With so much up in the air, we take a look at what you can expect from week 6...
The last week of matches in NA LCS was total chaos.
The headline news was, of course, Cloud9’s consecutive losses to Team SoloMid and Phoenix1, but there were shocks and surprises elsewhere too.
Team Dignitas finally had a stellar week, defeating both Team Liquid and FlyQuest, and Team Envy managed a 2-0 win against Echo Fox.
The NA LCS is now a different landscape.
CounterLogicGaming vs. Phoenix1
CLG and Phoenix both had a great week five, and little now separates them in the standings. They both won all of their series, and Phoenix even crushed the mighty C9.
Phoenix can definitely make the most of their economic strength – they’re +63 gold differential per-minute outstrips CLG’s -35. However, it could be a tricky one to call – last time these teams faced off this split, CLG took it 2-1.
The midlane battle should be interesting to watch. P1’s acquisition of Ryu has definitely helped propel them this split, while Huhi has been CLG’s most consistent, and arguably, best player.
These talented players are quite evenly matched, with a decent KDA of 3.6 for Ryu and 3.1 for Huhi, and both have awesome DPMs of over 550.
CLG are at their best when Darshan and Stixxy step up to the plate. That may make all the difference against P1, though Phoenix’s acclaimed import ADC, Arrow, has also had a superb split.
With 622.7 DPM, 5.2 KDA and a great Varus, Arrow should be at the front of CLG’s minds when it comes to banning.
CLG to beat Phoenix1 – {ODDS:139120554:2.30}
Cloud9 vs. FlyQuest
All eyes will be on Cloud9 this week after their brutal surprise losses in week five. While their match against Echo Fox should be interesting, it’ll be their series against FlyQuest that’ll really test them again.
C9 will need to draft better to get back on track. Their strange decisions against TSM really cost them the series: why did they pick Rumble but no tanks when they’d just beat a TSM who’d used Rumble and no tanks?
Another potential issue for C9 is their economic game. This proved their undoing against Phoenix1, and FlyQuest have stats that should be causing C9 concern. C9’s gold differential at 15 mins of -214 pales in comparison to FlyQuest’s shining +833.
We particularly recommend watching what happens in the jungle. Both Moon and Contractz are extremely talented junglers.
Moon, on paper, looks stronger, with a higher KDA, better gold differential, higher DPM and an impressive 58.3% first blood participation. To offset this, Contractz needs a much more aggressive early game, and to work as fluidly as possible with Impact.
FlyQuest to beat cloud9 – {ODDS:139120730:2.55}
Team EnVyUs vs. Immortals
Despite their name, few envy Team EnVyUs. Out of their last 10 series, they’ve lost seven 2-0. Their win rate is lower than a quarter.
And yet, why not root for the underdog? Given last week’s surprise 2-0 victory over Echo Fox, a decent team, we think they might be able to harness some momentum in week six. Maybe not against FlyQuest, but Immortals?
The last time the teams met, Envy achieved their only 2-1 loss. And, when you look at the stats, there’s a path to victory for Envy.
Their economy play isn’t half bad, especially in the early game – their gold differential at 15 minutes is +475 (though the average per minute is -95).
In fact, their first blood and first tower percentages are both over 60, and their CS and tower differentials at 15 minutes are both in the positives too.
Compared to the respective stats for Immortals, these are all good signs. Dardoch is obviously going to be the biggest threat from Immortals, so Envy need to cripple him as much as possible with smart bans.
Thankfully, Envy also have a strong jungler in Lira, and Hakuho is a hugely underrated Support. If Envy can get their synergy and their strategy together, there’s plenty of room to grow.
EnVyUs to beat Immortals – {ODDS:139120774:3.35}
