zechs
Spring 2022United States, Los Angeles, LCS Studio
Evil Geniuses
100 Thieves
Team LiquidIt’s business time for the LCS. Can anyone put an end to 100Thieves’ end of season surge?
EG vs Team Liquid
Before we get to find out the answer to that question, Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid will have to fight for the opportunity to take a shot at 100T. With these two teams having met just three weeks ago in the first round of play-offs, we have some pretty useful data go on. Liquid narrowly edged it last time out, squeaking by with three games to two. I would argue, however, that EG handed game five to Team Liquid. Their team composition was a real throwback, but it was the kind of throwback that’s actually kind of cringe-y and best forgotten. They also didn’t play it particularly well, so EG will be coming into this series looking to make amends.
Similarly, though, Liquid have eyes on their own vengeance. The difference is that they will be looking ahead to the potential rematch with 100T on Sunday for their retribution. EG may well feel like they let their last series against TL slip through their fingers, but TL gave up a 2-0 lead against 100T and that’s going to sting for a while..
Does that mean TL is in danger of getting ahead of themselves? Maybe, but over the course of 2022 they’re 5-2 up over EG. Past results don’t mean everything, but they do mean something, and it’s no big surprise that TL are favourites for this one. An EG victory will likely require some outside-the-box drafting again. They are capable of that, of course, and not just in the awful Nidalee-Renekton way. One of their wins in the previous series featured a triple-marksman composition, they played 17 unique champions and let’s not forget they even instigated a lane-swap.
EG certainly can mix things up, but whether or not it will be enough to bridge the gap in ability remains to be seen. After all, TL has its own wildcard in the shape of Bwipo, long known for his unconventional picks and aggressive play style. TL, however, doesn’t need to rely on unusual drafts. They have more experience and arguably more talent in every single role and although I think this will be another close and entertaining series, I do think TL should take it home.
Prediction to win:
100 Thieves vs Team Liquid
It all comes down to this, then. Assuming TL gets past EG, we will be treated to a re-match of one of the best play-off series in recent LCS history.
Just looking over the drafts from the last series gets me excited for this one. Remember when TL had figured out how to beat Ornn, then seemingly totally forgot and lost three games in a row? Remember Lucian-Nami trying to bully Soraka? Remember Bjergsen’s season five throwback, flame horizon into a counter-picked match-up? Where do these two teams even go from here? Amumu, Leona, Missfortune?
If that paragraph looks like it has a lot of question marks, it’s for a good reason: anything can happen when these two teams meet in a best-of-five series. One thing I’m fairly sure of is that Ornn will play an integral role, one way or another. Whether that means being permanently banned or one team figuring out an answer to him, I don’t know, but he’ll feature prominently somewhere in drafts.
The other thing I’m fairly sure of is that mid-jungle pairings will be vital. I already mentioned Bjergsen’s dominance of last week’s game two, but it was a team effort to put him in such a winning position. Abbedagge was similarly impactful in game three and, just as importantly, kept Bjergsen’s Ryze very quiet. Closer grew into the series as it went on, too, showing why many people consider him only being third all-pro in the LCS awards a bit of a snub. With the lanes looking so evenly matched, he will want to get off to a better start than he did last time out. Similarly, Santorin (second all-pro, for the record) will be looking to avoid a repeat of the momentum shifting game three where he was rather invisible.
Speaking of momentum, in all honesty, I think that’s where 100T has the edge. A week is a long time in any sport, and TL’s players have too much experience to have been wallowing too much, but 100T have been on an upward swing since the middle of the regular season and show no signs of stopping now. With two teams as evenly matched as these, small things can make a disproportionate difference and 100T knowing they have a small psychological edge could make all the difference. I’m going to give this one to 100T but the real winners, assuming it goes to five games, will be the fans. Truly a mouthwatering prospect