THE WIRE is f0rmless’s weekly esports dispatch — the matches that just concluded, and the marquee slate ahead, across sixteen titles. A new edition posts every Monday. The schedule board stays spoiler-free; the calls live here.
TEAM LIQUID BEAT LYON 3–1 TO WIN LCS SUMMER, FOUR MONTHS AFTER LYON SWEPT THEM IN THE SPRING FINAL
▲ Results ahead — the Wire calls the week as it happened.
Twelve series in Shanghai settled the Champions playoff bracket. All four Americas teams made the top eight, and the playoffs open on Wednesday with $2.25M on the line.
See the slateKarmine Corp took Sunset 13–9. Nongshim RedForce answered 13–5 on Summit and 13–6 on Haven, and the EMEA Stage 2 winner went home from the Group D decider.
BracketSwept 3–0 by LYON in the Spring final on June 14. Won the Summer upper bracket, then took the Grand Final from LYON 3–1. Next stop: the World Championship, from October 15.
Liquipedia page
Named Finals MVP of the LCS Summer Grand Final after his games on Lee Sin, Qiyana, and Wukong.
Player pageAfter Nongshim RedForce beat Karmine Corp 2–1 in Shanghai on Saturday to reach the VALORANT Champions playoffs, Dambi said of losing the first map:
“This is my first Champions; I really wanted to do well, and right after we suffered our first map loss, I was frustrated at myself because I know what I am capable of…”
▌ By the numbers · Sep 28 – Oct 4
▌ Match by match · Sep 28 – Oct 4
League of Legends has a new North American champion: Team Liquid beat LYON 3–1 in Sunday’s LCS Summer Grand Final, four months after LYON swept them 3–0 in the Spring final. VALORANT Champions finished its group stage in Shanghai, where Nongshim RedForce knocked out Karmine Corp. Counter-Strike’s ESL Pro League played its second round, and Rainbow Six’s Europe MENA League closed its group stage. Of 404 matches settled across 12 games, Thursday was the busiest day.
LYON came through the lower bracket to reach the final. Team Liquid won three of the four games. Liquid, LYON, and Cloud9 all go to the World Championship.
Paper Rex, NRG, Team Vitality, and 100 Thieves won their groups. Nongshim RedForce, the lower group seed, beat Karmine Corp in the Group D decider. LOUD came back from a 2–0 loss to Vitality to eliminate Global Esports, the Pacific Stage 2 winner.
Round 2. Team Vitality beat Natus Vincere in three maps, and 1w Team beat G2 Esports 2–1. MOUZ, Team Falcons, BetBoom Team, and 9z Team each won 2–0.
Playday 9, the last of the group stage. Team Falcons beat Twisted Minds 7–5.
⚡ Upset — a verified underdog win
The week ahead ▶Oct 5–11
VALORANT Champions starts its playoffs on Wednesday: NRG against T1 and Paper Rex against LOUD in the upper quarterfinals, then 100 Thieves against G2 Esports and Team Vitality against Nongshim RedForce on Thursday. Dota 2’s BLAST Slam 8 playoffs open Thursday too, with PGL Wallachia champion Team Yandex against LGD Gaming. In League of Legends, the LCS 2027 Promotion Tournament begins today, and Maryville University plays Disguised on Wednesday. The board does not pick winners; it only tells you where to be, and when. Set a reminder, and your own device will call you to the stream.
The upper quarterfinals. Each group winner meets another group’s runner-up.
The playoffs begin. Team Yandex, who won PGL Wallachia Season 9 last week, open against LGD Gaming.
Cupid Esports and Fuego open the tournament on Tuesday. Maryville University plays Disguised a day later.
WATCHED BY THE F0RMLESS