LCS Playoffs: Echo Fox is Set to Star as David, vs Goliaths
By Wyatt Fossett ·
The League of Legends Championship Series is about to kick off their Spring Split Playoffs, and we've got a preview of the first round of matches.
On the eve of the League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split Playoffs, we could easily look back on all of the magnificent stories that have come out of the LCS in this short season so far. Whether it’s Echo Fox coming out of nowhere, to dismantle top-tier squads and earn a place in the postseason, or Team Liquid looking mighty soft in the last few weeks, the Spring Split has been crazy so far.
The pressure of the playoffs is only going to add to the dramatics, as the best teams state-side battle it out in an elimination tournament for the crown of the LCS Spring Split 2019.
This weekend, we will see two head-to-head matchups in the LCS Spring Playoffs. Both matches will be a best-of-five series and the first to notch three victories will move on to the semifinals.
Golden Guardians vs FlyQuest
To start off the LCS Spring Split 2019 on the right foot, the least predictable match we may ever have will take place. It's almost impossible to predict who will win between the Golden Guardians and FlyQuest, and here's why.
Both of these squads took a win in their head-to-head record throughout the regular season (every team plays every other team twice), finishing at 1-1. Both teams wound up at 9-9 in their overall split record. Both teams have a ton of potential that they haven’t quite been able to live up to throughout the year so far.
The Golden Guardians have a pretty top side of the map, with ex-TSM star Hauntzer, and the former Cloud 9 jungler Contractz. Their mid-lane has seen the return of Froggen to professional League of Legends Esports, but hasn’t really panned out for GG. Collectively, they have a bad habit of giving up mid-fight, and perhaps shoot themselves in the foot by drafting their prolific top-lane tanks, rather than carries.
FlyQuest, on the other hand, have Wild Turtle (also ex-TSM superstar) in the bot-lane and need far more consistency out of every other role. They do have a fantastic jungler, but he was subbed out due to illness in the last game of the season, so there is a large concern that Santorin might not even take to the stage on Saturday.
TSM vs Echo Fox
Normally, we don’t get a headline match-up until further along in a playoff tournament, but we’ve got a real tasty treat right out of the gate. Sunday’s match-up between TSM and Echo Fox is going to be an event not to be missed.
On one side of the rift, you’ve got a TSM squad that looks potentially as good as they ever have in franchise history. It’s been two years (Summer ‘17) since TSM won a North American Tournament, but after their complete stomp of the league-leading Team Liquid in the final regular season game, they are poised to make a push in the playoffs.
Sitting across the mainstage from them will be the most dangerous looking team in the LCS right now. Echo Fox has a roster of players that have been waiting and training for this moment. Their entire squad from coach to subs strike no fear on paper, but paper doesn’t play League of Legends. Instead, Echo Fox have banded together, and are playing some of the best League on earth. Their team fights are synced and deadly, and no one looks capable of handling them.
Echo Fox’s jungler Rush is currently leading many votes for LCS league MVP, and rightfully so. Along those same lines, TSM’s weakest role is their jungle. Look to this match-up to be a key factor in a win one way or the other. It's going to be a crazy
Beyond Weekend One
With such an even match-up to start the playoffs, and what could possibly be the best head-to-head of the whole tournament on day 2, we’ve got a whole lot of exciting League of Legends ahead of us.
Beyond that, Team Liquid secured the first seed, which means in round two of the playoffs, they will get to choose their opponents. They will have the pick of the litter from this weekend, taking either the winner of the Echo Fox and TSM match or the winner of the Golden Guardians and FlyQuest bout.
Cloud 9, who also earned a bye in the first round with their 2nd place spot, will have to play whichever team Liquid doesn’t choose to play.
There are many amazing match-ups coming and you may want to mark your calendar. The entire playoff picture (above) is laid out, and we're excited to see how it all plays out.
If you’re keeping on top of both the LEC Playoffs (Fnatic and Team Vitality played today) and the LCS, there is an abundance of high-quality matches in the next few weeks.