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

100 Thieves

Another one of the 5-7 teams that has failed to impress this season, but still sits in the playoff race.

Why they’ll make playoffs

This team will make the playoffs because of their superstar top laner, Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. Ssumday has made his return to the LCS in 2020 with a vengeance, as the number two rated top laner in our week six power rankings. Aside from that he leads all LCS top laners in CS per game and a couple other statistics. He is more than capable of carrying from the top lane and 100 Thieves should play around him if they want to win more games and steal away a playoff berth.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

This team will not make the playoffs because of mid laner Tommy “ry0ma” Le. Mid lane seems to be the weakest lane for 100 Thieves for their entire time as a franchise and Ry0ma isn’t helping things.

He loses his lane a lot and dies frequently. I know he’s making his LCS debut, but it isn’t his first time in a pro league and it shouldn’t be used to give him a free pass. Mid lane is also a strong lane for many of the teams ahead of 100 Thieves in the standings, so look for them to use that advantage to collect free wins and keep 100 Thieves out of the playoffs for the third split in a row.

A nasty second-half schedule won’t do them any favors either with Cloud9, TSM, FlyQuest still looming on the docket. They do get a bit of relief in with a week nine matchup with CLG, but if they don’t take care of business before then they may just be playing for pride at that point. A week seven matchup with Dignitas, who bested 100 Thieves in their first meeting this season could serve as an elimination game for the loser of it.

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses sit at 5-7 after six weeks of play and is tied for 7th. This team seems to be playing forgettable League of Legends and is underperforming projections that called this team fourth or fifth best in the LCS.

Why they’ll make playoffs

They should make the playoffs thanks to the play of Bang. Bang is doing quite well statistically and was named the second-best ADC in our mid-season report.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

This team won’t make the playoffs because of how bad they are in the late game. They are rated as the second-worst mid to late game only ahead of CLG, which gives teams plenty of room to come back against them even if EG gets an early advantage. Closing out wins is going to be crucial during this final stretch especially against fellow pile teams Dignitas and Immortals.

Cloud9, FlyQuest, and Liquid also loom as matches that put EG in the underdog role. An upset win could do wonders toward building confidence for a playoff run and EG is actually 2-1 against these three teams the first trip through the schedule

Team Liquid

The preseason number one team sits at 6-6 and is now tied for third thanks to a three-game winning streak. Liquid is once more in thick of the playoff hunt, after starting the week in ninth place.

Why they’ll make playoffs

They will still make the playoffs because of how talented this roster is. They still have a stacked roster, even if they are underperforming a bit. Even with the Doublelift benching, I still feel they have enough talent to get things done. The roster seems to be clicking a bit more as they have a three-game winning-streak riding into this week.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

I don’t think they make the playoffs due to continued underperformance. Tactical did look good in week six, but how will he play as the season progresses? Will Doublelift return in top form, or will he be a dud? How will all this switching  of players mess with Liquid’s synergy? There’s just a lot of questions for this Liquid lineup that could cost them a playoff spot.

Their remaining schedule could also hinder them a bit. They have matches with Cloud9, CLG, EG, FlyQuest, Golden Guardians and Immortals with a record of 2-4 against those teams during the first round-robin of the LCS.  I think if Liquid can go 4-2, or even 3-3 they have a  strong chance to get into the playoffs.

Golden Guardians

Golden Guardians are 5-7 after six weeks after a 1-1 week, currently tied for 7th place. This is a team that seems to be performing better than expected as this was a team many expected to finish last.

Why they’ll make playoffs

I think this team will make the playoffs because they find a way to defy expectations. It’s a very similar case to the Immortals, where everyone myself included said no way this team finishes higher than last.

Well, I don’t think that prediction will be coming true. Golden Guardians are getting good production from Hauntzer and Closer and that should be plenty to get this team into the playoffs if it keeps up.

Why they’ll miss playoffs

This team won’t make the playoffs because of  their schedule in the last three weeks of play. TSM, Liquid, Flyquest and Cloud9 make up four of GG’s last six matches and I would say it’s the toughest remaining schedule for any team in the pile. 11 losses is very much a possibility and that would pretty much eliminate them from playoff contention.

It also doesn’t help that they only have one game remaining with teams they are currently tied with in the standings and that’s against Dignitas. They do hold a 1-0 record against them, but outside of that, it doesn’t look too good for playoffs in head to heads with other teams in the pile. Golden Guardians are0-2 against 100 Thieves and 1-1 against Immortals and EG. This makes that week seven match up with Dignitas a must-win just to keep the playoff hopes alive.

There’s a lot to watch out for in the last three weeks of LCS play. The playoff race is wide open and pretty much the only way to tell who’s going to make it in is play the games. Tune in to the LCS to see which teams make it out of the soup.