LCS: Why Each Team Will Emerge from or Sink into the Soup

The LCS playoffs race is tight heading down the stretch thanks to close standings.

Six weeks into the LCS Spring Split, we have seen one team rise way above the rest, while another is falling off a cliff at a rapid pace. Then the other eight LCS teams find themselves tossed into what has been called the “soup,” as each team is tied with, or just a game behind the team ahead of them in the standings. This essentially means the final eight teams are fighting for five playoff spots.

What makes it tough to predict the teams favored to earn those playoff spots is lots of inconsistent play from every team in the LCS this season. However, I do think each team does have something that will help propel them into the playoffs over other teams, and one thing that will cost them their playoff spot. Let’s check out what those reasoning’s are for each team.

FlyQuest

Flyquest is a surprising team so far this split as they sit in second place at 8-4. Three of their losses are to Cloud9 and Team Liquid which I would call expected losses, but outside of that, I would say they are performing maybe a bit better than projected. It’s a nice bonus that they don’t have Cloud9 remaining on their schedule, which looks to be their toughest competition so far.

Why they’ll make playoffs

I think this team will make the playoffs because of mid laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage. The mid laner is playing really well during the first half despite playing in a position packed with talent. PoE is tied for the most Player of the Game honors with four and was the Player of the Week during Week 5. He was also recently picked as the best mid laner for our midseason awards.

FlyQuest does have a two or three-game lead on most of the teams in the soup which is a nice advantage to have. I think matchups with Team Liquid and TSM will determine where this team is seeded, but if you’re a FlyQuest fan I think you can belive your team is in a good spot for the playoffs.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

I think this team will not make the playoffs because of slipping up like they did in 2019. During the 2019 Spring Split they looked decent with a 9-9 record and finished fourth in the LCS. Then during 2019 Summer Spilt they went 5-13 and finished ninth looking completely lost.

Three-fifths of that roster is still with the team. It might be unfair to put that mental issue on the new members, but if they faltered before, they could very well do it again.

TSM

TSM is 6-6 and sits tied for third place at the moment. They started out 0-2 and had winless Week 4 and Week 6, but went 2-0 every other week.

The loss to Immortals in Week 2 was highly criticized, as was the Week 4 loss to FlyQuest. Though losing to Cloud9 and Liquid aren’t surprises as both teams were selected to finish ahead of them to start the season. The consistency is there with every week being 2-0, or 0-2 so that might be something to keep an eye on.

Why they’ll make playoffs

I think this team will make the playoffs because TSM is willing to experiment with different champions more than more teams are this split. Each member of TSM takes the lead, or is tied for the biggest champion pool in their position.

Broken Blade has played 11 different champions in 12 games leading this effort. I think this makes TSM harder to prepare for as they aren’t afraid to try things you may not have seen before.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

I think this team will miss the playoffs if they decide not to show up for the rest of the split. TSM does seem to get into slumps where we question how good this team actually is, such as during Summer 2019, where they missed out on Worlds after failing to show up in the playoffs and regional finals. If they keep replicating their week one and four performance it could be a long rest of the split for TSM. While it seems this team is more likely than not to show up on the Rift, it should be acknowledged that this team may struggle at the wrong time, which could cost them.

Dignitas

Dignitas is now 5-7 after losing their third game in a row. They started the season strong at 3-1 and are 2-6 in their last eight and look average at best.

Why they’ll make playoffs

I do feel like they have a chance to get out of the soup because of their remaining schedule though. They already have played Cloud9, FlyQuest and Team Liquid twice and those seem to be three of the better current teams. TSM is probably the toughest team they have left on the schedule, but other than them they play 100 Thieves, CLG, Evil Geniuses, and Immortals, all teams that lost to Dignitas during the first round robin.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

I feel like they won’t get into the playoffs because of how bad they are playing currently. They have lost three games in a row to go with their 2-6 eight-game slide.

With three of their remaining six games against teams tied with them in the standings and two with teams a mere game ahead it pretty much sets up must-win games for Dignitas. If they continue to play like they have been recently I don’t think they will win these games and will miss the playoffs.

Immortals

At 6-6 this team is defying projections that called them a bottom two LCS team. They do have two quality wins over Liquid and TSM worth noting, but they have also looked unimpressive at times.

Why they’ll make playoffs

This team will make the playoffs because they keep overachieving and other teams have gifted them a cushion with their worse play. It’s hard to really find a bright spot on this team, as most of their players don’t rank very highly in our player rankings.

But even with this team winning ugly it counts all the same in the standings. Nothing wrong with a little early luck with St. Patrick’s Day on the way to give the Immortals a shot at a playoff run.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

This team will not make the playoffs because of a harder second-half schedule.  Matchups with Flyquest, TSM, and Liquid make their run a harder, even if they have beaten two of those three teams during the first round robin.

Immortals also have rematch with Dignitas and Evil Geniuses that beat them the first time around remaining in what could very well be must-win games. They do have a one-game lead on both of those teams, but that lead could vanish instantly with a loss to either team.