FlyQuest pulls out cheeky Annie pick for 11th win, CLG's Aurelion Sol answer unsuccessful
Seriously, what year are we in? Certainly not 2023 if we are watching the battle atop the LCS 2023 Spring Split standings come down to a midlane matchup of Annie and Aurelion Sol. It was quite a bizarre match to open week 6 of the LCS 2023 Spring Split. Yet, it made for one of the most exciting drafts so far in the LCS 2023 Spring Split. Despite the nerfs, FlyQuest pulled out the Annie in draft, to which CLG responded with Aurelion Sol to the delight of many in the crowd.
At first, the game looked like your typical FlyQuest game in 2023. FlyQuest botlaner Prince gets an early lead, and the team’s strong macro play nets them a quick 5k gold advantage before prepping their game-ending push. However, something that the team struggled to get past was CLG’s Aurelion Sol playing pvp to its fullest potential as FlyQuest could not make a game-ending push onto CLG.
"We had a big gold lead, but our communication was really bad and we didn't do our jobs in keeping Lee Sin out," Eyla told Esports Illustrated after the game.
This led to the game getting stalled out even further when a mishap around baron saw FlyQuest forfeit the important objective as Aurelion Sol continued to grow stronger and stronger.
FlyQuest continued to get the needed objectives, but CLG’s late-game power spike was a difficult force to penetrate.
Ultimately, FlyQuest was able to find the right team fights around dragon river as the 37-minute Aurelion Sol tower defense finally ended as FlyQuest grabbed their 11th win of the split. This was something that Eyla highlighted as the team's game plan after that baron mishap.
"We messed up and we just had to wait for objectives," Eyla said. "We just had to wait for objectives and eventually it came down to Elder Dragon. They had to fight us and we won."
Now standing at an 11-7 record, FlyQuest has nearly secured its spot in the LCS 2023 Spring Split playoffs and inch closer to the coveted playoff bye. While FlyQuest is unrivaled on stage, there are things the team is looking to continue working on in their communication moving forward in the LCS 2023 Spring Split.
"I think there isn't a lot of communication right now, but it's hard for me to tell because I wasn't on the team back then," Eyla said after the game. "It's just the reality and it will take a bit of time to work on, especially since it's my second week. But I'm confident."
Regardless, FlyQuest still has sole possession of first place in the LCS 2023 Spring Split. They will look to secure their 12th win of the LCS 2023 Spring Split tomorrow against Evil Geniuses.
As for Counter Logic Gaming, today’s loss is one that was expected on their end. While this drops them to an even 6-6 on the split, the team still looks like a favorite to make it to playoffs. They will aim to go 1-1 this week against 100 Thieves tomorrow, who are currently 5-6.
