This article is part of our LoL Previews series.
With the LCS playoffs right around the corner, I thought it would be best to break down the action in order, starting with the two quarterfinal matches on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Cloud9 vs Team Envy:
For the first time since the iconic team's entrance into the NA LCS, Cloud9 finally seems to have found a roster that can operate independently of former team captain and shot caller Hai "Hai" Lam. The replacement of An "Balls" Le with former world champion Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong during the offseason has worked out splendidly, putting a top-lane powerhouse in place of a consistently struggling player. Meanwhile, Will "Meteos" Hartman seems to have made a seamless return to the starting roster, as was necessitated by the two-import limit in the LCS this season. The midseason addition of Andy "Smoothie" Ta to the roster also proved to be a boon. All in all, while the team as a whole was outshone significantly by TSM and Immortals during this split, every single player on Cloud9 managed to put up magnificent statistics, even nabbing the top KDA ratios at the jungler and marksman positions. Cloud9 unquestionably earned their third-place finish in the regular season, and will be looking to supplement their measly 10 championship points from the Spring Split in order to make a run towards worlds, where they have played every year since entering the LCS.
Given the way that Renegades were surging towards the end of the Spring Split, many felt that, after forming from the ashes of that team, Team EnVy would have a shot at becoming real contenders for the top spots in the Summer. For a while, it looked like that would be the case, as NV started out 4-0, one of only two undefeated teams at the end of Week 2, alongside TSM. However, NV began to flounder after a sweep at the hands of Immortals in Week 3. Shin "Seraph" Wu-Yeong, who in Spring had put up far and away the best top-lane statistics in the LCS, was incredibly average during the Summer, and Noh "Ninja" Geon-Woo had a similar decline in performance. As a result, most of the team's success would come off the back of jungler Kim "Proxcin" Seyoung. The team's bottom lane has also put up fairly good numbers, but as a whole the team's performance has been quite inconsistent. If Seraph can make a miraculous return to his Spring hypercarry form, however, NV could very well be a real threat in the playoffs.
Key Matchup: Meteos vs. Proxcin
Both Meteos and Proxcin have been top performers for their teams, achieving the top KDA ratio and second-highest kill participation for NA junglers respectively. These stats also speak to their playstyles, as Meteos' classically passive jungling granted him the second-lowest deaths in all of NA, while Proxcin's need to carry and make plays for his team means that a lot of NV's kills come directly from his play. Proxcin will need to take advantage of Meteos' passivity to snowball games if NV want a real chance at upsetting C9.
The Verdict: Cloud9 3-1
To be honest, it's tempting to give this one to Cloud9 in a clean sweep. The last time these teams met back in Week 8, C9 beat NV rather soundly, coming back to win the first game and stomping their way to victory in the second. The only reason I'm giving NV a game is that, in a more extended series, it's somewhat likely that NV's more aggressive early game, specifically from the jungle, will allow them to snowball into a victory at some point. However, we've just recently seen NV fail to close out a lead against C9, and NV are outclassed at just about every position individually, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Cloud9 take this set in just three games.
Counter Logic Gaming vs. Team Liquid:
Counter Logic Gaming have had a somewhat disappointing split. While they were eventually able to squeak into fourth place by the end of the season, they started off the Summer Split stuck in the bottom half of the standings, and there was a long stretch of time where it was doubtful whether the team coming off of a second-place finish at MSI would even make it to playoffs. Nonetheless, fourth seed coming into playoffs isn't bad at all, especially considering the utter dominance of TSM and IMT throughout the split. They got to that spot exactly the way you'd think they would after glancing at their roster: through teamwork. None of CLG's players --- with the possible exception of Zaqueri "aphromoo" Black --- could really be considered all-stars in their own right, and indeed, CLG put up mediocre statistics across the board as individuals. CLG's map play, however, is among the best in the NA LCS, and it's that strength that has allowed them to come this far. With their 90 championship points from their first-place finish in the Spring Playoffs in hand, CLG will be looking to secure their spot at worlds one way or another.
Team Liquid added three rookie players onto their roster in the Spring Split, and have now added another in the Summer after Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin's move to Team Liquid Academy. With Jovani "fabbbyyy" Guillen on the roster, Team Liquid are an incredibly young team, especially for such a well-established League of Legends organization. This youth shows through in their play: Liquid is highly aggressive, a team that wins fast and loses fast. This playstyle has found them a lot of success, particularly in the early and mid portions of the split, when they were perpetually contesting Cloud9 for possession of third place. Their success started to fall off at the end of the split, however, and a surging CLG was able to pass them in the standings, pushing them into fifth place. Still, Liquid found their initial success for a reason, and this roster has plenty of potential moving into the playoffs, especially if their trademark aggression catches teams off guard.
Key Matchup: Darshan vs. Lourlo
Darshan is a player who has been hailed as a powerful carry top laner since before the LCS existed, but like the rest of CLG, he put up fairly weak numbers this time around. In contrast, Lourlo is a young player who had an uninspiring rookie split, only to show up for the Summer in a big way, including carrying Game 1 of Liquid's last series against CLG with a 9/0/3 performance on Irelia. Both of these players have proven themselves capable of hard-carrying matches in the past, and this matchup could completely turn the series in the favor of either team if one of them gets a lead. When these two end up in a lane together, look to find a lot of jungle pressure there.
The Verdict: Counter Logic Gaming 3-2
If the previous series between these two teams taught us anything, it's that this is going to be a close match. However, CLG's superior experience and teamwork eventually won out in that matchup, and it's likely that this will once again be the case. Liquid's unusual youth won't do them any favors in a high-pressure, best-of-five series, while CLG is comprised largely of veterans whose LAN jitters are long gone. Furthermore, while Liquid floundered towards the end of the season, CLG surged past them into fourth place, and momentum can mean a lot going into the playoffs. Regardless, it's not even remotely out of the picture for Liquid to take this series; the Week 8 series demonstrated that they're perfectly capable of taking games off of CLG, especially if top lane swings in their favor. And after all, they'll need to get past the quarterfinals if they are to take fourth in playoffs.
