Game of the Day: compLexity versus Cloud 9

By Helmight

            Cloud 9 is usually looked at as the Superman of the NA LCS – the best hope for NA to win worlds, and one of its strongest teams. However, the North American champions may have just found their kryptonite in the form of compLexity. Despite being a new team to the league and having one of the worst records, COL has proven to be quite effective against Cloud 9. Their first match during Super Week resulted in a surprising win for compLexity, and though much has changed since then this matchup hasn’t in the slightest. In a chaotic game full of sprawling, scattered teamfights, compLexity managed to take down Cloud 9 in an immensely surprising upset.

            I’ll be honest – I didn’t watch this game live because I figured it was going to be a one-sided stomp. NA shoutcaster Jatt said himself that compLexity was “at the mercy of Cloud 9”, and the fan vote swung heavily in C9’s favor. However, COL approached this game with determination and poise, drafting a strong teamfight composition that relied heavily on pr0lly’s Yasuo. C9 meanwhile went for early game dominance, planning on shutting down compLexity early with lane bullies likes Caitlyn and Renekton and then using their usually flawless rotations to keep COL out of the game. It was a sound strategy – every time compLexity has fallen behind early, they’ve usually lost the game.

            The early game made it appear as though C9’s plan was working to perfection. COL was pressured hard in every lane, with pr0lly dying to a stealthy Meteos gank for first blood. Westrice then tried to engage on Balls’ Renekton with his ult, but was immediately forced to Flash away from the fight after realizing that he couldn’t beat the crocodile in a straight-up fight. The first tower of the game was C9’s as well – business as usual against a last-place team.

            But compLexity somehow managed to stay relevant. Instead of panicking and throwing themselves further behind, COL executed a lane swap. Pr0lly was able to comfortably farm against Sneaky despite not having a tower, while Bubbadub and RobertxLee were able to pressure Hai. It was a strategy that might not have worked if C9 had immediately switched their own lanes to counter it, but for whatever reason the NA champions waited for a few minutes before making the swap. It didn’t matter an awful lot for compLexity in the end – but it did keep them in the game a bit longer and kept C9’s gold lead down to 1k.

            Once teamfights started, they proved to be a chaotic affair. Nothing seemed to go right for either team – RobertxLee’s ballsy Rocket Jump initiation onto Sneaky didn’t go as planned, but C9 seemed out of sorts in fights, constantly shifting their position without simply standing and fighting against a team that hadn’t outscaled them yet. Though neither team won the first fight, it was a bad omen for Cloud 9. The next two teamfights went much the same way, but after forcing Hai to back with low health at the end of the third skirmish, COL made the call to start Baron. With a Tristana and an Elise on their team, compLexity was able to swiftly burn down the objective before Cloud 9 could respond, gaining their first lead of the game.

            C9 knew they were in trouble now – their bullies were effective in the early game, but not nearly as good as compLexity’s lineup in the late game. For this reason, they opted to play passively, trying to use Caitlyn and Ziggs’ waveclear to keep COL at bay. Normally, this would have been a smart move – if you were playing against someone not named Westrice. compLexity’s toplaner had been using his ult almost suicidally to set up teamfights, and as 3 members of C9 grouped around their mid inner tower, he went in. A Flash over the wall into Dragon’s Descent set up a three-man Last Breath from pr0lly, annihilating LemonNation and Sneaky in an instant. The kills were enough for COL to break into C9’s base and take the first inhibitor of the game.     At that point, it was no secret as to where the game was going. Ten minutes and three more inhibitors later, compLexity took down Cloud 9’s Nexus for the stunning victory.

COL bans: Rengar, Lulu, Lee Sin

C9 bans: Kassadin, Braum, Kayle

Player	Champion	K/D/A	Minions Killed
compLexity
Westrice	Shyvana	1/1/8	310
Kez	Elise	2/1/6	120
pr0lly	Yasuo	1/4/8	264
ROBERTxLEE	Tristana	5/2/4	345
Bubbadub	Sona	1/1/9	25
Cloud 9
Balls	Renekton	2/0/5	306
Meteos	Evelynn	4/1/3	136
Hai	Ziggs	0/2/6	331
Sneaky	Caitlyn	3/2/3	295
LemonNation	Morgana	0/5/4	22

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