NA LCS is entering week 7 and the fight for playoffs is getting serious now. In Week 6, we saw a strong 2-1 week by Golden Guardians, after Licorice joined the team. Evil Geniuses closed the gap with first-place 100Thieves thanks to their win on the head-to-head, and are currently 2nd tied with TSM. This week, we’re going to be looking at Team Liquid: 4th in the standings, they will face both 100T and TSM. If they are able to win both games, we will have a very interesting 4-way battle for the top spot in the upcoming 2 weeks!
As usual, we’re here to help you out with your bets! This is our LCS Week 5 Preview and predictions!
TL vs 100T
Starting off, we’re going to be looking at the banger between Team Liquid and 100Thieves. Last week, Team Liquid had a decent 2-1 week, only losing to a surprising Golden Guardians. After Barney “Alphari” Morris’ return to the roster, the team is performing better: now TL has both him and ADC Tactical as the two core threats. If TL wants to win, Alphari will have to find a way to carry his team to victory.
Similar to TL, 100Thieves also has the same top-ADC core. The exception, though, is that 100T is having an additional ” hidden carry” in the jungle. Can “Closer” Çelik can play all the meta champions (Diana, Xin) and be a strong presence in the game. TL’s jungler Jonathan “Armao” Armao instead hasn’t shown the same flexibility and usually plays more tanky options.
As for mid and bot, I would say both teams are pretty even. All of them have shown the ability to play the meta well, and it will ultimately come down to draft and how the early-mid is played.
Regarding the outcome, our prediction is on 100Thieves: the reason is that playing on the red side in S11 is a lot better. Also, the team won 10 out of the 11 games played on that side. At GG.bet, a win for 100T will net you a 1.72x return, which is not shabby. If you want to make some more cash, you can try betting on 1st drake for TL: the team will want to play around bot lane, so capturing a drake shouldn’t be a problem. It’s an easy way to double your profit, so make sure to not miss it! (1.93x)
TSM vs IMT
The next game we’re going to be looking at is the series between TeamSoloMid and Immortals. While it might not be the most exciting game for fans, the result of this series will be crucial to the overall standings. On one hand, we have Immortals who are trying to finish in the top 6 in the overall standings (remember that this year, Spring Split records will carry over). They are currently three wins away from 6th place Dignitas: overtaking them is still a strong possibility.
On the other, we have TSM which is second overall and only one win behind 100T. TSM is doing great and has improved throughout the split. They seem to have found what works for them, but consistency is still a big issue. Last week, they both lost against 100T and last place CLG, making it hard for everyone to really think they are one of the best teams in NA.
Anyway, TSM should easily win the series. It should be a pretty one-sided game, considering the past records which saw TSM victorious all the time. While the betting odds are not high, you can try to put as many as you can in favor of TSM: Winner (1.43x), First Blood (1.61x), First Tower (1.56x). If you’re looking to risk it a little more, you can bet an under-32.5 minute game (1.93x): both teams have an average of 32-minute game duration, so they shouldn’t go past that timer.
TSM vs TL
The other important match of this week 7 is the head-to-head between TL and TSM. As we previously mentioned, both teams are looking to clinch the top 2 in the standings, so they can skip round 1 of the upper bracket.
It will be a very exciting match, especially in the top lane: Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Alphari are expected to make a lot of action up there and the junglers will surely be ready to help them (obviously things might change depending on draft).
The other important battle will be between the two mid laner imports: Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen and Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage will have to step up as they will have a strong impact in the late game teamfights with the mages. Out of the two, though, PoE should have a slight edge.
To conclude, we also expect TSM to win this game. (1.83x return at GG.bet). Just like IMT, TSM beat TL all the time this year: they seem to play really well into TL.
TSM should make sure to play around mid and top, hoping that bot lane doesn’t get shut down too often. As a result, we can expect TL to pick up first dragon (1.9x), with TSM taking the first blood in the top lane (1.84x). The odds here are pretty even, so make sure to adjust the bets depending on how the draft is done!