100 Thieves withstood TSM’s early-game pressure to take the victory and sole possession of first place in the North American LCS.
Both teams drafted a funnel composition, but the strategies differed stylistically. TSM focused on winning and snowballing the early game, while 100 Thieves took a page out of TSM’s playbook by hunkering down and praying for the late game.
With a roaming Taliyah and Alistar combination in the mid and jungle positions, TSM took over the early game. Their Heimerdinger and Fiddlestick bot lane did its job and took down the first turret of the game, allowing the team to secure an Infernal Drake with their pressure. TSM did nothing with its lead, however. The team built its identity on late game teamfighting and capitalizing on enemy mistakes, and they looked uncomfortable being in the driver’s seat early on.
A teamfight win in the mid lane turned into a Baron for TSM, but 100 Thieves traded four kills for the objective. TSM simply couldn’t deal with the teamfight presence of Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook’s Vladimir and Cody Sun’s funneled Xayah, and they were steamrolled as 100 Thieves ran away with the game.
While the funnel composition failed for TSM, it was a nice change of pace for a team that looked mired in the past before the Rift Rivals break. Heimerdinger and Fiddlesticks were two champions no TSM fan would have expected through the first three weeks of the Summer Split, and the team hadn’t attempted a funnel at all. They couldn’t utilize their early lead to the fullest, but it was one of the few games this split in which they didn’t lose every lane.
On the side of 100 Thieves, fans should be relieved to see the team come up with another victory after a poor showing at Rift Rivals. Relying on Cody Sun to carry the day is a strategy the team pulls off well, and even the loss of veteran jungler William “Meteos” Hartman couldn’t derail 100T from steaming to victory.
Related: Meteos traded to FlyQuest for AnDa
100 Thieves will look to solidify their place in the standings against Golden Guardians tomorrow, while TSM will face Echo Fox.
