TSM are seven-time LCS champions

The 2020 LCS Summer Playoffs have concluded with a thriling best-of-five between FlyQuest and TSM.

FlyQuest have been on a roll throughout these playoffs, while TSM were looking like champions again after vanquishing Team Liquid in the Lower Bracket final thanks to the return of Vincent “Biofrost” Wang to aid Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng in the bot-lane.

Here’s how the final unfolded.

Game one

The opening game started off with fast-paced trades in towers and kills. But despite reaching a 2k gold lead, TSM weren’t holding enough weight to go in for stronger and more decisive plays.

Already on soul-point, TSM gave their all to secure the Infernal Soul. Mingyi “Spica” Lu’s Sett took out opposing jungler Lucas “Santorin” Larsen’s Graves with a punch and even secured the Infernal Soul while the rest of TSM charged FLY’s back-line. With Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s Zilean reviving Sergen “Broken Blade” Celik’s Camille, the top-laner chased down Lee “Ignar” Dong-geun’s Lux for the well-deserved ace.

Now rocking the Elder Dragon and Baron buff, Bjergsen and the boys stormed the FLY base to usher in the final wave of minions. While Colin “Solo” Earnest’s Ornn got a knock-up on Biofrost’s Karma, Spica’s Sett immediately dunked him back into his team, handing over a double-kill to Bjergsen and his timebombs. With BB’s Camille picking up another double-kill ace, the team quickly took down the Nexus to claim their first win.

Game two

TSM continued their momentum in the second game, looking for bigger plays to interrupt FlyQuest’s formation.

In the bot-lane, Jason “WildTurtle” Tran’s Caitlyn was caught offguard with a Tempered Fate. With stunning chain of Cosmic Binding, Crystal Arrow, and a gold card, Doublelift’s Ashe acquired the kill while Bjergsen’s freshly-teleported Twisted Fate got the kill on IgNar’s Pantheon.

While heading to the Ocean Drake Bjergsen’s TF managed to get a gold card on Santorin’s Graves, leaving him for the double-team of Biofrost and Spica.

To bring things to a conclusion, Doublelift’s Ashe soloed the Elder Dragon while Biofrost and Spica defended any possibility of a steal in the jungle. Once he secured the deadly buff, DL shot down Santorin’s Graves through the pit wall and flashed in to follow up with a trade kill on WildTurtle’s Caitlyn.

With Bjergsen spotting the defenseless Nexus, he immediately teleported and dealt his cards on the structure, bringing the series to a 2-0 standing.

Game three

With their backs against the wall, FlyQuest did their best to make every team fight a significant one for their side.

In one mid-lane clash, Doublelift’s Ashe stunned IgNar’s Nautilus, prompting the rest of TSM to engage. Coming a bit too early, BB’s Jayce felt the wrath of Santorin’s Hecarim while the two teams traded their mid-laners.

With TSM having the gold advantage, FLY decided to step back and recuperate, but Doublelift flashed to take down two with Spica’s Sett, but WildTurtle’s Senna and Solo’s Gangplank easily shot them down from afar, leaving only Biofrost alive on TSM’s side.

Though TSM tried to increase their chances with a split-push, four of FLY came knocking through the mid lane’s turret and inhibitor. With two of TSM still recalling, Solo’s Gangplank teleported in to bolster their charge into the Nexus turrets. With Santorin’s Hecarim trampling over BB’s Jayce and WildTurtle’s Senna aiming down Doublelift’s Ashe, FlyQuest was able to destroy their first Nexus with no retaliation.

Game four

To secure a strong advantage at game four, FlyQuest prioritized getting Dragon Soul by the 24th minute. Unfortunately, Spica’s Sett spoiled their plans and ran in for the stealing smite. After a quick trade with the team’s junglers, WildTurtle’s Caitlyn popped off with her insane crit-damage, taking down both Doublelift and Biofrost.

To add onto their kill-count, Solo’s Ornn and WildTurtle’s Caitlyn chased down the roaming Bjergsen who managed to fall to a minion’s auto-attack.

Now sporting both Baron buff and Internal Soul, FlyQuest had TSM pinned to their Nexus turrets. Santorin’s Volibear instantly deleted Doublelift’s Ashe in his retreat, stunting TSM’s chances of turning things around.

Santorin continued with his rampage by ulting on one of the turrets and providing a tanky front-line with Solo’s Ornn. With the two pinning the remaining defenders at their fountain, WildTurtle’s Caitlyn hastily burned through the remaining turrets and tied up the scoreboard at 2-2.

Game five

As the fifth and final game of the series, TSM took every opportunity to maintain a significant gold lead. While the gold bounced back and forth throughout the first ten minutes, TSM finally got ahead with a takedown on WildTurtle’s Ashe in the bot-lane and a thrifty claim of three turret plates and a turret.

As their gold lead grew to 7k, TSM felt more confident in engaging the opponents. Though BB’s Camille fell victim to a dogpile right next to the main turret, FlyQuest made a mistake in chasing for more kills. Biofrost’s Rakan knocked-up Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage’s Orianna for a deadly chain-stun while Bjergsen ultimately turned the trade to their side with an epic triple-kill.

TSM steadily dominated the final moments of the game with a claim on all three inhibitors. With the pressure of Doublelift’s damage with Senna and the endless waves of minions, FlyQuest had nothing left to do except to engage.

While the remaining FLY defenders took down Doublelift, BB’s Camille easily hunted Santorin’s Sett down and found himself behind the Nexus, gaining the perfect position to destroy the final Nexus with no interruption.

With the series win, TSM bagged their seventh LCS title, with the last being in 2017, and booked their ticket as the region’s top seed at Worlds 2020.

FlyQuest also locks in their slot as LCS’s second-seed in the Group Stage while Team Liquid will be entering the cross-region tournament through the Play-In Stage.

Worlds 2020 will start on September 25 in Shanghai, China.