by The fifth week of the 2019 LCS Summer Split is behind us, leaving a three-way tie at the top with Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid all holding a 7-3 record.
Following a shock win for Cloud9 over Team Liquid on Saturday, everything was set for a long-awaited match between CLG and Team SoloMid, which is still regarded as the biggest rivalry in the NA League of Legends esports scene.
As TSM were established by former CLG player Andy “Reginald” Dinh, the rivalry was meant to be from the beginning. The teams were evenly matched up until the LCS 2016 Summer Split, when SoloMid commenced a run of three consecutive split wins and emerged as the dominant LoL side in North America. That summer also marked the beginning of a three-year, 14-game winning streak against Counter Logic.
It was expected TSM would extend that record on Sunday, but CLG shocked the world with a breathtaking performance. They finished the match 11 kills and 13k gold ahead of their rivals to bring a long-awaited end to their 1,176-day win drought.
Not only does that result conclude a miserable chapter in CLG’s history, it also puts them in serious contention for the LCS Summer playoffs. They have not reached the knockout rounds since 2017 and haven’t won a split in the LCS since the spring of 2016.
