Participating in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is a shaky thought for the Cloud9 fans. After benching their Bot Laner, Zachary “Sneaky” Scruderi, the team enters a new era for their LoL squad. Sneaky was the last-standing member of the original C9 roster back in 2013. In his place is the 22-year old Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen from Team SoloMid.

Their match of the LCS Spring Split 2020 couldn’t be more nerve-wracking for the fans and the analysts as the roster has never been without Sneaky. Questions such as their playstyle and players’ reliability surround the team before their match-up, especially they are squaring off the LCS 2019 champions. Team Liquid is heavily-favored to win the preliminary game with its All-Star roster. The team has some of the biggest names in League, like Doublelift and former C9 member Jensen.

Unfortunately for TL, their main Jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen could not fly to the States due to some visa problems. The substitute Jungler, Shernfire, was playing shaky during the first part of the game.

To start the anticipated match, both teams are hesitant to commit to their strategies and rendered a slow start. The excitement began when Cloud9 got the first blood on Liquid’s substitute player. The advantage snowballed in Licorice’s team, and their opponent was left questioning their come-from-behind playbook.

Speaking of Licorice, the 22-year old Canadian was instrumental in the win as he out-farmed his counterpart. The star Top Laner also finds himself solo kills to push C9’s lead further. The top kill for Jack Etienne’s team goes to the Mid Laner, Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer, with four. The Belgian-player picked Veigar to battle Jensen’s Azir. The former’s ability, called Event Horizon, has proven to be problematic for Team Liquid. The E-button stuns the enemy players for three seconds at the targetted location, though it has a 0.5-second delay.

After a massive team fight near Liquid’s base, the first ace of the tournament was claimed by Cloud9 and finishing off the enemy’s Nexus turret. The landslide win has a deficit of about 7,800 gold and 9-3 kills. “Honestly, Cloud9 worked together as a team to make that happen,” the analyst desk highlights how Nisqy and Sven didn’t die once and how the duo participated in six of nine kills.

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During the winners’ interview, floor reporter Ovilee May emphasized that no one predicted Cloud9 to take down the defending LCS champions. May also asked Zven the difference in the team atmosphere he is experiencing. The former-TSM player answered that C9 excels at having fun, but is also superior when its time to get serious.