Cloud9 snapped out of its funk after back-to-back losses to TSM and 100 Thieves with a victory over Counter Logic Gaming. C9's draft phase secured a strong Mid/Jungle duo in Irelia for Yasin "Nisqy" Dincer and Sejuani for Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen. The heavy stun-lock duo combos paved the way for Eric "Licorice" Ritchie's Akali free reign of the mid game after gaining an advantage over CLG Top Laner Kim "Ruin" Hyeong-min's Gangplank.

Despite the nerfs to the Rogue Assassin, Licorice has played Akali in three of his last four games. Even in C9's loss yesterday to 100 Thieves, Licorice's Akali was the only bright stop in the surprising loss. Cloud9 put the champion right back in Licorice's hands the next day, and the Top Laner was integral in the team's bounceback win.

After defeating CLG, Licorice spoke to Inven Global's Lara Lunardi about his penchant for post-nerf Akali. "What happens a lot of the time when a champion gets nerfed is people just stop playing it, even if it's still good," explained the C9 Top Laner. "Personally, I still think Akali is a pretty good champion. Since other teams don't have priority on Akali, we've been able to get it in a lot of drafts."

The LCS will be on break next week as the top 3 teams from Europe's LEC will travel to the states to face off against Cloud9, TSM, and Team Liquid. C9 will face 2019 Mid-Season Invitational champion G2 Esports in the first match of Rift Rivals 2019: NA vs. EU.