100 Thieves vs. Evil Geniuses 8/16/20 - 2020 LCS Summer Split Picks & Predictions

Yet another endlessly entertaining match-up that’s nearly impossible to predict with confidence. That’s sort of been the leitmotif of the 2020 LCS season. There’s very little logic or reason behind what’s going on, and in this case, both teams stand an equal chance of emerging victorious. One day they’ll blow your mind with exceptional, top-tier play and clean execution. Then, just a day later, they’ll implode from minute one with an abysmal draft and a horrendous early game. They’re so darn hard to read and whether or not they’ll perform well heavily depends on the day and how well they navigate the pick and ban phase. 

Evil Geniuses are entering this Best of 5 after losing a fairly close 2-3 series to FlyQuest, but their most recent performances tell us very little when it comes to gauging their power level. In the span of just five games, they looked both abysmal and exceptional. So what gives? That’s a question that’s nearly impossible to answer right now — they’re just that kind of team: inconsistent in nature with high highs and extremely low lows. That rings true on both an individual and team-wide level. 100 Thieves, on the other hand, have earned their spot in the playoffs by beating none other than Evil Geniuses during the very last week of the regular season. Does that mean they’re favored? Well, not exactly. 

It was a fairly one-sided beatdown, but seeing how 100 Thieves suffer from exactly the same flaws as Evil Geniuses, their wins (and losses) always have to be taken with some reserve. Still, they had the luxury of sitting back and observing EG play five whole games against FlyQuest. That, in itself, is quite a huge benefit and will allow them to create highly specific strategies for their own Best of 5. They’ve also kept their cards close to the chest and weren’t forced to reveal any picks or strats seeing how they were slotted in the lower half of the bracket.

We’re going to side with 100 Thieves on this one, but this is as far from a safe bet as you can possibly get. With both teams being separated by the slimmest of margins, this is bound to be a closely contested, skirmish-heavy affair that’ll surely entertain us from the very beginning.