2018 NA LCS season

The 2018 NA LCS season was the first year under partnership and sixth overall of the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS), a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends. It was divided into spring and summer splits, each consisting of a regular season and playoff stage. The top six teams from the regular season advanced to the playoff stage, with the top two teams receiving a bye to the semifinals.

2018 NA LCS season
LeagueNA LCS
SportLeague of Legends
DurationJanuary 20 – April 8 (Spring)
June 16 – September 9 (Summer)
September 8–10 (Regional finals)
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)Twitch, YouTube
Spring
ChampionsTeam Liquid
  Runners-up100 Thieves
Top seed100 Thieves
Season MVPZaqueri "Aphromoo" Black[1]
(100 Thieves)
Summer
ChampionsTeam Liquid
  Runners-upCloud9
Top seedTeam Liquid
Season MVPYiliang "Doublelift" Peng[2]
(Team Liquid)
Regional finals
WinnerCloud9

The three teams that qualified for the World Championship in 2018 were Team Liquid, 100 Thieves, and Cloud9.[3]

Format

Starting in 2018, the North American LCS announced that it would continue under partnership using a franchised model, rather than promotion and regulation. This changed the overall structure of the league, and encouraged long-term investments from owners, which allowed the league to implement revenue sharing, leading to a better foundation for both the teams and professional players. Professional players were also given a larger voice and more protection within the league.

The buy-in price for the league was $10 million for existing League of Legends teams, who had previously participated in the League Championship Series or Challenger Series. New teams would be subject to an additional $3 million ($13 million total), which was to be distributed to the teams that were replaced in the league as compensation. Interested parties were given applications in June, due on July 28, 2017. Over 100 existing esports organizations, traditional sports teams, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs reportedly applied.[4] Those applications were then narrowed down to a shortlist, nicknamed "phase two", which saw participants travel to Riot Games' Los Angeles office to interview and review their applications.[5] Riot Games and the North American League Championship Series players' association also decided that league would not expand and instead remain at 10 teams.

Buyers for the league were decided in mid-October. Six existing teams from the league, Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Echo Fox, FlyQuest, Team Liquid and Team SoloMid, were accepted back into the league.[6][7][8] The other four existing teams, Immortals, Phoenix1, Team Dignitas and Team EnvyUs, were declined entry into the restructured league.[9][10] Due to their departure, four new organizations were added to the NA LCS, one endemic esports team, and three NBA affiliates. Longtime esports organization OpTic Gaming was reportedly awarded a spot in the league after receiving investment from Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman.[11] The other three new spots went to the Golden Guardians, supported by the Golden State Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob and his son Kirk, 100 Thieves backed by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Clutch Gaming with support from the Houston Rockets.[12][13][14][15]

Teams and rosters
Teams Roster Coach
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
Counter Logic Gaming Canada Darshan South Korea Reignover South Korea Huhi United States Stixxay Canada Biofrost United States Ziks
Team SoloMid United States Hauntzer United States MikeYeung Denmark Bjergsen Denmark Zven Spain Mithy South Korea SSONG
Cloud9 Canada Licorice Denmark Svenskeren
United States Blaber		 Denmark Jensen
United States Goldenglue		 United States Sneaky
United States Keith		 Canada Smoothie
United States Zeyzal		 South Korea Reapered
Team Liquid South Korea Impact United States Xmithie United States Pobelter United States Doublelift South Korea Olleh South Korea Cain
FlyQuest South Korea Flame United States AnDa South Korea Fly Canada WildTurtle United States Stunt Republic of Ireland RobertYip
100 Thieves South Korea Ssumday United States Meteos South Korea Ryu United States Cody Sun United States Aphromoo United States pr0lly
Clutch Gaming United States Solo South Korea LirA Netherlands Febiven United States Apollo United States Hakuho Canada Dlim
Echo Fox South Korea Huni United States Dardoch South Korea Fenix Canada Altec United States Adrian United States Inero
Golden Guardians United States Lourlo United States Contractz United States Hai United States Deftly United States Matt United States Akiri
OpTic Gaming Canada Zig United States Akaadian Germany PowerOfEvil South Korea Arrow United States LemonNation France Zabountine

Spring

Regular season standings
Pos Team W–L Points Qualification
1. 100 Thieves 12–6 +6 Advance to semifinals
2. Echo Fox 12–6 +6
3. Team SoloMid 11–7 +4 Advance to quarterfinals
4. Team Liquid 11–7 +4
5. Cloud9 11–7 +4
6. Clutch Gaming 11–7 +4
7. Counter Logic Gaming 7–11 -4 No qualification for Playoffs
8. FlyQuest 6–12 -6
9. OpTic Gaming 5–13 -7
10. Golden Guardians 4–14 -10

Prize pool and championship points
Pos Prize Pool Qualification Points Team
1st place, gold medalist(s) $100,000 90 Team Liquid
2nd place, silver medalist(s) $50,000 70 100 Thieves
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) $30,000 50 Echo Fox
4th $20,000 30 Clutch Gaming
5th/6th - 10 Cloud9
Team SoloMid
7th - - Counter Logic Gaming
8th - - FlyQuest
9th - - OpTic Gaming
10th - - Golden Guardians

