It’s been just a week since the LCS ended, but we’re already heading right back to the action as the teams head for the Mid-Season Showdown.
The first weekend of matches features TSM v Team Liquid, and Cloud9 taking on 100 Thieves. The losers of those games will drop to face off against Evil Geniuses and Dignitas next weekend.
TSM v Team Liquid
First up is second seed TSM taking on third seed Team Liquid. The pair ended the split in joint second place, with just TSM’s favourable head-to-head record seeing them clinch the spot. Having gone 2-0 against Team Liquid in the regular season, TSM will certainly feel like they have an edge. Despite the joint-second placed seeding TSM will go into the series favourites. TSM could have secured a more favourable placing, though a loss to Evil Geniuses on the final weekend saw them only going 2-1, whilst Team Liquid managed to take a 3-0 weekend.
With the LCS now moving to the best of five format, experience becomes a key factor in the series. TSM comes into the series with some serious talent with years of experience under their belts. Huni, SwordArt, and PowerOfEvil all have a fair amount of international experience. Jungler Spica has fewer series’ played at that level, however, he’s young and will take on vital lessons. Team Liquid has a similar experience, with Santorin, Jensen, Tactical, CoreJJ, and Alphari. On paper, they’ve got the chops to match TSM.
For me, I think this is going to be close. Though TSM having got the better of Team Liquid twice already means they’re my winners for this one. You can find them at (17/10) on MansionBet.
Cloud9 v 100 Thieves
After finishing the Spring Split in first place, Cloud9 comes into this series as favourites by a long way. Cloud9 started the season well with a strong showing at the LCS pre-season tournament the Lock-in Tournament. While they failed to win that, the good signs they showed in those matches built into what we saw in the Spring Split. The side isn’t perfect, however, and clearly, Cloud9 still has some work to do. Losing five games over the course of the split, two of which came at the hands of third-place side Team Liquid. Cloud9 did 2-0 100 Thieves, however, so they’ll be confident heading into the series.
Like Cloud9, 100 Thieves came into the season with high expectations after a strong showing at the Lock-In Tournament. Unlike a number of other rosters, however, 100 Thieves decided to make a change before last week’s playoff. The side swapped out mid laner Damonte for Academy mid laner Ryoma. As the tweet above shows, the sides General Manager was happy with the performances of Ryoma in the final week of the LCS, as it looks like he’ll play a part in the sides season decider. The cynic in me thinks this might be 100 Thieves making a change, knowing they’ll not win the playoffs, so instead take a look at a long-term mid lane option going forward.
As for the series itself, this is a best of five, and with that in mind, I have to give it to Cloud9. Just the mid lane battle alone could decide this with Perkz likely to be a standout performer for Cloud9 as they look to head to an international event. My money would be in Cloud9, and you can pick them up at (10/27) over at MansionBet.
*All odds correct at time of writing.