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Team Liquid vs C9 A Battle For The Top

This Saturday we will see the first quarterfinal matchup of the NALCS. After what was a long day of tie breakers in the final day of the regular season, we have the 4th seed Team Liquid facing off against the 5th seed C9. Memes aside it’s hard to believe where both teams ended the regular season. C9 looked like one of the more dominant teams throughout the split then faltered towards the end. Team Liquid a roster put together with intentions to compete at the international level has struggled to be consistent. These two teams will face off to earn a spot in the semi-finals and come one step closer to representing North America at MSI. Now it’s time for the bold prediction. Putting regular season results aside and the fact that the league reverted to best of 1s, it’s difficult to create a good evaluation of these teams. Going based purely off player history and dealing with high pressure situations it seems as though the Team Liquid roster holds the edge over Cloud 9. Altho

Was TSM's Botlane The Problem?

Was TSM’s botlane the problem? It’s hard to say. Swapping the best North American botlane for the best European botlane might sound nice, but is it the change the team needs? The 2016 Summer Split iteration of TSM looked like the most dominant North American team since Cloud 9 first came onto the scene. They were hardly challenged domestically until they headed to the world championship where they failed to make it out of groups. This version of TSM were at their best when they were proactive in the early game. This seemed to be a product of the dual decisive shotcalling from Bjergsen and Doublelift. TSM failed to adapt to a different playstyle when taken off their comfort picks. The TSM of 2017 were looking to mend those errors by adopting different styles and playing unique champions. This led to a more methodical version of TSM who looked to stall out the game rather than dictate the pace. One aspect of TSM that has remai

Does Hai Have One Run Left In Him?

The third team to represent North America at the 2017 World Championship will be decided this weekend.The big question is does Hai have another run left in him. Hai has had a historic career, and he is undoubtedly the best shot caller North America has produced. We have seen in the past Cloud 9 attempt to move on without Hai only to bring him back to the starting roster to save them from relegations. Since then the times have changed, but there is one thing that is certain, you can never count out Hai. He has proven himself time and time again that even if he is lacking in-game mechanics, he makes up for it in game knowledge and team moral. When Cloud 9 made their historic run to Worlds with their reverse sweep through the gauntlet, it was on the back of Hai. Through Hai’s shotcalling and leadership in and out of the game, he was able to take the team from dodging relegations to upsetting teams at Worlds. Flyquest quietly

A Preview to Playoffs: Week 9 Friday's Matches

The final week of the North America League of Legends Championship Series starts its cast at approximately 3:00p.m. PST. First match of the day is Team Envy versus Immortals. Tonight's final match will be Team Dignitas against Counter Logic Gaming. The top six teams of the league, or the playoff teams, are in close contention across the standings, and teams will be fighting hard to jockey themselves into a good position for the playoffs. All four teams playing today are in the playoffs, but their position in the standings and their playoff seeds are not cemented. Tonight is a preview to the playoffs as these teams may be facing each other again in the Summer Split Playoffs when it matters most. Below is the current standings, but who will rise and who will fall?

Cloud9's Best and Worst Case Playoff Scenarios

FLOATING ON CLOUD 9 SCENARIO: C9 wins both games and finishes season with a 12-8 record. Team DIG wins against CLG, but loses against Team Liquid. CLG loses to both TSM and DIG. C9 ends the split in the 3 rd place spot behind IMT and TSM. As the 3 rd seed, C9 will face the 6 th seed during the quarterfinals (1 st round), Envy. If C9 make it to the semifinals (2 nd round), most likely TSM will be their opponent. CLOUD 9’S NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: C9 loses both matches against Envy and Echo Fox, finishing with a 10-8 record. Envy wins both matches against Immortals and C9, finishing with a 10-8 record. C9 vs. Envy match up on Saturday is extremely important because it can determine who is the 5 th and 6 th seed. If Envy wins both matches and C9 loses both matches this weekend, Envy will be 5 th seed because they would have won both matches against C9 during the season. C9 will face the 3 rd seed during the quarterfinals (1 st round)

CLG The True North American Team(For The Most Part)

Counter Logic Gaming has been the topic of conversation since the recent announcement that Madison Square Garden Company has acquired controlling stake in the organization. One aspect that often goes overlooked with the CLG organization is their willingness to develop domestic talent and be successful while doing so. With the exception of their midlaner, Huhi, the team is filled with North American players. From the starters to the subs to even their coach, the organization’s members have primarily been from the North American region. Sure they were the first North American team to import a Korean player in Seraph and they had European jungler in Dexter, but CLG has had their greatest accomplishments with North American players. Most teams put in the situations that CLG has been in would go into panic mode and acquire the best import player available for their open positions, instead CLG do the complete opposite of what most teams instinctive reaction would be. Wh