LCS Week 6 Recap & Rankings: Liquid & Cloud9 Continue to Dominate

Week 6 of the Spring Split sees Team Liquid keep hold of their position at the top of the standings, despite Cloud9 keeping a close second. Meanwhile the four-way tie in fourth place bodes well for the league’s competitiveness, even if some teams are having trouble climbing out of joint-last place.

Team Liquid (1st 11w-1l)

Team Liquid dominated their games again this week. Both CLG and OpTic Gaming were unable to locate the secret sauce that would secure a victory against the LCS’ biggest powerhouse. Next week Liquid squares off against Cloud9, who are nipping at their heels in the standings. It’s then that we’ll find out how solid Team Liquid’s hold of the top spot truly is.

Cloud9 (2nd 10w-2l)

Cloud9 are gunning for the top spot, with two more confident wins against TSM and Golden Guardians this week. The distance between Cloud9 and TSM, who sit below them in 3rd place, is larger now. This team is proving themselves are real contender for kings of the LCS, but next week’s game against Team Liquid is going to be make or break for them.

TSM (3rd 7w-5l)

The 3rd place spot seems pretty comfortable for TSM now. They’re two wins ahead of the 4th place masses, but the chances of them climbing much higher seems relatively low. They dropped a game against Cloud9 this week, despite managing to scrape a win from Team Liquid in weeks past. However, their win against Fox was a solid showing, so their seat above the rest of the teams feels well deserved. 

CLG (=4th 5w-7l)

Four teams are currently in joint 4th place. That tends to be the signs of a healthy competitive scene, even if there are a couple of teams who are lording it over the rest of them. Speaking of which, CLG went up against Team Liquid this week, so it’s no surprise seeing them come away with a loss. Their game against Flyquest was much more successful, making CLG one of the stronger teams in the mid-tier foursome.

Flyquest (=4th 5w-7l)

Ouch, that’s another two losses for Flyquest this week as they tumble into the middle of the pack. If they continue like this, they’ll fall out of the 4th place bundle and find themselves mingling with Echo Fox and Clutch Gaming. Luckily for Flyquest, they’re facing both of these teams next week. ‘Luckily’, that is, as long as they can defeat them...

OpTic Gaming (=4th 5w-7l)

OpTic Gaming continue their general UpTick with a win against the falling Flyquest. They lost their second game, but that’s to be expected when they’re fighting against the might Team Liquid. Their general trajectory seems to be a positive one though, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them be a strong contender for 3rd place. They’re up against current 3rd place team, TSM, next week so that will certainly be one to watch.

Golden Guardians (=4th 5w-7l)

Another so-so week for Golden Guardians this week, with a win and a loss (against 100 Thieves and Cloud9, respectively). Both of those teams are on either end of the standings, so their results this week don’t help them much with the mid-tier predicament. Next week they’re up against CLG and Team Liquid, so they’re going to have to bring their A-game...

Echo Fox (=8th 4w-8l)

A disastrous week for Echo Fox sees them lose not just against TSM, but Clutch Gaming, who still find themselves at the bottom of the standings this week. In fact, Echo Fox are now joint last with Clutch Gaming and 100 Thieves, which doesn’t bode well for their upcoming bouts against a steadily-rising OpTic Gaming and Flyquest.

100 Thieves (=8th 4w-8l)

100 Thieves managed to snag a win this week, against their friends at the bottom of the table, Clutch Gaming. Unfortunately, their loss against Golden Guardians means they’re still joint 8th (read: last) with Echo Fox and Clutch. While Echo Fox might be new to the dregs of the standings, 100 Thieves and Clutch Gaming seem destined to battle it out in a race to the bottom for the rest of the Split. Unless one of them significantly ups their game.

Clutch Gaming (=8th 4w-8l)

A win and a loss for Clutch Gaming may sound pretty decent, but it’s not enough to allow them to rise up the standings. They remain at the bottom with 100 Thieves and Echo Fox, even despite getting a win against the latter team. But a loss against 100 Thieves doesn’t bode well for Clutch. If they can’t take on the Thieves, how will they be able to bring down CLG or Flyquest next week?

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As the action continues, next week's Spring Split looks to be a reckoning. Be sure to watch as the dominate teams of Liquid and Cloud9 throw down in one of the most anticipated matches of the season.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the latest on the upcoming transformation of classic League of Legends champion Kayle.
[Featured Image by LoL Esports/Tina Jo]