Who Will It Be Now? NA Week 6 Coverage And eSports Betting Predictions
Published: Feb 20, 2016 - Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023
Cloud 9 and Immortals battle it out for supremacy
Heading into week 5 of the NA LCS 2016 Spring Split, the most anticipated matchup featured a resurging Cloud 9 team, led by Hai, and the currently undefeated Immortals squad.
It feels like we mention Hai on a weekly basis, and for good reasons. His shot calling has been impeccable this season, and we’ve seen what Cloud 9 looks like without him (the BunnyFuFu project has been an utter failure).
Jensen (formerly Incarnati0n) has continued to be a dominant force this split. Balls has looked much improved, and Rush has started to play like the top jungler we expected him to be. Meanwhile, Sneaky and Hai in the bottom lane have proven they can go toe-to-toe with any NA bottom lane duo.
On the other side of this matchup are the undefeated Immortals. Huni and Reignover have been one of the most dominating Top/Jungle duos we’ve seen in the history of the NA LCS. WildTurtle has proven that he’s still a top tier ADC and Adrian has been the best support in NA this split.
For the most part Immortals has largely dominated the playing field, including their first matchup against Cloud 9 without Hai. While Immortals remains the top team in NA, Cloud 9 has most certainly entered the discussion for next best.
The rematch was an excellent, back and forth duel. Balls picked up solo kills on Huni, Sneaky played Jhin for the first time in the LCS this year (and had three to four excellent snipe kills with his ultimate) and Jensen held his own mid. Huni and Reignover were shut down for most of this match, but it still did not matter. After trading kills through the first 20 minutes in small skirmishes, WildTurtle blew the game open with a Quadra Kill that really propelled Immortals to victory.
It was a great matchup, but even a subpar game by Immortals ended in a victory.
Echo Fox finally has a complete roster
At the beginning of the split, Echo Fox was tabbed as one of three newcomers who could make some noise. It wasn’t the same superstar team as Immortals and NRG eSports, but having Keith at ADC and Froggen in the mid lane was promising.
After going 1-1 in week one, visa issues plagued Froggen and kfo in the top lane. Forced to use NA Challenger team Ember as replacements, Echo Fox proceeded to go 1-7 through week 4. Froggen returned last week with an explosive showing, not dying once as Echo Fox took down Renegades and NRG eSports.
Does this mean that Echo Fox can finally make a run for the top six? That’s the big question going forward, and week 6 will be a huge turning point. Both matchups (Team Liquid and Team Impulse) are winnable games against competition that Echo Fox needs to beat.
eSports betting predictions – Week 6 / Day 1
NRG eSports (1.37) vs. Team Dignitas (3.12)
NRG is looking for a big bounce back after going 0-2 in week 5. Losing to CLG wasn’t a shocker, but their performance against Echo Fox was. The game wasn’t even competitive, with Echo Fox going 2-15.
As teams progress through the Spring Split and start to synergize together, NRG appears to be going in the opposite direction. Jungler Moon is the only English speaking member on the team. GBM and Impact are also used to playing with top tier junglers. A change may need to be made there if the team can’t get it done this week.
For Dignitas, they entered week 5 on the upswing to only go 0-2. The loss to Immortals was expected, but losing to Team Impulse was really devastating. When you’re in the bottom four, you have to win these matchups. At 3-7, they still have an outside shot at the playoffs. It starts with this matchup against NRG, a perennial playoff team at 5-5.
NRG is favored in this matchup for two reasons. For starters, they’re a team that performs well in chaos, whereas Dignitas prefers to play a more linear game. Second, NRG has the propensity to start off strong against a Dignitas team that has struggled all split in the early game. NRG also has playmakers in Impact and GBM, and it’s that time of the season for playmakers to step up and carry their team.
Look for this to be a close game like their week 1 match. Take NRG here, but Dignitas provides excellent upset potential.
