Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid 8/9/20 - 2020 LCS Summer Split Picks & Predictions

For the very end of the regular portion of the split, we have an absolute barnburner: Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid. A clash between two perennial North American giants simply has to deliver, and this one, in particular, carries a lot of significance for the overall playoff picture as well. Liquid has locked in first place after taking down Immortals yesterday, but they’ve looked mighty vulnerable and out of sync. Now, to have a bad performance is one thing; to look so dreadful against the tenth-ranked team is a completely different problem — one that is most worrying. That, in short, is simply unacceptable for a line-up that has but a single aim: to reclaim its throne and represent North America at the biggest of stages come October. 

Watching them fumble and fail against one of the weakest teams in the LCS is not a sight many expected, and it severely affected their stock. Team SoloMid, on the other hand, have gotten yet another stellar win on the board, prolonging their impressive win streak to five games. It’s not just the fact that they win, but rather the fashion in which it all goes down. The former LCS champions have looked mighty strong over the last couple of weeks and with their legendary mid laner Bjergsen having a renaissance split, it’s fair to expect TSM to go deep once the playoffs come around. 

We’re going with the underdogs on this one as Liquid’s most recent game left a sour taste in one’s mouth. Their tendency to wait things out and focus on late game team fighting simply isn’t the way to go in today’s meta, and the fact that they seemingly have no synergy with Broxah is yet another issue that has to be resolved if they want to stand even the slightest chance of leaving a mark. TSM, on the other hand, has a ton of momentum and they’re playing much better as a five-man unit when compared to TL. They’re far from perfect, but if their recent level of play is any indication, they might be the best team in North America — and they’ll get the chance to prove it later today. 

Either way, we should be in for one heck of a game regardless of its conclusion.