League of Legends fans can rejoice that after just a one week haitus, the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is back in action. With the current news cycle, it may seem like a lifetime has passed since the craziness that took place during week 7. In case you need a refresher, Team Solo-Mid took control of second place with victories against Flyquest and Cloud9, handing the latter their first loss of the split. Team Liquid went 0-2, putting their playoff chances in serious jeopardy. And with just two regular season weeks remaining, the entire playoff picture still looks like a giant question mark. Cloud9 is the only team to secure their postseason fate as every other team can still make or miss playoffs depending on how their next four games go. With so many things still up in the air, here are five questions heading into week 8 of the LCS.
How will online play impact matches?
Following in the footsteps of China’s League of Legends Pro League, the LCS will finish their split remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This brings in a whole set of potential issues. Internet problems such as high ping can certainty impact player performances. Playing remotely can lead to many broadcast hiccups as well. Riot Games even admitted in a statement to expect “changes or delays in the broadcast.” The company also announced that the “broadcast will not have the usual level of polish.” With each of these final matches being extremely significant, it will be interesting to see how much of factor the online format becomes.
Can Pobelter lead Counter Logic Gaming to a strong finish?
After winning just one game without him, CLG has gone 2-2 in their last four games with wins against Team Solo-Mid and Team Liquid. Since being picked up by CLG during a dark season, Pobelter has shined for the team in the mid lane. It will be interesting to see how CLG plays out the split. Will they end their season experimenting and building for the future, similar to how they recently benched veteran Stixxay in favor of the rookie Wind? Or will they try their odds at a postseason run, however slim they might be? Either way, it will be Pobelter leading the charge for struggling franchise.
Who is Team Solo-Mid?
TSM has had a roller coaster of a season. They came into the 2020 Spring Split with decently high expectations, hoping to compete for a title. The team has since been extremely inconsistent, alternating between 2-0 and 0-2 weeks for the entire season. But, coming off wins against first place Cloud9 and second place Flyquest, TSM now look to be in prime position to make a deep playoff run. But which TSM will show up to the playoffs? Will it be that TSM that took down the top two teams? Or will it be the TSM who went 0-2 against Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid?
Will Team Liquid Even Make Playoffs?
If someone on day one of the 2020 Spring Split said that Team Liquid would bench Doublelift and then miss the playoffs, the rest of the world would’ve called them a crazy person. Today, that scenario is looking like a reality. The four time LCS champions are coming off losses to Immortals and Counter Logic Gaming and they currently sit tied for 7th in the standings with a measly 6-8 record. If the season ended today, Team Liquid would indeed miss playoffs. There is no one factor that is the sole cause of Liquid’s struggle. Players under performing, communication issues and bad drafts have all contributed to the reigning champions’ downfall. With their final matches against Evil Geniuses, Golden Guardians, Flyquest and Cloud9, Liquid will most likely need to win at least three out of those four games if they want a shot at the postseason.
How will “The Soup” turn out?
With 2nd through 8th places all being within just two games of each other, many have called this jumble of teams “the soup.” Even now, with just four games left, the soup remains a mishmash. Nearly every team in the soup has had looked both impressive and abysmal at times this season. Can Evil Geniuses extend their win steak into playoffs? Will Immortals stop their skid in time to save their season? Will Ssumday and the rest of 100Thieves finish strong? How about Dignitas, will they find a way to sneak into the postseason? All these questions will be answered in the next two weeks as the soup finally starts to solidify.
With so many questions left to be answered, the next two weeks of the LCS will surely be interesting, to say the least. Matches resume on Saturday at 5:00 PM ET, with Team Solo-Mid vs. Golden Guardians leading the slate. The games, as always, can be streamed live on Twitch and Youtube.
Source: LCS
