While the 2022 LCS Lock In didn’t give 100 Thieves the opportunity to showcase why they won the 2021 LCS Championship, their first match in the 2022 Spring Split today let them prove to Team Liquid—the team against which they earned the title—that they are still a force to be feared.

A gold lead in favor of Liquid throughout most of the game did little to deter 100T League of Legends squad, focusing their efforts into closing out the game and securing their first win of the regular season. Most of the game remained close statistically, though fights stayed mostly in 100T’s favor throughout the entire game.

Liquid again couldn’t showcase their entire expected roster for the Spring Split due to still-unresolved issues regarding CoreJJ’s green card status, so Eyla returned in the support role. COVID precautions also prohibited the team from performing live in the LCS studio, leaving 100T to stare across the stage at empty seats where their opposition would have been to completely repaint the picture of the 2021 LCS Championship finals.

Compared to the game that occurred just before, featuring the LCS debut of Smite Janna in the top lane, both Liquid and 100T opted for more traditional team compositions. With Renekton for Bwipo and Ornn for Ssumday, the two teams had access to powerful champions prepared to initiate team fights.

Though it took almost 15 minutes for a fight to break out, once Liquid got hold of their first drake, 100T found the opportunity to strike. From there, 100T slowly increased their presence on the map while seeking ways to topple the small gold lead that Liquid had accrued. With so much gold funneled directly into FBI’s Aphelios, 100T had a threat in their backline that proved very difficult for Liquid to get their hands on.

A Baron and final Hextech Dragon shredded down in seconds by FBI provided 100T the last pieces of their winning puzzle. At 40 minutes, even Bwipo and Santorin, building tanky themselves, could not withstand the damage consistently being thrown their way.

The defending LCS champions bested their competition to officially start the year in this rematch of the 2021 LCS Championship finals, putting their lackluster Lock In performance behind them. 100T continue their Spring Split climb tomorrow against CLG.

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