LCS Championship Round 1 Match Preview & Predictions
With the LCS Summer Split ending, we’re entering in the most important stage of the season: the LCS Championship! Replacing the old Summer Playoffs format, the LCS Championship will allow the top 8 teams to compete for a spot for Worlds 2021!
We take a look at the first 2 matches of Round 1 at the LCS Championship coming up this weekend. As usual, we will tell you everything on how to make the best bets to optimize your tipster gains!
Evil Geniuses vs Dignitas
The LCS Championship starts off with an opener between the 3rd seed Evil Geniuses and 6th seed Dignitas. Considering that all series will be Bo5s, we will have many chances to make our LoL bets on matches. This match in particular should be pretty one-sided: Evil Geniuses (on paper) will easily crush Dignitas 3-0.
There’s a significant gap between the top five teams and the bottom three. Evil Geniuses rose this summer after a very mediocre start: up until week 3, Evil Geniuses was considered by many a mid-pack team. Week after week, and wins after wins they earned the recognition they deserved. Fixing some of the issues, including the notorious over-aggression, allowed them to get the upper hand against most teams.
In League, aggression is always seen as a positive thing. However, being too aggressive can really mess up an entire team. Finding the balance is the key here… and EG did it. If they can keep their level of play, we will likely EG at Worlds, so keep that in mind during this LCS Championship.
Dignitas, on the other hand, did the opposite of EG. From surprising everyone in Spring with a 5th place, Dignitas’ performance dipped when the drama revolved around jungler Dardoch started, leading to his departure. After that, Dignitas never looked as good as before. If they’re still 6th, it is mainly due to other teams not stepping up.
With that being said, I expect Evil Geniuses to straight up 3-0 Dignitas (2.67x). If DIG is able to win a game, it will be likely due to EG being overly aggressive and messing up. EG will likely take first blood (1.6x), as well as first tower (1.53x). Just make sure to check out the drafts to have the confirmation of EG’s gameplan. This is probably the least volatile series in the whole LCS Championship: if you want to make good cash, bet on this series!
Remember that all betting odds are courtesy of GG.BET.
Cloud 9 vs Team Liquid
The other game we are looking at will be the umpteenth match between Cloud9 and Team Liquid. These two faced off in the Finals of the Spring Split, with Cloud9 coming out on top.
Just like last time, these two teams will likely have a very close series. It’s very hard to imagine either of the two winning the series 3-0, so don’t give it too much thought in your bets. 3-1, and especially 3-2, are more likely results. (3-2 for C9 nets you a 4.66x, while for TL is 5.31x)
Cloud9 had a very up and down summer split: the international experience at the Mid-Season Invitational didn’t seem to have helped the team improve. Inconsistent throughout the first part of the split, they regained some towards the very end, thanks to Zven’s return. Remember that the ADC was benched for undisclosed reasons. Following some non-ideal results, C9 called him back into the starting roster.
What’s even more impressive about this 2021 is how C9 wasn’t the only one with internal issues. Team Liquid had even more problems to deal with. First, top laner Alphari was benched due to some problems with the coaching staff. At first, the team looked like they were standing for the latter. Later, though, Head Coach Jatt was released and Alphari made it back to the starting roster.
The organizations are giving the impression that their star-players are valued a lot more than the coaching staff and that they must cope with their strong presence. While fixing that issue, another one emerged: Santorin was facing some serious health issues which brought him to a stop. Academy jungler Armao stepped in to fill the role. Just like that, TL found itself with a downgraded roster for almost half a split. It kind of ruined their overall standings, as they went from 3rd to 5th. However, what’s even worse is that they’re not anymore the top team from last year. It will be a hard run for them, especially if they drop against Cloud9.
To conclude, the series will be very long: Cloud9, on paper, should be the favored. You can make a 1.63x on your investment if C9 wins. If you want to make bets on the individual games, make sure to watch the draft and adjust them accordingly. In most cases, Cloud9 is more proactive in the early game, so First Bloods will likely go to them (1.75x). If you believe the series will go to Silver Scrapes, then an over-4.5 total maps is a very good choice: it will net you a 2.73x.
Whatever the result may be, we will have more action and more opportunities. The losers of these two series will be facing Immortals and Golden Guardians in the losers’ bracket! Stay tuned with our Esports News to check out our preview on those series as well!
