has still a long way to go, he needs to step up on his performances sooner rather than later.

Jungle carrying the team

Alongside the Jungle, the top laner, Darshan is not showing a very impressive form but still makes decent performances. Despite all of our criticism, Counter Logic Gaming is doing partially better than 100 Thieves, with four wins and four losses. They have shown impressive victories against two of the top three teams of the season, C9 and FlyQuest which shows the team is not bad as been said initially. However, losing to teams like Golden Guardians and their upcoming opponents, 100 Thieves justifies our criticism.

Final verdict

In our understanding, the team lacks discipline. We get that the teams need time to adjust the chemistry of their roster, but if the side took any more time then they might just miss out on the Playoff spots. Maybe PowerOfEvil and Wiggly could blossom at the end. However, at the moment, we believe that Bang and the thieves will claim the 2-0 result against CLG.

100 Thieves have the roster to execute a fast game but the meta is a problem. If the Thieves were playing in the older patches then they might very well be in the top three. However, they are not, and both teams are struggling, but we see the light at end of the tunnel for 100 Thieves.

100 Thieves Victory

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