Team Liquid: Week 3 Preview

The dust has finally settled and the 2019 LCS Summer Split is underway. Teams are now getting into the swing of things as they approach Week 3. This weekend will be important for a lot of teams, especially Team Liquid. After their great Spring Split and MSI performances, they’ve struggled to start the Summer Split. Their record of 2-2 puts them in the middle of the pack: a place where they know they don’t belong.

Week 3 Match-Ups

Team Liquid will have a massive hill to climb this weekend. If their recent play is derivative of their current skill level, then the uphill battle will continue all split.

Doublelift and CoreJJ sharing some love (Image Courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr)

Day 1 will kick off with Team Liquid’s match against FlyQuest. In their previous meetings, Team Liquid have bested them four times in five matches. Their only loss came in the later stages of the Spring Split when things were mostly decided, so TL probably didn’t care about that loss. However, FlyQuest will be looking to get some early momentum after a shaky start to the summer. They are certainly better than their 1-3 record and will be looking to prove it. Team Liquid will be trying to do the same thing and get themselves out of the ‘clump’.

Day 2 will be a bit more interesting, as Team Liquid will be taking on OpTic Gaming. OPT are the outright #1 seed as of now, totaling four wins in as many games. The way they’ve flipped the scripts from the spring has been incredible, but they’ll face their biggest test this weekend. Team Liquid beat them in both of their previous matches, which might even the scales. However, OpTic have performed at an entirely different level this split, putting the potential outcome up in the air.

Predictions

With their recent struggles, it’s fair to assume that Team Liquid will drop a game this weekend. FlyQuest and OpTic will surely bring the heat, but TL’s success against these teams over the years could give them the edge.

Image Courtesy of Riot games.

FlyQuest haven’t been on their ‘A’ game as of yet, so they might slip against such a fundamentally sound team like Team Liquid. On the other hand, they are very experienced and have already taken a game away from TL this season. Each team is fairly even when it comes to talent, but execution and game planning will both play large factors in the outcome of this match-up. Preparation has been Team Liquid’s forte this season, so they will likely have a better chance at winning.

As for OpTic Gaming, their performance this split has been stellar. Of course, their schedule has been on the easier side, but they’ve taken advantage of it. This weekend will be more useful for them in the long run, considering the opponents they’ll be facing. Cloud9 will likely give them a competitive match during Day 1, so it wouldn’t be far off to expect a slower Day 2 against Team Liquid. However, their synergy has been much better than TL’s, which gives them the edge in this match-up. Despite TL’s success during the spring, they will need to make some drastic changes in order to maintain their current reputation.

Featured Image Courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles!

Follow Brayden on Twitter and Instagram: @staybrayzy

From Our Haus to Yours.