Cloud9 did not finish the LTA Split 1 playoffs the way they would have hoped after a strong start to the season for the six-time LCS champions. C9 faltered against the eventual champions Team Liquid 2-1 in the semi-finals, meaning their time in Brazil was cut short. C9 was stunned by Team Liquid, who had returned in form just at the right time to claim the first LTA championship of the new merger era. Following the series, bo3.gg had the opportunity to sit in on the Cloud9 press conference. 

Reflecting on the Team Liquid loss 

Prior to the series after taking down LOUD, Vulcan expressed how he wanted to play Team Liquid in the semi-finals instead of Isurus Estral, essentially for the reason in scrims Isurus had been performing well against them, while also Team Liquid had been underperforming pretty hard so Vulcan felt because there was the familiarity already, they would be a smoother matchup. “I believe I said I wanted to play Team Liquid more personally because we knew them more than Isurus and when we scrimmed Isurus they were pretty good so personally I wanted to play Team Liquid. We didn't play well today in big moments and it was close,” the C9 support said. 

The positive effects of fearless draft

Fearless draft has been much better than Riot even probably imagined. The new way of drafting has caught on with the fans, with so much champion diversity being seen across the league. The LCK and the LPL have definitely showcased the full potential of fearless draft, with many best-of-fives going the full five games, meaning over 50 champions are banned for that fifth and final game, leaving players with no option but to pull out unique picks. 

On top of that, it keeps the game fresh. Even if in some cases you’re just getting a rotation of champions, fans won’t be bored seeing Corki vs Azir for five games straight. “I think it is a positive effect to be honest because there are new champions that we want to practice and there's new meta. It's not about two or three champions in rotation. In the long term the players can grow with their champion pools. Coaches then have to figure out what is the best fearless draft for our team and the enemy team, we have to prep more,” said C9 headcoach Reapered.

The tolls of international travel

Cloud9 in their most recent podcast alluded to the difficulties their team had whilst travelling to Brazil. Specifically, Loki struggled to sleep the entire time they were in Brazil, while Blaber was also under the weather. The team struggled with the jet lag coming from their boot camp in Korea to four weeks in North America, to a couple of weeks in Brazil. It can certainly take its toll on a player. Coach Reapered spoke about how while it's on the players to learn to adapt to these conditions and learn how to handle the traveling better, it’s also on the coaches to figure out the best conditions possible for their players to ensure they are good to go come game day.