LCS 2020 Summer Playoffs Round 3: En route to the Finals

ESB Staff

Published: Aug 28, 2020

The next installment for this year’s North American League Championship Series continues this weekend as both Team Liquid and FlyQuest have paved a clear route to the 2020 World Championship with their spots on the winner’s bracket. FlyQuest have become unlikely heroes during their playoff run that has seen them oust Evil Geniuses and Cloud9 in rather dramatic fashion. FlyQuest keep improving with each performance, and their run of form has to continue if they plan on beating Team Liquid for their very first LCS Championship. Team Liquid look to add another trophy to their illustrious mantle without the help of Doublelift for the first time, but one has to question if their path of least resistance en route to the final could end up being their downfall.

Competing for the final slot at Worlds, Cloud9 and Team SoloMid square off in a battle of teetering momentum as a surging TSM prepares for battle with an ailing Cloud9 that has seemingly lost their winner’s mentality from earlier in the season. All possibilities are on the table for multiple organizations with a new LCS Champion to be crowned and World Championship qualification spots up for grabs in the coming weeks. 

LCS 2020 Summer Real Money Bets:

Team Liquid vs. FlyQuest

When it comes to head-to-head matchups, there aren’t many value LCS picks for LoL betting, but this year’s matchup features some sneaky good options at the individual level. While the mid lane might be deadlock considering Jensen’s and PowerOfEvil’s risk-averse playstyles, top lane has a plethora of opportunity for value given Impact’s transition to carry top lanes in the playoffs, and FlyQuest’s top laner not being their strongest option on the field.

While Solo knows how to maintain in certain matchups and avoid danger, Team Liquid’s kill pressure between Impact, Broxah and timed CoreJJ roams have been too good all Summer long. Look for TL’s Impact to bring in high value on any DraftKings League of Legends boards as his stats, CS and kill participation rates will more than likely be at a favorable rate. FlyQuest present more opportunities for kills and counter engage given their roam heavy playstyle, if smart players like CoreJJ exploit those weaknesses accordingly, Team Liquid fans will be reveling in value points this weekend as their players will have more opportunities to score points than even last weekend, regardless of a 3-0 sweep or not.

Fantasy League of Legends with DraftKings: 

The same can be said for Broxah given his stats from the previous Golden Guardians series. With a high share of team kills this past weekend, he was undoubtedly the jump starter for TL as they dominated the map and eventually their opponents. To ensure a similar process this time, Team Liquid need to rally behind their jungler in order to avoid any upsets that FlyQuest will undoubtedly pounce on. If all goes according to script, a swift 3-1 series win for Team Liquid is the best-case scenario for Broxah’s squad.

If you’re looking at a team to secure your macro glory for this round of matches this weekend, look no further than FlyQuest as they will have a field day in the early matches picking up early dragons and turrets given TL’s lackluster early game.

Team SoloMid vs. Cloud9

Betting on upsets is always the spicy route when looking at League of Legends odds, but before you bet the house on the resurgence of TSM at Worlds, let’s take a look at the stat sheet that will determine, or deter, their success against the reigning LCS champions. By any metric you look at this year, TSM have not been an adequate early game team by any stretch. Their ability to snowball leads into advantages doesn’t work like a well-oiled machine unless Bjergsen gets obscenely ahead against his opponent. With Nisqy’s roam heavy playstyle limiting the level of trades in lane, this theme will play itself out similarly to how Damonte dealt with Bjergsen’s impact in their last series.

However, the difference across the map between Golden Guardians and Cloud9 is astronomical, and Licorice continues to be the x-factor player for Cloud9 in spite of the rest of his team’s woes. While at times it seems like TSM is a one-man show behind the carry efforts of Bjergsen, their wins don’t solely come from him. BrokenBlade’s playoff ‘buff’ might be coming at the right time, but there is no doubt that Licorice revels in a similar kind of improvement when it matters most, and this is a levee that TSM will find incredibly difficult to break if they hope to cash in their ticket to Worlds.

Value picks are still abundant in this series. Keeping in mind that supreme value for fantasy LCS picks still reigns supreme, you may be able to find good value in picking up Spica, Bjergsen, and Vulcan for your fantasy lineups given the amount of dirty work they will need to do in order for their teams to achieve victory. The ADC matchup in this best of five series is a bit too volatile to decide on given that either player will undoubtedly be a focus of team pressure once both parties settle in their gameplan.

Featured Image Credit: LoL Esports

ESB Staff

Since: August 10, 2015

At EsportsBets.com we are a group of independent journalists with one big passion: Esports. We've been following the industry and have contributed to its growth since 2015.

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