NA LCS Week 6 Predictions
Ouch, 3–7 for predictions last week. Things should be getting easier for me, but I can only hope that Riot was able to nerf funneling strategies so we can finally see some separation in the standings. There were also several buffs handed out to a few traditional AD carry champions, and while I don’t think that will eliminate the mage threat in bottom lane, it should provide something for teams struggling with the meta. I would have been confident thinking that with that information my correct prediction percentage would increase, but some teams are still trying to find their best roster iteration. At least the trading deadline is finally over, so no more major surprises. One thing I can say with confidence, is that you should expect to see the ban rate for Nocturne, Zoe, and Aatrox to remain relatively high. Unless within the past week someone magically found the champion or strategy to lessen the threat of those picks. But heck, what do I know? NA LCS is everywhere this split!
Game 1: TSM vs Cloud9
7/28, 5:00pm EST
Welp, this is going to be an interesting match-up in the fact that there isn’t much excitement around it. That may sound contradictory, but for two teams considered proverbial titans to have fallen so low, it seems unheard of. Neither of these teams fates are set in stone this split, but things for Cloud9 look especially bleak while they wallow in last place. I think Blaber is the better option over Svenskeren, as he appears to have less variability in his performance. I am just not sure if that is going to be enough to elevate Cloud9 to avoid further losses. On the other side, TSM continues to remain relatively slow in their play and take the better part of the early game praying their enemy doesn’t get a significant lead. Even when TSM manages to take a lead with the superior laning of their players, as compared to the rest of the league, they have difficulties closing the deal. TSM was able to conquer a similarly lethargic paced Clutch this past weekend, but despite the legends of the Tortoise and the Hare, I don’t think slow and steady is going to pull out another victory. While Cloud9 may be struggling to come together as a legitimate team, they have been doing a phenomenal job of finding ways to stay relevant in a game. If TSM starts to pull the match away, I expect Cloud9 to find someway to claw their way to a win…. There is that whole thing about Jensen always choking against Bjergsen though…
Awe man, am I going to get another prediction wrong?
Prediction: Cloud9
Game 2: Counter Logic Gaming vs. OpTic Gaming
7/28, 6:00pm EST.
I know I am going to probably regret saying it, but Counter Logic Gaming are going to win. I have to give them credit, because I still find them to be one of the smartest teams in the league despite their two losses this past weekend. I am not going to run off your ear about why Counter Logic Gaming is good though. Instead, I will just talk about how OpTic Gaming only have one way to win; if PowerOfEvil does well. OpTic Gaming have started to look far more confident as a team, but PowerOfEvil is still the one leading the charge. I am concerned that as soon as a team figures out how to stop PowerOfEvil, the rest of OpTic Gaming as whole will be routed.
Prediction: Counter Logic Gaming
Game 3: Echo Fox vs FlyQuest
7/28, 7:00pm EST
Damn. Echo Fox playing the game. Echo Fox were reeling and dealing this past week and changed up their roster. They were able to pick-up Smoothie for support and are now bringing up Lost from their Academy roster. I am not going to act like I know who Lost is, but when counting everything else up on paper, this roster looks quite good. I just have my doubts it can come together this week. FlyQuest have been on a roll and performing way above expectations. I’ll admit, I’ve flip flopped on them pretty regularly, but to be tied for first was unforeseen. Saintvicious has done a great job of increasing overall performance for this roster. I guess a former LCS player saying something along the lines of “you are bad” really gets the brain going. I am going to give this victory to FlyQuest, because more often than not I find a new roster to be very weak. However, Echo Fox does have the pillars of Dardoch and Huni to stand on to put up one hell of a fight.
Prediction: FlyQuest
Game 4: Golden Guardians vs Team Liquid
7/28, 8:00pm EST
I really wanted to go on a really detailed metaphor about Golden Guardians being compared to a cancerous growth, finally getting removed by legitimate competition. Unfortunately for my own desires of writing something explicit, Golden Guardians have figured out what works and look good doing it. Even in a loss against Echo Fox, when trying a bot lane duo other than Heim/Fiddle, they showed a great deal of skill. I have mentioned Contractz has been a major catalyst for Golden Guardians, but Mickey is riding shotgun in that role and roaming as much as Contractz to help out everyone. Golden Guardians’ performance has been so commendable, I am almost willing to bet on them, but not quite. Although it feels like a bit of a coin flip depending on the champions they use, Team Liquid are still handsdown the best team in the league. They may not be able to play the widest set of champions, but they sure know how to do everything else.
