As we approach the five year anniversary of the first C9 vs. TSM playoff clash, they prepare to once again renew their rivalry. If, like me, your first response is, “Five years? Holy smokes I’m old,” then I just want to say it’s okay and RIP DFG. If your second response, though, is “Hell yeah, let’s go!” then you’ve come to the right place. I just wanted to appreciate this coming Semifinal (they’ve never met at this stage before) clash by looking back into history and recounting some of the great sets these two have had over the years. This ranking is based mostly on bias and not at all on any sort of scientific method, but what is science and what is method, anyway?
7. DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS (2016 SPRING QUARTERFINALS)
RESULT: TSM wins 3 -1
ROSTERS:
C9 — Balls, Rush, Jensen, Sneaky, Hai
TSM — Hauntzer, Svenskeren, Bjergsen, Doublelift, YellowStar
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Bjergsen
Okay, so being the only not-Final series immediately puts this one at a disadvantage. But just look at the list of players who participated here — it’s actually insane. Two of the most heralded leaders in the history of League of Legends clashed here. Hai was playing his third position (after mid and jungle) as a professional player, and YellowStar came over from Europe to pair with Doublelift to form a dream-team bottom lane. In hindsight, this relatively forgettable series could be looked at as the passing of two eras — Cloud9’s was ending, and TSM’s was just beginning. After this series, Balls and Hai would leave the main C9 roster for good, ensuring a wrap to the initial C9 era spearheaded by Hai. They would go on to win the Challenger split and then emerge with another organization just a year later.
On the other side of the Rift, TSM struggled all that split to find their footing with their new star-studded lineup. Their eventual loss to bitter rival CLG (who Doublelift had just left for TSM) in the Finals would spur a final shakeup — rookie Biofrost would come in to replace YellowStar. With that change, TSM would go on to win three straight Finals. But at the time, it was hard for any of us to know which direction these teams were headed in. Ultimately, this set was just one last hurrah for C9’s old guard.
6. THE LUCIAN PLAY (2016 SUMMER FINALS)
RESULT: TSM wins 3-1
ROSTERS:
C9 — Impact, Meteos, Jensen, Sneaky, Smoothie
TSM — Hauntzer, Svenskeren, Bjergsen, Doublelift, Biofrost
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Svenskeren
This series marked the beginning of TSM’s three-peat and absolute reign of dominance over the NA LCS. They posted a 41-7 individual game score over the course of this split and would go into Worlds as one of the favorites to at least appear in the Semifinals (we won’t talk about whether or not that actually happened). Cloud9, on the other hand, was just a good team — they upset IMT in the Semifinals to make the finals, but they were decidedly major underdogs. It would also be Meteos’ swan song with the team after making his comeback earlier in the year. The most memorable play came at the end of Game 4, when Doublelift’s Lucian turned around a seemingly lost fight for TSM to push his team to the Championship. To me, this is the moment that definitely marked him as a clutch player — he has won every single NA LCS title since this then (except for the Split he took off). How’s that for a pocket pick?
RESULT: C9 wins 3-0
ROSTER:
C9 — Balls, Meteos, Hai, Sneaky, LemonNation
TSM — Dyrus, TheOddone, Bjergsen, WildTurtle, Xpecial
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Hai
I get really emotional whenever I think of this Final. It capped off a two split run by Cloud9 that saw them go 59-7 overall (including Playoffs) — that’s an insane mark that likely won’t be matched again over such a time frame. This team was special and way ahead of its time in NA — they prioritized map play over lane dominance in a way that completely demolished the region. This particular series saw Hai solo kill then-new TSM mid laner Bjergsen to stake his claim as the best mid laner in NA. It highlighted everything special about their individual matchup — Hai’s utility style that prioritized helping his teammates against Bjergsen’s lane dominant carry focus. C9 as a team was just too much for TSM, though. Hai won the Playoff MVP after posting a 34.5 KDA, and C9 cemented themselves as the beacon of hope for NA.
But that all changed when Hai’s lung collapsed in the subsequent weeks. I’ve talked about it a bit before, but I still remember exactly where I was when I found out. I was on a post-bar munchies run at a small pizza joint in Bloomington, Indiana called Rockit’s when I pulled up Reddit, and at the very top was an image of Hai in the hospital. It was, very literally, a sobering moment. Hai would miss All-Stars before returning for the Summer Split, but he would never fully recover to the highs he enjoyed during this Spring Final. It is, I think, one of the biggest “what ifs” in NA LCS history.
4. THE FEAST (2015 SPRING FINALS)
RESULT: TSM wins 3-1
ROSTERS:
C9 — Balls, Meteos, Hai, Sneaky, LemonNation
TSM — Dyrus, Santorin, Bjergsen, WildTurtle, Lustboy
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Bjergsen
These two finished #1 and #2 again in the regular season after both enjoyed respectable Quarterfinals appearances at Worlds 2014, though neither were as dominant as people were maybe anticipating. This set would truly mark the end of C9’s championship era — it was the second consecutive Final they lost. Expectations were so high for them that even a second place finish was seen as not enough — Hai would be replaced in mid lane by Jensen after this. In the long run, securing Jensen proved to be the correct decision, but it’s still kind of shocking to look back and see. It’d be the equivalent of the 100 Thieves replacing Aphromoo after this year’s Spring Final, except probably even crazier considering 100 haven’t made four straight Finals. We also saw Meteos’ Zac lose for the first time in years — everything about this set was about bringing Cloud9 back down to Earth. It was like watching the fall of an empire in real time — the throne bloodied after all the loyal knights fell one-by-one. The most apt image is probably Bjergsen’s Cho’Gath one-shotting Hai’s signature Zed in the fourth and deciding matchup — it was the new king’s banquet and so only fitting to be served a grand feast.
