This year’s NA LCS playoff series has been one of the most exciting yet. We saw several highlight plays throughout the tournament and several fast-paced tournaments where both teams risked it all to win the match.
Now, there are only two teams standing: Team Liquid and Cloud9. Both teams have displayed brilliant performances and have records of being some of the biggest powerhouses in the North American region.
But in the end, only one team can come out on top. While nothing is set until they play on Sunday, we can definitely make our own predictions. The stats are clear and both teams have made a name for themselves.
Cloud9’s players have been performing off the charts right now and Team Liquid’s roster is the most stacked team you’ll see for the next few years. So, will the high-rise consistent performance of Cloud9 secure them the title or will Team Liquid’s five man powerhouse be what helps them grab the first place finish? Let’s get started!
Cloud9 may have had the shakier start going into the Summer Split but they certainly ended it on a bang. The team went 5-0 in the last weeks of the Regular Season and have been showing the same results in their playoff matches.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid went a shaky 3-2, barely edging past teams that they usually beat. They even lost a match to Team SoloMid who, before, they could take down without a problem. Therefore, it’s easy to say that Team Liquid hasn’t been performing to the standards that made them the first place seed.
It seems as if, though Team Liquid may be playing extremely strong League of Legends, they haven’t performed to the consistency that they usually perform at. What I mean by this is that they’re not going as hard as they usually did.
Their main players, though stacked and ready to play, haven’t been playing the playstyles that have made them notorious but rather have been playing not to lose and this has significantly made them a weaker pick.
On the other hand, Cloud9 has been playing like they don’t have anything to lose and that mentality helped them finish with a strong second place seed after the Regular Season finished. So, while you can say that arguably Team Liquid has been playing the best League of Legends overall, Cloud9’s momentum that they’ve carried over the end of the Regular Season alongside the crucial win over TSM in the playoffs could be what helps them take down the American powerhouse known as TL.
Cloud9 has one of the most diverse and fruitful teams on the Rift right now. They have a mix of talent, experience and freshness to the roster that makes them an overall very consistent pick to choose when it comes to watching and betting.
All of these players have something that they can contribute to Cloud9 if they want to take down Team Liquid in the finals on Sunday. While each of these players varies drastically in their playstyle and how they take the game, each of their roles in Sunday’s match will be equally important.
A solo queue prodigy, Licorice has been one of the few players to properly adjust from the solo queue environment to the competitive environment within the span of one season. He’s shown an extreme proficiency at playing tanks of all nature and his Ornn was fundamental to beating TSM in a close five-setter in the semifinals.
He is currently undefeated on his signature Mundo, a champion that no one wants to face and if need be, he won’t be afraid to pull out a bruiser like Shen or Aatrox to mix things up. Overall, Licorice has shown steady results throughout these past few weeks in the NA LCS and there seems to be nothing stopping him from winning the top lane, provided he keeps the momentum he’s had.
If he wants to help his team win the final, he’s going to really have to utilize his Mundo that he used to take down CLG, C9, Team SoloMid, and FlyQuest during the Regular Season. It’s the most powerful piece of his toolkit and if used right, it can take down any foe he faces.
Svenskeren is no new face to the NA LCS. When he first arrived in North America, he played under Team SoloMid where they went to the World Championship and under his leadership, took every single match to the very last minute, barely missing the knockout rounds.
However, at Worlds, Svenskeren was able to prove that he wasn’t just some new jungler that TSM decided to rope in, he was the defining jungler that TSM had that year. No one could match his mechanical prowess and to this day, Svenskeren is still in the top three when it comes to junglers.
While he doesn’t specialize in two or three junglers to their maximum potential, Svenskeren still has threats to his game and that’s the fact that Svenskeren is practically flawless on almost every single champion he plays.
His Trundle was impeccable during the Regular Season. Very few knew how to take down his Sejuani and his Lee Sin was unmatched. That being said, Svenskeren has the champion pool and the experience to spearhead his team a lead versus Team Liquid.
All he has to make sure to do is to not throw any leads. In the past, he has been known to get too greedy or go for something that, in the end, didn’t work out. If he can contain this and look for safe picks instead while looking to cover objectives, I have no doubt that Team Liquid will have a hard time containing him.
When Bjergsen dominated the NA LCS, it seemed as if no one could take him down. However, throughout the entire Split, there was only one player who had ever seemed like he stood his ground against the king at the time and that was Jensen.
He rivalled everything Bjergsen sent at him. Bjergsen’s iconic Syndra was countered instantly by Jensen’s pocket-pick, Ekko, and everything Bjergsen did, it seemed like Jensen could match. To this day, Jensen has still proven to have the ability to pull off these types of plays and he hasn’t forgotten any of his old technique.
The main power of Jensen lies in his power to dominate the mid lane. He’s the player who will look for aggressive kills and then use this lead to snowball a victory. Take Cloud9’s match versus FlyQuest for example. Jensen did not suffer a single death the entire match while literally putting every single player on FlyQuest against the wall.
