The news of Team Liquid’s visa issues surfaced on Thursday, when the organization’s co-owner Steve “LiQuiD112” Arhancet posted a Tweet, claiming junglers Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen, Shern “Shernfire” Cherng Tai and their head coach Jang “Cain” Nu-ri are unable to join the team for their pre-season practice due to delays in processing their visas.
Without two of their junglers, and the head coach, Team Liquid’s roster is experiencing severe difficulties in their pre-season preparations as they do not have back-up jungler at their disposal to field for their skirmish matches which are crucial for teams�� success in the upcoming season.
What is perhaps the most concerning, however, is that Broxah who left Fnatic to join up with the North American organization in November, will not have an opportunity to settle in his new home, which raises a lot of questions whether the North American squad and the European import will have enough time to gel together in order to contest for the LCS title.
In the announcement, Steve Arhancet also stated that there is no guarantee either of the three members will have their visa issues sorted by the start of the season, which if proven to be true, would spell out disaster for Team Liquid and their ambitions to win their fifth successive LCS title.
The recent news caused a massive outburst in the LoL community, with many storied esports personalities expressing their support and offering a helping hand to Steve Arhancet and Team Liquid.
While LEC commentator Indiana “Froskurinn” Black took this chance to make a comical proposition for Team Liquid to bring her in as a replacement due to her “wicked Fiddlestick jungle route,” her co-worker Aaron “Medic” Chamberlain offered Team Liquid his expertise on Jarvan.
“Having played Jarvan once on the LCS stage, I’m pretty sure I’m ready. Sub me in coach,” said Medic.
While the two LEC personalities contributed a healthy dose of humour to lighten the mood, Ovilee May, an LCS broadcast host, Riot Games interviewer and a vivid fan of Team Liquid claimed she is ready to sort thing out for Team Liquid, if they’re prepared to send her to Washington D.C.
Julian “Tarzaned” Farokhian also took this chance to make Team Liquid aware he is ready to step in and help.
While Tarzaned does not have any experience playing in the LCS, and was never officially a top-tier professional League of Legends player, he is widely known as a highly-skilled jungle main, who has reached Rank 1 in NA SoloQ in Season 6, 8 and 9. He is also known for his impressive feat in South Korean’s SoloQ, where he reached top 50 in a span of one week.
Making his existence known was also Christian “IWDominate” Rivera, former Team Liquid player, coach and currently a streamer for Team Liquid, who made it clear he would be ready to step out of retirement to help his former team.
“Alright boys, it’s time to dust off the ol’ mouse n keyboard,” said IWDominate.
His post, while not proving anything, had many LoL fans on the edge of their seats as they would all be excited to see one of the biggest names in LoL scene return to the Rift.
His Tweet alone amassed 1.6k likes, suggesting he has the community’s support if he decides to return to the competitive scene he left in July 2016, however, as of today, there are no announcements whether IWDominate will put on Team Liquid��s jersey once more.
How will Team Liquid’s saga end is at this point anyone’s guess, but if Steve Arhancet’s words are to go by, they could be in for a tough start of the season.
Visa issues, while nothing new in the esports scene, have already been addressed by Germany earlier last month when Germany’s government announced a new esports visa, that will solve that exact problem, by making the process of acquiring visa significantly quicker for all esports players who meet the requirements.
As of today, Germany are the only country with a dedicated esports visa but considering the ongoing issues esports players and teams have to deal with each year, it’s safe to assume the United States will sooner or later follow suit and introduce their own esports visa in a bid to help the North American esports scene grow and develop without such incidents.
]]>Around 22,000 live spectators and hundreds of thousands of viewers will tune in to watch the clash of two NA heavyweights, Team Liquid and Cloud9.
Both teams have already secured their spot in the 2019 LoL World Championship, but there is still $100,000 prize money and the glory of the title on the line.
Team Liquid odds
$1.33 at GG Bet
One of the strongest teams in the history of North America’s League of Legends esports scene, Team Liquid have set the high-water mark over the past two years.
While winning three consecutive LCS titles is impressive on its own, TL further extended their dominance on the international stage when they became the first-ever North American team to reach the Mid-Season Invitational finals back in May.
Team Liquid did not have smooth sailing to the finals, however, as Jang “Cain” Nu-ri and his men had to fight their way through a tough semi-final bout against an impressive Clutch Gaming side.
Nonetheless, TL’s experience and their unorthodox draft in the fifth map proved to be enough to push them through into the finals, where they will face their toughest test yet.
Cloud9 odds
$3.25 at GG Bet
We have criticised Cloud9 about their consistency before, yet they impressed with a dominant 3-1 win against Counter Logic Gaming to earn their spot in the decider.
