With the LCS only a couple of weeks away, teams have started preparing for the Spring Split. Each of these teams has the ability to claim the title of North America’s best. These are the top three teams to beat in the LCS.
3. Team SoloMid
After a rough year in 2018, TSM started to re-emerge towards the ending of the Summer Split. They still made it to the Playoffs both Spring and Summer Split, but fell short and failed to make finals. It was the first time in TSM’s history since the organization’s premiere to the North American scene. A lot of the blame fell on the imported Bot lane duo, Zven, and Mithy.
Coming into 2019, TSM has made multiple changes to the coaching staff and to the player roster. They brought in the former Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) head coach, Tony ‘Zikzlol’ Gary, to help the team find their identity.
In the offseason, TSM’s Top Laner, Hauntzer, was replaced by BrokenBlade, a player from the Turkish scene who made a name for himself by carrying the Turkish team, Royal Bandits, to the Turkish Champion League (TCL) Championship. He is a question mark to the team due to his lack of experience in a major region.
After years of playing together, Zven and Mithy were also separated after Mithy took a leave from the team being replaced by Smoothie, a successful Support player who is most known for his time with Cloud 9, and exceptional shot-calling, and playmaking capabilities.
Akaadian’s aggressive play style means that TSM should have a stronger early game presence making him a good fit for this roster. In the Summer Split of 2018, he was one of the main contributors to the success of Optic Gaming due to his ability to play through winning lanes and help get other lanes ahead.
Bjergsen has shown that he is still one of the most dominant Mid Laners in the LCS during his last Regular Split Games against Team Liquid. He single-handedly carried his team to victory to claim their Playoff seat while also having a record-breaking game for the entire split.
2. 100 Thieves
During the 2018 Spring and Summer Split, 100 Thieves struggled with consistency in the Mid and Bot lane; this caused them to constantly swap between Cody Sun and Rikara when one did not play well. Even with all of the struggles, they made Playoffs both Splits.
Heading into Spring Split of 2019, 100T has made many dynamic changes to both roles. Their former Mid Laner, Ryu, has been moved to the coaching staff. Huhi was brought from CLG to fill the Mid lane position, overall improving the team. He also has experience playing with Aphromoo, former CLG Support before joining 100T.
The biggest improvement to this roster was the incorporation of former two time World Champion, Bang. Bang has made a name for himself as the world’s best AD carry during his time playing with SK Telecom (SKT). Even with SKT struggles during the 2018Â year, Bang remained a solid player on the team and continued to match other top-tier AD carries in the LCK. He is one of, if not the best, signings to any North American teams during the offseason.
Ssumday has also remained one of the best Top Laners in the North American scene since his arrival. He has been one of the more consistent players on the team, dominating against other teams.
1. Team Liquid
Almost similar to the 100 Thieves situation, Team Liquid was dominant throughout the entire year of 2018 until it came to international events. Doublelift usually had to do a lot of the carrying due to his teammates being weaker than their opponents. He has remained one of the best AD carries in the LCS since his arrival. Olleh struggled with communicating on the international stage and a lot of the time caused the team to fall behind.
Pobelter, Team Liquid’s former Mid Laner, struggled the most but was still able to pick utility champions to try to help other lanes even when he lost lane. The teams at international events have three strong lanes along with skilled Junglers. They all are trying to prove their region is the best.
After failing to make it out of Group Stages at World’s 2018, TL decided to make roster changes in the Mid and Bot lane.
Jensen was brought over from Cloud 9 to replace Pobelter and give the team a balance. Since Jensen’s arrival to the North American scene, he has always been a top-tier Mid Laner ranking in the top 4. At Worlds 2018, he also showed that he has the ability to win lane against other world-class Mid Laners. Adding him to the team should increase TL’s dominance even more.
Along with the addition of Jensen, former World Champion, Corejj was signed to replace Olleh. Adding him to the Bot lane allows Doublelift to focus more and offer him the skills needed to excel. Corejj is very vocal about what he wants to do, and effectively communicates with the rest of the team.
With all of the changes happening in the LCS, this may be the most competitive we’ve ever witnessed.
Featured Image by LCS Spring Playoffs
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