In a nail-biting thriller for the title of North American League of Legends Championship Series champions, Team SoloMid took down rival Cloud9 in a climactic 3-2 series win on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada.
Team SoloMid came firing out of the block as hometown-hero Vincent "Biofrost" Wang caught C9 jungler Juan "Contractz" Arturo Garcia's Lee Sin invading TSM's jungle, forcing him into AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran to pick up first blood and a Blue buff at two minutes into the series. Shortly after that, TSM top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell began his reign of terror as Camille, securing a kill on C9's Jeon "Ray" Ji-won top-lane Kennen. TSM snowballed these advantages into the mid game, where mid laner Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg played brilliantly on Taliyah, using Weaver's Walls to force lopsided fights in TSM's favor. By the 22-minute mark, TSM held a 5-to-0 tower lead as well as an 11-to-1 kill lead, which only got worse for Cloud9 as a perfect Weaver's Wall from Bjergsen gave TSM an uncontested Baron kill at 24 minutes. With Hauntzer picking up a 9/0/1 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and TSM only giving up one kill and an Ocean Drake, TSM easily took Game 1 in 28 minutes.
In what quickly become an absolute slaughter, and the quickest game of the NA LCS spring split, C9 picked up first blood at four minutes but couldn't keep up with TSM in the mid game as both Bjergsen's Syndra and Hauntzer's Gragas picked up solo kills around the eight-minute mark. By 10 minutes in, every lane had picked up around two kills, snowballing hard into the mid game. With a 7,300-gold lead at 15 minutes, TSM continued to dominate through consistent teamfight and skirmish wins, leading to TSM opening Cloud9's base at 19 minutes with a 2-for-0 fight and top-lane inhibitor. Bjergsen's Syndra was massive in TSM's historic win, dealing a game-high 17,800 damage and helping TSM accrue a 12,200-gold lead at 20 minutes before closing out the quickest game in NA LCS Finals history after a 4-for-1 in C9's base in under 23 minutes.
TSM looked poised to sweep through the finals as jungler Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen picked up first blood on his signature Lee Sin at four minutes, but Cloud9 fought back. Trading kills with TSM throughout the early game, C9 blew the series wide open with a few kills around 15 minutes, leading to a 2-for-0 fight at 21 minutes and its first post-15-minute gold lead. Back-and-forth teamfighting littered the mid game, with TSM getting the better of C9 at 38 minutes to secure a Baron buff. TSM looked like it was already mentally celebrating as it took a 42-minute Elder Dragon, but Cloud9 would not die, taking a 3-for-2 shortly afterwards. C9 kept its championship hopes alive with a 4-for-1 fight after TSM attempted a Baron kill, taking Game 3 in just under 48 tense minutes.
Cloud9 had renewed life in Game 4, as support sensation Andy "Smoothie" Ta's surprise Gragas pick secured first blood at five minutes. Cloud9 continued to excel in the early-mid game, as mid laner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen popped off as Syndra, leading C9 to a strong mid-game advantage. Securing a 24-minute Baron, Cloud9 dominated the map, excelling in neutral objectives with three Infernal Drakes and a Cloud Drake. C9 might have only taken three turrets by the 25-minute mark, but Jensen's game-high 19,900 damage dealt to champions saw Cloud9 through a 5-for-0 ace and 31-minute win to force Game 5.
Cloud9, invigorated by the potential reverse sweep, had a great start with Contractz's Kha'Zix securing first blood at three minutes, but Bjergsen's Syndra picked up a kill just a minute later to even the game. Throughout a scrappy mid game, both TSM and Cloud9 took turns holding a tenuous gold lead, with Cloud9 pulling slightly ahead by 1,000 gold at 23 minutes. Cloud9 pushed ahead in the late game as both teams were anxiously trying to avoid making a mistake, baiting a Baron attempt for a couple of kills. A 4-for-2 and Baron kill made Cloud9 fans hopes rise as C9 looked to take over the game, but Bjergsen and TSM refused to lose. With Bjergsen finding crucial picks en route to an 8/3/2 KDA, TSM took a 3-for-0 teamfight and Elder Dragon at 41 minutes, pushing into Cloud9's base while completing a perfect 5-for-0 ace to once again take the title of Kings of NA with a 43-minute Game 5 win.
With the historic win for North America's most dominant organization, Team SoloMid punches its ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational, which begins with the Play-In stage at 2 p.m ET on Friday, April 28th.