The upcoming fixture will serve as a rematch of 2018 LCS Summer Split finals, which Cloud9 don’t have fond memories of.
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It has been almost one year since that dreadful Sunday when C9 kneeled down to Team Liquid, who took away their shot at direct promotion to the 2018 LoL World Championship.
While Cloud9 eventually climbed their way into the Worlds via regional finals that year, they will enter the 2019 LCS finals eager for revenge.
Team Liquid vs Cloud9 betting predictions
There is not a lot to separate the two teams ahead of the grand finals, which was the case in the spring season as well.
Back in March, the two sides finished the regular season tied as the top seed in the standings. This split, however, TL (14-4) finished two wins ahead of C9 (12-6).
Despite holding a better record, Team Liquid failed to defeat C9 in both of their summer meetings, which gives the latter side a huge confidence boost ahead of the third clash of the split.
This match could go either way. Both teams possess immense quality in all lanes, yet they are so different in their playstyles.
TL approach their games calculated and slow, whereas C9 do the complete opposite, which is the main cause of their inconsistency.
Cloud9 are known for taking huge risks and approaching games aggressively, which could work in their favour here as TL struggled against Clutch Gaming’s aggressive playstyle in the semi-finals.
It will come down to which side can take control of the early game. Seeing how strong C9 were in the semis, we believe they are more than ready to take Team Liquid to five games.
PREDICTIONS
Over 4.5 maps – $2.75 at GG Bet
Cloud9 +1.5 handicap – $1.83 at GG Bet
As two teams who failed to impress in the spring, both rose from the ashes and outperformed all expectations this summer. The fact that CG and CLG finished top five in the regular season was impressive to begin with, yet they further impressed by reaching the semi-finals.
Out of the two, it was CG who took the spotlight by defeating TSM (3-1) and producing a tough fight against TL (2-3) in the semis, yet there is one last hurdle they will need to jump over in order to claim their first-ever top-three finish.
Counter Logic Gaming odds
$1.53 at GG Bet
Formerly known as one of the strongest teams in North America, CLG are back in business after a lean patch in recent times.
Counter Logic booked a playoff spot with a 12-6 record and went on to decimate OpTic Gaming 3-0 in the quarter-finals, although they went down 1-3 to Cloud9 in the semis.
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While CLG are a very strong team that deserved to reach the top four, there are some concerns about how well they are prepared for the upcoming fixture.
Their lack of matches against top teams in the last few weeks of the split took a toll on their match-readiness, which was highlighted in the loss to C9.
What that will mean for their fixture against CG is yet to be seen.
Clutch Gaming odds
$2.37 at GG Bet
As a team who did not look too promising in the spring split, CG lifted their game over the summer to secure a fifth-place finish and a ticket to the playoffs.
All of their achievements this split can be credited to the improvement of each individual player on the roster.
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Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon started performing like his former self, Nam “Lira” Tae-yoo found his own identity in the jungle, Tanner “Damonte” Damonte emerged as one of the best NA mid-laners, Cody “Cody Sun” Sun showed incredible growth as a player, and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme has been phenomenal in his support role.
This is a strong team, as showcased in the win over TSM and the narrow loss to Team Liquid, and now CG will look to take one last scalp when they face CLG this weekend.
Counter Logic vs Clutch betting predictions
CLG enter the fixture as $1.53 favourites, which overrates them a bit.
Although they defeated CG twice during the regular season, the form of both sides in the playoffs suggests this will not be a one-sided affair.
Clutch Gaming legitimately impressed in their semi-final clash against Team Liquid, which leads us to believe they have more than enough quality to stand up against any NA team.
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The two teams seem equally matched in all lanes, meaning this fixture can go either way; however, if there is one lane which could tip the match in one direction or the other, it is the top lane.
Huni will have to be on top of his game to stop Kim “Ruin” Hyeong-min, who has proven to be the biggest win condition for CLG due to his incredible potential to snowball if he gets ahead.
If, however, Huni proves to be up to the task and stops Ruin, we believe CG have a very solid shot at earning a bronze medal here.
With $2.37 offered on CG to do so, we will take our chances and trust the 2017 LoL Worlds runner-up to deliver.
Prediction: Clutch Gaming to win – Best odds at GG Bet
]]>While the CLG vs Cloud9 fixture on Saturday promises to be a close-fought one, the other semi is expected to be anything but.
Team Liquid have established themselves as the frontrunners of the NA League of Legends esports scene and are well backed to advance to the final.
But if there is one thing we have learned from Clutch Gaming this season, it is that anything is possible.
Team Liquid LCS semi-final odds
$1.08 at GG Bet
Team Liquid entered the LCS Summer Split as favourites to go all the way for the fourth season in a row, and they have not disappointed.
