The stage has been set for the grand finals of the 2023 LCS Championship, where one team may finally bring an end to a year-long reign of dominance by Cloud9—and funnily enough, it’s the team on the wrong end of a record playoffs match.
NRG, in just their first split back in the LCS, has defied expectations once more and defeated Team Liquid in a five-game lower-bracket finals series at the LCS Championship on Aug. 19. The team pulled through despite hiccups and misplays throughout the series that seemed almost impossible to come back from, earning the squad that has continued to exceed the expectations of fans a spot opposite C9 in tomorrow’s grand finals series—all the while being part of a frustrating LCS record.
The series was almost entirely reliant on two particular champions in Kai’Sa and Neeko—both of whom appeared in 60 percent of the games in the regular Summer Split according to stats site Leaguepedia. FBI’s Kai’Sa served as an overly oppressive force in the first two games of the series, even when not resulting in a victory, as the new AP-centric build chunked enemy health bars from afar. Meanwhile, APA, a now-staple part of Liquid who was made to work for his academy promotion, spent four consecutive games showing the sheer power of Neeko’s ultimate and the prowess he had on this powerful champion.
Related: Liquid’s newest League rookie rocket jumps into LCS debut week with two perfect games
For game four, which acted as the match point for NRG in their climb to the finals of the LCS Championship bracket, NRG opted for a completely different kind of team composition than they had found success with previously—one that focused heavily on scaling. Palafox had been handed Aurelion Sol, while FBI pivoted to Ezreal—placing their main damage carries on champions that would not be overly game-changing until they accrued a handful of items.
NRG were ultimately unable to bring this scaling game plan into fruition, as Liquid snowballed kill after kill and netted the victory in 18 minutes and 57 seconds, the second-fastest game in LCS history and the fastest in any LCS playoffs series, ending with a score of 17-4.
However, this unfortunate one-sided loss appeared to prove to NRG that sticking to their previous game plan of aggressive early games full of ganks and dives may be the best win condition. This renewed mindset, coupled with a draft shake-up from Liquid that included Xerath and Zeri, provided NRG with the room they needed to snowball an early lead straight to the enemy Nexus and call themselves grand finalists.
NRG will appear on stage in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey once more tomorrow to take on the reigning champions, a victory that would mark the first LCS trophy for Dhokla, Palafox, and IgNar—as well as the first banner in the Riot Games Arena for NRG as an organization.
Despite the results of this series, both NRG and Liquid have already qualified for the World Championship, though it is now confirmed that Liquid will enter as the LCS’ third seed. Golden Guardians, who were eliminated last week by Liquid, will have a chance to participate at Worlds as the LCS’s fourth seed through the Worlds qualifying series, where they’ll face the LEC’s fourth seed for a chance to compete in the international tournament.
