Week 7 of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is upon us and playoffs are approaching rapidly.
Some teams will be looking to maintain their current form as they get ready for playoffs. Others will be looking to rebound after a rough few weeks. All of them will be looking to improve to give themselves not only the best shot to lock into playoffs, but the best chance to win the Spring 2020 title.
With a Spring season that has the second and ninth place teams only separated by three wins, and with a litany of important benchings to over the week break, Week 7 is sure to bring many exciting games.
Dignitas vs. 100 Thieves
Dignitas (DIG) is one of the teams coming into this week with a change to their starting roster. Their jungler Jonathon “Grig” Armao will be stepping aside to make way for Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham. This feels eerily reminiscent of TSM last year and it will be interesting to see if Akaadian can perform in a position where Grig has been largely lackluster this year. Overall, DIG is evidently still trying to find the formula to achieve the prolonged success that they want. They came out of the gates as one of the best teams in the league but have been largely unimpressive since. This game will give us our first hints on whether or not they can quell their losing slide.
100 Thieves (100) on the other hand is a different story. Just like DIG, 100 has had high-highs and low-lows so far this Spring. However, as opposed to the slow burn that DIG has experienced, the thieves have been a rollercoaster team. On Saturday of any given week they can look like absolute rock stars who can be contenders for playoffs, and the very next day they look like they have never played a game of League of Legends. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the point is this team has struggled massively to find consistency and will be looking to change that this week.
With both teams sitting at 5-7 in the LCS, they are both on the playoff bubble and this game will have huge implications for both squads.
FlyQuest vs. Team SoloMid
Team SoloMid (TSM) is in a very similar boat to 100 Thieves, though with admittedly higher-highs. TSM has been claiming all year that when the season is done and dusted that at the very least they will be one of the few who can contend for the Spring crown. While there have been flashes of that, TSM has looked completely lost in their macro play just as much as they have been successful. They sit at a dead even 6-6 record and are coming off of what was clearly their worst week of Spring so far. If TSM wants to talk-the-talk, they need to walk-the-walk and rebound to a winning record before Spring is over. That starts by making a statement against the second-best team in the LCS.
As far as FlyQuest stands, their only aim is to defend their second-place position from the trailing teams, which includes TSM and a resurgent Team Liquid. If they can get through this week largely unscathed, they may be able to put on a real challenge in the playoffs.
Team Liquid vs. Immortals
This game is absolutely must-win for both teams coming into the week. Both of these teams are tied in the standings at 6-6 and will be looking to solidify their performances coming into playoffs.
For Team Liquid (TL), they will be looking to finally find the form that has been promised since the beginning of the season. Last week was by far their best week of the season, earning themselves a collective 67.0 KDA against teams that aren’t slouches. They will be looking to carry that success into the coming weeks. Most importantly though, with Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng officially benched we will get our first look into whether or not his substitute, Edward “Tactical” Ra, is the real deal or if last week was a fluke.
As for Immortals, they have been on a downward trajectory, going a collective 2-4 in the last three weeks of play. With how close the league is, Immortals can’t afford to drop games if they want to stay in playoff contention. They were able to conquer a struggling Liquid in their last bout, now we will see if they have what it takes to beat a resurgent TL. If they do manage to win, it will also provide them the all-important tiebreaker. In this season, that could be the difference between missing or making the playoffs.
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