The NA powerhouse secured a playoffs spot only seven weeks in when they achieved an 11-3 record, which they further improved to 14-4 by the time the regular season ended.
Despite finishing well above the rest of the competition, Team Liquid have not always looked on top of their game this split – a fact that underlines just how good this team is.
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TL boast top-class players in each position, so it is hard to pinpoint exactly who is their star man.
Perhaps the most important cog in the machines in Jake ��Xmithie�� Puchero, who is the most experienced player in the league and a true backbone of the team.
All in all, it is hard to find any flaw in Team Liquid, and while they still have a lot of work left to be done to compete with EU and Korean teams, they remain the alpha dogs in NA.
Clutch Gaming LCS semi-final odds
$7.00 at GG Bet
CG are huge underdogs for their clash with Team Liquid, which should not come as a shock to anyone.
They have endured a mediocre campaign, but a 3-0 run in the last two weeks of the regular season was enough to push them into top six and playoffs.
Entering the quarter-finals with high ambitions and slim chances, CG sprung a massive upset as they took down Team SoloMid in a 3-1 bloodbath of a series.
The way CG managed to achieve that feat was by simply playing like themselves.
Their unorthodox, aggressive and sometimes questionable drafts are what define Clutch Gaming and consequently what wins them games, as it’s almost impossible to prepare for them.
But the question remains, will that approach be enough to derail Team Liquid on Sunday?
Team Liquid vs Clutch Gaming predictions
This series is Team Liquid’s to lose as they face what is arguably the easier opponent of the two who came out of the quarter-finals.
While we can praise Clutch Gaming for their improvement throughout the season, their fairytale will come to an end this Sunday when they find themselves outmatched in all lanes and in all positions.
Their unorthodox drafts and aggressive playstyle might win them one map, but even then Team Liquid will have to drop the ball for that to happen.
Expect TL to defeat CG for the third time this split as they look towards a fourth LCS title and a ticket to the LoL World Championships.
Team Liquid -1.5 – $1.28 at GG Bet
]]>The second round of the playoffs kicks off on Saturday, August 17 with a clash between Counter Logic Gaming and Cloud9 in what promises to be an exciting fixture.
It will also have some added flavour to it, as CLG will hope to avenge their defeat against C9 in the tiebreaker for second place.
Counter Logic Gaming
Counter Logic Gaming look like a team reborn this split, as their 12-6 record is a vast improvement on their 7-11 return in the spring.
Unlike Cloud9, who can be inconsistent at times, CLG have been rock-solid over the course of the campaign.
Their players all know what their role is and the team approach is very methodical, organized and calm, which means they never break even when the outlook is grim.
Cloud9
Looking back at the LCS Summer Split, C9 have proven they can be very inconsistent and yet very dangerous.
They have achieved some remarkable results, most notably the 2-0 record against Team Liquid. Furthermore, C9 have not lost more than once to any team, which is something only they and CLG have managed in this split.
Cloud9 have that air of a team that always find a way forward, no matter how unusual their path might be.
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CLG vs Cloud9 betting predictions
Both teams have exceptional junglers. Raymond “Wiggily” Griffin and Dennis ��Svenskeren�� Johnsen are two of the best at what they do, so that battle is too close to call.
That changes when we look at the top lane, where this semi-final could be won and lost. CLG��s top laner Kim “Ruin” Hyeong-min is often left alone by his jungler and carries his own weight more often than not, but he won��t be able to fight off both Eric ��Licorice�� Ritchie and Svenskeren.
This means Wiggily has two options: either he helps out his top laner, or he else puts pressure on the bottom lane and helps out Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes and Vincent “Biofrost” Wang against the C9 duo of Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi and Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam.
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Considering Cloud9��s top laner and jungler will most likely outclass CLG��s duo, Wiggily is expected to focus his time on the bottom lane.
Odds suggest C9 ($1.28) are the favourites to win, which is fair when you consider how dominant they were in the tiebreaker match. However, we believe CLG ($3.50) are slightly underestimated.
CLG��s fortunes will come down to two things: Ruin��s ability to survive the top lane and Wiggly��s ability to get his bottom lane ahead. Whichever way that may go, the underdogs’ methodical playstyle and team fighting skills are more than enough to push C9 into five games.
Counter Logic Gaming +1.5 – $2.00 at GG Bet
]]>It will go down as a poor split for TSM, who struggled to keep up with the expectations put on them. Finishing outside top two was always going to be a disappointing result, and while Tony “Zikz” Gray and his man disappointed in that regard, they still managed to climb their way to the playoffs by finishing fourth with a 10-8 record.
