Jordan Woodruff
A remarkable turnaround defined the latest round of competition at the LCS Summer Split, as Sentinels delivered two commanding performances that propelled them up the standings.
On Sunday, Sentinels defeated Disguised in straight sets, winning 2-0 and showcasing the form that vaulted them from the bottom half of the table to second place overall.
The eight-team league, which launched on July 25 and runs through October, features a seven-week round-robin format where each team faces every opponent once in best-of-three matches. The top two finishers advance directly to the playoff semifinals, while teams ranked third through sixth compete in the quarterfinals. The bottom two organizations are eliminated from postseason contention.
The playoffs begin on September 12 and conclude on October 4, utilizing a best-of-five double-elimination bracket. The three highest-performing teams will represent the region at the World Championship, held across New York, Los Angeles, and Allen, Texas from October 15 through November 14.
Sentinels opened their Sunday campaign with victories in 32 and 28 minutes respectively, claiming the blue side for both matches. Isaac “DARKWINGS” Chou and South Korean import Cho “Rahel” Min-seong each contributed 10 kills in the wins, while Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun orchestrated the operation with 28 assists.
Disguised’s most notable performer was South Korean player Oh “Callme” Ji-hoon, whose 4-7-4 stat line represented the team’s best effort despite the defeat.
In the second match of the day, FlyQuest bounced back from Saturday’s setback against Sentinels with a decisive sweep of Dignitas, prevailing in 28 minutes on red side and 30 minutes on blue side. Canadian talent Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek starred with a standout 15-3-18 performance, while Vietnam’s Michael “Cryogen” Luu provided exceptional support with 30 assists.
Dignitas’ Noah “Denathor” Erikson led his team’s offense with 10 kills, though it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss.
The sixth week of group-stage competition commences on Saturday.
Saturday’s fixtures:
–Team Liquid vs. Shopify Rebellion
–Cloud9 vs. LYON
Sunday (Aug. 30) fixtures:
–LYON vs. Team Liquid
–Cloud9 vs. Shopify Rebellion
LCS Summer Split Standings
Position, Team (Match Record, Map Record)
1. Team Liquid (4-0, 8-0)
2. Sentinels (4-2, 9-6)
3. LYON (3-1, 7-2)
T4. Cloud9 (3-1, 6-4)
T4. Shopify Rebellion (3-1, 6-4)
6. FlyQuest (2-4, 4-8)
7. Disguised (1-5, 3-10)
8. Dignitas (0-6, 3-12)
