The LCS is heading into its final week of the regular season. There are massive playoff implications this week for many teams for North America’s professional League of Legends league.
Playoff Format
8 out out of the 10 teams will qualify for the playoffs which will take place in Newark New Jersey at the Prudential Center on August 19 and 20.
The playoff format is a double-elimination tournament in which your playoff seeding is highly important. The top 2 teams get a bye to the 2nd round. The bottom 2 teams start out in the lower round. This means that the top 6 teams, can afford to lose a series and still have a shot to make the finals. The bottom 2 teams in the playoffs have no margin for error.
The top 3 teams of the LCS Summer Playoffs will qualify for the World Championship.
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1 – Cloud9 (11-4)
Cloud9 is right where they want to be. They are playing some teams who have a lot to play for and will need to finish strong and not get complacent sitting at the top. It seems unlikely they will finish outside of the top 2 to clinch one of the round 1 byes in the playoffs.
Cloud9’s jungler, Rober “Blaber” Huang, is tied for first in the LCS when it comes to being named player of the game as it has happened 5 times. Jang “EMENES” Min-soo, their mid, has been named player of the game 4 times.
As you might expect from a first-place team they have multiple players performing well statistically. Their bottom lane, Kim Min-Cheol “Berserker”, has the highest KDA at 7.21. EMENES is third in KDA at 6.4. Jesper Svenningsen “Zven” is 8th in the league in KDA at 6.06. Blaber sits just outside the top 10 at 12th in KDA in the LCS at 4.8.
July 19: vs NRG (8-7)
July 20: vs TSM (8-7)
July 21: vs FlyQuest (4-11)
2 – Golden Guardians (10-5)
Their first game this week is likely the most important one. The Golden Guardians are going to want to finish in those top 2 spots to earn the bye. If they drop the game to Team Liquid they will be tied with them in the standings jeopardizing their chance at the bye. The Golden Guardians defeated Team Liquid when they last played in Week 3.
Kim Dong-woo “River”, their jungler, is the team leader in KDA at 5.03 and is 10th in the LCS. Trevor Hayes “Stixxay”, their bottom laner, is just behind him at 4.97 and is 11th in the league. Stixxay is also 2nd in gold per match.
Kim Tae-woo “Gori”, their mid, and Eric Ritchie “Licorice”, their top, have both been named the player of the game 3 times each for GG.
July 19: vs Team Liquid (9-6)
July 20: vs Dignitas (6-9)
July 21: vs 100 Thieves (6-9)
3 – Evil Geniuses (9-6)
The Evil Geniuses are just outside of those sweet top 2 sports for a bye. They have just about sealed their spot to at least finish inside the top 6 of the playoffs. Evil Geniuses beat all of their upcoming opponents in their previous match against them earlier in the season.
Jonathan Armao “Armao”, their jungler, is the team leader in KDA at 4.49 and is 14th in that metric in the league. Bill Nguyen “Eyla”, their support, is just behind him at 15th in the league with a KDA of 4.32.
Joseph Joon Pyun, “jojopun”, their mid, has been named player of the game 5 times which is tied for the most in the league.
July 19: vs Immortals (4-11)
July 20: vs Team Liquid (9-6)
July 21: vs TSM (8-7)
3 (tied) – Team Liquid (9-6)
Team Liquid has a tough schedule ahead which is good if you want an opportunity to knock the teams ahead of you down and try to take their spot. If they can pull the win against Golden Guardians they will be tied with them. They are on the outside looking in at the top 2 spots for the bye but still control their own destiny.
Jo Yong-in “CoreJJ”, their support is 2nd in the league in KDA at 6. Sean Sung “Yeon”, their bottom, is 4th in the league in KDA at 5.75. Eain Stearns “APA”, their mid, is 6th in KDA at 5.27. They have the talent to rise in the standings.
July 19: vs Golden Guardians (10-5)
July 20: vs Evil Geniuses (9-6)
July 21: vs Dignitas (6-9)
5 – NRG (8-7)
NRG looks pretty safe to finish in the top 6 but it is not yet a sure thing. They have a tough match on Wednesday against the 1st place team in Cloud9. They will then play 100Thieves who very well could be just 1 game behind them to try to take their place among the top 6 in the LCS by Thursday so these next games are very big for NRG.
Cristian Palafox “Palafox”, their mid leads the team in KDA at 6.47 and is 7th in the LCS. Ian Victor Huang “FBI”, their bottom, leads the team in gold per game at 449 and is 6th in the league. Juan Arturo Garcia “Contracts” and Palafox have both been named player of the game 3 times for NRG.
July 19: vs Cloud9 (11-4)
July 20: vs 100Thieves (6-9)
July 21: vs Immortals (4-11)
5 (tied) – TSM (8-7)
TSM has a 2 game lead on the teams outside the top 6 but they are not yet safe in the top 6. They have solidified their spot in the playoffs in Newark but have not yet ensured to be a top-six seed. TSM beat FlyQuest the last time they played them but lost to both Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses.
