The top team in North America this split is on a mission. Cloud9 is out to go down as the best team in the history of the region, and it will accomplish that feat if it doesn't lose more than one game in the playoffs. This organization tied Immortals and Team SoloMid as the only teams to finish a regular season 17-1, and it is now chasing TSM’s 6-1 playoff record en route to the 2016 Summer Split title. C9 is a big favorite according to the League of Legends betting odds this week, and a win over Evil Geniuses in its best-of-five series will earn it a place in the 2020 Spring Split Finals.
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2020 LCS Spring Split Playoffs: Evil Geniuses vs. Cloud9
Cloud9 -1.5 Games (-350)
Evil Geniuses +1.5 Games (+255)
Evil Geniuses were no match for Cloud9 during either of their two regular season meetings. Cloud9 won both games in just over 30 minutes, totaling a combined 48 kills in those two outings compared to just 14 kills for EG. They have the advantage at every position over Evil Geniuses, and they also have the best coach in the region in Reapered.
The top lane battle between Licorice and Kumo is a total mismatch. While Kumo looked sharp in Evil Geniuses’ victory over FlyQuest in the first round, leading the team with a 7.0 KDA, that performance was largely due to Kumo being able to take power picks Ornn and Sett into the top lane. These are two of the most prioritized top-lane champions in the game, and it was wild to see FlyQuest let them slip away in all four games.
Licorice has one of the deepest champion pools of any top-laner in the region. He has played well on tanks throughout the regular season, and he has three dangerous pocket picks he can use in this series in Kalista, Quinn, and Hecarim. Kalista is in the meta as a top lane flex now, giving C9 some extra options in the draft, while Quinn and Hecarim are typical last picks to use in an advantageous matchup. Kumo doesn’t have the same ability to move onto pocket picks, giving Licorice a big edge.
The mid-lane duel between Nisqy and Jiizuke will likely go in Cloud9’s favor, too. While Jiizuke is a talented player that can shine on assassin champions, he is punished for being overextended often. He had the lowest KDA on the team in their victory over FlyQuest, while C9’s Nisqy is known as a jack of all trades.
For Evil Geniuses to pull off the upset, they must win in the bottom lane. This team has been led by Bang and Zeyzal throughout the past three months, and their ability to punish opposing duos was the driving force behind their second-half surge. However, they will be facing the best bottom lane by a mile this split in Zven and Vulcan. These two have incredible synergy in their first split together, and that’s why Zven’s 12.3 KDA was the highest in the LCS by a wide margin. Bang had the next highest KDA (9.1), so this matchup will go a long way to determining the winner.
Given what we’ve seen from C9 this split, it’s hard to go against them. However, we saw what happened to G2 Esports last week, so Cloud9 must not be too overconfident.
2020 LCS Spring Split Playoffs: Team Solo vs. FlyQuest
Team SoloMid NO LINE
FlyQuest NO LINE
FlyQuest are the better seed entering this series, but they are an underdog to Team SoloMid due to TSM’s pedigree and fanbase. TSM have come out of nowhere to make a run in the playoffs before, and many of their fans are counting on that to happen once more.
Bjergsen has been one of the best mid-laners in the region for seven years, and Kobbe and Biofrost have been a reliable bottom lane for TSM. Unfortunately, their jungle issues have continued with Dardoch failing to make a difference in too many games, and Broken Blade has been very inconsistent in the top lane.
The situation is similar for FlyQuest. This team has one of the top mid-laners in North America in PowerOfEvil, and Ignar has been an excellent support partner for WildTurtle. The top lane is a mess as Solo and V1per are splitting time up top, but Santorin has been one of the best junglers this split.
FlyQuest are a very live dog in this one. PowerOfEvil can mitigate Bjergsen in the mid lane, and Santorin can help his lanes get ahead in the early game. It’s hard to trust TSM given the issues they’ve had this split, so they could be in line for an early exit.