The first week of 2021 League of Legends LCS Summer is coming to an end today, and we’re back with another set of free betting predictions and picks.
It was a tough day yesterday, with Liquid overrunning Counter Logic Gaming and Evil Geniuses suffering a humiliating loss, courtesy of a Tristana Backdoor. Still, 100 Thieves made the day a bit better with a very solid performance against Cloud9, earning us a generous payout at 2.76.
Dignitas vs 100 Thieves
Sunday, June 6 – 12:00 PDT
Dignitas are, besides TSM and Immortals the only team in the league without a loss. They beat both Evil Geniuses and FlyQuest, which I am not too surprised with, although I wouldn’t be one to say that Dignitas are good.
As noted in our LCS Summer preview, Dignitas are a “good, but not great team”, and I have yet to change my mind. They stole the game from Evil Geniuses and played well against FlyQuest, but they’re still far from proving they’re more than a mid-table team.
100 Thieves started the season with a shock loss to Immortals, to which they added a pretty straightforward win against the shaky Cloud9. On paper, 100T’s win against C9 would make them one of the top teams in the league, and while they just might prove to be that, it’s not wise to overreact to those early-season games.
As noted yesterday, Cloud9 are fielding a new ADC, have had very little time to gel together, and are likely still fatigued from the MSI. All that led to their subpar showings in the opening two rounds and eventually their loss to 100T.
We have a stacked team on the one hand and the over-achieving and always dangerous Dignitas on the other for this match. Last split, Dignitas went 5-2 in their opening seven games, so they might be one of those teams that do well early into the split but fall-of later.
This would suggest that Dignitas are the better team here, but it’s also worth pointing out that Dignitas have yet to defeat 100T and that was while 100T weren’t fielding Felix “Abbedagge” Braun – who had a monstrous game yesterday on Karma.
At 1.574, 100 Thieves are a solid bet. Even though that goes against the logic of not betting on the favourites early into the split, Dignitas seem a bit overhyped for how good they actually are.
Prediction: 100 Thieves to win – 1.57 at Pinnacle
Evil Geniuses vs FlyQuest
Sunday, June 6 – 13:00 PDT
You can find FlyQuest priced as high as 2.470 against Evil Geniuses, which seems a bit low given how much more quality EG have on their roster. At the same time, we have yet to see that so-called elite quality in action.
Instead, we had a chance to look at a star-studded team that is playing like they don’t want to win. I may be a bit too harsh on EG, but look at their game against TSM and tell me if you’re still confident about them.
EG had: two drakes, a fed Jinx and still managed to lose. While I’m not discrediting TSM for their comeback, that game shouldn’t be losable for Evil Geniuses – 16 minutes into the game EG’s win probability was as high as 94%.
Throwing is definitely something EG excel at, but you have to realise that they need to face at least a somewhat capable team to exploit that. I don’t see FlyQuest as one of “those” teams.
It’s also fair to point out that EG would have won that match easily had TSM not executed a cheeky backdoor.
FlyQuest won against the unconvincing Counter Logic Gaming on day one, and lost against Dignitas yesterday in spectacular fashion. As predicted in my pre-LCS Summer preview, I am not high on this team, and they have yet to prove me otherwise.
If I had to pick a side, I would take Evil Geniuses to pick up their first win of the split, since they were the better team against TSM. At the same time, I feel like EG – in their current state – are capable of losing even against FlyQuest. Pass for me.
No Prediction
Cloud9 vs Team Liquid
Sunday, June 6 – 15:00 PDT
Cloud9 have stumbled “a bit” in their two split openers and have yet to show anything that would make me believe they’ll bounce back. It’s bound to happen at one point, but I don’t believe C9 are in a position that would allow them to do that here.
Perhaps facing a top-tier team will make C9 better, and PERHAPS, they will show how good they can be tonight. The problem with Cloud9, however, is that none of their star players are doing well.
Luka “Perkz” Perković has not been performing up to par with the expectations and seems to has returned to his LCS Spring form. He has the third-worst KDA in the league (1.9), the worst KP% (38.6%) and only 17.5% team damage share – while playing Viego and Renekton. But it’s not like numbers mean much so early into the split – and in LoL overall, if you don’t consider the context of the match.
His next opponent, Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen has had a much better start of the split and has been a monster for the first two rounds. He is the carry Liquid need, and if he can get some help from his teammates, TL will be a scary team to face.
Of course, we must address Liquid’s new top laner Thomas “Jenkins” Tran, who is clearly not as good as Barney “Alphari” Morris. That said, individual quality isn’t as important in a team as team chemistry. And since Alphari’s benching makes no sense from the individual quality angle, it might have something to do with the chemistry.
Jenkins has had a solid showing yesterday and should improve as the split goes on – if he remains in the team. He is also the critical factor for Liquid tonight, as he needs to not get smacked around by Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami.
There’s this narrative of how Fudge will lead C9 to victory tonight since he is that much better than most top laners in the league – especially a rookie like Jenkins – and while that might happen, Fudge is still a rookie himself that is struggling with consistency.
Based on what we have seen from these two sides, I like Liquid better. They are still a bit shaky, but Cloud9 seem far less reliable.
Prediction: Team Liquid to win – 2.10 at Pinnacle
TSM vs Golden Guardians
Sunday, June 6 – 16:00 PDT
Golden Guardians are showing improvement and are 1-1 on the split. They dropped the ball yesterday and lost to Immortals badly, but that game spiralled out of control very early, and there wasn’t much Golden Guardians could have done.
On paper, Golden Guardians shouldn’t have much of a chance to defeat the undefeated TSM, but the kill handicap line seems a bit high regardless. You can back Golden Guardians at 1.909 to keep this match within eight kills, which is a generous offer – particularly against a team that won their games 15-10 and 17-17.
Golden Guardians have shown enough strength for me to believe they can keep this one relatively close and not give up too many kills. That might not have been the case yesterday (3-17), but you can’t really avoid giving up deaths if you’re playing against Rumble, Jinx, and Tristana. Also, TSM are not playing as well as their record would suggest.
Prediction: Golden Guardians +8.5 kills – 1.909 at Pinnacle
Immortals vs Counter Logic Gaming
Sunday, June 6 – 17:00 PDT
Immortals have been playing well so far into the LCS Summer and should be considered as the better team of the two. However, the problem I have with this match is that Counter Logic Gaming should prove to be the better team by the end of the season – although they have yet to show that.
This is a match that can easily swing either way. CLG are overall better but are also struggling, whereas Immortals played better but they lack the individual quality and experience of CLG.
If you believe this is the game where CLG bounce back and start winning, you have to take them. If you don’t believe in that, Immortals are the easy pick.
For me, this is a match I’ll stay far away from, at least until things settle down and we get to see whether Immortals are more than what their two-game win streak would suggest.
No Prediction
