The League of Legends LCS Summer Split kicks off on Friday, June 6, with the same ten teams who have carried over their points from the Spring Split into Summer. Besides the change in scoring, the LCS 2021 Summer will also feature a couple of other tweaks.
Unlike the LCS 2021 Spring split, LCS Summer will feature a triple round-robin format and nine competitive weeks. That translates to 135 regular season matches that will play out over the next two months.
Outside of that, there won’t be any notable changes to the LCS format. However, there have been plenty of roster changes, or better said, there were quite a few impactful ones.
So let’s take a look at the teams, what they will bring to the table, and which teams do we believe have what it takes to shine and win the LCS 2021 Summer Split.
Cloud9
Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen won’t be starting in the LCS 2021 Summer and will instead get replaced by Calvin “K1ng” Truong as Cloud9’s new ADC. Even though K1ng looked good in Cloud9 Academy, replacing a player like Zven is quite a shocking move.
Let’s clarify that Zven’s performance this past split did not lead to this roster change. There must have been something else happening behind the scenes – or perhaps Cloud9 just want to try something new.
Either way, I can’t say K1ng replacing Zven will be an upgrade. At most, it will be sidegrade, and that’s a big IF. I fully expect C9 to recall Zven in a couple of weeks.
Out: Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen (ADC)
In: Calvin “K1ng” Truong (ADC)
Team Liquid
No roster changes for Team Liquid during this offseason – they will remain your top-tier team alongside Cloud9. I fully expect these two to go at it again this split, with a possible appearance of 100 Thieves, if everything clicks the way it should.
TSM
TSM weren’t as good as they perhaps should be last season, but I expect some improvement from them here. This will also mark Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s second split as a coach.
TSM have a solid roster, but had to deal with some growing pains last split due to shaky chemistry. They should look better this time out. If everything goes their way, I can even imagine TSM competing for the title, but that’s a big IF.
100 Thieves
100 Thieves signed former Schalke 04 Esports mid laner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun to their roster, effectively fixing their biggest problem from the last split. While I don’t believe Abbedagge will instantly turn the Thieves into one of the top two teams in the league, he is definitely a massive upgrade.
The big question now is how high 100T can now fly, assuming that Abbedagge lives up to the expectations and is more than just a serviceable member of the team. There’s also the question of whether Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho can find his old form and become one of the best top laners in the league – which he currently isn’t.
Another big reason why anyone should be at least somewhat hopeful about 100T is the signing of Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu, who has joined 100T as their new head coach. With Reapered, are not only building for regional but international success as well. And with the roster they currently have, you can’t say this team can’t compete at LoL Worlds.
If everything falls into place, 100T will challenge C9 and TL at the top of the LCS standings. But for the sake of not being too optimistic, a 3rd-5th place finish is likely.
Out: Tommy “ry0ma” Le (mid)
In: Felix “Abbedagge” Braun (mid), Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho (coach)
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses enter LCS 2021 Summer with a new ADC in Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki (formerly Shiro), who will replace Matthew “Deftly” Chen. This move will either improve EG or make them even more volatile than how they were last split – considering Danny has had a few pop-off games in the Academy but was overall just ok.
EG were a 50/50 team last split and I don’t believe that will change this split.
They definitely have talented players, but something is missing – mainly consistency. That said, you should keep in mind that EG are a team that will lose to teams they are supposed to defeat and likely pick up a few upset wins as well.
Out: Matthew “Deftly” Chen (ADC)
In: Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki (ADC)
Dignitas
Like CLG, Dignitas decided to run it back from LCS 2021 Spring, which is completely fine. Although I wasn’t too high on this team, Dignitas proved me wrong several times and outperformed everyone’s expectations.
They are not a team that will compete for the title, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Dignitas fielded a mediocre roster, but still finished sixth, which is in large part due to the excellent coaching.
I really have nothing to add for this team. They played well last split, and while some may say it was a fluke split, I expect Dignitas to compete for another solid mid-table finish.
No roster changes
Counter Logic Gaming
Will enter the new season with the roster they intended to field for the LCS 2021 Spring, so no changes here. This team weren’t very good last split, and we don’t expect much to change here.
Although they might look more stable with the whole team together from the get-go, it’s not like this team will be moving any mountains. That is despite their flashes of greatness towards the end of the season.
In short, CLG are a “good but not a great” type of team. A middle-of-the-table finish is where they should end up as a sort of playoff gatekeepers. But I must let it be known that CLG players are not bad. They’re actually solid but don’t get the community’s appreciation, which brings me to my last point.
All five players on CLG have a lot to prove since they’re all sort of outcasts and “not good enough” for their previous rosters. This motivation to prove people wrong could make them a strong punch-up underdog team.
No roster changes
FlyQuest
FlyQuest signed support Han “Dreams” Min-kook to their roster after he has spent the last six months in their academy team. It’s hard to say whether he is an upgrade to David “Diamond” Bérubé and whether Dreams will manage to help FlyQUest rise from the ashes.
FlyQuest had a terrible start of the split and struggled to recover, eventually finishing in eighth with a 6-12 record. I can say that I don’t like this team, nor do I have high expectations for them.
Unless FlyQuest improves significantly, I don’t see how they will finish higher than where they did last split. They might be better than Evil Geniuses and Immortals, but they’re definitely worse than Evil Geniuses and Counter Logic Gaming.
In: Han “Dreams” Min-kook (support)
Immortals
Immortals weren’t an awful team last split – at least not to an extend of Golden Guardians – so it makes sense not to make any changes ahead of the LCS 2021 Summer. Then again, they weren’t very good either.
Immortals ended last season with 11 losses, which is not great, but I expect to see some improvement from them heading into this split. That doesn’t mean I believe they’ll be a serious threat for a top-six, but Immortals should do fine enough to win a couple of games here and there, potentially upset one of the top-six in the league.
No Changes
Golden Guardians
What’s there to say about Golden Guardians? They added Colin “Solo” Earnest as their new top laner, which is a move in the right direction, but not necessarily a path out of the bottom of the table – at least not this season.
A veteran figure like Solo will add a lot of value to the team filled with rookies, so you have to respect Golden Guardians’ decision to sign him. Solo is also a clear upgrade to Aiden “Niles” Tidwell in the top lane, but not nearly enough for me to view them as a good team now.
Jonathan “Chime” Pomponio is Golden Guardians second addition of the off-season as their new support. He will replace Leandro “Newbie” Marcos, who hasn’t impressed me last split, but I find it difficult to say whether Chime really is an upgrade. A huge enigma in my book.
Golden Guardians are a long-term project and will remain as such for the rest of the year. What 2022 holds in store for Golden Guardians is anyone’s guess, but we can be sure Golden Guardians won’t be making much noise in the Summer Split.
Out: Aiden “Niles” Tidwell (top)
In: Colin “Solo” Earnest (top)
No predictions for LCS Summer. Cloud9 and Team Liquid are still the main favorites, and you can’t really argue with that. These two are like Max Verstappen and Max Hamilton in the 2021 Formula One World Championship – both are capable of winning, and you can’t really know who will come out ahead, however, I slightly prefer Liquid since they field a better roster.
Then there’s a small chance either 100 Thieves or TSM could challenge the top dogs, but for that to happen, a lot will have to go right for them, while either C9 or TL will have to slip. If you believe in TSM and their improvement, a smaller position on them to win the LCS Summer might be worth a shot, but I’ll skip betting on the outright markets for now.
