The LCS Lock In has made its way into the semifinals and the teams that made it aren’t too surprising. The matchups set are 100 Thieves VS Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses VS Team Liquid. Both series look to be fun ones and we can’t wait to watch them this weekend. But for now, we will take a look at how the quarterfinal games went and give you our picks for who will be heading to the first ever finals for the LCS Lock In.
100 Thieves (3) VS (1) Cloud9
The quarterfinals went as to be expected if you look at my LCS Power Rankings. 100 Thieves made quick work of the Immortals in their first game completely controlling the game throughout. Closer played Nidalee very well and was able to get his team ahead in almost all aspects. The second game however was at least a little bit harder. Ssumday did fall quite a bit behind in the 1v1 but eventually came all the way back and was a big carrying force for 100 Thieves. Ssumday was given the ability to do so by the bot lane. FBI and Huhi put on another great show and gave 100 Thieves the pressure to get Ssumday back in the game.
Cloud9 had a bit more trouble making it to the semifinals having to go through TSM. The series ended up being 2-1 but did start with TSM getting the first win. Cloud9 showed essentially the same team comp throughout the series but they did end up playing it really well. The dive comp was definitely was in full effect with champions like Hecarim and Akali. Cloud9’s bot lane continues to look like the stars of the show however and just seems to not be able to do wrong.
Our first LCS Lock In semifinals game should be a good one. 100 Thieves is quite possibly the best team in the league right now and Cloud9 is getting better with every game. I do worry for Cloud9 in this matchup though. 100 Thieves is definitely better than TSM at the moment and Cloud9 even dropped a game to them. For Cloud9 to have a chance either one of two things needs to happen, Perkz finally fully shows up and lets us know why he was paid so much or C9’s bot lane has to go off. We know Perkz can carry but have yet to see it and 100 Thieves bot lane will be a much bigger challenge for C9.
Overall I think 100 Thieves just looks like the stronger team right now. I’m predicting (3-1) for 100 Thieves and think it will likely be won in the top lane as well as just overall team play. Fudge still hasn’t shown consistent ability to play at the highest level and Ssumday definitely has. With that being said I think that alone can push this over the edge for 100 Thieves. Generally, the teams are very even throughout all of the roles other than Top. Maybe Fudge can step up and show another level but I find it unlikely.
Evil Geniuses (2) VS (3) Team Liquid
The second LCS Lock In semifinals game should be a little closer between Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid. EG made quick work of Golden Guardians as to be expected. The first game was a little closer than what many people what GG would be able to do. Game one on the other hand was very clean and quick for EG as their team-play won them both games. While a team win is always nice you would have expected someone on EG to have a really strong series as Golden Guardians truly weren’t to much of a match. With that not happening it’s worrying for when they go against TL.
Team Liquid just like Evil Geniuses won 2-0 and made pretty quick work of FlyQuest. Not surprisingly Alphari had two more great games. It isn’t to say the rest of TL didn’t play well but unlike with EG, I feel that Team Liquid can have major carry performances when they need it. Those performances can also easily come from multiple people within the TL lineup. Alphari has been playing great as well as the TL bot lane with Tactical and CoreJJ will always be something the other team must think about.
The second of the two LCS Lock In semifinal games will probably prove to be even better than the first. This series will likely play largely around macro and team play. I do feel however that with TL finding their footing not only can their team play be great but their individual players also are more likely to step up and hard carry. I do think EG has a chance obviously, as I’ve given them 2 games. But overall I’m just not sure if the EG players are as likely to be able to step up and carry if need be.
My best guess will be that the Team Liquid bot lane are going to show up in a pretty big way when needed allowing for TL to take the series (3-2) and move onto the finals for the first LCS Lock In. If EG really wants a chance someone will need to step up and decide to take it. Impact could be that guy. Either way I’m super excited to continue to watch the LCS and can’t wait for the start of the Spring Split!
In Other News
Be sure to check our LCS Power Rankings and let me know if you like where I have the teams ranked. Also as always, you can find every LCS games here.