LCS PLAYOFF BERTH CLINCHED

NRG Kia League of Legends was back in action for the LCS Summer regular season finale, looking to clinch a playoff berth. The team needed one game win vs. Liquid, or for 100T to win one game over Shopify Rebellion to lock up a spot.

Heading into the weekend, the team unfortunately got hit pretty heavily with Covid. Three of five players were forced to play the match remotely, leaving just Palafox and FBI on stage vs. the undefeated, 1st place squad of Team Liquid.

Despite the odds, the team got off to a fast start, scoring first blood and early map control. However, Liquid was able to turn things around pretty quickly in game 1 and put the NRG squad away handily. With all the momentum in their favor, Liquid went on to steamroll NRG in game 2 leaving our playoff hopes in the hands of 100 Thieves.

Fortunately, 100T handled Shopify pretty easily, with a swift 2-0, eliminating them from playoff contention, and solidifying NRG as the 6th seed. NRG Kia will meet FlyQuest in the first round of the LCS Summer playoffs on August 18th. The team will admittedly be limping into the playoffs, but the slate is now clean and a favorable patch coming into play could prove to be just what we need to make a run to defend our 2023 LCS Summer title.

A DEFINING MONTH AHEAD

NRG CS2 has been on a hot streak since adding In game leader, nitr0, winning 19 of 21 matches so far. The remainder of August will be a real litmus test for the team as they look to continue their roll in the CCT NA 2 Cup this week, and qualify for Dreamhack Atlanta and the CS2 Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 RMR later in the month.

The team will be heading to Dallas to practice at the Complexity HQ for a bootcamp and to play those important qualifier matches. This will be the first time the team has been all together in person since adding nitr0, so it will be a great opportunity to gel as a squad.

Qualifying for the RMR and Dreamhack Atlanta would be a big step forward for the boys as they kick off the second half of the season. The RMR holds great significance as it’s the only way to qualify for the most important event of the year, the Perfect World Shanghai Major taking place in November!

The team will also continue to play through their ECL schedule this month. NRG CS2 currently sits in second place with a record of 13-2 so far this season.

Stay up to date with all of the matches coming up on our newly launched NRG CS2 twitter account. Give us a follow! The team is back in action August 15 for the IEM Rio Open Qualifier the 16th as they play through the top 8 of the CCT NA 2 cup.