LCS's LYON overcame a major crisis to reach the quarterfinals, defending North American pride. Facing CBLOL's (Brazil) LOS, LYON dropped Game 1 and trailed heavily in Game 2 before mounting a dramatic comeback, going on to win Game 3 as well. For LOS, they came close to achieving a historic quarterfinal milestone for Brazil, but ultimately fell short.
LOS drew first blood in the bottom lane with help from Vi, taking down Berserker's Ezreal. LYON answered back as Inspired made key plays on Pantheon to secure kills, but LOS traded back kills and secured a dragon to put together a solid early-to-mid game.
Holding a slight gold lead, LOS established vision around Baron and baited LYON by poking at the objective. Feeling pressured, LYON used Alistar to check LOS's intent, but Alistar lost his ultimate in the process, allowing LOS to restart and secure Baron. Capitalizing on their superior macro play, LOS led by over 4,500 gold by the 25-minute mark.
LOS was snowballing effectively until Vi was caught out in the top lane, momentarily halting their momentum. However, during the next Baron timing, LOS delayed LYON's approach while taking down Baron with just two players, subsequently winning the teamfight and taking Game 1.
In Game 2, LYON scored first blood by catching LOS's jungler Qiyana, who had invaded their jungle. LOS focused heavily on early macro execution and snowballing. While giving up all of the first three dragons, LOS built a 3,000 gold lead by the 18-minute mark. As the gold gap continued to widen, guest caster GimGoon praised LOS, comparing their macro execution to that of an LCK team.
After applying pressure across all lanes, LOS safely secured the next dragon, then used total vision control and macro to easily claim Baron. LYON managed a counterattack by catching the enemy Caitlyn, but it was not enough. LOS took Baron once again while LYON pushed mid lane. With both teams tied at 3 dragon stacks each, they set up for a crucial teamfight over the next dragon. Berserker, playing Yunara as LYON's sole beacon of hope, poured out massive damage to win the fight and claim the Dragon Soul. The gold deficit was drastically cut from 8,000 to 3,000.
With the game reaching a state where a single teamfight at Baron or Elder Dragon could end it, LYON secured Baron to gain the upper hand. While LOS poured all their focus into Elder Dragon, LYON launched a two-man backdoor featuring Yunara to seal victory after a 47-minute marathon, evening the series 1-1.
In the deciding Game 3, LYON took a commanding early lead. In the bottom lane, Berserker's Lucian eliminated duduhh's Kalista, and LYON surged ahead to lead 6-1 in kills just 9 minutes in after winning both bottom and top lanes. Nevertheless, LOS held on through solid laning, preventing the gold gap from blowing wide open.
Slowly clawing their way back, LOS pulled even at 2 dragon stacks each by the 25-minute mark, with the gold difference narrowed to around 1,000 gold. With the match deadlocked, the outcome came down to teamfight execution. LYON turned the tide by scoring a decisive mid-lane teamfight win, shutting down LOS's bot lane duo to grab momentum. Winning the subsequent engagement as well, LYON became the first North American team to qualify for the quarterfinals.
