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The Most Competitive Split Ever In NA LCS History

This is the most competitive split of NA LCS ever. For a long time competitive league in North America had become predictable. You knew TSM would make it to the finals, either C9 or CLG would meet them there and Team Liquid would be 4th. Although on the surface things may appear the same, the fact of the matter is they have changed drastically. Gone are the days where the bottom half of the NA LCS teams are just there for the ride. All teams from number one to number ten are doing everything they can to be competitive and it’s awesome.
We live in a world where former world champions are at the bottom half of the spectrum. If you would’ve told me after season 3 that Piglet clearly one of the world’s best ADCs in that time would be in a last place team in North America, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But that is the beauty of the NA LCS right now. These teams are doing everything they can to create competitive rosters and establish greater infrastructures and it still isn’t enough for some teams. There once was a time when a player like Balls was considered the best top laner in North America and Dyrus was a close second. Now he’s not even in the discussion.
The amount of talent that the region currently has in its possession is astounding. With the League franchising into the coming year it is safe to say that the North American infrastructure will only increase in quality. This is perhaps the most anticipated run to worlds we have ever seen for North America. Anybody can beat anybody. No one expected 9th place Pheonix1 to have any type of success at Rift Rivals, yet they finished the competition with a winning record against the best teams Europe has to offer. A huge emphasis on the fact that Pheonix1 was the 9th place team going into Rift Rivals.
The only team that looks like they have a solid shot and reserving their spot for worlds is TSM. As for the rest of the league it can be a complete toss up. Many people had very little expectations for Immortals, yet they are in contention for first place. Cloud9 who finished in second place for the spring split, is now struggling to escape from the middle of the pack. It has always been safe to say that TSM, CLG, C9 always return to form for the playoffs, but that statement does not have as much assurance as it did in the past. Now they are facing other teams who aren’t just looking to exist in the LCS but want to be able to prove themselves on the international stage.
It is safe to say that this year’s road to worlds for North America is going to be another heart breaker like last year. With all the hype that was behind the Immortals team that dominated the LCS and then fail to make it to worlds, it seems we are destined to have a similar experience this year. CLG may be sitting at first now, but they finished 6th in the spring split. Who knows what team they would have to face in the gauntlet if they are not able to auto qualify for Worlds by winning the summer split. With the new rising stars in the NA LCS like Cody Sun, Mike Yeung, Olleh etc. it is very possible we may see a changing of the guard in this year’s playoffs.Any team can play spoiler and that is what makes this the most entertaining and meaningful split of the NA LCS.
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