Vulcan | |
---|---|
![]() Laflamme in 2021 | |
Current team | |
Team | Cloud9 |
Role | Support |
Game | League of Legends |
League | LCS |
Personal information | |
Name | Philippe Laflamme |
Born | 1999 or 2000 (age 24–25)[1] Laval, Quebec, Canada [2] |
Nationality | Canadian |
Team history | |
2019 | Clutch Gaming |
2020–2021 | Cloud9 |
2022–2023 | Evil Geniuses |
2023 | FlyQuest |
2024–present | Cloud9 |
Philippe Laflamme, better known as Vulcan, is a Canadian professional League of Legends support for Cloud9, in the League Championship Series (LCS). Previously, Vulcan has played for Clutch Gaming, the team that drafted him, Evil Geniuses, and FlyQuest.
Professional career
[edit]Clutch Gaming
[edit]Vulcan was invited to the LCS proving grounds following the 2018 season, in which he showcased his skills, as well as his communication and teamwork.[3] He was drafted fourth overall by Clutch Gaming, which gave the organization exclusive negotiation rights with Vulcan.[4] Vulcan signed with Clutch, and entered the 2019 LCS season as their starting support, making his debut on January 26.[5] The team had a rough start, going 5–13 in his first season, missing playoffs. Due to the team's poor performance, Vulcan's bot lane partner Piglet was released,[6] and AD Carry Cody Sun was signed as his replacement.[7] In the summer split, Vulcan and Clutch made playoffs as the fifth seed, and finished fourth overall, after losing the third place match to Counter Logic Gaming.[8][9] However they qualified for the regional gauntlet as the lowest seeded team,[10] and proceeded to defeat FlyQuest,[11] Counter Logic Gaming,[12] and Team SoloMid[13] in consecutive matches to qualify for the third and final spot in the 2019 League of Legends World Championship.[14] However at worlds, Clutch were unable to win a game in the group stage, becoming the first North American team to go 0–6.[15]
Cloud9
[edit]In the 2019 off season, Cloud9 acquired Vulcan for a reported US$1.5 Million buyout.[16] After several months boot–camping in Korea,[17] Vulcan and his new bot lane partner Zven dominated the rest of the LCS in 2020,[17][18][19][20] and Cloud9 went 17–1 on the season, with Vulcan and the entire C9 roster winning First Team All–Pro.[21] Vulcan also received several MVP votes, although the award ultimately went to his teammate Blaber.[22] The team went on to sweep FlyQuest in the finals, and Vulcan won his first LCS title.[23] MSI 2020 was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,[24] so the next time Vulcan played was in the 2020 summer split, where he picked up a Second Team All–Pro award for his regular season performance.[25] Despite their impressive spring split, Cloud9 lost in playoffs, finishing fourth and missing out on Worlds 2020, the first year Vulcan did not attend.[26]
In the 2021 LCS season, Vulcan was awarded another Second Team All–Pro in the spring split,[27] after Cloud9 accrued a league best 13–5 record.[28] The team went on to win another split after defeating Team Liquid in the Mid Season Showdown, Vulcan's second title.[29] Due to their spring victory, Cloud9 qualified for the 2021 Mid Season Invitational in Iceland.[30] The team succeeded in the group stage,[31] but did not make is past the rumble stage, bowing out in fifth.[32] In the summer of LCS, Vulcan was selected to the Third Team All–Pro as Cloud9 made playoffs,[33] and despite falling out of the upper bracket early, Cloud9 qualified for Worlds after wins over Golden Guardians, Evil Geniuses, and Team SoloMid.[34] At the World Championship, Cloud9 made it to the quarterfinals,[35] before losing 3–0 to Gen.G, finishing 5th-8th, Vulcan's best international finish.[36]
Evil Geniuses
[edit]Vulcan joined Evil Geniuses for the 2022 season,[37] and noted that despite his respect for Zven, he wanted to try a new lane partner after two years together on Cloud9.[38] He won his second LCS title during the 2021 LCS Spring Season, beating 100 Thieves 3–0 in the finals.[39]
References
[edit]- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (February 18, 2020). "Vulcan isn't sure if he'll work in esports when he retires from pro play, will "probably go back to school"". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "LCS auf X". August 8, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ "Vulcan on Team Infernal: "I played some scrims recently with Tactical... He is probably the best ADC coming to Scouting Grounds."". InvenGlobal. November 15, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Seizing The Moment | By Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme". The Players’ Lobby. December 15, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "League of Legends: LCS Week 1 Recap". Hotspawn. January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Clutch Gaming release former SKT bot laner Piglet". Upcomer. June 15, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Cody Sun shines away from the spotlight in League of Legends". ESPN.com. September 27, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "CLG reverse-sweep Clutch for third in LCS". ESPN.com. August 25, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Li, Xing (August 25, 2019). "CLG reverse sweep Clutch in the LCS third place match". