Cloud9 vs Team Liquid: MSS 2021 Predictions & Betting Odds

Now that the Mid-Season Showdown is entering the second stage, we’re going to look at the most awaited battle of the Split between C9 & Team Liquid. Let’s see how the best two teams in NA have done so far and what we can expect going into the series.

At the end of this article, you will find our match predictions, correct score and exotics you need to look into for this weeks’ LoL betting slips.

C9 – Flexible & Versatile

Cloud9 were the most anticipated roster coming into this split. They were able to get G2’s former captain Luka “Perkz” Perković, with the hope of elevating NA’s overall competitive level.

Alongside him, the team took in the upcoming talent from the former Australian League, the OPL, in the name of Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami. The Australian top laner showed that he’s worthy of a starting spot in the LCS and that NA still has a lot of catch-ups to do.

Regarded as the best roster NA had this year, Cloud9’s start wasn’t one of the best. The team struggled in the very first games, showing that there were some synergy issues that had to be fixed. Luckily, C9 was very quick to fix them and looked stronger as the split went on.

The most important thing worth noting, though, is that Cloud9 also worked on their overall flexibility, especially in terms of champion pools. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen & Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme are two of the most versatile players in the league and that allows the team to choose many different team comps. In addition, they have the cleanest Senna & Tahm Kench duo.

This key factor opens up many different combinations on the other side of the map. Jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang can play both carries & tanks, with Fudge covering the role of whatever is needed. Perkz is given a lot of agency, as he played 13 different champions over the course of the split.

Cloud9’s versatility became even clearer in their last series against 100Thieves. The players drafted different playstyles each game and they ended up coming on top, demolishing 100Thieves in a quick 3-0.

Despite the good result, the team still has some work to do. The execution is not very clean and Cloud9 can find themselves in dire situations that can become disastrous. While they were able to recover against a team like 100Thieves, it is very unlikely that it will happen against a team like TL…

Team Liquid – Consistent & Systematic

Similar to C9, Team Liquid also upgraded its roster. As a result, Barney “Alphari” Morris & Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen gave TL a very refreshing identity that shutdown the old-school playstyle of playing through the botlane.

While Edward “Tactical” Ra still gets a lot of resources poured into him, he’s not the solo carry anymore. Instead, TL relies on both the solo lanes as well as the ADC to win games. Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in & Alphari are probably the best players in the whole region, with Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen being a top 3 mid laner as well.

The roster’s level is very high, and Santorin helps the team gel together, playing a more supportive style. Together with CoreJJ, they control the overall flow of the map and extend their advantage with objectives’ control.

Barney “Alphari” Morris

As a consequence, TL’s draft is fairly consistent: they give Alphari a way to dominate the lane whilst making sure that the other parts of the map don’t bleed as much. After he got his lead, he proceeds to help the other lanes snowball during teamfights.

The main weakness of this roster is that the overall draft phase becomes very predictable. Cloud9 will have to punish that in order to gain an edge because, in terms of execution, TL has done a lot better so far.

Prediction – C9 vs TL to Silver Scrapes

With that being said, my prediction is 3-2 for Cloud9. The series will be extremely close and both have chances of taking it. Nevertheless, C9 showed more improvement over the course of the split and the flexibility will become key in a Bo5.

If you are looking into LCS Betting, this match is a good place to start. Placing a wager on Cloud9 will net you a 1.83x return on your investment over at GG.BET.

Any best of three series also provides massive potential for esports live betting and exotic markets. The best bets in this category are map duration, and race to kills. The first two maps will dictate the tempo of the series. If you spot a slow and methodical series developing from the get-go, you can easily bet on a Map Duration over 34 minutes. This will usually net you double return.

Finally, the cake goes to predicting the correct outcome of the series. I am predicting Silver Scrapes, and you can expect x4.95 (+395) return on your investment with this outcome.

Read next: Best LoL Players 2021 – Top players in League of Legends this season