LCS Week 2, Day 1 predictions: coming up Clutch
By Jack Coleman
100 Thieves vs. Team Liquid
Unfortunately, it looks as if more misery will be piled on top of this new 100 Thieves roster as they face the defending champions who have an even better roster than last season when they were back-to-back split winners. 100 Thieves have made an upgrade of their own by bringing in a two-time world champion in Bang. It hasn’t quite worked out yet for 100 Thieves however as they are currently 0-2, sitting tied last in the league after consecutive losses to TSM and Cloud9.
Team Liquid looked incredibly dominant in both their victories, the first over Cloud9 and the next over Counter Logic Gaming. Doublelift credits these positive performances to the shot-calling ability of his new support and former world champion CoreJJ. Team Liquid should have no trouble staying undefeated after their game against 100 Thieves, they have better players, better synergy and a proven record, so this will be one of the easiest of our LCS predictions.
Prediction: Team Liquid
FlyQuest vs. Counter Logic Gaming
FlyQuest had a somewhat easy road in week one, facing and defeating both Golden Guardians and Optic Gaming, two teams which have been historically poor. Counter Logic Gaming faced a very tough opponent in Team Liquid but they too played Optic Gaming last week and they surprisingly failed to come out on top in that game. This loss doesn’t bode well for CLG’s chances in their upcoming game against FlyQuest.
Despite not having the strongest opposition, FlyQuest has been a revelation so far this split. They were initially slated as one of the worst teams in the league when their full roster was announced. Last week Pobelter played out of his skin and JayJ put in two strong performances, but will this continue when FlyQuest face greater opposition? We won’t find out this game as they face a struggling CLG who are 0-2.
CLG failed to significantly upgrade their disappointing roster from the last split and it looks like it’s starting to hurt them. Their coach Weldon claims they are just collecting data on their full roster which explains the switching of players between games. How long can this go on for before their results deficit becomes unfixable? Either way, no matter the combination of CLG’s players I don’t see them beating FlyQuest this week.
Prediction: FlyQuest
Clutch Gaming vs. Optic Gaming
Clutch came out in week one swinging with back-to-back victories over Echo Fox and TSM. The roster people described as an “economy” roster is proving itself to be worth its weight in wins. Top laner Huni is starting to show shades of the form he exhibited while on Fnatic in 2015 and their bottom lane of Piglet and Vulcan is playing a lot better than expected. If this roster maintains this current level of form, the sky is the limit.
Optic Gaming turned many heads when they acquired former world champion Crown from Gen.G, though the mid laner seemed to be struggling he is still a proven talent and they say class is permanent. Visa issues have temporarily stopped Arrow from playing in the LCS so far this season and as a result, Optic opted to play their academy roster (with the exception of Crown who remained on the starting lineup) last week. This had mixed results as they lost to FlyQuest but handily defeated CLG.
When comparing the two teams, the nod has to be given to Clutch Gaming, especially if Optic’s visa issues persist. Clutch has been displaying quality gameplay lately and their roster really seems to be gelling well. Optic is a bit more of a wildcard, we don’t really know what to expect depending on the roster they play. Unless Clutch is completely taken off guard, I have to give them the edge in the last of our LCS predictions.
Prediction: Clutch Gaming
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Disagree with our LCS predictions for Week 2, Day 1? Let us know who you’re rooting for in this week’s LCS matches!