Another instance is his match against 100 Thieves where Jensen’s Fizz was part of twelve of sixteen kills the entire game. The stats don’t lie and right now, the stats are saying that Jensen can single-handedly be the player that takes down Team Liquid.
Sometimes, Jensen can tilt but most of the time, he puts on a solid performance for the crowd. If he can stay tilt-proof and focus on what he does well, there’s no way that Team Liquid can ignore Jensen and they won’t want to ignore him. Because if they do, Jensen might just find a way to take down TL himself.
While Goldenglue may not play much on the Team Liquid lineup, he may have just opened an opportunity for future prospects on the team after his performance against TSM. Most of the time, Cloud9 tends to lose to Team SoloMid but this time, thanks to the efforts of Goldenglue, TSM didn’t stand a chance against the team.
His Malzahar in the final stages of the series literally was what won them the game. If it had not been for Goldenglue, TSM would have most likely advanced to the finals stages. After the third game of the semifinals series, Cloud9 was down 1-2 to TSM.
With a last minute switch, Goldenglue came into the fray and fans were nervous. Goldenglue had played on the scene before but never to the level and intensity that he was experiencing right now. However, despite what most people believed, Goldenglue held up at the line of pressure.
His Malzahar went head-to-head against Bjergsen’s Ryze and he was a core reasons as to why they won Game 4 and Game 5 of the series. When his team needed the most, he did exactly what they needed him to do and to near perfection.
If that isn’t what you want from a player, then I don’t know what you want. If Goldenglue can keep this playstyle and momentum he has right now, there’s no doubt that he’ll play a key role in taking down TL if he’s put on the stage.
There’s no doubt that Sneaky will be playing for Cloud9. He’s the icon of the team. Everything that is associated with Cloud9, Sneaky’s face is as well. But it’s not just for his personality or for how fans perceive him, it’s also because he earned it.
Sneaky knows how to play and in all five matches versus TSM, Cloud9’s AD Carry showed the resilience needed to win the series. Even if they lost the battle, Sneaky was the reason they won the war. Sneaky may have some of the highest damage in team fights but he also has some of the best positioning.
In fact, I would say that Sneaky’s positioning is so good that it would go to be top five in the world, not just in the region. There are very few times where an enemy can get close to Sneaky before Sneaky can realize and get away.
He’s always thinking one step ahead and that’s extremely important for Cloud9. His ability to stay one step ahead of the game and always know where to go will aide C9 in their quest to take down TL. Without Sneaky, it’s simply not going to be possible.
Zeyzal is the newest face to the Cloud9 roster and he hasn’t disappointed so far. In every match he’s played, Zeyzal has shown that he is a competent support and fills the criteria to be a valuable member of the team.
Inclined to play more protection-oriented supports, Zeyzal’s Leona, Braum, and ZIlean are some of the best in the game. Not even former Cloud9 member, Smoothie, can beat Zeyzal on Tahm Kench and that should go to show how strong he is.
Whenever his team needs protection or healing, Zeyzal is there. He’s helped his team clutch through so many tight moments and he’ll be doing that in TL. He’s the shield that Cloud9 needs and he’s going to be the shield that gets them through the final.
Like Cloud9, Team Liquid also has an extremely strong roster that needs looking at. Team Liquid actually has one of the strongest rosters in the world right now and that’s not an over exaggeration. There is no doubt that they have the best team in the region and they could match some of Korea’s teams on their best day.
So, there should be some look into TL’s roster right now. What makes them such a powerhouse and what helped them take the first place seed throughout the regular season? This is something that should definitely be examined before going into the NA LCS Summer Split final.
There are very few teams that can say that they’ve had a World Championship player on their team but Team Liquid can say it. Impact has already made a reputable name for himself and his time on Cloud9 gave him the iconic phrase: “top die” which meant he had solo-killed his opponent.
That being said, you can tell that Impact said, “top die” quite a lot and to this day, he could still be saying that phrase “top die.” Right now, he’s undefeated on both Mundo and Gangplank and the other bruisers and tanks in his arsenal have seen quite a bit of success as well.
In fact, their match against 100 Thieves was won largely because Impact literally tore apart the top laner. He did not give his opponent breathing room after their first game loss. After they lost the first game to 100 Thieves in the semifinals series, Impact’s KDA never fell below an 8.00.
This should go to show you how much skill Impact has. His ability to switch from a bruiser such as Gangplank or Fiora into a tank like Mundo or Maokai has also made him a presence that cannot be ignored and if Licorice isn’t careful, Impact won’t leave him any margin for error.
Xmithie’s reputation has already been set after his solid performance in the 2015 Summer Split where he and his fellow cohorts made a trip to the World Championship after taking down Team SoloMid in the final.
