LOL LCS Spring Week 4 – Day 3 Betting Previews and Predictions
FlyQuest vs TSM
Sunday, February 28 – 13:00 PST
There is a realistic chance FlyQuest can win this match via their top lane, but they don’t seem like they know what they’re doing on the Rift. Unlike many other LCS teams who are slowly improving, FlyQuest looks progressively worse which is obviously not optimal.
To put it into a perspective just how poorly FlyQuest have been performing – since they beat TSM in week one, they only managed to defeat Golden Guardians and Counter Logic Gaming, who were at the time missing two players. On a more positive note. FlyQuest have good drafts, but that doesn’t help much if your players are not playing well.
TSM are looking better and better as the season goes on and while I am (still) not one to overreact to flashes of greatness, it’s more than fair to say TSM are now a good team and definitely much stronger than FlyQUest. I expect to see a very one-sided affair with TSM emerging victorious.
Prediction: TSM -6.5 kill – 1.819 Pinnacle
100 Thieves vs Cloud9
Sunday, February 28 – 14:00 PST
100 Thieves started the season strong, but they’re not looking as sharp anymore. Their fast-tempo style of play has worked in their favour a couple of times, but at the same time, this team has proven they tend to struggle closing out games, which is a problem.
Why are 100T now suddenly struggling is anyone’s guess, but it seems like they need some big changes to contest the title. As it stands now, they seem more like a mid-table team rather than a proper title contender which I thought they were only a couple of weeks ago.
I won’t use too many words on Cloud9. They’re still playing like the best team in the league and are in fact playing so well I completely forgot they’re fielding an inexperienced top laner in Fudge, who I expected to struggle this season.
Betting on Cloud9 to win here is the way to go, as they’re a good bet even at only 1.581.
Prediction: Cloud9 to win – 1.581 Pinnacle
Immortals vs Team Liquid
Sunday, February 28 – 15:00 PST
Team Liquid usually get the job done, but their games are not particularly interesting to watch. That is largely because TL are not the type of team that will be very active on the map, but will instead slowly choke out their opponents and end up winning with a very small kil margin.
Although that has proven to be a fairly effective way of playing, it’ certainly isn’t optimal and even TL’s jungler Santorin said in an interview that they should be playing with a bit more tempo, which is definitely true if they wish to get ready for international competitions.
Due to their playstyle, I always consider betting on the underdogs with a + kill handicap and I couldn’t ignore the +8.5 line on Immortals here either. That said, I am not a big fan of IMT largely because they can look very good one day and completely terrible the next, so you simply can’t know what you will get from them.
If you want a bet, IMT +8.5 kills is worth a shot, considering Liquid managed to cover the kill handicap only once in six wins, but a gut feeling is telling me to pass on this match. And you always listen to your gut.
No Prediction
Golden Guardians vs Evil Geniuses
Sunday, February 28 – 16:00 PST
Evil Geniuses are not a team you want to bet on when they’re the favorites, but at the same time, I have a hard time betting against them for this match.
While I must admit GG looked better (better, not good) against Immortals, and even managed to grab a massive early lead, they still failed to close out the game which ended up costing them the win. That is very concerning considering they were facing Immortals, who are, as mentioned before, not a good team.
If GG couldn’t defeat Immortals, with the advantages they had, it’s very hard to imagine they will manage to defeat EG, especially considering they likely won’t be as successful in the early game as they were yesterday. EG are still a very volatile team, that could lose games like this, but even if that’s the case, my bet here is not necessarily for EG to win by eight kills, but rather a bet on GG to lose by eight.
Prediction: Evil Geniuses -7.5 kills – 1.740 Pinnacle
Dignitas vs Counter Logic Gaming
Sunday, February 28 – 17:00 PST
Counter Logic Gaming enter this match off a devastating loss against TSM yesterday, but I’m not ready to give up on them just yet. They looked very good for most of the match until they made some stupid mistakes in the mid-late game, which eventually cost them the win.
Dignitas, on the other side, continue to impress this season, but I am still very doubtful whether DIG are really as good as they seem to be. In fact, I’m a strong believer Dignitas are overachieving and I expect them to completely fall apart as soon as they drop one game and lose the momentum they’ve gained.
This is a match between teams who have found themselves in completely opposite situations. CLG are a much stronger team than how it may seem, whereas Dignitas are not nearly as good as their recent record would suggest. This conclusion is not necessarily backed by numbers, but rather by the eye-test from watching the games.
Prediction: Counter Logic Gaming to win – 2.650 Pinnacle
