The first round of the LCS Championship will take place this weekend. Eight of the ten LCS teams are participating in the LCS Championship, and the top three teams from the league will represent North America at the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. The top two teams and the bottom two teams in the LCS Championship won’t be taking part in the action this weekend. Team SoloMid and 100 Thieves will play the winners of the two matches next week, and all four of those teams will be able to afford another loss and move into the Losers’ Bracket. However, the losers of the two matches this week will be placed into the Losers’ Bracket with Immortals and Golden Guardians, where a loss means you are eliminated from contention.
2021 LCS Championship Round 1 Betting Odds
Evil Geniuses -590
Dignitas +365
Evil Geniuses were arguably the best team in the LCS over the second half of the Summer Split. After a dismal 4-6 start to the Summer Split, the Evil Geniuses won 14 of their last 17 matches and nearly caught 100 Thieves for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
This team’s turnaround has been phenomenal. Their players have mastered particular champions that are in the meta, making it tough to draft against them. For instance, junglers Svenskeren and Contractz have combined to take Diana eight times, and Evil Geniuses have won all eight of those games. Additionally, they have taken new power pick Viego seven times and are 6-1 with the champion.
The play of rookie Danny has been very impressive too. He has doled out 28.1% of his team’s damage per Games of Legends, and he has developed into a very good bottom laner with the help of Ignar in support. Impact has been a veteran rock in the top lane, while Jiizuke is playing at a high level and avoiding some of the overaggressive plays that hurt him in the past.
Dignitas won both of the meetings between these teams in the Spring Split, and they beat Evil Geniuses in their first meeting in the Summer Split. That gives them the head-to-head advantage this year although Evil Geniuses won the last two matches.
This isn’t a great meta for Dignitas. Although Aphromoo is still a very good support, it’s hard for Neo to play his favorite champion in Ezreal. Akaadian has struggled on Kayn, Gwen, Rumble, and Xin Zhao in the jungle, and both the top lane and mid lane has been mediocre. It will be very difficult for Dignitas to pull off the upset.
Team Liquid +115
Cloud9 -145
It’s looking very likely that either Cloud9 or Team Liquid will miss out on Worlds. Two of the three most successful franchises in North America have struggled this summer, and there’s a good chance both teams fail to make it to Worlds due to the play of TSM, 100T, and EG.
Liquid has had a massive identity crisis this summer. Head coach Jatt started academy top laner Jenkins over pricy import Alphari at the start of the split, and that decision backfired in a big way. That led to Jatt resigning several weeks ago, but the team has struggled to find any continuity under interim head coach Kold.
CoreJJ has continued to be one of the best supports in the league and leads Liquid with a 4.8 KDA. Jensen has been somewhat solid too, but the play from the top lane, jungle, and bottom lane has been subpar. Tactical has been very reliant on Varus, and his inability to successfully play Aphelios has been an issue.
Cloud9 should be a larger favorite in this match. They won all three of their games against Liquid this Summer Split, and they have been more consistent. Although Perkz has been hit or miss in the mid lane, he has a deep champion pool, and Fudge has played much better than expected in the top lane.
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