Prediction: Team Liquid
Game 5: Clutch Gaming vs 100 Thieves
7/28, 9:00pm EST
An exceptionally close base race denied 100 Thieves the chance to stand at the top alone. Whomever you want to blame for a miscalculated call, one things is vividly clear: Ssumday is a monster. Ssumday has been making other top laners look like rookies and has become a vital force in 100 Thieves victories. 100 Thieves may not be able to continue their funnel into Cody Sun strategy, but they can still count on Ssumday to blast Clutch. Blasting Clutch does make me pretty sad though. Clutch had become such a staple for me in the league as the perfect middle ground. I could always count on them to be right there, in the middle. Separating the riff-raff from the elite. It was a sad weekend for Clutch, and I can’t think of anything that will not make it another one.
Wait, What? Clutch made a roster swap during my final edits…
Alright, for that I am still not going to change my predictions, but now we have a game. Three players are getting moved up from Clutch Gaming’s Academy roster; Moon in the jungle, a rookie named Vulcan for support, and finally, and more impressively, Piglet! When Piglet left the starting roster of an LCS team, he was in quite the rutt. The strange thing about Piglet is that there was this strange kind of a trend for him. One split he was single handedly carry a roster, and the next he seemed uninterested in playing the game. It Piglet has returned to form and traditional AD carries have returned, Clutch Gaming just got a major upgrade.
Prediction: 100 Thieves
Day 2
Game 1: FlyQuest vs TSM
7/29, 3:00pm EST
TSM should be sweating this match quite bit, because as mentioned before FlyQuest continue to improve. I haven’t found FlyQuest’s early game to be one of their outstanding characteristics and this could be where TSM have a chance to move into the lead. As mentioned before though, I don’t know if TSM knows what to do with that lead. If TSM stalls too long, ex-TSM member Wildturtle could very well strike down his old allies.
Prediction: FlyQuest
Game 2: 100 Thieves vs Counter Logic Gaming
7/29, 4:00pm EST
Counter Logic Gaming were trying their best to figure out ways to deal with popular champions last week when they ran Renekton and Kled in the mid lane. At first glance, people were appalled by these selections, but further speculation of the champions validity against the strongest meta picks seemed reasonable. Unfortunately, we are all well aware that neither of those picks appearances were enough to net wins. I will make the bold claim though that this is just another reason why I believe Counter Logic Gaming are going to find future success. While this strategy may have failed them this time, we have seen Counter Logic Gaming improve vastly over the course of the split. I have full faith that Counter Logic Gaming will be able to find a way to out think their opponent. This is the same reason why I think Counter Logic Gaming is going to be able to find a way to stop Ssumday from taking complete and utter control of this game. Ssumday will certainly go down fighting, but Counter Logic Gaming can shove him back.
Prediction: Counter Logic Gaming
Game 3: Team Liquid vs Clutch Gaming
7/29, 5:00pm EST
You already guessed that I am going to pick Team Liquid for this, but let me just say this, “Lira please!!!! Please hit your smites!!!!! You were once considered the best jungler in North America less than a year ago. Please man!!! Come back”…..Baby, come back!
Alright, again I was in my final edits and was like, “well this is short and sweet.” I am still going to hold onto my prediction for this match. I will never stop being skeptical of roster swaps and them generally offering some sort of initial hardship. It will be quite interesting to see how Piglet performs not only Doublelift, but also his former team.
Prediction: Team Liquid
Game 4: Cloud9 vs Echo Fox
7/29, 6:00pm EST
Oh boy, a fresh Echo Fox jersey for the very recent ex-Cloud9 member Smoothie. Smoothie will probably be very eager to show his former teammates they made a mistake with this roster swap. It has been the better part of the split since Smoothie and Sneaky have played together, but they should know each others tendencies. Not only that, but Smoothie should be pretty familiar with all of his teammates quarks. If Echo Fox can use Smoothie’s intel and potential animosity for revenge, they could very quickly take over this game with their aggression. I think Cloud9’s best chances in this match are going to be focusing Echo Fox’s newly formed bottom lane. Even if Cloud9 is successful though, Echo Fox still have Dardoch and Huni of course.
Prediction: Echo Fox
Game 5: OpTic Gaming vs Golden Guardians
7/29, 7:00pm EST
This should be an overall one sided affair for Golden Guardians. While PowerOfEvil can go toe-to-toe with any mid laner in the league, the rest of his team cannot do so in their respective roles. Personally, I absolutely expect Contractz to take over this game single handedly.
Prediction: Golden Guardians
