FlyQuest vs Team SoloMid
After losing their opening match of the split against Team Liquid, TSM bounced back and stomped both Dignitas and Immortals to regain some confidence ahead of their bout against FlyQuest, who have lost to Cloud9 in the opening game and disposed of Immortals on Monday.
TSM’s biggest strength comes from their bot lane, as seen in their game against Immortals, where Doublelift racked in 12 kills, meanwhile count on PowerOfEvil and WildTurtle as their man two carries.
Comparing these two sides, TSM tend to play more passively compared to FlyQuest, but have better objective control, which is also one of the main strength. So far this split, TSM have gave up 7.5 deaths on average, which is not too inspiring. Talking about deaths, FlyQuest averaged 11.5 deaths in their two games, six of which came against Immortals.
This should be a close match with FlyQuest forcing TSM to fight and since TSM have shown they are very potent in team fights, they should not have any issues taking 12 kills. Besides their loss against TL, TSM managed 13 kills against Dignitas and 23 against Immortals, so they should be entering this match hungry to continue their hot streak.
Prediction: TSM Over 11.5 kills – 1.917
Cloud9 vs Evil Geniuses
Cloud9 are entering this match after claiming two wins against FlyQuest and 100Thieves. Although C9’s win over FlyQuest was close (kills-wise), C9 showcased their superior objective control which eventually won the game. Cloud9 are a very scary team both due to their strong macro play and individual quality, but something similar can be said for Evil Geniuses.
Evil Geniuses completely crushed both 100T and CLG and from the looks of it, this team is ready to contest the LCS title this split. Their aggressive playstyle and strong objective control are two main factors why EG have been so successful this split, but they have not yet been properly tested.
This match has all the elements for a close and exciting bout. A lot will come down to the performance of the bottom and mid lanes, where Jiizuke will clash with Nisqy, while Bang and Zeyzal will lock horns with Zven and Vulcan. Both lanes seem equally matches on paper, so it will all likely come down to the contribution of the junglers and top laners.
Cloud9 are the rightful favourites, but they have yet to show anything remarkable this split. Yes they took down 100T, and out-macroed FlyQuest, but how will this team fare against EG who have improved drastically compared to their last split performance?
Cloud9 look like a team that should win here, but we would not underestimate Evil Genuises. As long as Jiizuke can play at the level he has shown so far and Bang continues to play a role of a reliable team fighter, EG will see plenty of success. The only way to shut down C9 is to overrun them in the early game, so we can expect EG to play a bit more aggressively, which should help them secure at least nine kills across the board.
Prediction: Evil Geniuses over 8.5 kills – 1.90
CLG vs Dignitas
Before the season started, I considered Dignitas to be at least the second-worst team in the league, but based on their recent showings, I start to believe they might be even worse than Immortals. CLG, on the other side are not a team we would praise too much, but they looked very solid against Golden Guardians, especially Stixxay and Ruin, who were the main two actors in CLG’s win.
Stixxay will likely play the crucial role for his team here as well and considering he will be facing Johnsun, who has yet to show anything remarkable this split, we have to give CLG an edge. As for the top lane, V1per can be a solid player, but he is struggling in the current meta, where he is unable to play carry top laners, so again, Ruin and CLG should have an edge in the upper part of the map.
As mentioned in the LCS power rankings, neither of these two teams has a proper carry player. Well, that changed considering Stixxay stepped up for his team and showed he can take over the main carry role.
CLG look better prepared for this bout and the odds offered on them are just too high. Dignitas can have their flashes of greatness, but they don’t have a player to play around. They try to funnel gold into Johnsun but so far he failed to use the gold to leave any impact on the match. Another option would be to give gold to Froggen, but he is not a carry player per se, so in other words, Dignitas play without a win condition.
Odds on CLG are way too high here and although they are prone to be very inconsistent, their win over GG should give them the needed morale boost to win here.
Prediction: CLG -2.5 kills – 1.884 – Best Bet
