League of Legends Championship Series: Week 1 Predictions

NA fans rejoice! The LCS is finally back this week, much like with the LEC the ESTNN writers are confident that they can predict the outcomes of the LCS. So thus a second part of the predictions unfolds, and we will see who is the superior LoL writer in ESTNN. Without further ado, let us get into the first week of the LCS. (All times are approximate and are displayed in the Eastern Time zone if need help converting for your time feel free to use this time converter).

Saturday, January 26th

5 PM ET Team Liquid vs. Cloud9:

The first game of the new LCS is going to be the rematch from last year's summer finals. With many storylines setting up this split, we can witness the very first one take place; when we see Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen face his old team, Cloud9. Team Liquid look to continue their impressive regional dominion with a strong start to the split. Cloud9, on the other hand, look to translate their strong Worlds' performance to battle for an LCS championship. This match will be a definite must watch for fans everywhere, and it could be a good indicator of the strength of these two teams.

Manny: Team Liquid

Ibriz: Team Liquid

Brandon: Team Liquid

6 PM ET 100 Thieves vs. Team SoloMid:

100 Thieves had a memorable inaugural season, finishing in the 2nd seed of the NA LCS and making even making Worlds. With ambitions being even higher after such a successful season, 100T look to bolster their roster with the signing of Bae “Bang” Jun-Sik (two-time world champion) and Choi “Huhi” Jae-Hyun. On the other side of this matchup, TSM had a woeful season by not making it to either NALCS final (Spring or Summer) for the first time in their history. TSM has a different roster and coaching staff hoping to improve from last years results. Will the changes prove to be enough for either team to be the new LCS champion?

Manny: 100 Thieves

Ibriz: 100 Thieves

Brandon: TSM

7 PM ET Counter Logic Gaming vs. OpTic Gaming:

CLG had an abysmal year in 2018, not qualifying to the playoffs for their first time in their history. CLG picked up Raymond “Wiggily” Griffin and Tristan “Power of Evil” Schrage to improve their squad. They also looked for the help of Weldon Green as their new head coach to try to give the team a new direction (hopefully at the top). OpTic followed the trend of the west and imported an ex-Worlds champion in Lee “Crown” Min-Ho. The signing of William “Meteos” Hartman, also looks to improve the squad from the jungle. With two of the most struggling teams facing off, we look to see if one of these teams can break into the top half of the table and challenge for a playoff spot.

Manny: CLG

Ibriz: CLG

Brandon: Optic

8 PM ET FlyQuest vs. Golden Guardians:

The Golden Guardians (GGS) decided to rebuild around jungler Juan “Contractz” Garcia and ADC Matthew “Deftly” Chen. GGS was the worst team in both splits of last year; they hope that with their new squad this does not happen again. Contractz and Deftly had their moments throughout last season but with the addition of three veterans to the team; they will be hoping to show it was the right decision to keep them in the squad. Their opponents, in the season opener, will be Flyquest. Flyquest has added both Omran “V1per” Shoura and Eugene “Pobelter” Park from Team Liquid. Both V1per and Pobelter will be looking to make a splash in their new team, hoping to start strong in the LCS.

Manny: GGS

Ibriz: GGS

Brandon: GGS

9 PM ET Clutch Gaming vs. Echo Fox:

On the last match of day one, we have Clutch Gaming facing Echo Fox. Fans that have been watching the NALCS will see that both teams swapped some players. Sadly, both Echo Fox and Clutch Gaming were unable to qualify to Worlds, but both had rather successful seasons overall. The man to watch will be “nice boy” himself,  Lee “Rush” Yoon-Jae, who makes his comeback to the LCS. This game will definitely be a back and forth that you won't want to miss.

Manny: Clutch Gaming

Ibriz: Echo Fox

Brandon: Echo Fox

Sunday, January 27th

3 PM ET OpTic Gaming vs. FlyQuest:

Meteos was brought in to OpTic Gaming after a small stint in Flyquest and will be facing his old team for the first time. Considered one of the best North American talents in the jungle, Meteos will try to prove he is still one of the best. Being the first week of the season, it is difficult to determine where teams are ranked, but this game will help decide if these two teams will improve from last year's standings.

Manny: FlyQuest

Ibriz: FlyQuest

Brandon: OpTic

4 PM ET Cloud9 vs. 100 Thieves:

The battle of the top lane carries will start when Licorice goes up against Ssumday. Both Cloud9 and 100 Thieves were two of the three North American representatives in Worlds, all of that is in the past though, and both teams have new stories to create with their new rosters. Bang will be playing against one of his close friends of the LCS, Zachary “Sneaky” Scudery, and will showcase if he really can dominate the LCS.

Manny: Cloud9

Ibriz: 100 Thieves

Brandon: Cloud9

5 PM ET Counter Logic Gaming vs. Team Liquid:

Team Liquid is still considered North America's number one team by many. These early games will be crucial for them to prove that this is the case. With many teams upgrading their rosters, we will be able to see if they have closed the gap to Team Liquid. CLG will be looking for a strong start to show that they are back into consideration as one of the best team in the LCS. Will the faith be restored or is the TL train to strong?

Manny: Team Liquid

Ibriz: CLG

Brandon: Team Liquid

6 PM ET Clutch Gaming vs. Team SoloMid:

Clutch gaming had a dreamlike start to their 2018 Spring Split with their impressive upset against TSM. A new year and new teams will look promising for fans who want to see an evolving rivalry developing. Heo “Huni” Seung-Hoo, will be looking to make waves after his transfer from Echo Fox and Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik will be looking to prove he can fight against some of the best top laners of the league.

Manny: TSM

Ibriz: Clutch Gaming

Brandon: TSM

7 PM ET Echo Fox vs. Golden Guardians:

To finish off the first week of the LCS, we have two rebuilt teams facing off against each other. Henrik “Froggen” Hanson will be facing his former team for the first time in two years, with his CS-centric play style it will be interesting to see how he does in a more aggressive and fast-paced meta. The Golden Guardians are hoping for vast improvement and will be hoping they can take the LCS by storm.

Manny: Golden Guardians

Ibriz: Golden Guardians

Brandon: Echo Fox

That concludes our predictions for Week 1 of the LCS. Do you think we got anything monumentally wrong?  Are you hoping for any crazy upsets? Let us know via Twitter.

Images Courtesy of: LoL Esports, Team Liquid, and FlyQuest.