LEC August 6: LEC August 6: Evil Geniuses Have Only Lost Two Matches All Season

• 100 Thieves should be too strong for Golden Guardians
• Team Liquid are good enough to show that they can stay consistent
• Cloud9 to end Counter Logic Gaming’s purple patch

100 Thieves

Golden Guardians vs 100 Thieves Prediction

Golden Guardians will be desperate to make it to the playoffs spots but that’s looking really unlikely at the moment as their next opponents are last season’s runners-up and second placed 100 Thieves.

100 Thieves are the clear favorites heading into this match. They’ve only lost thrice this season with those losses coming against sides that are in and around them in the table. Qualification for the playoffs is confirmed and it’s mostly a case of ending the season as high as possible for a favorable draw. There’s no reason for them to go into this match a little relaxed as any forward momentum will help when they go into the playoffs.

There’s a case to be made that they’ve been the best side in the league this term with a better KD ratio of 1.71 than Evil Geniuses. Bot Laner, FBI, has to take a lot of credit for this. He has been indestructible, averaging just 1.83 deaths per game this year and it shows in the 7.5 deaths per game that 100 Thieves have averaged this season, the best defensive record in the league by some distance.

It’s hard to see how Golden Guardians, who have only managed to get 9.6 kills per game this season are going to breach that. Most of the players have disappointed. Ablazeolive, the mid laner, has averaged 2.6 kills per game and 2.97 deaths per game this season, as a case in point, which is simply not good enough at this level.

They’ve also been the most vulnerable side in the league, averaging 13.5 deaths per game. There is only going to be one winner in this match and they’re 100 Thieves. As safe a bet as it gets in the LCS.

Evil Geniuses vs TSM Picks

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses vs TSM Predictions

Next up are one of the other top sides in the league, last season’s winners and currently sitting on first place in the league, Evil Geniuses. They’ll be taking on TSM, who seem to be improving a little but are still one of the lower table sides.

Evil Geniuses have only lost two matches all season, whereas TSM have lost nine from their 13. Evil Geniuses are, of course, massive favorites heading into this match. You worry for TSM heading into this match as Evil Geniuses have averaged more kills per game than any other side in the league this season, 15.9 per game to be precise. Danny, the bot laner, has led the way with 4.73 kills per game this year. They have a settled line-up and should have no trouble against TSM. Evil Geniuses usually take a little under 35 minutes to end their games but this one shouldn’t take too long.

TSM have not been able to impose themselves on the opponent in the last two seasons. They’ve only averaged 8.9 kills per game this season and they’ve had so much turnover this season that it’s hard to point at which player needs to improve going forward. Spica, the Jungler, has played more games than anyone in the side this season and he has averaged 3 deaths per game this year. That goes to show just how much of a challenge they have going forward as a team and in this match.

Like the first match, this should also be a fairly one-sided encounter with the favorites, Evil Geniuses, expected to win quite comfortably.

Team Liquid vs FlyQuest Picks

Team Liquid

Team Liquid vs FlyQuest Predictions

This should be a highly intriguing matchup between two sides that are considered the best of the rest. They’re in the playoffs spot at the moment in 5th and 6th place and have also distanced themselves from those under them that lessens the stakes but still promises a lot because both sides will want to prove that they’re up there with the best.

Team Liquid have had a bit of a disappointing campaign by their high standards. They were the best side in the league last season but have struggled to show that form this season. However, they’re still above FlyQuest and managed to beat them earlier in the league and will head into this match as the favorites.

There’s been some misfortune involved because they enjoy the third best KD Ratio of 1.28 in the league and also the third most damage in the league but are still tied on points with Cloud9 and Counter Logic Gaming. According to every available metric, they’re still the third best side in the league and have perhaps the standout player in the league. Bjergsen, the bot laner, has an extraordinary KDA of 7.61 this year and with a little help from his teammates, they could win it all this season.

FlyQuest provide decent opposition but aren’t a fully convincing side, having averaged 10.7 kills per game and 9.8 deaths per game for the season. They’ll need a bit more from the likes of bot laner, Johnsun, who has averaged 3.78 kills per game this year to really be a force. This isn’t going to be enough and it’s why Team Liquid should have little trouble beating them.

This is probably the hardest match to call so far on the list but it still sways quite heavily towards Team Liquid coming on top.

Immortals vs Dignitas Picks

Immortals

Immortals vs Dignitas Predictions

There isn’t a lot on stake in this match, which makes it quite hard to predict what the outcome is going to be. Both sides have had a torrid season. Immortals have got one win over Dignitas. There isn’t a great difference in their KD ratios with Dignitas’ 0.69 only slightly better than Immortals 0.61.

Dignitas have the slightly better defense, allowing 11.5 deaths per game compared to Immortals’ 12.8 deaths per game. Both sides are fairly slow in the way they go about games, which should make this a difficult watch in terms of quality but the hope is that because they’re evenly matched, it should be a tight game.

The trouble for Dignitas is that they’ve really declined from last season, where they won 8 matches. It seems like they’ve given up on this season once it looked like they weren’t going to make the playoff spots. They just missed out last season and it must be extremely frustrating that they never looked like making it this time out.

Immortals have more to play for. They came last in the league last season and win here will surely see them not end this season as the bottom side. There have been a whole host of underperformers in both sides.

Immortals’ Power of Evil has been with the team all season, averaged 2.24 deaths and kills per game, 4.64 assists per game and got a KDA of 3.07. Biofrost, the support, has contributed well for Dignitas with 6.67 assists per game this season but a support can’t lead the team.

If Dignitas are at their best, they would’ve been the favorites to win this match but recent games suggest that they just want this season to end and start looking ahead. Immortals have none of those troubles. For them, this is a great chance to gain some confidence. They aren’t going to make the playoffs but if a win is on the cards, they should grab it with both hands and we think they’ll do just that in this match. This is one of the harder predictions for this week and that should make up for the lack of quality on show.

Counter Logic Gaming vs Cloud9 Picks

Cloud9

Counter Logic Gaming vs Cloud9 Predictions

This has got to be the most interest match as far as predictions are concerned this week. Counter Logic Gaming have done very well to get to 3rd place on the table. Cloud9 had made a poor start to the season but have been really good in recent weeks and should head into this match as favorites because they’ve had a decent record in the league in the past.

Cloud9 don’t usually make a fast start with a first blood rate of 38.5% and a first tower rate of 46.2% but this strategy seems to working at the moment and there’s no real reason to abandon it. Something they’ll be well aware of heading into this match is that Counter Logic Gaming are one of the weakest sides defensively in the league. They have averaged 13.2 deaths per game this season, which is why it’s a bit of a surprise that they are this high on the table. It goes against logic but countering that is evidently their forte.

Contractz, their Jungler, has averaged 3.54 deaths per game this year but it doesn’t seem to have affected their ranking on the league table. It’s hard to see them sustaining this for very long and they’ll be quite please for the time being that they are almost certainly qualifying for the playoffs.

For Cloud9, the top laner Fudge has been the standout. He has averaged 3.31 kills per game, 1.81 deaths per game, 5.42 assists per game and 4.82 KDA this year. This are very strong stats and as long as they have players of this caliber on board, they’ll be able to match up against the best of sides in the LCS.

For this match, we have to go with Cloud9. They’ve got the better players, better credentials and have now got the momentum that was lacking a little earlier in the season. Counter Logic Gaming have done well to sit so high up the table but this looks like the sort of match that will kill their purple patch.

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