Only a couple more weeks until playoffs and then St. Louis for the Finals. Every team is still in the race but some are hitting their stride while others ride different waves. What is clear, is that right now there are three teams at the top and then seemingly everyone else.
10. Echo Fox (4-8)
Getting one kill against Clutch is not a good way to prove to anyone that they don’t deserve the bottom spot. Also that their last win was almost three weeks ago and it was against 100 Thieves. They are starting to look like the Clutch team from the Summer Split instead of the good parts of it improved. If this team does not kick it in gear this weekend then they will be on the outside looking in.
This week they face off against OpTic and a slumping FlyQuest. If there were teams to find their groove against, these would be them. While OpTic is looking scarier than ever, they are still beatable and FlyQuest look completely lost right now. The standings are tight so Echo Fox need to capitalize this week before they face Team Liquid and Cloud 9 in back to back weeks to end the Split.
9. Clutch Gaming (4-8)
Clutch were able to play a close game against 100 Thieves and got a convincing win against Echo Fox last week. That said they are still struggling to win games and are about where they should be statistically. More than likely this team will miss playoffs unless they pull off some major upsets. Everyone not named Damonte should potentially be looked at as replaceable once the Split ends.
For now, Clutch play FlyQuest and CLG. Both of these teams are only one game ahead of Clutch but have played better than them for most of the split. It is likely that Clutch will head into these games as the underdog. If they go 0-2 then they can likely kiss their playoff chances goodbye.
8. 100 Thieves (4-8)
Bang has to be a bit disappointed at this point. He came to this team expecting to make major progress towards being one of the best teams in the LCS and now it looks like 100 Thieves will be resorting to Academy Players in the Mid Lane and possibly the Jungle. Had they not beat Clutch last week, this team would be looking at last place in these rankings and the overall standings.
They are still in the playoff hunt but facing TSM and Cloud 9 this week will likely make their chances at actually making them all that much harder. Those two teams are at the top and 100 Thieves will have new blood coming in to play them. That will either hurt them immensely or maybe Pr0lly will pull a rabbit out of his hat and surprise both teams. Either way, 4-10 is looking like a real possibility going into week 8.
7. OpTic (5-7)
Statistically this team is near the bottom in so many rankings it is impressive that they are even 5-7. With that, they have been playing a lot better and their win over a struggling FlyQuest has moved them up the rankings but not over FlyQuest just yet. This is because their game against Team Liquid was a massacre so for now they will sit at 7.
Can OpTic continue to prove that they can do more than just win close games? This may be a similar week to last week, so probably not. They play Echo Fox which could be a close game but, then they play a very strong TSM team. At this point every team needs every win but OpTic really need to beat Echo Fox. If they can’t beat them then they will go into the TSM looking like easy pickings.
6. FlyQuest (5-7)
Talk about a fall from grace. FlyQuest have lost six of their last eight games and now look like they can be beat by just about anyone. Pobelter and Santorin have been trying to carry but to no avail. If they don’t end up making playoffs and maybe even if they do it may be time to look at replacing at least WildTurtle if not the entire bot lane and possibly even moving on from V1per.
This week would be a good week to get back on track. They play Clutch and Echo Fox which should in theory lead to a 2-0 weekend. What FlyQuest fans will need to keep in mind is that their bot lane is where they struggle most and their opponents both have an advantage there. If FlyQuest want to win, WildTurtle needs to not get behind and Pob and Santorin have to carry. If they even lose one of these games it could be enough to push them out of the playoff picture considering who they have to play the last two weeks.
5. Golden Guardians (5-7)
Why is this team this high? Great question, really the only answer seems to be because everyone else is playing so much worse and this team has the talent level to be so much better. Statistically this team is pretty solid but their biggest issue has been putting everything together. At times there just seems to be no cohesion. When they do put it together though they play Cloud 9 evenly and beat 100 Thieves decisively.
They will have to try and be cohesive against a solid team in CLG and a dominating one in Team Liquid. Should they get one or possibly even two wins this weekend then they will be setup going forward. Their last tough game should be against TSM and then they have three lower tier teams in a row.
4. CLG (5-7)
Right now this team is much better than their record would indicate. The biggest problem has been Wiggily as he has looked bad in just about every way. The stats back that up as he is currently last or near last in every category. If CLG had a better Jungler, it is likely that they would be very close to locking in a playoff spot. Alas they beat FlyQuest last week and kept it relatively close against Team Liquid.
This week will be a good time for CLG to show that they are the 4th best team in the league. They will play a team of similar skill in Golden Guardians. Then they will have 100 Thieves who are desperately trying to figure out their roster. This is a prime opportunity for CLG to go 2-0 and lock themselves in at 4.
3. TSM (7-5)
Last week was a massive “oof” against Cloud 9. Everything was going TSM’s way and then they threw. They have to move on though and focus on prepping for playoffs. While not a lock, TSM are definitely in a prime position to secure a playoff spot soon. They need to work on fixing mistakes and not giving games away or letting teams like Echo Fox play them as closely as they did.
This week should go well for TSM as they face 100 Thieves and OpTic. Though, that could also mean that TSM goes 0-2 with the way they play sometimes or they may let these teams get much closer than they should. If TSM can go 2-0 this week then they will be sitting pretty and basically be set for the playoffs.
2. Cloud 9 (10-2)
Cloud 9 played two very close games last week and were able to win both of them. Their game against TSM should have probably been a loss but it proved resilience and just showed their generally intelligent play. That said, they will need to learn a lot from that game and potentially treat it as a loss so that they do not make those mistakes again during the playoffs.
In a pretty important matchup for seeding, Cloud 9 will get another chance at taking out Team Liquid before playoffs. They will need to play their game and learn from what TSM did to take down the giant. After that they get a game against 100 Thieves which should allow them to test some things and potentially prep something new for playoffs.
1. Team Liquid (11-1)
There are only two teams that even have a chance at taking out Team Liquid and even they have a pretty low chance of doing so. As of right now, every player on Team Liquid have the highest KDA at their position. Again, they have the highest KDA at every, single, position. Their games against OpTic and CLG looked like child’s play and they will be walking into the playoffs.
This week they will be tested as they face Cloud 9 and Golden Guardians. The first game should be close, if not then it might be worth crowning Team Liquid right now. Their second game should go similarly to week 6’s games in TL winning handily.
Overall NA is either looking weak outside of the top three teams or, at even to the point of all the teams looking weak. Either way TSM, Cloud 9 and Team Liquid stand above and everyone else will be fighting for the last three spots in hopes of somehow upsetting any of the top three in a best of series. This week look forward to some scrappy, exciting gameplay as well as the Cloud 9 and Team Liquid match.
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