League of Legends PCS Summer Split Week 1 results

The League of Legends Pacific Championship Series (PCS) 2020 Summer Split kicked off with the curtain-raiser match between reigning champions PSG Talon (PSG, formerly Talon Esports) and Machi Esports (MCX).

The Spring Split finals rematch was a mouthwatering encounter for the fans. They were eager to watch PSG’s new mid laner, PSG Tank, debuting in place of the regular starter, PSG Candy.

Week 1 of the League of Legends PCS 2020 Summer Split also saw a brand new partnership with Taiwan’s largest bank, CTBC Bank. In the first deal of its kind in Southeast Asia, CTBC Bank made a three-year investment in the League of Legends PCS.

Match of the Week: PSG vs MCX

PSG vs MCX was the Match of the Week.

These two teams are creating a rivalry that mirrors that of Flash Wolves and AHQ from years ago. They played against each other for an incredible 14 times back in Spring and during the PCS vs VCS Mid-Season Showdown (MSS).

After losing to MCX in the MSS’ round robin stage, the two had seven wins each. The opening match of the Summer Split served as the latest tiebreaker for both teams. PSG rose to the occasion with a dominating win against MCX.

The game had everything a PSG fan would have wanted, including a flash-hook by PSG Kaiwing that tore MCX apart in one of the early skirmishes.

Player of the Week: PSG River

Amid a team of star players including Kaiwing, Unified, Hanabi, and Candy, River has successfully grown to become a strong carry for the team since the Spring playoffs, and has continued his good form into Summer.

In the three matches played on the opening weekend, he registered zero deaths in two matches. He also earned himself the MVP title against Liyab Esports (LYB).

His Lee Sin was fearless and made aggressive plays to send his opponent into chaos.

Week 1 results

The new partnership with French football giant, Paris Saint Germain, gave PSG a massive boost. This translated well on the Rift after the team defeated MCX, Nova Esports (NOV), and LYB on the opening weekend to rise to the top of the rankings.

Despite losing the opening match against PSG, MCX bounced back strong in their following two games against Southeast Asian opponents Resurgence (RSG) and Berjaya Dragons (BJD). One of the early favourites, ahq eSports club (AHQ), slumped to a surprise defeat against Taipei J Team (JT). This was despite a good performance against BJD on Saturday. JT’s results on the opening weekend were in stark contrast to their performance in Spring. The victories against the new look Alpha Esports (ALF) and AHQ provided a much-needed confidence boost after their below-average split.

Southeast Asian teams did not have the best of starts. BJD (0-3) and LYB (0-2) both failed to register a win in five attempts. However, NOV showed signs of improvement with the addition of NOV Coldenfeet as their new ADC. He was also the MVP in the match against RSG.

Singapore-based team, RSG, took three weeks for their first victory back in Spring. But they didn’t have to wait that long after beating BJD on Sunday. The addition of Oceanic Pro League-winning coach, RSG Jensen, as their new head coach raised eyebrows. The team, however, presented a fresh playing style, including the Level 1 lane swap to surprise NOV.