Betting-Previews.com returns with another set of betting previews and best picks for League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) 2021 Summer. Today we’re backing three outsiders, as it has become self-evident that underdogs seem to thrive in the current volatile meta. The current rule of the game seems to be the” underdog or nothing” and we can’t complain.
LCS Summer Week 3 – Day 2
When: Saturday, June 19 – 14:00 – 18:00 PDT
Number of Games: 5
Evil Geniuses took care of Cloud9 yesterday in quite a commanding fashion, and I continue to expect great things from them. On the other side, Immortals failed to deliver against TSM, but we can’t hold that against them, as the game went down to a chaotic base race that ended in favour of the wrong team. Still, it has cost us a nice profit with our LCS Summer Week 3 – Day 1 predictions.
As noted before, the current meta is volatile and quite unpredictable, so we will focus a bit more on the underdogs for a while longer – if a team is at least somewhat good and if facing a struggling favourite – of which there seems to be plenty in the LCS.
To make things even more volatile, there’s a lot of drama going on in several LCS teams. While I won’t go into much detail about the events, there’s enough material for LCS to consider airing its own reality show.
Cloud9 vs Immortals
Saturday, June 19 – 15:00 PDT
Cloud9 are similar to Liquid in a way that they’re slowly improving but are not there yet. That particularly holds true for their bottom lane, which has consistently struggled since C9 introduced Calvin “k1ng” Truong as their new ADC.
After a streak of four back-to-back victories, C9 stumbled against Evil Geniuses yesterday in what was a somewhat chaotic game but a well-deserved win for EG. I wasn’t too surprised to see C9 lose, as they had it coming after a long run of very unconvincing performances.
Talking about chaotic games, Immortals’ loss to TSM was one for the history books. I won’t talk about what happened but will instead leave you with the final seconds of the game.
Suffice to say, Immortals should have won. They continue to impress, and are in some ways a complete opposite of C9, who are still struggling with their form.
Immortals enter this match off a tough schedule, having faced TSM, Liquid and EG and performed admirably well against all three. Cloud9 are now the only top LCS team left for Immortals to meet, and if their recent showings are any indication, they should do more than fine against the reigning champions.
Prediction: Immortals to win – 3.38 Pinnacle
Prediction: Immortals +6.5 kills – 1.970 Pinnacle
Counter Logic Gaming vs Evil Geniuses
Saturday, June 19 – 15:00 PDT
Evil Geniuses continue to impress, and while I still view them as a volatile team, you can’t deny that they’re one of the most in-form teams in the league. Their next opponents, Counter Logic Gaming crushed 100 Thieves yesterday, although they were facing a team that is (rumours) struggling internally.
CLG are slowly showing the form I expected to see from them, but one win alone doesn’t convince me yet.
If we look at CLG’s games prior to their heroic win, they weren’t particularly clean, which is in complete contrast to what we had seen from them yesterday. Is that an indication of improvement, or did CLG simply have that one-off game? You can debate on that, but I have to stick to my guts and wait until I see a bit more from CLG.
I never thought I would say this, but Evil Geniuses are the more consistent team of the two, so if I had to pick a side, it would be them. However, I won’t be backing EG as a favourite, not today and likely not for a while longer.
No Prediction
TSM vs Dignitas
Saturday, June 19 – 16:00 PDT
As shown above, TSM won against Immortals. It was a chaotic game from minute one, and it was more an indication of Immortals’ strength rather than TSM’s weaknesses.
However, this prediction is not so much about TSM and their performances as it is about Dignitas and the benching of Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett. Why exactly was he benched remains to be seen, but it could as well do something with what we daw from him in Dignitas’ loss Golden Guardians.
I must point out that Dardoch’s benching is not necessarily performance-based, but it likely has to do with his mentality. He is known to be a toxic player, and my best guess is that toxicity is what landed him a spot on the bench.
Replacing him will be Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham, who is an obvious downgrade. He should do fine, but I don’t expect Akaadian will manage to replace Dignitas’ best player.
Due to the sudden roster change, TSM are a far better pick for this match. They should stomp the game and win with ease, but I don’t like playing favourites. Especially not in the current state of the game. If
No Prediction
100 Thieves vs FlyQuest
Saturday, June 19 – 17:00 PDT
There are rumours about 100 Thieves fighting internally, and while we can not confirm or deny whether that’s the case, their loss against CLG (0-21) does make me believe that something isn’t clicking.
I have praised 100T before, and while one defeat isn’t enough to convince me that 100T are now a terrible team, it’s the way they ended up losing that makes me concerned about what’s happening.
This puts us in a tough position, as we are left with two options – either back a strong team that (is supposedly and highly likely) dealing with internal problems or FlyQuest, who aren’t what you would call a good team. Although I have to give FlyQuest some praise for their improvement, they have yet to show enough for me to be confident in them.
The odds on FlyQuest seem very high (3.700) and could be worth a shot, assuming there’s more to 100T’s showing against CLG. The odds are good enough for me to take a shot with FlyQuest, but at the same time, I have a hard time betting against a stacked roster such as 100T. A 7.5 kill handicap is a safe middle.
Prediction: FlyQuest +7.5 – 1.775 Pinnacle
Golden Guardians vs Team Liquid
Saturday, June 19 – 18:00 PDT
Team Liquid are showing slow improvement, but they are not there yet. Still a strong team, however, they’re not playing well enough for me to back them as a favourite.
On the other side, Golden Guardians continue to improve, and while I am still not convinced this team will make it very far by the end of the split, they’re playing well enough to cause an upset or two.
Much like it’s the case in the previous match, the betting odds seem to overvalue the favourites a bit. With the way Liquid have been playing, they shouldn’t be priced as low as 1.202. This prediction is more about how much damage Golden Guardians can do, and in the current game state, they should do enough to keep this match within nine kills – which is a very high number for a game involving Liquid.
Prediction: Golden Guardians +9.5 kills – 1.840 Pinnacle
Note that you can’t go wrong with a smaller (0.5) bet on the remaining underdogs. The volatility of the 11.11 and 11.12 patch makes it worth backing the outsiders if the price is right, and at 3.70 and 4.70, you could definitely justify a half unit bet.
