Only two weeks of play remain in the Summer Split and teams continue to shake up the LCS standings. Team Liquid has broken away from the pack while other teams have failed to separate late in the split. With playoff positioning still on the line, the last two weeks of the split will bring teams down to the wire. As of now, North America has very little set in stone with playoffs just beyond the horizon.
Teams Look To Play Spoiler For Playoffs
While two teams have little to no chance of making the playoffs, both FlyQuest and Echo Fox sit at the bottom of LCS standings. Echo Fox, despite their rather weak play this split, have a chance to ruin Counter Logic Gaming’s chances at a playoff bye. CLG currently sit at 9-5, tied for second alongside Cloud9. With a very weak schedule ahead of them, CLG could find themselves in a lapse of strength. While unlikely, Echo Fox picking up a win against CLG would be a sweet finish to their lackluster split so far.
If Echo Fox lacks the ability to pick up the win, Cloud9’s schedule could see them going 3-1 or 4-0 in their last four matches of the split. CLG on the other hand should have an easy 4-0 ahead of them outside of disastrous Week 9 for the team. Both 100 Thieves and Optic Gaming have shown strength in the last stretch of the split, making both teams a possible point of contention for Counter Logic Gaming.
In the case of FlyQuest, currently sitting at 4-10, a 4-0 for the rest of the split would probably do very little for their chances at Playoffs. That doesn’t exclude them from ruining those ahead of them, however. With Clutch Gaming, Team SoloMid and Cloud9 ahead of them, FlyQuest at best should hope for a 2-2 scoreline for their last four. A win against Clutch Gaming could spiral Clutch’s chances at playoffs right in to the ground. With how the Summer Split has already turned out however, anything could happen late in the race.
100 Thieves Aim To Break Apart From Sixth Place
100 Thieves share sixth alongside Golden Guardians and Clutch Gaming, facing both of them in Week 8 and Week 9, respectively. In their last ten games, 100 Thieves has gone 6-4. Golden Guardians sit at 3-7 while Clutch Gaming sit at 4-6. In terms of rising strength, 100 Thieves has shown continued improvements despite their abysmal start to the split. With a rather mediocre looking second half, both Clutch and Golden Guardians could be easy targets for 100 Thieves heading towards playoffs.
Their remaining games, Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming, would be proving points for 100 Thieves going in to a potential playoff berth. Counter Logic Gaming continues to so great strength, in the case of Team SoloMid however, many fans are left wanting more. Sitting in fourth tied with Optic Gaming, TSM has looked lackluster in their latest matches. If 100 Thieves want to make a statement to the rest of the League, a win against TSM is almost mandatory. If there was any time they could do it, now would be their best shot.
Though their schedule isn’t as easy as some people have it, 100 Thieves have just as much potential as both Clutch Gaming and Golden Guardians have in making playoffs. With how they continue to grow week to week, many have 100 Thieves finding their footing for playoffs. If the league has anyone to look out for, 100 Thieves would be the potential dark horse to fear in the last two weeks of play.
Anything Could Happen
When it comes to playoffs, the LCS standings show that almost nothing is concrete heading in to Week 8. Many things could happen in the last two weeks of play this split. Teams could implode or completely dominate. The only team with any real guarantee heading in to playoffs would be Team Liquid. Everyone else aside from Echo Fox and FlyQuest still have a long road ahead of them. With little to no time left, teams should look forward full speed in hopes to make their own playoff berths a reality.
LCS returns for Week 8 on July 27, starting with Team Liquid vs. Optic Gaming at 5:00 PM EST.
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