With the regular season over, it’s time for the LCS to jump right into the playoff action. Week one sees the Upper Bracket Round 1 and Lower Bracket Round 1 matches. All the series are best of 5, so an added layer of complexity and mind games will be on display.
Below we’ve provided odds on the opening two Winners’ Bracket matches, with the loser of both matches heading into the Losers’ Bracket later in the week to face either Dignitas or 100 Thieves.
Team SoloMid v Golden Guardians
Despite the sides being just one place apart, Team SoloMid will go into the series as the better side at 5/19*, and off the back of a decent run of form. Despite a final week defeat to Team Liquid, TSM had looked like easily being one of the top contenders for the LCS sides going to Worlds, though they’ve found themselves dropping to 4th.
The TSM side also has a lot of experience in best of 5 matches which should give them the edge over the less experienced Golden Guardians. It’s also worth noting that TSM has a 2-0 record against GG over the regular split which could be a preview for this series.
As mentioned, GG’s 0-2 record against TSM certainly dosn’t bode well for them going into this series, and they’ll be seen as the underdog. GG will have it rough for sure, with a 50% win rate across the Summer Split, they certainly can win games, however, at 53/20 it will be an uphill battle. The saving grace for GG is that if they lose they’ll have a second chance later in the week in the losers bracket against either Dignitas or 100 Thieves.
FlyQuest v Evil Geniuses
FlyQuest had a really good Summer Split in the LCS, so much so that they go into the Winners’ Bracket as the 3rd seed meaning they’ve chosen their Round 1 pick. On paper, TSM would be most peoples’ 3rd place side in the LCS, however, FlyQuest has quietly gone about its business and become a real contender for a Worlds spot.
With a 2-0 record against EG, FlyQuest are favourites at 10/31, the better news for FlyQuest is they have a solid record against the other top LCS sides. They went 2-0 against 4th place TSM, 1-1 against top spot Team Liquid and only falling 0-2 to Cloud9, a side that FlyQuest played during the height of C9’s winning run. FlyQuest are real contenders for the LCS and are one to watch in the coming weeks. Evil Geniuses has started to turn a corner after a roster change late in the Summer Split. Adding Huni to the top lane and Goldenglue to the mid lane saw the side end the regular season in 6th place. Though they’ve been picked by FQ in Round 1, they’ll have a second chance if they fall into the Losers’ Bracket later in the week. We have them at 11/5 for this series, though the side does have some good experience in best of 5s, and Huni is a multi-season Worlds finalist and MVP, so if he can find his form when it counts EG might be worth a shot.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
(Image: flickr – LoL Esports Photos)