The North American el clasico; the age-old rivalry between two LCS pioneers. Now, granted, neither are as good right now as they were in the past, but both teams always manage to deliver when they’re fighting against each other. They always give 110% whenever they’re clashing, if not for the win then to strengthen the overarching narrative and snag those oh-so-important bragging rights.
To make matters even more interesting, this is the first time in years that Counter Logic Gaming are actually not a bottom-tier dweller. You wouldn’t guess it based off of their starting line-up, but this incarnation of CLG has improved leaps and bounds in a staggeringly short amount of time and are now deemed as a mid-tier contender. That might not sound like much, but for a team that was the laughing stock of the region mere months ago, that’s quite an achievement.
All of that said, Team SoloMid is favored, and there’s a good reason why that’s the case. We’re seeing a vintage TSM and watching them in action has been an absolute treat. Now, make no mistake: they are by no means as good as they have to be to actually challenge Cloud9 but they’re miles ahead of the vast majority of the region. This might not always be particularly evident, but when they don’t implode in the pick and ban phase and actually double down on their strengths, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
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Still, CLG are no slouch and will definitely fight for every inch of the Summoner’s Rift against their age-old adversaries. In any case, expect both teams to throw caution out the window and skirmish from the very get-go.