Hype and Upsets Abound Going into the North American Playoffs
It’s All Up in the Air
We’ve already explained how important the playoffs and the succeeding regional gauntlets are in our coverage of the European playoff picture, but that doesn’t underscore just how important the coming matches will be for North America
While Europe remains under the shadow of Fnatic’s perfect record, NA has been thrown into turmoil. Its top teams no longer hold the high rankings they once monopolized, and for the first time ever, there could be a true shift in power for the region.
Which team will prevail? It’s honestly tough to decide! Hopefully a look at all the teams will give you an idea of who to root for.
Team Liquid
Spring: 50 points, Summer: minimum 40
Liquid’s transformation from Curse nearly ended in disaster as they narrowly squeaked into last spring’s playoffs after weeks of shaky play. Despite that, they had a surprisingly powerful playoff performance, handily trouncing CLG and narrowly losing to Cloud 9 before finishing third.
This split, their individual talent has carried them far, being able to win most of their lanes by raw skill alone. Each of their players is easily within the top 3 of their respective positions within NA. Couple that with aggressive mid-game plays by their jungler Christian “IWDominate” Rivera, and it’s easy to see why this team could have finished first in the regular season.
But despite their #1 seed, the road hasn’t been without potholes. Liquid show a lack of decisive finishes in their games. Their difficulty in producing clean wins may be due to the language barrier within the team and could ultimately be their downfall if their skill isn’t enough to overwhelm their opponents.
Counter Logic Gaming
Spring: 10 points, Summer: minimum 40
Ah, CLG. Their reputation as the strongest early game team in the region is only tempered by their penchant for throwing horribly once playoffs come around. After being manhandled by Liquid last split the organization underwent another round of changes to enter its current form.
That current form is what’s brought them to the 2nd seed. In a region that isn’t as punishing as others in terms of pressure, CLG’s early game strength is often enough to close out quick and easy. But if things go wrong, will the team’s history of falling apart rear its ugly head again?
Make no mistake: this is the strongest CLG has looked, perhaps in its entire history in the LCS. If there was ever a time to finally reach the top, it is now. And yet, it’s hard to completely put faith in them after so many last minute meltdowns thus far.
Team Impulse
Spring: 30 points, Summer: minimum 20
If CLG is a strong early game team, Impulse are the kings of the late surge. Despite being a middle of the pack team for most of the split, Impulse have only lost 2 out of their last 10 games!
When they pick up steam, they pick it up fast and they make sure to snowball into an unstoppable ball of death. Impulse likes to fight as a group and fight often, seeing as all their players top the league in assist numbers. With an all-aggressive style that never lets up, all the top teams have felt the pressure of Impulse and many have fallen to their might.
But if there’s one weak spot for the surging team now it would be that their mid laner, Yu “XiaoWeiXiao” Xian is suspended for Elo-boosting, requiring a substitute for the entirety of playoffs.
Gravity Gaming
Spring: 10 points, Summer: minimum 20
Perhaps the team with the most to gain in the playoffs, Gravity were the solid #1 contender in NA for a number of weeks. A surprising collapse in week 9 saw them plummet from 1st all the way to 4th, but they are still a solid contender in the playoffs.
Their first match against TSM is pivotal as Gravity is known for shutting down enemy mid laners, which is what TSM primarily relies on. Should Gravity pull off this upset, it would be an unprecedented feat in the NA scene, but to do it requires them to be at the top of their game.
They’ve shown innovative team compositions, strong laning presence and massive vision control and denial over the split. All those components will have to come together if Gravity wants to make history.
Team SoloMid
Spring: 90 points, Summer: minimum 20
NA’s classic #1 team is now in 5th place, at least as far as seeds go. Coming off a split where they regained their LCS crown from Cloud 9, the team has fallen far with their players slightly under-performing (with the exception of Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg).
Moreover, their once crisp shot calling has slacked—perhaps a product of the immense pressure on Bjergsen’s shoulders? Even their Head Coach was shifted around as team owner Andy “Reginald” Dinh had to step in to plug the holes in the ship.
TSM have historically been strong in a best of X series, only getting stronger as the games progress. They’ll have to draw from that strength now more than ever if they’re to stand a chance of retaining their title. Thankfully, their huge amount of Championship Points give them a huge safety net for the gauntlet.
Team Dignitas
Spring: 0 points, Summer: minimum 20
The only new addition to playoffs this year is a team that’s always flirted with being great but never quite made it. After settling on a dedicated jungler (their jungle woes last split landed them in relegations), Dig have bounced back even managed to beat out top contenders this summer.
Their late split run has been disappointing. Since losing to the last place team they’ve slid down to 6th, winning only 3 of their last 8 games. Being up against Team Impulse doesn’t help their chances either.
With no Championship Points from last split to sustain them, they’re going to have to pull off a string of upsets if they want to make Worlds.
Missing out
As far as NA is concerned, even the teams that have missed the playoffs have more intrigue around them than their European counterparts. These teams may have missed out on the glory, but for at least one team, the dream of reaching the World Championship is not dead yet.
Cloud 9
Spring: 70 points, Summer: 0
Cloud 9 are the shock of the split, if not the year. The two-time LCS champions find themselves watching the playoffs from the sidelines after a split where everything seemed to fall apart for them.
The fall of one of NA’s finest teams can’t be pinned down to one thing. Many will say the retirement of Hai “Hai” Du Lam did them in, but it was more than that. Individually, the players had already been slumping and losing confidence. Even their old strategic edge of being smarter at picks and bans was negated by every team employing a coach.
The shining light for Cloud 9 is that with Hai back, they’ve been on a major upswing. Combine that with the fact that they’re assured to be in the gauntlet thanks to their 2nd place finish’s worth of Championship Points and the faint glimmer of hope for C9 to make Worlds still shines.
Team 8
Team 8 rode their wave of Challenger Series success to make an impression last spring, pulling off some upsets and keeping their LCS dream alive at a safe 7th place. Their modest growth would have put many bets on them improving this split, but that wouldn’t be the case.
Known to be one of the last teams to run a dedicated carry top laner, they were hampered by the heavy tank meta that dominated most of the summer weeks. Additionally, their mid laner (and arguably their MVP) Andrew “Slooshi” Pham had to leave midway through the season due to a family issue.
The team never recovered from these setbacks, but they have to remain strong if they’re going to have any hope of fending off the upcoming Challenger squads looking for a promotion.
Enemy
Enemy was the team that replaced Team Coast by being automatically promoted into the LCS. The team consisted of Challenger Series veterans and even a former LCS player, and had a sizeable fanbase to help them transition onto the big stage.
Though they started well enough, splitting many of their early weeks 1-1, they faltered late in the season, losing their last 6 games. They still have a chance to defend their spot in the LCS, but the team needs to find a second wind and fast, or a hungrier team may take their place (Team Coast could be looking for revenge).
Team Dragon Knights
TDK will be haunted by this split of missed opportunity. It was a little out of their hands, but with two of their key members absent for nearly half of the season due to VISA issues, the team’s synergy was never given time to mature.
Already coming in as heavy underdogs from the Challenger scene, this team of nearly all Korean talent could have made an impact and upset some of the balance in NA, if their stellar 2-0 performance during the very last week was any indication.
Alas, all the roster complications kept the team from performing properly. If they decide to stick together, then who knows, we could see them return soon.
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