Cloud9, DetonatioN move to Worlds Play-in knockout stage

With one more day in the Worlds Play-in, Cloud9 and DetonatioN FocusMe move on to the knockout stage. Both their games were pretty closely contested, but only two teams can move on. Cloud9 would end up with a perfect record at the Play-ins, while DetonatioN would have to play KaBuM in a tiebreaker.

The final standings in Group C & D of the #Worlds2018 Play-Ins! pic.twitter.com/kbowKcktXZ

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 3, 2018

Cloud9 Goes Perfect

North America’s Cloud9 would go perfect in the group stages after defeating both KaBuM E-sports and DetonatioN FocusMe. However, the team was still making some really crucial mistakes, especially against the Japanese-based team. Their match against DetonatioN was actually very close, due to some big stumbles from the team. For example, their mid laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen was getting caught out multiple times while face checking a brush. Even their coach, Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu was very critical of his team, saying, “I’m not happy at all, personally, because our performance was shaky. They are trying to improve as much as possible before jumping into the best-of-five’s and the group stage. That’s my mindset right now.”

Reapered is usually very harsh on his team, even in victory. This is good as you do not want your team to become complacent. It is very clear that if Cloud9 goes into the group stage with the same problems, many top-tier teams will exploit those openings. One of the problems that Cloud9 is facing is not knowing when to engage their opponents. Reapered would speak on this, explaining, “I think that, overall, we have an issue where we avoid fights even when it is good to take them. So I think it is important to give the players feedback on how we should fight, and what kind of fights we should be looking for in each situation.”

Again, getting the jitters out of the team will be key for Cloud9 moving forward. It is better to make these mistakes and improve while they are still in the Play-ins, and not in the group stage. One positive that we can take from these games is the play of veteran ADC Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi, who has been consistent throughout the Play-ins so far.

DetonatioN can make history

Meanwhile, Japan’s DetonatioN FocusMe is impressing players and analysts across the League scene. To give reason to why this team is special, compare the player bases of both North America and Brazil. Both regions have over one million players, whereas Japan only has around 100 thousand. Also, they are Japan’s first League of Legends full-time pro gaming team. Japan had the worst record of any wildcard region coming into Worlds 2018.

Now, they have eliminated Brazil by defeating KaBuM, and have the chance to go to the group stage of Worlds. They are proving that they are not some pushover region that is a free win. Their games against Cloud9 were very close, with players like Shunsuke “Evi” Murase stepping up on Camille. That was a game they could have easily won, but experience would unfortunately prevail. However, their game against KaBuM was a stomp, as they would take the game in 24 minutes. They wouldn’t even lose a single member in that game, a statement to their ability as a team. We will see if they can do what no other Japanese team has done, and move on to the group stage at Worlds.

What are your thoughts on the results of Group C and D at the Worlds Play-ins? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! If you want more Worlds coverage, check us out here!