1. The Battle for Slots Brought by the LCS Summer Split Reform
Before the start of this year's LCS summer split, the head of the LCS announced the return of the BO3 format to replace the BO1 format, finally aligning the LCS with the LPL division! The subsequent single round BO3 eliminated SR and IMT teams, and the following six teams competed in the championship. The regular season third-place team C9, a frequent visitor to the World Championship, first lost to FlyQuest and then lost to 100T in the losers' semi-final, shockingly missing out on this S14 (they later dismissed their 19-year-old young mid-laner jojopyun for repeated tardiness).
The final match between Liquid and FLY was a feast for everyone! FLY dramatically won the championship by destroying the base with super minions, securing the first seed, Liquid took the second seed, and the defeated 100T became the third seed.
Since Riot has announced that the 2025 League of Legends esports will adopt a new format, where the LCS and CBLOL will become the North and South regions of the Americas, each consisting of 6 existing teams and incorporating a team from LLA based on geographical location. Therefore, this S14 will be the "last struggle" of the LCS as an independent division. Let's see which team can bring some honor back to the LCS this time!
2. Team Introduction
1. FlyQuest
This time, the first seed of the LCS is FlyQuest. The top laner is the familiar former FNC player "Bibabop" Bwipo , the jungler is the former EG player Inspired, the mid-laner is the Korean import Quad who returned to North America after an unclear stint in NS last year, the AD Massu is a pure homegrown talent at just 19 years old, and the support Busio was poached from 100T. Besides the dramatic super minion base destruction to win the championship, this team has had a commendable performance throughout the year: runner-up in the LCS Spring Split, and participation in MSI and the Saudi Esports World Cup. Although they are the first seed in this tournament, apart from drawing a play-in team in the first round, it's tough battles from the second round onwards. In my opinion, the results don't matter; beating LEC (or even eliminating LEC) is a victory!
2. Liquid
The second seed of the LCS belongs to the Spring Split champion and the Summer Split runner-up Liquid, who were absurdly overturned. The top laner is the old acquaintance " Impact " Impact , the jungler is the former BRO player UmTi, the mid-laner is APA, who at just 22 years old has already been through ten clubs and finally settled in Liquid, the AD Yeon is a Korean-American nurtured by Liquid, and the support is also a familiar face, the veteran CoreJJ. This Liquid team won against FNC at this year's MSI, giving North America a breath of fresh air and giving T1 a scare. However, in this S14 World Championship, as the second seed, they will inevitably face the third or fourth seed from LPL or LCK, which means starting with a hellish difficulty. If they have new strategies, they can indeed challenge LPL or LCK, making them worth looking forward to!
3. 100 Thieves
100T defeated C9 in the LCS Summer Playoff losers' bracket semifinals, but lost to FlyQuest in the final, thus becoming the third seed. The team's top laner is the 17-year-old Canadian rookie Sniper, who was demoted last spring but has made a strong comeback. The jungler is the former PSG and GG Korean import River, the mid laner Quid comes from GEN's youth training, the AD Tomo is a veteran who has played for multiple teams, and the support Eyla is a former member of Liquid's second team. This team, which has a bit of a mercenary feel, finished 4th in the spring season and 5th in the summer regular season, defeating DIG twice and then upsetting C9 to grab the last ticket to the World Championship. Given that only the jungler River has experience in international competitions, their primary reasonable goal should be to make it out of the play-in stage before considering anything else.
(Editor's note: As of the publication date, 100T was defeated 2-1 by Latin America's number one seed R7 in the first round of the play-in stage, dropping them into the losers' bracket of the play-in stage.)