Both of TSM’s top 2 players in KDA are Canadian. TSM’s support, Jonathan Pomponio “Chime”, leads the team in KDA with 4.87 and is 11th in the league. Jason Tran “WildTurtle”, their bottom is 2nd on the team in KDA at 4.26 and is 16th in the league.
David Challe “Insanity”, their mid, has been named player of the game 4 times for TSM.
July 19: vs FlyQuest (4-11)
July 20: vs Cloud9 (11-4)
July 21: vs Evil Geniuses (9-6)
7 – 100 Thieves (6-9)
100 Thieves are tied with Dignitas who they play Wednesday. If they can win that game they could have a shot to climb into the top 6 spots to land themselves in the upper round of the LCS playoffs. Their 2nd opponent of the week, NRG, is one game ahead of them and is poised to face the top team in the league on Wednesday. It’s not unlikely that 100 Thieves could earn their way to be tied with NRG heading into the final matchday. 100 Thieves defeated Dignitas earlier in the season but lost to both NRG and Golden Guardians.
100 Thieves’ top KDA player, Yilian ‘Peter’ Peng “Doubelift”, is a bit of a ways down the list for the overall KDA ranking at 34th with a KDA of 2.94. Doublelift plays bottom lane and is 4th in gold per match at 454. Doublelift has been named player of the game 4 times for Dignitas.
July 19: vs Dignitas (6-9)
July 20: vs NRG (8-7)
July 21: vs Golden Guardians (10-5)
7 (tied) – Dignitas (6-9)
Dignitas will hope to even the score Wednesday against 100 Thieves whom they are tied on the standings with and lost to earlier in the season. They beat Team Liquid earlier in the season and lost to Golden Guardians.
Nicolaj Jensen “Jensen”, mid laner, leads the team in KDA and is 28th in the league with a KDA of 3.34. Lucas Tao Kilmer Larsen “Santorin”, their jungler, is not far behind him at 32nd in KDA for the league at 3.07.
Lee Jae-won “Rich”, top lane, and Frank Lam “Tomo”, bottom lane, have both been named player of the game for Dignitas 2 times.
July 19: vs 100 Thieves (6-9)
July 20: vs Golden Guardians (10-5)
July 21: vs Team Liquid (9-6)
9 (tied) – FlyQuest (4-11)
FlyQuest is going to need to win from here on out and cross their fingers for a chance at the postseason. They will need their best week in week 6. Earlier in the season FlyQuest lost to each of their upcoming opponents this week.
Mingyi Lu “Spica”, their jungler, leads the team in KDA at 3.85 and is 23rd in the league. He has also been named player of the game 2 times.
July 19: vs TSM (8-7)
July 20: vs Immortals (4-11)
July 21: vs Cloud9 (11-4)
9 (tied) – Immortals (4-11)
Immortals beat NRG in their meeting earlier in the season but lost to their other 2 upcoming opponents. They are not yet eliminated from the playoffs despite being tied for last.
Onur Can Demirol “Bolulu”, their mid, leads the team in KDA at 3.11 and is 30th in the league. Their bottom laner, Edward Ra “Tactical”, is tied for 5th in the league in gold per match at 449. Tactical has also been named player of the game 2 times.
July 19: vs Evil Geniuses (9-6)
July 20: vs FlyQuest (4-11)
July 21: vs NRG (8-7)
Week 6, Day 1:
Date/Location: Wednesday, July 19 Match windows begin every hour starting at 5 PM
Where to Watch: LCS Youtube Channel
Start Time: 5PM ET, 2 PM PT, 9PM GMT (Subsequent match windows begin on the hour mark)
Match 1: Immortals (4-11) vs Evil Geniuses (9-6)
Match 2: Golden Guardians (10-5) vs Team Liquid (9-6)
Match 3: FlyQuest (4-11) vs TSM (8-7)
Match 4: NRG (8-7) vs Cloud9 (11-4)
Match 5: Dignitas (6-9) vs 100 Thieves (6-9)
Week 6, Day 2:
Date/Location: Thursday, July 20 Match windows begin every hour starting at 5 PM
Where to Watch: LCS Youtube Channel
Start Time: 5PM ET, 2 PM PT, 9PM GMT (Subsequent match windows begin on the hour mark)
Match 1: FlyQuest (4-11) vs Immortals (4-11)
Match 2: TSM (8-7) vs Cloud9 (11-4)
Match 3: 100Thieves (6-9) vs NRG (8-7)
Match 4: Evil Geniuses (9-6) vs Team Liquid (9-6)
Match 5: Golden Guardians (10-5) vs Dignitas (6-9)
Week 6, Day 3:
Date/Location: Friday, July 21 Match windows begin every hour starting at 5 PM
Where to Watch: LCS Youtube Channel
Start Time: 5PM ET, 2 PM PT, 9PM GMT (Subsequent match windows begin on the hour mark.
Match 1: Immortals (4-11) vs NRG (8-7)
Match 2: Evil Geniuses (9-6) vs TSM (8-7)
Match 3: 100 Thieves (6-9) vs Golden Guardians (10-5)
Match 4: Team Liquid (9-6) vs Dignitas (6-9)
Match 5: Cloud 9 (11-4) vs Flyquest (4-11)
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