(+300) Golden Guardians v 100 Thieves (-350)

(+115) Dignitas v Evil Geniuses (-150)

(+135) Team SoloMid v Cloud9 (-175)

(-525) Team Liquid v CounterLogic Gaming  (+340)

(-140) FlyQuest v Immortals (+110)

LCS is close to conclusion, and its penultimate week concludes on Sunday. 100 Thieves desperately needs to rally versus Golden Guardians, Dignitas looks to crunch down on Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid take their victory lap versus CounterLogic Gaming, IMT and FlyQuest both try to find a spot into play-offs, and the legendary El Classico match-up in TSM versus Cloud9 carries onto its latest iteration.

Captain

Soligo ($9,900)

Far cry from his stint on 2019’s 100 Thieves, Soligo has became a premier mid laner in the LCS and a name to have your eyes glued to; especially after back-to-back admirable performances against top-3 mid laner PowerofEvil on TSM. Soligos next opponent in Jiizuke can be strong, but more often than not has the propensity to tilt off the face of the earth. If Soligo can face down PowerofEvil, Jiizuke is a relative footnote in comparison. If you’d desire a player with a higher pedigree, Jensen is your man, who gets his hand against Pobelter on Sunday.

Alternatives to consider: Jensen ($11,700)

Top Lane

Alphari ($7,200)

Team Liquid’s top laner Alphari has been #1 since setting foot on the continent; a testament to how mediocre Origen was to place 10th in last splits LEC. Fortunately, Liquid has utilized Alphari very well in order to consistently find an advantage on the top side of the map and convert it into victories whenever possible. Against CLG’s top laner Finn, Alphari is in a match-up as comfortable as ever, both playing in last splits LEC. While Finn’s team got the better of Alphari (in particular due to the mid laner difference in Nukeduck versus Larssen), Alphari was always comfortable with crushing Finn, and the trend is set to continue on Sunday. If Alphari is too steep of a price tag, I’d recommend Cloud9’s Fudge, who has the chance to flip TSM’s Huni by utilizing his stronger jungler in Blaber.

Alternatives to consider: Fudge ($6,600)

Jungle

Santorin ($6,800)

TL’s jungler Santorin had a bit of a slow start into the split, but slowly and slowly Team Liquid have picked up their pieces and have snowballed it into defeating first placed Cloud9 on Saturday, against a team like CounterLogic Gaming, the next win is nearly assured. Aside from their 100% first blood rate, CLG look absolutely lost in how to convert this advantage into anything significant, and get drowned out by basically every other team in the league. If you’re afraid of the blood, Blaber is another great option in the jungle, getting to play against a Spica who hasn’t looked as well composed as with Bjergsen by his side.

Alternatives to consider: Blaber ($7,600)

Mid Lane

Jensen ($7,800)

Liquid’s mid laner is another on the list that has had a bit of a slow “ramping up” to do this split; but as of this week, he looks well composed and functioning relatively well with jungler Santorin; the meta is relatively favorable for Jensen, and while I don’t think he, or Liquid, will function well internationally, I think his current level of performance is more than enough for North America, and more importantly, for Pobelter. Pobelter’s laning has been relatively solid, but like the rest of CLG, he gets caught later in the game and doesn’t make great use of the leads he’s capable of generating in the early game despite his (and his teams) veterancy. For a different mid laner that comes in much cheaper but with similar levels of potential, I’d recommend Immortals’ Insanity, who has been having a relatively solid split despite being on a mediocre roster.

Alternatives to consider: Insanity ($6,800)

ADC

Tactical ($8,200)

Finally, Liquid’s ADC Tactical has been a player to watch since his introduction into the league in 2020 summer, he’s been consistent hitting highs and alongside veteran support CoreJJ, he stands tall as what’s likely the best bottom lane in the LCS (aside from maybe Cloud9). There is another player that’s the spitting image of Tactical and his ascension to the top though: Neo! Instead of veteran world champion CoreJJ, Neo has domestic champion and longtime support  Aphromoo by his side to help educate and raise him up. WildTurtle and Deftly respectively should by no means be difficult hurdles for either ADC to tackle.

Alternatives to consider: Neo ($7,000)

Support

Aphromoo ($4,800)

Every single week I have to talk about Aphromoo: there’s no chance he cannot be included alongside CoreJJ and Vulcan for “best support” in this split. If anything, he should be included as an MVP candidate too for leading his team with a rookie ADC to 2nd place tie. Across the rift, IgNar has been an alright support, but Evil Geniuses as a team have looked much too inconsistent with strategies that seem easy to figure out. For a different support option, world champion CoreJJ is a safe option on a stacked Team Liquid roster.

Alternatives to consider: CoreJJ ($6,000)

Team

Immortals ($4,600)

While IMT haven’t been a consistent team, they do have some solid pieces: Raes and Insanity are good players, and Xerxe has occasionally shown promise. This is irrelevant however, FlyQuest’s Palafox and Diamond are complete liabilities and will be incapable of preventing Insanity and Raes from hitting their trademark teamfights. For a secondary option, TL should crush last place CLG with ease.

Alternatives to consider: Team Liquid ($5,600)

Stacks

Jensen & Alphari

Liquid’s solo laners finally appear powered up: Alphari has been firing on all cylinders from day one after arriving in North America, and while Jensen has had some questionable games, his performance against Cloud9 on Saturday assured me that he is still in contention for best mid in NA after a great game against the apparent #1 player in Perkz. Take a look at these two, as CLG’s solo laners are relatively underpowered.

Fudge & Blaber

Cloud9’s top and jungle are coming off a rough defeat from TL, but hold a critical advantage over TSM: Huni is well known to be exploitable by enemy jungle pressure, allowing both Fudge and Blaber to cash in off his inadequacies. Blaber has been the #1 jungler in the split, whereas Spica has looked less effective after Bjergsen’s departure from the middle lane: it’s a firm advantage for Cloud9.

Neo & Aphromoo

Dignitas’ bottom lane has brought us fantastic game after fantastic game: Neo crushed Golden Guardians on Saturday, and EG’s Deftly and IgNar do not look as composed as Dignitas’ 2v2. Aphromoo has been having an insane split alongside the rest of his team, and Neo is the perfect amount of firepower DIG need to set them over the edge.

Top Picks: Jensen, Santorin, Alphari

Three Liquid players taking top picks: CounterLogic Gaming, and especially their top side, do not look hopeful going into the future. Pobelter occasionally has a flash of brilliance, although Broxah, and Finn have not looked like standout players after arriving in North America. I think Liquid have finally put their pieces together, and these three will crush their CLG competition.

Top Value: Neo, Soligo, Aphromoo

A full Dignitas roster flies into the top value picks, and for good reason too: despite being the 2nd place team and consistently punching miles up their weight class, they are still absurdly cheaper than the Evil Geniuses who just came off a defeat from Immortals on Saturday. Dignitas may not be taking games off Liquid and Cloud9 just yet, but their consistency assures me that they should be capable of handling the rollercoaster that is Evil Geniuses. These three are legitimate names to look out for.