While Cloud9 may have Svenskeren, Xmithie’s consistency in the jungle and his ability to arrive for ganks whenever his team needs them have made him a valuable asset that they can’t leave behind. In game two, three, and four combined, Xmithie only died once and during the Regular Season, it was rare to see him have more than three deaths.
The consistency he has, despite playing a wide range of champions ranging from marksman such as Kindred to assassins like Nocturne have made him someone that Team Liquid can depend on in critical moments.
He knows the ins and outs of jungle and that makes him someone that cannot be replaced on TL. His jungling alone will make it extremely hard for Cloud9 to have any shot at taking them down this Sunday and that’s something TL wants.
If I had to rank this season’s top three mid laners, Pobelter would be first. He finished the 2018 Summer Split regular season with the highest KDA out of all the mid laners and finished fifth overall with three of his fellow teammates being in front of him.
That being said, Pobelter is someone that has proven his mechanical skills are something that don’t want to be thrown away. He literally gave 100 Thieves’ mid laner no space to perform or act on what he wanted and Pobelter’s team fighting presence was unmatched.
Not even Cody Sun, the famed AD Carry of 100 Thieves, could deal with Pobelter as one wrong step meant Pobelter could utterly obliterate him and his team. Pobelter won’t be looking to win this Sunday. He’s going to be looking to destroy and if Jensen wants to survive the laning phase, he’s going to have to bring everything he’s got.
Team Liquid wouldn’t be where they are right now without Doublelift. There are hundreds of thousands of people who consider Doublelift to be the greatest AD Carry in the history of the NA LCS and he’s done several things over the course of his career to prove it.
For one, he was a pushing force for Team SoloMid’s golden season in 2016-2017 when they were literally unstoppable. His time on CLG in 2015 led to them winning a Summer Split title and going to the World Championship and most recently, his time on Team Liquid has seen their rankings go from the mid-level to first place.
There’s no doubt that he’s one of the best if not the best. He finished the Regular Season first place in terms of KDA and right now, he’s second in terms of CS per minute. There seems to be nothing stopping Doublelift.
The only thing that Sneaky beats Doublelift at is positioning and that’s only because Doublelift is extremely aggressive and nine times out of ten, gets something out of his aggressiveness. He plays fast but he also plays smart and if Cloud9 doesn’t get off with a fast break, then Doublelift is going to leave them in the dust.
While Doublelift is one of the best in the game, there are very few players who can support his aggressive and demanding playstyle. And the ones who do usually fall under the pressure. But not Olleh. Olleh has proven time and time again that he’s the one for Doublelift.
He is currently undefeated on Tahm Kench and Rakan and his record on Braum is one to smile at. While he may not have the damage since he’s a support, Olleh still feels like one of the top three threats in every team fight.
That’s because Olleh knows how to balance out engaging with staying back to rejuvenate the teammates. This is what makes him such a perfect match with Doublelift. While Doublelift likes playing aggressive, he needs someone who can always read the moves with him and stay with him and that’s what Olleh does.
Olleh’s perfectly balanced playstyle makes him a perfect utility belt player for every single teammate on Team Liquid. Without him, they wouldn’t last as long in team fights and when the close fights come out, it’s going to be Olleh that keeps them going.
What’s going to need to happen for both teams to have a shot at winning. For one, they both have extremely different playstyles that’s for sure so the way Team Liquid can win is going to be different from how Cloud9 can win.
For Cloud9, it’s going to be all about that fast break. If any team member, excluding Olleh, can get an easy kill in the early game, they’re going to convert that into a lead for the mid game. If Cloud9 can take the momentum fast and keep it in their hands, Team Liquid is going to spend the game playing catch-up.
If they win the fast-break and hold the momentum, they’re going to need to keep the momentum transferred into the next games in order to have any shot at winning. As for Team Liquid, they’re going to have to utilize Pobelter and Doublelift for damage in the mid game.
However, for the early game, it’s going to be all about Impact and Xmithie. Impact is going to have to try to do his typical “top die” mechanics in order to try to secure an easy kill. However, to be able to do this, they’re most likely going to have to keep Mundo away from Licorice because that’s the champion he excels with.
Meanwhile, Xmithie’s jungle presence is going to be huge. He’s going to be a driving factor as to whether or not Team Liquid can snowball and if done right, he’ll provide the pathway for Pobelter and Doublelift to do their job.
In the end, it’s going to be a game of close margins. Whoever holds up under the pressure circumstances is going to win and that could be either Team Liquid or Cloud9. Both teams have shown resilience and it could be so close that it would be a coin toss to determine the victor.
The finals on Sunday is going to be huge. Not only is it going to be a match determining who gets a ticket to the World Championship, it’s going to be a match that determines which powerhouse is better. Cloud9 and Team Liquid have been going at it for ages now and there’s been no clear victor.
This could be the match that determines this. Both teams have icons that have lived in the NA LCS for ages and each team has proven to be something unrivaled in one way or another. That being said, this Sunday, it isn’t going to be just a final. It’s going to be the final.
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