3. ASCENSION (2013 SUMMER FINALS)
RESULT: C9 wins 3-0
ROSTERS:
C9 — Balls, Meteos, Hai, Sneaky, LemonNation
TSM — Dyrus, TheOddOne, Reginald, WildTurtle, Xpecial
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: n/a
This split was special in that it featured the first true superstar team in the NA LCS. Prior to that, TSM dominated the NA circuit, but they weren’t heads-and-shoulders above everyone else in terms of skill. Then suddenly C9 came onto the scene and flipped bay life on its head — TSM had lost before, but never had they faced such a massive skill difference. C9 absolutely obliterated the competition this split — something some saw coming when they were promoted into the LCS by knocking out Team Complexity in a straight set where each game lasted maybe 25 minutes. Over and over that Split, C9 would show an understanding of how to snowball the game better than anyone else, and even when they found themselves in deficits, they still climbed back to win. The deciding match in this set featured Hai’s Zed and Balls’ Rumble — champions the two would become famous for over the next couple of years. And for TSM — it would mark the end of the bay life era. Gone were the days of donning trash bags and McDonald’s runs. Gone was the hustle-and-bustle streamer life that made them famous. Reginald would go on to retire and then bring in a youngster named Bjergsen. The rest, as they say, is history.
RESULT: TSM wins 3-2
ROSTERS:
C9 — Impact/Ray, Contractz, Jensen, Sneaky, Smoothie
TSM — Hauntzer, Svenskeren, Bjergsen, WildTurtle, Biofrost
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Hauntzer
What’s a pirate’s favorite letter? Rrrrrr. Which was decidedly not Jensen’s after this series — the infamous Ekko deletion at the end of Game 5 probably cost C9 their first title in three years. It was a rare mechanical mishap from a player widely lauded as the best individual player in the league. I don’t know if you can draw up a more dramatic ending to that, but the clip ended up in highlight reels for the next year. It’s being brought up now, and it’ll be brought up again every single time these two teams face each other. At least until Jensen can peel that monkey off his shoulders by actually winning an NA LCS split. He was brought to C9 in-part because it was believed Hai couldn’t lift C9 past 2nd place, but so far, Jensen hasn’t managed it either. That’s what added to the heartbreak of this series — it was a continuation of their failure to meet expectations. The fifth and deciding game was a microcosm of the set — TSM blasted C9 in Games 1 and 2 (I remember preparing an article that declared a TSM sweep) before C9 grinded out a 47 minute victory in Game 3. Then they cruised to a Game 4 victory. And then, in Game 5, C9 pulled off a big comeback before the unfortunate play where Jensen died with both Zhonyas and his ultimate up. And that was where C9’s last good shot at Finals would die.
1. TSM STRIKES BACK (2014 SUMMER FINALS)
RESULT: TSM wins 3-2
ROSTERS:
C9 — Balls, Meteos, Hai, Sneaky, LemonNation
TSM — Dyrus, Amazing, Bjergsen, WildTurtle, Lustboy
PLAYER OF THE SERIES: Bjergsen
Before last Spring’s five game thriller, though, C9 and TSM actually went to five once before in the 2014 Summer Finals. C9 finished the regular season as the top-seeded team for the third split in a row as TSM struggled to find their footing. C9 also looked like they were once again in peak Playoffs form after sweeping Curse in the Semifinals. They would then open up a 2-1 lead over TSM to put themselves on match point for their 3rd consecutive championship — I look back on this set sometimes and wonder if they’d have won this one, would they have even considered Hai a weak point in the following split? Maybe that’s just me being hopeful, but fact is they were unable to close out the series in their favor. Two chances to secure a dynasty. Two chances floundered. A gutsy play from WildTurtle near the then-Raptor camp secured the set for TSM, and they would never look back at C9 after this.
What made this set my favorite was both the narrative around it and the actual games — it was a back and forth series between the two most successful teams in NA history (both were knocked out by the sister Samsung squads in Quarterfinals at Worlds that year). It was also the first time that C9’s veil of immortality was lifted. Prior to this, as a C9 fan, you just never actually expected to lose no matter how dire the situation seemed. Your heart knew exactly what the comeback looked like — Hai would maneuver the team into an unexpected spot, and they would capitalize on a team fight where all of them would live with a sliver of health. TSM fans had every reason to fear C9 then — they were a beast that seemed impossible to kill. But this series was where that paradigm was began to shift. Hai would eventually leave, and that fear would shift to the other end of the spectrum. It would be TSM who felt like they would win every single matchup, and it was C9 who would wait for heartbreak.
It’s kind of crazy to see how these two team’s fortunes have gone. TSM went on to win four more splits whereas C9 would find nothing. Bjergsen and Sneaky are the only two players from this set who still play for these teams, though it seems unlikely either will be completely replaced any time soon. This set was four years ago now, or eight splits total. If you think of each split as a full season, then it’s like going back to 2010 for traditional sports calendars. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers just won the NBA Championship that year, and Starcraft II was the biggest Esport in the world. We’ve been at this for a long time, and now these two squads will clash again. If substitutes are used, then seven total players will be experiencing this Playoff rivalry for the first time. And, maybe, four years from now, we’ll look back at the coming Semifinal with just as much fondness and nostalgia as the rest of these sets. And, maybe, we’ll say this is where this player or that player first made their name.
