League Championship Series Week 4 Predictions

As we get closer to the end of the first half of the split we look at a very even race for the playoffs. Four teams are tied for both 3rd and 7th (Separated by one win) and many important matchups will be played this week that could doom some teams out of playoffs. Our standings are also ridiculously close, and they are as follows: Brandon (18-12), Manny (17-13), Ibriz (15-15), and Major (17-13). Who will take the advantage, going into week five?

Saturday, February 16th

5 PM ET TSM vs. Optic Gaming

TSM had a slow start to the year but look to keep their strategies in check and start picking up wins they will have to take down OpTic Gaming. OpTic has had a rough time as well due to the many roster changes the team underwent while awaiting for Arrow's visa issues to get resolved. TSM is hoping to start getting more wins and not be in a position where they could potentially not make playoffs.

Brandon: TSM
Manny: TSM
Ibriz: Optic
Major: Optic

6 PM ET Golden Guardians vs. Team Liquid

Golden Guardians had an astounding week three with a strong 2-0 coming through. They are facing the best team in the League. With a new patch that benefits DoubleLift and his playstyle, it will be a tough challenge for the Guardians. Team Liquid is hoping to continue their undefeated season and will be the favorite against the Guardians. If the Guardians are able to pull off this upset, then their value will be sure to skyrocket within the league's standings.

Brandon: Team Liquid
Manny: Golden Guardians
Ibriz: Team Liquid
Major: Team Liquid

7 PM ET Cloud9 vs. Echo Fox

Echo Fox has usually been a fan favorite for many fans of the LCS, in the last few years Echo Fox has seemed closer to competing in the playoff. Cloud 9 has slowly started to become the clear second best team. This can be an undeniable victory for C9, but with the way, most LCS games have been played; it can end up being an upset. It does seem difficult to imagine a world where this C9 team would lose, but it won't be the weirdest thing to occur this year.

Brandon: C9
Manny: C9
Ibriz: Echo Fox
Major: C9

8 PM ET 100 Thieves vs. FlyQuest

The Thieves proved to be the team everyone wanted them to be. WIth 100 Thieves starting to ramp up it will be interesting to see if any of the other teams can compete against a full strength Thieves side. FlyQuest started strong and still look to be one of the teams hoping to get into the top six. FlyQuest has however slumped in the last week, and if they are not able to recover, then they can find themselves being overwhelmed by the other teams.

Brandon: 100
Manny: 100
Ibriz: FlyQuest
Major: 100

9 PM ET Clutch Gaming vs. CLG

Counter Logic Gaming is one of the teams that is hard to tell where would be the right place to put them in. In terms of standings, CLG finds themselves above Clutch Gaming, who will be looking to jump frog over them and show their constant improvement. CLG is starting to look like one of the better teams in the LCS, even after dropping a game against 100 Thieves last week. I think this game will be very dependent on both teams and how they react to the new patch and its changes.

Brandon: CG
Manny: CLG
Ibriz: CLG
Major: CLG

Sunday, February 17th

3 PM ET Echo Fox vs. 100 Thieves

Historically 100 Thieves have regularly had Echo Fox's number since coming into the game. With a 5-1 record against Echo Fox, it will be clear that 100 Thieves is the favorite coming into the game. Yet, Fox has been showing some decent performances against the other teams they have faced. It is clear that Fox is one of the gatekeeping teams separating the good from the rest.

Brandon: Fox
Manny: 100
Ibriz: 100
Major:100

4 PM ET CLG vs. Golden Guardians

This next game can make it easier to understand the strength of both the Golden Guardians and CLG in accordance to the standings. Golden Guardians had a resurgence this past week looking great against TSM and Optic. Both games did have a similar composition and heavily relying on Froggen's 86% win-rate Karthus. Golden Guardians were considered a much better team this year after picking up some new players in the offseason. CLG still wants to prove that they are one of the great teams in North America, but that won't happen if they can't beat any of the lower rated teams.

Brandon: Golden Guardians
Manny: CLG
Ibriz: CLG
Major: CLG

5 PM ET Team Liquid vs. TSM

Many fans think that TL and TSM should be one of the most heated matchups. The way things are at the moment, it looks like Team Liquid will be delivering TSM their 5th or 6th loss (depending on the other match of the week). Historically TSM has had an edge on Team Liquid, even checking at the five games that both teams played against each other, TSM still holds a 3-2 record. With that in mind, it could be possible that TSM is the first real contender to take down Team Liquid as the go in their undefeated season.

Brandon: Team Liquid
Manny: TSM
Ibriz: Team Liquid
Major: Team Liquid

6 PM ET FlyQuest vs. Clutch Gaming

FlyQuest wants to make sure they bounce back as soon as possible that way the momentum from their first two weeks. If they keep slipping it could spell trouble as it could result in FlyQuest failing to make it into playoffs. Clutch Gaming is still a middle of the pack team that is looking to gain consistency to show that they are some of the gatekeepers that could be hard to deal with for the bottom half.

Brandon: FlyQuest
Manny: Clutch Gaming
Ibriz: FlyQuest
Major: FlyQuest

7 PM ET OpTic Gaming vs. Cloud9

OpTic Still seems to lack the cohesion needed for a contending team in the LCS and with the number of roster changes they were forced into is an unfortunate way to start the split. Cloud9 will be looking to dismantle Crown in the mid lane as they did to Gen G in last year's Worlds.

Brandon: Cloud9
Manny: Cloud9
Ibriz: Cloud9
Major: Cloud9

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