Betting-Previews.com brings you betting tips and predictions for the opening round of LoL Championship Series (LCS) 2021 Summer Week 9 matches. With only one more playoffs spot left for grabs, the main focus of this week will be on three teams in Counter Logic Gaming, Golden Guardians, and FlyQuest, as the only remaining teams still in the race for a postseason berth.
LCS Summer Week 9 – Day 1
When: Friday, July 30 – 15:00 – 19:00 PDT
Number of Games: 5
As talked about in our LEC 2021 Summer Week 8 betting preview, there is a lot of uncertainty in the final week of the regular season – questionable motivation of teams, underdogs overperforming, and generally higher-scoring games. With that in mind, it’s not too wrong if you skip betting on the final week of play and instead focus on the playoffs, but we have gathered a few bets worth checking out.
TSM vs 100 Thieves
Friday, July 30 – 15:00 PDT
TSM and 100 Thieves will cross swords in the opening match of LCS 2021 Summer Week 9 for a top spot in the league standings. 100 Thieves enter the final week of the summer season following a loss against Immortals, while TSM won both of their last two LCS 2021 Summer Week 8 bouts against Cloud9 and Golden Guardians.
TSM have been in better form of late, winning four of their last six outings, while 100 Thieves managed only three wins in the same stretch. If we compare these two sides, 100 Thieves have been more consistent throughout the entire season; however, they have started to slump midway through July.
100T have managed solid metrics over the last three weeks, but you can spot a clear decline in all of their stats. Most notably, 100T dropped in Early-Game Rating (57.3 EGR) and Mid-Late Game Rating (-9,0), where they rank fourth and seventh in the league.
You could easily say that 100T are the better team; however, we have to take into account how solid TSM have been with Drake and Baron control, which isn’t precisely 100T’s strong suit. Having said that, I wasn’t too impressed with TSM and the quality of their wins.
They have not been playing well and got away with some lucky wins, which isn’t exactly something you would want to think about a team you’re looking to bet on. You could still make a case for TSM at 2.14 (Pinnacle), but I’m passing on this one.
Evil Geniuses vs Cloud9
Friday, July 30 – 16:00 PDT
The betting odds on Evil Geniuses have been rising quite rapidly, which doesn’t surprise me one bit, considering the improvement Cloud9 showed last week. C9 are now priced as 1.781 (Pinnacle) favourites against Evil Geniuses who are at 2.06 (Pinnacle).
If we go purely of the metrics these two sides produced last week, Cloud9 come off as a better team, but it’s easy to forget just how much better EG have been over the entire season. One iffy week alone doesn’t convince me that EG are not a bad team – this is still the best team in the LCS, and they have the numbers to back that up.
Betting against an in-form Cloud9 is scary, but a couple of good games don’t prove anything, and they definitely shouldn’t be priced as low as they are. I’m sticking with the proven quality and siding with Evil Geniuses.
FlyQuest vs Golden Guardians
Friday, July 30 – 17:00 PDT
As announced by FlyQuest, they’re bringing back Brandon Joel “Josedeodo” Villegas and Cristian “Palafox” Palafox into the roster, which is a decent decision. Both have been playing well in the academy league and deserve a spot in the LCS.
The question is, however, whether their return improves FlyQuest’s chances to win here. It’s hard to tell.
FlyQuest will likely perform better; however, they’re still facing Golden Guardians, who are actually a solid team. They might have failed us last week in their loss to Team Liquid, but overall, I must say I’m impressed with Golden Guardians.
Golden Guardians have been averaging better performance metrics than FlyQuest this season, which includes Dragon Control (58.7% – 40%) and Herald Control (63 % – 44.4%), which are the first and second-highest marks in the league.
Josedeodo and Palafox have been tearing up the academy league, which makes betting against FlyQuest slightly concerning, but 1.813 is a very generous price on Golden Guardians. I would even consider betting on GG to kill the first drake (1.826 Pinnacle), but I’m sticking with the moneyline bet here.
Team Liquid vs Immortals
Friday, July 30 – 18:00 PDT
Jonathan “Armao” Armao has been playing with Team Liquid’s academy this week, which suggests that Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen could be back for the final week of the LCS 2021 Summer.
Team Liquid have been showing improvement of late, but they’re not quite there yet. They have had some decent showings and are clearly a team with a very high ceiling, but I’m not yet convinced that Liquid really are “back”.
Big issue with this team on the season were the constant roster changes, which made it difficult for them to find any serious traction. They also seem very linear in their playstyle, which is another thing Liquid failed to improve from last split.
Immortals looked very good last week when they took down Dignitas, Evil Geniuses, and 100 Thieves. I’m not one to overreact to a few solid showings, but there was something about their performances that made me believe that Immortals are finally back in form.
Immortals play with more confidence and seem like they know what they’re doing with their drafts. They won’t win the league; however, Immortals could do some serious damage to the LCS top dogs.
Immortals seem a bit underrated at 2.48 (Pinnacle), especially considering how Team Liquid have been playing of late. We have to take Immortals to deliver today. Alternatively, you could wait for Liquid to announce their roster for today’s match.
Dignitas vs Counter Logic Gaming
Friday, July 30 – 19:00 PDT
Dignitas enter this match as 1.636 (Pinnacle) favourites, while Counter Logic Gaming are priced as 2.29 (Pinnacle) underdogs. The odds seem fair in my book.
This match is not so much whether Dignitas are better than Counter Logic Gaming, but mostly about whether CLG can keep their wheels spinning. They looked good last week, and you have to show some respect seeing them pick themselves up after a disastrous run earlier into the season.
As much as I am impressed with CLG and their ability to bounce back following one of the most humiliating losses ever witnessed in professional LoL, I wouldn’t bet on them at this price. Dignitas have been more consistent throughout the season and will likely win here, but again, there is no value in the offered betting odds.
Betting Odds are correct as of Friday, July 30 at 17:15 CEST