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Butts, Nick (September 6, 2019). "Five Things to Watch for in the LCS Gauntlet". The Game Haus. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Abbas, Malcolm (September 6, 2019). "Clutch Gaming begin Worlds qualifer gauntlet run with win over FlyQuest". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Samples, Rachel (September 7, 2019). "Clutch keep their gauntlet run alive after taking down CLG". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Parth addresses the TSM fans after loss to Clutch Gaming; failure to qualify for Worlds 2019". InvenGlobal. September 9, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ O'Dwyer, Samuel (October 1, 2019). "What to expect from Clutch Gaming at Worlds 2019". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (October 19, 2019). "Clutch are the first NA team to go winless in the Worlds group stage, as SKT secure first in Group C". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Vulcan to Cloud9 -- Inside the trade that defined the 2019 LCS offseason". ESPN.com. February 3, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "How It's Made: Cloud9's dominant League of Legends roster". ESPN.com. June 5, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (February 5, 2020). "Zven, Nisqy, and Vulcan are among the top 5 players with the highest KDA in the LCS". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Heath, Jerome (February 3, 2020). "Zven has a perfect KDA of 18/0/33, the highest in the LCS". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (April 3, 2020). "Head in the clouds: Why the 2020 LCS Spring Split is C9's most important season yet". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Binkowski, Justin (April 3, 2020). "Cloud9's entire starting lineup named to 2020 LCS Spring Split All-Pro first team". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "LCS finals roundtable -- can Cloud9 be topped?". ESPN.com. April 16, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "LoL Esports". lolesports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Canceled for 2020 – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". April 23, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "2019 LCS Summer Split Awards". nexus.leagueoflegends.com. August 9, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "TSM returns to Worlds, Cloud9 misses for the first time in org history". InvenGlobal. August 29, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "The 2021 LCS Spring Split All-Pro teams have been revealed". InvenGlobal. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Kelly, Michael (March 15, 2021). "Cloud9 secure first place in 2021 LCS Spring Split after victory over Immortals". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Garcia, Ethan (April 12, 2021). "Cloud9 win 2021 LCS Mid-Season Showdown over Team Liquid, secure ticket to Mid-Season Invitational". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Heath, Jerome (April 28, 2021). "All of the teams qualified for MSI 2021". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Rockwood, Bryan (May 14, 2021). "Cloud9 Cooldown: Surviving the group stage at MSI 2021". The Game Haus. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Cloud9 officially eliminated from MSI 2021 after MAD win over RNG". Upcomer. May 18, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (August 6, 2021). "LCS' 2021 Summer Split All-Pro first team features players from 5 different organizations". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Cloud9 makes Worlds 2021, eliminates rivals TSM in 3-2 thriller". InvenGlobal. August 23, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "DWG KIA, Cloud9 qualify for quarterfinals at Worlds 2021". Upcomer. October 15, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Kelly, Michael (October 25, 2021). "Gen.G cleanly sweep Cloud9, North America out of Worlds 2021, set up first all-Eastern semifinals since 2017". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Esguerra, Tyler (November 16, 2021). "Vulcan joins Evil Geniuses as starting support". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Vulcan talks parting ways with C9, joining EG: "I still respect Zven a lot, but I wanted a change."". InvenGlobal. January 23, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Garcia, Ethan (April 24, 2022). "Evil Geniuses lift first LCS trophy after sweeping reigning champions 100 Thieves in 2022 Spring Split finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 30, 2022.