Awards
AwardPlayerTeam
MVPUnited States Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black100 Thieves
Rookie of the SplitCanada Eric "Licorice" RitchieCloud9
Coach of the SplitUnited States Neil "pr0lly" Hammad100 Thieves
1st Team All-ProSouth Korea Heo "Huni" Seung-hoonEcho Fox
United States Joshua "Dardoch" HartnettEcho Fox
Denmark Sǿren "Bjergsen" BjergTeam SoloMid
United States Cody "Cody Sun" Sun100 Thieves
United States Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black100 Thieves
First place
1st Place Tiebreaker
  
100 Thieves 1
Echo Fox 0
Third through sixth place
First Round Third Place Tiebreaker
    
Team Liquid 1
Cloud9 0
Team Liquid 0
Team SoloMid 1
Team SoloMid 1
Clutch Gaming 0 Fifth Place Tiebreaker
Cloud9 1
Clutch Gaming 0

Playoff bracket
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
1100 Thieves3
3Team SoloMid16Clutch Gaming2
6Clutch Gaming31100 Thieves0
4Team Liquid3
2Echo Fox1
4Team Liquid34Team Liquid3Third place
5Cloud90
2Echo Fox3
6Clutch Gaming0

Summer

Regular season standings
Pos Team W–L Points Qualification
1. Team Liquid 12–6 +6 Advance to semifinals
2. Cloud9 11–7 +4
3. 100 Thieves 10–8 +2 Advance to quarterfinals
4. Echo Fox 10–8 +2
5. Team SoloMid 10–8 +2
6. FlyQuest 10–8 +2
7. OpTic Gaming 9–9 +0 No qualification for Playoffs
8. Counter Logic Gaming 7–11 -4
9. Clutch Gaming 6–12 -6
10. Golden Guardians 5–13 -8

Prize pool and championship points
Pos Prize Pool Qualification Points Team
1st place, gold medalist(s) $100,000 Automatically Qualified Team Liquid
2nd place, silver medalist(s) $50,000 80 Cloud9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) $30,000 60 Team SoloMid
4th $20,000 100 100 Thieves
5th - 60 Echo Fox
6th - 30 Clutch Gaming
7th - 10 FlyQuest
8th - - Counter Logic Gaming
9th - - OpTic Gaming
10th - - Golden Guardians

Awards
AwardPlayerTeam
MVPUnited States Yiliang "Doublelift" PengTeam Liquid
Rookie of the SplitUnited States Robert "Blaber" HuangCloud9
Coach of the SplitSouth Korea Bok "Reapered" Han-gyuCloud9
1st Team All-ProSouth Korea Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho100 Thieves
United States Jake "Xmithie" PucheroTeam Liquid
Denmark Nicolaj "Jensen" JensenCloud9
United States Yiliang "Doublelift" PengTeam Liquid
United States Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black100 Thieves

Tiebreakers
First Round Third Place Tiebreaker
    
Echo Fox 1
Team SoloMid 0
Echo Fox 0
100 Thieves 1
100 Thieves 1
FlyQuest 0 Fifth Place Tiebreaker
Team SoloMid 1
FlyQuest 0

Playoff bracket
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
1Team Liquid3
3100 Thieves33100 Thieves1
6FlyQuest01Team Liquid3
2Cloud90
2Cloud93
4Echo Fox25Team SoloMid2Third place
5Team SoloMid3
3100 Thieves2
5Team SoloMid3

Regional finals
Round 1Round 2Finals
CP3Cloud93
CP4Team SoloMid3R2Team SoloMid0
CP5Echo Fox3R1Echo Fox0
CP6Clutch Gaming0

References
  1. Goslin, Austen (7 April 2018). "Aphromoo named NA LCS 2018 Spring Split MVP". The Rift Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. Chang, Brian (8 September 2018). "Doublelift takes home the 2018 NA LCS Summer Split MVP". Dot Esports. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. "All the Teams Qualified for 2018 Worlds: League of Legends". 22 September 2018.
  4. "Overwatch League, North American LCS head in different directions". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  5. Greeley, Chris (2017-09-22). "Mid-Flight Update on Our Selection Process for NA LCS 2018". LoL Esports.
  6. "Sources: Team SoloMid, Cloud9, Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming to rejoin NA LCS". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  7. "Immortals out, Echo Fox in for the NA LCS, sources say". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  8. "FlyQuest accepted as NA LCS franchise". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  9. "Sources: Dignitas' League of Legends Championship Series franchising application declined". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  10. "Sources: Phoenix1 and Team Envy declined entry into newly-franchised LCS". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  11. "Sources: OpTic Gaming to join North American League Championship Series". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  12. "Sources: Warriors co-owner lands League of Legends franchise spot". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  13. "Sources: NA LCS team roster finalized with Rockets". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  14. "Cavs added as League of Legends franchise". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  15. "NA LCS Team Announcement". Riot Games. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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