This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　The 2014 Spring Promotion tournament looks to find the top 3 Challenger teams to battle it out against the bottom 3 LCS teams in order to clinch a spot in next season’s League Championship Series. 6 teams enter through various tournaments throughout the year like PAX 2013 and MLG Anaheim, only 3 move on for a chance at the LCS. These teams have been playing against each other in the North American Challenger League, with the exception of Quantic, for the past 8 weeks. Since then, compLexity Gaming and Team Coast have rose to the top of their respective conferences.

　　

Day 2 Outlook

Moving into day 2, it looked like Quantic was poised to secure their ticket to LA after their dominant performance versus vVv and COGnitive gaming. The Walking Zed was set to make their debut performance in this tournament as a top contender and compLexity looked to redeem themselves after their 2 losses on day 1. Day 2 was sure to be action packed throughout all 7 games.

　　

Korean Hype Train Derailed

Looking unstoppable in their first 2 matches, Quantic Gaming was riding the korean hpe train at full speed. But, compLexity were able to overcome their previous underperformance and hand Quantic their first loss of the tournament. They key to compLexity’s win was shutting down, SuNo, on Ahri. Once they had shut down such a consistent player, they blew the game wide open ending the game 10 thousand gold ahead and up 7 towers.

　　Well, that first game must have been a fluke, right? Nope. In the next game, To Be Determined took control of the game in the first few minutes and slowly starved Quantic until the very end. Arthelon utilized the recent changes to Gragas’ kit in order to destroy his lane opponent and deal major damage in teamfights, his 7-1-9 KDA speaks for itself. This was the beginning of an extremely slippery slope for Quantic, it was apparent that they were going on tilt. After losing two games in a row, would Quantic really be able to start game 3 with renewed confidence?

　　Crushed dreams and broken hearts <3 pic.twitter.com/jhMInpf6Lh

　　— Arthelon (@Arthelon) December 7, 2013

　　Quantic went full tilt in game 3, and were completely destroyed The Walking Zed. Ending the game 20-8 in kills, 20 thousand gold down and 7 towers behind, it wasn’t even close. Now that Quantic has played all of their matches, the only thing they have left is to hope for a 4 way tie. Quantic looked like they were going to be the one everyone needed to beat, but in the end, they cracked under the pressure. If Quantic does not qualify for the next stage of this tournament, they are sent packing to Korea.

　　

Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen

Previous to their recent roster changes, compLexity was easily one of the top 3 teams in the North American challenger scene. Since the, they have struggled to put up any results similar to what they once did. All weekend, compLexity’s new recruits Ninjaken and Jintae failed to perform and mesh with the team. With the last place record of 1-3, even if they win their final match, it may be all over for compLexity.

　　

Do You Feel This Lag?

Throughout the entire weekend, players said that the Tournament Realm has having lag spikes here and there. But, the lag reached a new level in the vVv versus COGnitive gaming match. COGnitive was completely dominating the game for the first thirty minutes, vVv hadn't even secured a kill. But, COGnitive suddenly seemed to look confused in teamfights and you could even tell that players were moonwalking around Summoner’s Rift. Near the end of the game, vVv had taken the drivers seat and were pushing in on COG’s nexus, when the game suddenly pauses. Riot had paused the game to discuss the possibility of remaking the game. New bans, new picks and starting all over again. COGnitive agreed with Riot, saying “come on guys, it’s for the LCS” but, vVv refused.

　　Even when COGnitive looked down and out, they still managed to pull the game back into their control with the help of some godlike Riven play from Cris. Throughout all the lag, COGnitive preserved and saved their fate in the tournament. After this match, Riot made the decision to move the tournament to live servers.

　　

COGnitive at number one

Not many would have guessed that at the end of day 2, COGnitive gaming would be at the top of the standings considering their 4-19 record in the North American Challenger League. When onGamers asked their manager, Zach "Morbuzaan" Kay, about COGnitive’s recent upswing he said: “A lot of people had counted us out heading into this thing, but the team has pulled a 180 in the last couple weeks. It's hard to point to any one thing, but stuff like the preseason changes, as well as the addition of Cris have been a huge boon for us.” He continued on to say: “Another huge thing that we've changed is the team attitude. In the middle of our losing streak, it was practically a daily ritual for the guys to talk about how badly we were going to do. Nowadays, though, everything's positive. The team is confident and everything's just looking up for us.” While, COGnitive hasn’t completely secured their spot, it’s almost a 100% chance they will qualify.

　　

Day 3 Match Previews

To Be Determined versus COGnitive Gaming

　　If COGnitive wins this match, they are guaranteed a tie for first place at the least. This could be the make it or break it match for To Be Determined in order to avoid causing a 4 way tie. An interesting matchup in this game will be in the mid lane. Arthelon played almost a perfect game with Gragas on day 2, but will Zamphiria’s unconventional mid lane picks like Lulu and Sivir throw him off?

　　Day 3 of the Spring Promotion Tournament kicks off at 1PM PST/ 4PM EST. Tune in and catch all the challenger on Wellplayed.tv's Twitch.tv channel.

　　Image Credit: na.lolesports.com

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