[NA LCS] Summer Playoffs Week 1 - Page 5

This one's easy TSM for me. Everything seems to have been written on this topic - DIG never got rid of their shotcalling problems, they are consistently mediocre and quite frankly, I don't even think their players are very talented. In fact, I think every single member of TSM outperforms their DIG counterpart. I think dongers will take a game or two because of one good strat, a good early game and some risky calls that TSM will respond to poorly. But overall, I'm pretty confident in TSM winning.

OK, so jokes aside, I'm actually one leg on the CRS-for-Worlds hypetrain. Obviously #elephantonfire has a reputation for some of the best early game in NA, preparing good comps, lane swaps and good coordination in ganks, invades and taking objectives. Quas is pretty fucking good (2nd best top in NA in my opinion), so is Xpecial (though he's facing against #1 NA, and has a much worse ADC). While Voy definitely isn't the best midlaner, neither is Link, and the former was in a better shape recently. I also have to say that after hearing Flame's opinion on whether players should pursue the meta or play comfort picks, I don't really see Voy's champion pool as a gimmick, especially considering how well the rest of the team is playing around it.

So, I see a possibility in CRS winning. I kinda want to see it. But I'll still say 3:2 for CLG. First of all, I believe in korean bootcamp hype. Second of all, if it get's to late game and CRS don't have 15k gold advantage, they'll crumble. And finally, CLG are currently more clutch. I think CRS will win the early game in more than half games, I believe they might be even able to snowball it on backs of Xpecial and Quas. But CLG are definitely capable of C9-esque turn around where they catch CRS off guard, get an advantage and hold on to it. Or Aphro will simply carry his entire team, wouldn't be the first time

I'll assume that TSM qualify for semis and if they don't, then they are just heartbroken, play like shit and lose to both CRS and CLG. If CLG play against DIG, then they prepare for the match just enough to get carried by Aphro

Most probable is CRS vs DIG. Now, CRS problem is that they might shoot themselves out of strategies against CLG and have too low morale to prepare for another match. On the other hand, they might be ready to lose against CLG and fight to get as high placing as possible. I generally think it's in CRS favor, but don't really have a solid reasoning - I just think DIG has neither skill, nor determination to beat focused CRS.

OK, so if you read my posts in EU playoffs thread, you know I'm quite a fan of current TSM lineup. In fact, I think they have the most talent across the board among NA teams. And now that they finally found a good replacement for Xpecial, I don't think they have an excuse to perform poorly, especially after a month of practice (Amazing's absence shouldn't hurt them much, as they had a replacement jungler to scrim with while Amazing had time to practice new champions in soloq). While LMQ have a lot of talent on their side too, I think TSM at least match them in that aspect and tend to show better strategic play. I dunno, I just baylieve, 3-1 for TSM.

Well, not much to say here, C9 is back in shape and their solidness and adaptiveness should be enough to handle CRS. As for CLG, they are pretty much C9 light. Rush hour could perhaps outperform Sneakynation, maybe Dexter randomly channels his inner beast and solo carries CLG through early and mid game. But on average, I think it's in C9 hands. There's really not much to say at this point, C9 just consistently prove to be a great team, and now that Hai finally has time to leave the chain of learning a champ that soon gets nerfed/falls out of meta, I'm expecting some dominant performance.

So, I'm confident in C9 in semi and TSM in quarter, so 4 possible matchups:

TSM vs CLG - Well, if TSM can't do it against LMQ, then neither can they against CLG. I think CLG will be better at neutralizing TSM strenghts and punishing their weaknesses... Which isn't to say that CLG is definitely a better team than LMQ, but they are smarter. And while TSM have shown improvement in terms of their strategic play, they still rely on individual talent of their players a lot. If the combination of talent and strategy isn't enough to take out LMQ, then it means that players aren't as good individually as I thought, which in turn means that CLG should be able to handle them until mid-late where they take control.

LMQ vs CLG - Well, I think this one is purely performance based. If both teams are at their best, then I'd give it to CLG. However, CLG were pretty much never at their best yet (every time one player shined, someone else had a slump), and LMQ were pretty consistent throughout the season, although the last week wasn't very promising, so I really can't call it.

TSM vs CRS - I think CRS might decide that 3rd place match is their best bet at getting to Worlds, hide their strats against C9 and only show them against TSM, who themselves will probably try their hardest and use every possible strat against LMQ. So this might actually be a good chance for CRS to catch TSM off-guard in 2 games and then somehow clutch one more. But it's still the dark horse scenario and I'm expecting TSM to dismantle CRS, probably dropping a game or two, but winning the rest in a convincing fashion.

LMQ vs CRS - Well, this is another match I don't think CRS can win. I just think at some point CRS will hit a wall (a failed dive, a bad dragon fight) and won't recover.

C9 is an easy favorite in both matches, but I'm not sure how much of a favorite. Perhaps LMQ will enjoy the bo5 format and be more adaptive/clutch than C9. Perhaps TSM can catch C9 off guard with a well prepared strategy and solid performance. But if C9's 1st place in regular season says anything, it's that even with a lung-less midlaner, they are still a well-rounded, solid and talented team whose level is still yet to be reached by others.