100 Thieves are considered one of the newer teams in the LCS and esports compared to some old dogs, but that doesn't mean they aren't as formidable. Over the last 4 splits under the core of Ssumday, Closer, FBI, and Huhi, they have finished 4th, 1st, 2nd, and 2nd.
But it felt like it was time for a change after falling short repeatedly. And they started by looking internally at their development system. 100 Thieves Next was created in January 2020 with the goal of assisting younger players new to the competitive scene.
And finally, 100 Thieves was ready to promote two of their own in Tenacity in top lane and Busio in support. Joining the rookies would be the 1 holdover from last year in Closer at the jungle position. And then for their last two spots in Mid Lane and Bot Lane, they looked at some LCS legends in Bjergsen and Doublelift. This dynamic duo had seen success at TSM previously and even though they both had retired at one point, the fire within them burned bright once again.
Expectations for this team varied a lot in the pre-season with some analysts placing them as high as 2nd and as low as 7th. Thoughts were that they had a talented lineup, but how long would it take for them to get coordinated and comfortable with one another?
Things started out okay going 1-1, 2-0, and then 1-1 in the first 3 weeks of the split. They were 4-2 going into the first round-robin Super Week. But that's when things went south, Super Week was a disaster and they lost every game to drop to 4-5.
They did not fair much better in Weeks 5 and 6, where they went 1-1 and 0-2 respectively. They were now 5-8 and outside of the Top 6 for playoffs. Things were getting dire with only 2 weeks left, so a change had to be made and so they let go of their head coach kass, and promoted assistant coach Nukeduck to interim LCS head coach.
With their backs against the wall, it was do or die for the Thieves and they were ready to fight.
First up was the surging Golden Guardians, but Closer brought out his Lee Sin and executed picture-perfect ganks in mid and top lane to get 100 Thieves ahead. And then a fight at second dragon saw 100 Thieves outduel the Golden Guardians taking them down 4 to 1 and push the lead to +4.0k.
Next up was Dignitas and it was a slow start with no kills until 10 minutes, but then Closer and Bjergsen got activated and soon it was 9-1 in kills for 100 Thieves. They took the subsequent dragon to make it 2-0 and a +3.0k gold lead was all they needed.
To start Super Week, they went head-to-head against a fellow playoff rival in TSM. TSM built a small +2.0k gold lead and a 3 to 1 dragon advantage by 25 minutes, but a crucial team fight broke up in the jungle, which saw Doublelift get a double kill and 100 Thieves secure the Baron and take the gold lead. Doublelift got his Jinx online and that was the end.
The following day came Evil Geniuses who have been dealing with health and safety protocols. A back-and-forth early game saw Evil Geniuses control the map and take the first 2 dragons, but 100 Thieves were able to fight key fights leading to the next 2 dragons to even up the game at 23 minutes. From this point on, EG were pressing while 100T felt in control and repeated they found picks onto Jojo, leading to a Baron at 27 minutes.
And in the very last game of the LCS Spring Split, it was Immortals who had to feel the wraith of Doublelift in bot lane. 100 Thieves made it a priority to get him ahead early and they tower-dove Immortals at 2.5 minutes to secure a double kill. Then came a desperate fight around dragon soul, where Immortals were able to take out Doublelift at the start of the fight, but the rest of 100 Thieves including Closer and Bjergsen were just too strong.
Somehow, someway, 100 Thieves found themselves now in a tiebreaker from 3rd to 5th, and so their run continued against Evil Geniuses. An even early game finally saw a breakpoint, when a fight broke out in river and Closer's Viego went off for a triple kill. And even though, Evil Geniuses picked up Baron and were able to slow down the dragon stacking, they couldn't win the next team fight which gave 100T dragon soul, baron, and the game.
Last but not least was Counter Logic Gaming who also went 3-0 in Super Week. Both teams were playing well, but 100 Thieves always seemed to have the advantage in team fights. At 31 minutes, CLG were able to push 100T off Baron and capture it for themselves, but they lost the fight after 4 to 1. The next fight happened around Baron after Doublelift solo'd the dragon soul for 100T and 100T found 2 picks to take Baron. It took another Baron to eventually and the game, but what a game from 100 Thieves.
And with that win, they are on a 7-game win streak and went from out of playoffs to 3rd place in the Spring Split regular season. How far can this team go in playoffs? Can they make it to the Finals and secure Top 2 and a spot at MSI? We'll see as they face off against FlyQuest next!
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