The regular season of the 2021 LCS Spring Split is in the books, with the double round robin completed. North America’s Mid Season Showdown will feature Cloud9, TSM, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves, Dignitas and Evil Geniuses as the top six teams. Team Liquid secured their first and only 3-0 weekend to finish third place in the regular season. Here are 3 Takeaways for TL from Spring Split Week 6.
[Related: 3 Takeaways for Team Liquid from Spring Split Week 5]
The Alphari Focus Works
Anyone following “3 Takeaways” will know how often Alphari is mentioned in the series. He has been by far the most consistently dominant member of the team. Alphari’s early game features powerful wave control and trading, which he transitions into pressure across the map and early objectives. While Team Liquid may not always cleanly snowball past 20 minutes, their top lane is almost always a reliable leverage against their opponents.
Week 6 truly showcased TL’s power in this regard. Alphari started the game 896 gold, 601 XP and 11.0 CS ahead by 10 minutes on average. He did this against FakeGod, Impact and Ssumday–not the worst top laners in the LCS. Couple that with his receiving counter-pick only once out of the three games, and it makes sense why Santorin stayed near his lane. If Team Liquid is to win a championship, Alphari will truly be the centerpiece in the end. MVP votes cast his way are well-deserved.
Team Liquid Can Reasonably Win the Mid Season Showdown
Every Player But Tactical Should Win All-Pro Awards
Alphari, Santorin, Jensen and CoreJJ have definitely earned their spot in the All-Pro voting. Alphari is a clear cut above the pack. Santorin and CoreJJ stand out as undeniably strong in their respective roles. Jensen, while less inspiring than past splits, still earns All-Pro votes simply because he does not throw games like every other mid laner.
Unfortunately, the community is down on Tactical. His strong laning phase with CoreJJ has not been enough to counter-balance his mid-game choices. Tactical has shown poor positioning, pathing, and decision-making at various times in various games, and viewers are harping on it. He may shake off the burnout heading into playoffs, but he should not receive many All-Pro votes when players like Neo, Lost, Deftly, Zven, and FBI have not shown the same weaknesses. For a more detailed breakdown on TL’s All-Pro chances, read here.
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