We began the 2019 LCS Summer Split with expectations as to who would wind up where. All of this is based on previous and recent experience. So when we were only a few weeks in and there was a huge traffic jam at the top of the standings with some familiar and unfamiliar faces, most of the LCS fans were pretty surprised.
Now, we’ve had a few more weeks for things to shake loose a bit, but it hasn’t seen a whole lot of free space on the highway, minus a few exceptions.
The Penthouse
Starting in Week 4, the North American MSI 2019 representatives (and finalists) Team Liquid started to break apart from the pack. Now, they sit two games ahead of 2nd Place and they show absolutely no sign of slowing down.
Team Liquid has won five-straight matchups, some of which include the other teams considered among the best in the league. They’ve put in the work and have proved that they are playing a better style of League of Legends than the rest of the squads fighting for North American supremacy. For the time being, we do not see any team in the LCS kicking Team Liquid out of the penthouse.
The Basement
It’s starting to look like a lonely place at the bottom of the pile in the LCS. While the current roster of Echo Fox is definitely the one team in the LCS that is struggling pretty hard to make any ground on the standings, and there doesn’t seem to be a viable solution for them.
Just ahead of them are the surprisingly bad FlyQuest. This team--stacked to the teeth with recognizable names and skill--hasn’t found a way in the 2019 LCS Summer Split to make good use of their talent. No matter the names on the back of their “Showcase Greatness” jerseys, they haven’t managed to hold onto many leads, or closeout many games.
While FlyQuest could find their way out of the basement with time, there may not be enough space left in the Summer Split for them to do so. And how rude would it be to leave Echo Fox all alone down there?
The Dog-Fight
We’ve only named three teams so far that are either clearly ahead, or hopelessly behind, and that’s because there is a giant rumble in the middle of the standings. Only three games separate the 2nd place team from the 8th place team.
Statistically consistent teams--the ones that always find themselves in the conversation for championships in North America-- have been playing some pretty wishy-washy League of Legends, and there are only four more games to be played. Mathematically, teams like Cloud9, TSM, and even Counter-Logic Gaming could miss the playoffs entirely.
Speaking of TSM, they may be having the hardest of times. The grotesquely stacked team started the split after losing in the Grand Finals of the Spring, with a huge question mark on their roster when it came to their starting jungler. Since then, fan belief has completely dropped off the map due to superstars Zven and Smoothie playing one of the least reliable bot-lanes in League right now. On the flip-side, always worthy Bjergsen is trying to captain what looks like a sinking ship, while stand-out rookie BrokenBlade continues to pull plays out of the rubble and give some small glimpses of hope.
If you want to know how TSM fans feel … just read the replies to the OpTic Gaming win from Sunday.
#OPTWIN #LCS pic.twitter.com/3t5IptPqxp
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) July 21, 2019
Squads like 100 Thieves started from the bottom, but now they are in the picture. Something finally clicked with their new-ish line-up, and if it all ended today they’d be playing in a tie-breaker game for a playoff spot.
OpTic Gaming--who once sat on the throne this split--has been on a downward trend in the second half of the Summer Split, and the Golden Guardians alongside Clutch Gaming *cough* Dignitas *cough* can’t seem to have their breaks tilt the scales one way or the other.
The Open House
It’s still pretty hard to decide who will be making the cut, and who will fall to the wayside as seven teams are currently in a fight for only 5 playoff spots (Team Liquid clinched with their win on Sunday). Two of these groups will be watching the 2019 LCS Summer Playoffs from the sidelines, but who will it be?
The LCS kicks off Week 8 this coming Saturday, July 27th, when Team Liquid will look to continue putting distance between them and 2nd Place against OpTic Gaming.