Immortals (1.08) vs. Renegades (7.74)
The best team in North America versus the worst team in North America. Renegades is still putting up a fight, but at 1-9 they don’t really have a realistic chance of beating Immortals.
Not much to say here, take Immortals for sure.
Team SoloMid (2.02) vs. Cloud 9 (1.80)
This should be one of the best matchups of the week.
These two old guards have been competing against each other in NA for years now, and they always provide entertaining matchups. TSM looked great last week against CLG, showing signs of what we expected coming into the Spring Split. At other moments this split, they’ve looked discombobulated.
We’ve discussed C9’s 6-2 record with Hai in the lineup earlier in this article. They’ve been the more consistent team this split, but TSM has the higher ceiling. If TSM plays like they did against CLG, C9 would really have to play lights out in order to win. It should be close, but take TSM here – they have more upside.
Counter Logic Gaming (1.32) vs. Team Impulse (3.40)
Counter Logic Gaming is coming off a disappointing showing against TSM last week, but they’re still a top 5 team in NA. Their map pressure and early game advantage will be on full display against a Team Impulse squad that struggles in that area.
CLG dominated Team Impulse just 2 weeks ago, scoring 16 kills in a 23-minute game. CLG’s map pressure and macro game will once again be too much for Team Impulse to handle.
Take CLG here.
Team Liquid (1.57) vs. Echo Fox (2.42)
Echo Fox was the surprise team from last week, going 2-0 and beating NRG eSports. They’ll look to take that momentum into a very winnable day one game against Team Liquid. It’s still a small sample size, but Froggen looked like the mid laner we were expecting and Keith was just as dominant.
For Team Liquid, this is a squad of individually talented players that doesn’t always play together cohesively. Technically they are a mid-tier team that has struggled against the upper echelon but beaten the bottom 3 teams. Echo Fox is considered one of those three bottom teams, but last week they definitely didn’t look the part. This game could go either way, but I like what Echo Fox did last week.
Take Echo Fox in this one.
eSports betting predictions – Week 6 / Day 2
Counter Logic Gaming (1.21) vs. Renegades (4.50)
This is a tough week for an already struggling Renegades team. Unless a miracle happens this week, Renegades will have to start thinking about surviving relegations and trying again in the Summer Split.
Take CLG here.
Team SoloMid (1.27) vs. Team Dignitas (3.80)
TSM will have an easier time with Dignitas after what will most likely be a tough matchup against Cloud 9. Dignitas’s Shiphtur will be able to handle TSM’s Bjergsen, but can Apollo and Kiwikid stay even with TSM’s Doublelift and YellowStar? If they can, they have a chance at pulling off the upset.
More than likely though, a repeat of their week 2 performance is in store (TSM won 15-2 in kills).
Cloud 9 (1.50) vs. NRG eSports (2.62)
Another great matchup featuring Cloud 9 once again. Cloud 9 has one huge advantage here: shot calling.
We’ve addressed NRG’s communication issues earlier, an issue that Cloud 9 does not face. Expect Hai and Rush to help Sneaky and Jensen get going early to counter GBM and Impact.
It should be close, but I like Cloud 9 here.
Team Impulse (2.11) vs. Echo Fox (1.74)
Echo Fox is 3-1 with their full roster intact and look like a much stronger team now. Both of these teams are essentially in a must win scenario if they want to be one of the top 6 teams this split. Team Impulse is 1-3 over the past 2 weeks and are really hurting for a win.
It should be another great matchup, but I like Echo Fox once again.
Immortals (1.21) vs. Team Liquid (4.42)
Immortals will once again be the favorite here.
Individually, Team Liquid is just as talented as the Immortals squad. However, Team Liquid just isn’t on the same level as them when it comes to shot calling, team rotations, and team synergy.
Take Immortals here as usual.
And don’t forget, if you’re planning on placing any real money eSports bets on any of this weekend’s matchups, be sure to have a look at our eSports betting odds tracker for the latest odds from the best eSports bookmakers.
