League of Legends: A Moment in the Sun – Remembering Gravity Gaming

Towards the summit

When assessing a team’s dominance, we usually speak in terms of splits or seasons, of a roster that broke from the pack and sprinted to the end of the split. This is necessary, we’ve learned, to be considered among the upper echelon of the LCS rosters. Yet in the NA LCS 2015 Summer Split, no dominant squad had yet emerged.

Instead, the top teams — Gravity, Liquid, Impulse, TSM, Dignitas, and CLG — all jockeyed within a few games of one another, as one squad fell and another took their place in the standings. Gravity, a perceived underdog in many of their games, somehow never slipped below fourth and seemed to be rising with each passing week.

Their strategy relied on bizarre picks from their mid lane to carry their best-of-1 performances forward. Week after week they stayed in the top 4, buoyed by their oddball poke comps and the collective heart in their rookie squad, taking veteran rosters to task.

And then, as Week 7 rolled around, Gravity finally broke through the stratosphere. They seized possession of first from Liquid in Week 7 off the backs of two victories over weaker rosters — a slumping C9 and the weakling NME — while TL dropped a game to TSM.

Then Gravity followed up their first 2-0 week with a 1-1, barely clawing their way to the top of the pack once more. And that was it. Their summit had been reached.

CLG, TiP, and Liquid — each down a game already, were left in the dust as Gravity drifted barely above their heads, holding sole possession of first for one fragile, glorious moment in League of Legends history.

And all of us watching felt our hearts flutter.