Week 7 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series delivers an opportunity for teams to establish themselves in the race for the playoffs.
Echo Fox continue to set the pace
Even after a defeat at the hands of Team SoloMid this past week, first place Echo Fox are expected to bounce back given they have one of the easiest schedules in the league. With two sides languishing towards the bottom of the table on the slate – Golden Guardians and OpTic Gaming – even with a major patch incoming, Echo Fox are still expected to maintain their winning ways.
Given the overwhelming abilities of Top laner Huni, Echo Fox should be in prime position to take advantage of the expected increase in aggression and overall quickness of the new meta.
Cloud9 with little challenge too
The other team with an incredibly soft schedule this coming week is second place Cloud9, with Counter Logic Gaming joining Golden Guardians as their opponents. Cloud9 have continued their strong form throughout the Spring Season, with losses thus far only to Echo Fox, twice, and 100 Thieves this past weekend, two of the strongest teams in the league.
Cloud9 also have a distinct edge coming into this major patch given the presence of Reapered, who is respected as the best coach in North America. They have continually innovated during meta shifts, having an experienced team who are able to follow through on Reapered’s read of the game.
Even in desperate times CLG are always dangerous, but Cloud9 enter this weekend as overwhelming favourites in both of their matches.
Clutch with an easy schedule
Of the three teams currently sitting in third place, Clutch Gaming have arguably the easiest schedule this week, with matches against OpTic and FlyQuest. Clutch have continued to have fairly consistent results, losing to the playoff teams while enjoying controlled defeats of the lower tiered sides, OpTic and FlyQuest included. Clutch Gaming look to have the more talented players in every role, except Solo against FlyQuest’s Flame, with this new patch looking to reward early advantages.
Clutch Gaming continue to fly under the radar, with limited flair and fuss in their victories as they stick to the meta with standard play. Should things go according to plan, Mid laner Febiven should be the focal point in Clutch’s positive weekend.
Third place showdown
The other two third place teams, 100 Thieves and Team Liquid, have much more interesting schedules, particularly as they play each other. Liquid will also match up against CLG while 100 Thieves battle Team SoloMid.
100 Thieves are currently riding a three-game win streak, with their victory over Cloud9 being their most impressive of the season so far. In recent weeks coach pr0lly has put an emphasis on opening up star Support player Aphromoo, utilising play-making champions such as Blitzcrank and Thresh in an attempt to give 100 Thieves an early edge. Thus far this plan has worked, yet concern does arise given the shift in the meta game. These two matches mean everything for 100 Thieves as they jockey for position within the playoff race.
For Team Liquid, even the match against CLG is not a guaranteed win, with Liquid having fallen to Golden Guardians just two weeks ago. Coming in as the favourites to win the whole tournament, Liquid have struggled ever since their decent opening to the season and have lost four of their last six. However, Liquid still have incredible raw individual skill, with a chance to display that this week given the unknown status of every team in this new meta.
Opening as the first match-up on Saturday as the game of the week against 100 Thieves, the key for Team Liquid will be whether or not Doublelift and Olleh can get off to a good start within the bottom lane. Should Doublelift find early success, Liquid should be able to snowball off that advantage into victory.
Conclusion
The meta change will shake things up once again, but the NA LCS Spring Season is now very much Echo Fox’s to lose as they have a relatively benign schedule the rest of the way. Cloud9, if anything, have an easier run-in and so it will take something special for 100 Thieves, Clutch Gaming and Team Liquid to overhaul the top two.
