The finals match of the 2021 League of Legends Championship Series Lock In was the best LCS match since 2019. After a stale and relatively disappointing 2020 season for North American League of Legends esports fans, the conclusion of the LCS Lock In was a much-needed change of pace. Let’s dive into the factors of what made the LCS Lock In final between Team Liquid and Cloud9 the best series hosted in North America in over a year.
Starting with the Week 1 season opener of the 2021 League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split between FlyQuest and TSM on February 5th, FlyQuest will produce a year-long Spanish-language co-stream featuring broadcast talent from the LATAM region. The co-stream will cover every LCS match (not just FlyQuest games) and extend through playoffs, providing Spanish-language fans of the LCS from all over the world a specialized experience to enjoy all season.
Let's take a look at Impact's performance in the LCS Lock In and contextualize it within EG's playstyle, success at the tournament, and Impact's identity within Team Liquid's playstyle for the previous three seasons.
"I think the loss of Bjergsen might actually be bigger than what we've gained," Jensen explained. "In terms of mid lane talent, this year at least, I always felt like I learned more from playing against Bjergsen compared to what I've learned so far this year."
Team Liquid AD Carry Edward "Tactical" Ra spoke to Inven Global after winning the 2021 LCS Lock In to discuss the matchup against Cloud9, playing against C9 AD Carry Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, and his growth as a player since his LCS debut last spring.
Team Liquid has won the 2021 League of Legends Championship Series Lock-In after defeating Cloud9 in the finals. TL started by winning the first two games convincingly before C9 came storming back, but at the end of the five-game epic, it was TL who came away victorious.
After Team Liquid won its last series, a 2-0 victory over FlyQuest in the quarterfinals, TL jungler Lucas "Santorin" Larsen sat down with Inven Global to discuss the unique experience in playing against his old organization, his thoughts on new FlyQuest jungler Brandon Joel "Josedeodo" Villegas, and acclimating to his new team despite being saddled with visa issues for the first time in his career.
UPDATE 1/29: Riot Games has issued a statement regarding the current status of the gender discrimination lawsuit.
Stixxay sat down with Inven Global to talk about his 2020 season on Counter Logic Gaming, his reasons for joining Golden Guardians, and the various nuances of the team and its performance throughout the 2021 LCS Lock In.
Josedeodo sat down with Inven Global following FlyQuest's elimination from the LCS Lock In to talk about jungling against Team Liquid's Lucas "Santorin" Larsen, his play at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship, and why Cloud9 jungler Robert "Blaber" Huang is the player h is looking forward to playing against more than anyone else in North America.
100 Thieves will face off against Cloud9 in a best-of-five series and Evil Geniuses will take on Team Liquid on the other side of the bracket. Both semifinals will take place on Saturday, Jan 30, and the two winners will play each other in the best-of-five finals of the LCS Lock In on Sunday, January 31.
Following the conclusion of Group B, Perkz joined Inven Global's Nick Geracie to discuss Cloud9's play thus far in LCS Lock In, acclimating to North America as a new region and what C9 fans can expect from the team's roster in 2021.
CoreJJ sat down with Inven Global following the conclusion of Team Liquid's Lock In group stage to discuss besting SwordArt, his new teammates, and his place in the new era of the LCS.
The LCS Lock In knockout stage will begin on Saturday, January 23rd at 1:00pm PT with 100 Thieves vs. Immortals...
UPDATE 1/22: Team Liquid has confirmed that Santorin will be starting against TSM in TL's final match of Group A of the 2021 LCS Lock-In after arriving in Los Angeles to be with the team last weekend.
Due to visa issues, Immortals had already started 3/5 of IMT Academy in the first week of the Lock In. Jungler Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir, AD carry Quin "Raes" Korebrits and support Mitchell "Destiny" Shaw were unavailable for the start of the tournament, so Nicholas James Joseph "Potluck" Pollock, Yuri "Keith" Jew and Joseph "Joey" Haslemann filled in alongside mid laner David "Insanity" Challe and rookie top laner Mo "Revenge" Kaddoura.
Zeyzal spoke to Inven Global's Nick Geracie about his 2020 season on Evil Geniuses, playing in the amateur scene with SolaFide Esports, and how his choices during the off-season best suit his primary goal of returning to the LCS.
At the end of the interview, Dash asked Damonte if he, as someone who now has a few years of LCS experience under his belt, had any advice or insights to pass onto any rookies making their LCS debut in 2021. Damonte laughed before saying: "For all the new rookies: Definitely lay off of the cringe, cocky comments. It's pretty weird if you come into the LCS not proven at all and ****-talk everyone...probably prove yourself before saying stuff like that."
After dispatching of IMT, Evil Geniuses mid laner Daniele "Jiizuke" Di Mauro spoke to Inven Global's Nick Geracie about the team's new acquisitions, his sudden disappearance from the starting roster in the 2020 LCS Summer Split, and the visa issues currently affecting EG's coaching staff that the team has had to overcome early into 2021.
Fudge spoke to Inven Global's Nick Geracie to discuss his LCS debut, what Cloud9 changed between losing to Evil Geniuses and dominating FlyQuest, and how his high standards aren't set by playing on C9, or with Perkz, but by himself.
