The end of Cloud9 Kia's Split 1 didn't go how they drew it up. The team finished 1-3 in its final four matches, and with each loss fixes were put in – but they were temporary.
The time away to reset and regroup allowed Cloud9 to start working on what really happened at the end of Split 1.
Cloud9 kicked off LCS Split 2 with a 2-1 victory against Split 1 champion LYON at Riot Games Arena on Saturday.
"No more band aids. Just real fixes," Cloud9 support Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme said.
In the closing moments of the team's Game 3 win, most of Cloud9's roster was treading backward to prepare for the next fight. But top laner Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu had other ideas.
"He was like, 'I'm TPing base guys, fight, I'm TPing base,'" Laflamme said. "So yeah, I guess it took us by surprise a little bit that he didn't come to fight for us, but it was the right call."
As Park committed to the base, Laflamme's Bard pushed forward but was eliminated before reaching it.
It didn't matter, though, as Park and the team's minions ended the game moments later, securing the victory.
Park's split-second decision to attack the Nexus – the objective that teams are trying to destroy to secure victory in a League of Legends match – is the fine line that Cloud9 wants to walk.
"It's the kind of thing where, to be the best team possible, we need every player to see those things," Laflamme said. "He didn't hesitate or ask us, 'What if I TP base?' He's just, 'OK, I see this right now, I'm going to do it.'"
Much will be focused on Park's game-ending decision, but for Cloud9, the win wasn't necessarily the cleanest or even the best-played game.
Bigger Than One Play
Instead, Cloud9 was working toward solving a problem that plagued the team throughout the final four matches of Split 1.
"Our team played a lot of just making it as simple as possible, like objective simulator," Cloud9 coach Nicolas "Inero" Smith said. "Go from one to the other and not much planning in between really of what we can do to push advantages. So we felt like we were a little too AFK in some ways."
That's what made Park's choice so vital. It was a prime example of pushing an advantage to end a game – a decision that weighed risk and reward in real time.
Proof on the Board
This also wasn't the only moment that differed from how Cloud9 played in Split 1. In the clinching Game 3, the team did not force fights at 19:23 and 24:38 when LYON secured back-to-back Chemtech Drakes – an objective that provides a different type of power-up.
"We let the game come to us and were doing what's natural and weren't stressing out too much when we gave them three drakes," Laflamme said. "We just did what we felt was right."
The momentum shifted at 25:56 when LYON jungler Kacper "Inspired" Słoma secured Baron Nashor – another neutral objective – but Cloud9 responded with three kills to neutralize the advantage.
"It was a good sign that we were able to pivot a little bit from that because I think other teams are probably quite comfortable playing against us," Laflamme said. "I feel like it becomes easy for them to kind of read what we're going to do, and they're able to expect it and counteract it easier. … So we need to be a lot more versatile than we have been this year."
Nobody is going to crown Cloud9 as LCS champions after one game, and the same could be said for anyone counting out LYON. The longer split gives both teams time to assess and adjust.
But it's a good start for Cloud9, who can use the runway to address issues with real fixes instead of temporary ones.
"We still have a lot of work to do, and I think we're all aware of that," Laflamme said. "Especially with practice, we have to make it better because all these teams are going to improve as well."
Paul Delos Santos covers esports for The Sporting Tribune and publishes Inside Esports, a newsletter covering competitive gaming at insideesports.media.