Last week’s LCS games showed us that rankings don’t matter: any team has a chance for victory. This is the last week of LCS and teams are going to play their hearts out to secure a playoff spot or to avoid relegations. G2 and H2K are tied for first place in the European LCS, with Team Vitality right behind them. All three have lopsided matches on both days, so we are either in for some massive upsets or a first-place tiebreaker. There is a three-way tie for third place; if Origen, Fnatic or Unicorns of Love lose, they might be knocked out of playoffs. It’s sink or swim this week, better bring your Pool Party Lulu.
North American teams have just as much to lose as their EU brethren. Cloud 9 and Counter Logic Gaming are tied for second, and have difficult games to win. C9 needs to beat Echo Fox and Team Liquid, teams that can turn up the heat when they have to. Team Liquid managed to completely shut out Team Solo Mid, the fourth place team, only three weeks ago.
You should watch all the matches, but if you can’t, here are the ones everyone’s going to be talking about on Monday.
Thursday March 17: H2K Vs. Unicorns of Love
H2K is one of the top three teams, and their full roster isn’t going anywhere. With Ryu and Forgiven, H2K have dominated the EU LCS. UOL is no slouch either, but out of the three teams tied for fourth, they have the hardest final games. UOL got itself a new jungler, Loulex, to replace Rudy, who has been on more teams this split than any other EU player. Both teams are known for their aggressive, kill-oriented styles that should have high KDAs.
Friday March 18: G2 Vs. Unicorns of Love
Am I starting to sound like a broken record yet? G2 may even be a harder team than H2K for UOL to beat. Kikis on G2 has consistently carried his team during their first split in the EU LCS. He’s a stage veteran who’s played almost every role in competition, and his map awareness and mechanics are world-class.
I really want UOL to win one of these, but I’m not sure they have it in them After losing Diamondprox in the middle of the season to visa issues, UOL has had a hard time bouncing back. These games will determine if the Unicorns are worthy of a playoff spot, or belong in the inside of a barn.
Saturday March 19: Immortals vs. TSM
I have no idea how this game is going to go, which is why it’s a must-watch. Last week’s TSM and Immortals games were some of the best of the split, with both teams playing hot potato at Baron. Immortals is still the number one team, and unless they lose both games this week they will stay that way. Last week they almost lost to Dignitas , until Dignitas did what they do best and threw at Baron. It was still super close and shows that their armor might not be as indestructible as some would believe.
TSM is like a drunken boxer. They could put on one of their best shows, and completely knock out Immortals, or they can fall flat on their face and get stomped. TSM has convincingly beaten some of the best teams in the world, but last week they lost to the last place team, Renegades . It’s impossible to know which team is going to show up and that’s what makes it so exciting. I expect to be yelling at my computer screen a lot during this game.
Sunday March 20: Whatever tie breakers happen
There are some great games scheduled for the last day of the Spring LCS season, but those aren’t what I’m excited about. NRG, Team Liquid and TSM are so close in the standings, there’s no way they aren’t going to tie. Team Impulse and Echo Fox are neck and neck in the standings as well and whoever comes out on top gets to go to playoffs. All of these teams have been working their butts off to prove they’re worthy of LCS glory, and they aren’t about to back down now. I have no idea who’s going to slug it out, but I have no doubt they are going to be epic.
If these last few weeks and IEM are anything like what we are going to see, expect a lot of throws and upsets.
