There is a clear balance of power in the NA LCS. Team Liquid, Team SoloMid, and Cloud9 are the three elite teams in the region, and then there’s everyone else. We saw that on display in the Spring Split. Liquid, TSM, and C9 all finished with at least 13 wins and were far and away the best teams in the region all split. No other team finished with a winning record, and the oddsmakers aren’t giving any of the other seven teams much of a chance to compete in the summer.
2019 NA LCS Summer Split Betting Odds
Team Liquid +150
Team SoloMid +181
Cloud9 +242
Golden Guardians +1650
FlyQuest +1863
100 Thieves +2184
OpTic Gaming +2619
Counter Logic Gaming +3170
Clutch Gaming +4000
Echo Fox +7000
Liquid are feeling great after finally breaking their losing streak at international tournaments. They made it to the knockout rounds for the first time ever, and they stunned world champion Invictus Gaming in the semifinals of the Mid-Season Invitational. That should give them extra confidence that they can win their fourth straight split this summer.
Jensen had the best KDA in the league by a wide margin. Per Games of Legends, Liquid’s mid laner finished the regular season with a 14.2 KDA, and he had a scant 12 deaths in 18 games. It’s not like he was playing cautiously either, as Jensen would go on the hunt and play aggressively quite often just like we saw when he was on Cloud9.
The real difference maker is CoreJJ though. The former world champion support for Gen.G was the reason why Liquid upset Invictus. His ability to read opponents’ ganks and keep Doublelift safe was almost preternatural, and he was the initiator for a lot of team fights too. With him in the lineup, there’s no doubt that Liquid have the best bottom lane in the region.
Team SoloMid looked very strong over the second half of last season. TSM won 11 of 12 matches to close out the regular season, and they nearly won the Spring Split title over Liquid. They won the first two games of the finals against Liquid, and it seemed like they would win Game 5 too. Unfortunately for the LCS’ most hallowed organization, bottom laner Zven was caught out and Liquid turned the game around from there.
Top laner Broken Blade was the real difference for TSM in the Spring Split. The team took a chance when they brought him in from Turkey, and he repaid them for their trust many times over. Broken Blade might be the best top laner in the region, and that ability to win through another lane is huge. Bjergsen is still a beast in the mid lane, so if the bottom lane can play well, TSM have a great shot of winning in summer.
Cloud9 don’t have the talent of the other two teams. Licorice is the only player that can make a strong case for being the best at his position currently, although Zeyzal does have of a chance of becoming the best support in the region.
Instead, C9’s strength lies in its plans. They are well prepared in pick and ban, and they come up with unique strategies that throw other teams off. I think Reapered is the best coach in the region, and if C9 is going to nip the other two, it will be through superior strategy.
Of the longshots, 100 Thieves have the best chance of making noise. They were one of the favorites entering the Spring Split after acquiring Bang, but they were dreadful and must now replace their jungler and mid laner after woeful performances. Bang is still a pretty solid win condition, yet this team needs a lot of things to go right in order to contend once more.
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