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A fourth-place finish meant TSM had to go through the quarter-finals. There they got paired with Clutch Gaming, who impressed everyone when they finished fifth in the standings with a 9-9 record.
Still, CG entered the playoffs as heavy underdogs, as they finished the summer split with an underwhelming 0-8 record against top-four teams throughout the nine weeks. Yet they showed a completely new face in the quarters and came out the other side as alpha dogs.
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Throughout the whole series TSM struggled with bad decision-making, poor timing and too many mistakes, which disrupted the flow of their game and put them on the back foot in both macro play and team fights.
Clutch, on the other hand, looked like a proper playoff team with a very clean and organized approach. Each player knew what his job was and executed accordingly. That translated into exceptional team fighting, which served as CG’s most efficient tool and exposed TSM’s communication problems.
Sun “Cody Sun” Li-Yu emerged as the MVP of the quarter-finals series with 24 kills and only two deaths throughout the whole series. On the other side, Nam “Lira” Tae-yoo failed to live up to expectations in his first LCS playoffs appearance, seemingly succumbing to the pressure of the quarter-finals.
Saturday��s match, however, was not the first time Clutch Gaming dismantled TSM in the quarter-finals, as they won by the same margin back at the 2018 LCS Spring Split playoffs.
With countless close-fought battles, upset wins and exciting matches, the tournament has lived up to its billing as one of the most exciting Leagues of Legends esports events in the world.
Let’s look at how our finalists performed throughout the season and their chances going forward, along with the latest LoL odds from the best esports betting sites.
Team Liquid
It would be hard to imagine the LCS playoffs without Team Liquid, who secured their ticket only seven weeks into the summer split.
Liquid did not have the best start, suffering two defeats in the opening fortnight, but they took off in week three and never looked back.
TL finished top of the LCS Summer Split ladder with a dominant 14-4 record to progress straight to the semi-finals, where they will choose which of the quarter-final winners they wish to face.
Cloud9
Joining Team Liquid in the semi-finals are Cloud9, who stayed in the top three throughout the whole split despite some shaky patches.
As one of the elite three teams in North America, C9 enter every event with high expectations. The upcoming playoffs are no exception.
Led by a team of experienced players and coaches, they will look to make the most of their first appearance in the playoffs since the 2018 LCS Summer Split.
Counter Logic Gaming
CLG’s return to the North American elite has come as a welcome surprise as they look to reach their first semi-finals since the summer of 2017.
Whether their run to the playoffs is a fluke or a sign of future greatness will be answered in detail on August 10, when they take on OpTic Gaming in the quarter-finals.
Online bookmakers seem to agree that Counter Logic ($1.40) are the favourites to defeat OpTic ($2.75), which is more than fair when you consider CLG’s super form towards the end of the split.
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Team SoloMid
To say the LCS Spring Split finalists looked weak at points throughout the summer would be an understatement, with some analysts even expressing their concern about Team SoloMid’s chances of reaching the playoffs.
They did enough to finish fourth, however, and set up a quarter-final clash with Clutch Gaming, who TSM defeated twice in the course of the summer season.
That fixture heavily favours TSM ($1.28), as there is little to suggest CG ($3.50) can overthrow their star-filled opposition in a best-of-three environment.
Clutch Gaming
We have to give Clutch Gaming a round of applause for their performance this split.
After starting at the bottom and looking like one of the weakest teams in the LCS, they fought their way to the top six with an impressive 3-1 run in last two weeks.
CG now face their toughest test of the split in the quarter-finals, where they will hope for a repeat of their playoff win over TSM in spring 2018.
OpTic Gaming
OpTic Gaming fought a long and hard battle to reach the playoffs, surviving an up-and-down season to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place with Golden Guardians and 100 Thieves.
OpTic then defeated both of those teams with solid performances in the tiebreaker round, thus earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history.
Sadly, this is where OpTic’s journey will most likely end, as Counter Logic Gaming will take no prisoners when the two sides meet on August 11.
LCS Summer 2019 quarter-final predictions
CLG to defeat OpTic – $1.40 at GG Bet
TSM to defeat Clutch – $1.28
Counter Logic entered the split as underdogs to finish in the top six. Looking back at LCS Spring, where they finished seventh with a 7-11 record, CLG produced nothing that suggested they had the quality to compete in the playoffs.
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Knowing they had to change something, CLG decided it was time to part ways with Darshan ��Darshan�� Upadhyaya. They replaced him with the Korean top-laner Kim ��Ruin�� Hyeong-min, who has proved to be the backbone of the team and a player CLG can rely on to produce good results consistently.
With a new, younger and more consistent top-laner, CLG entered the NA LCS Summer Split with their heads held high and their goals set even higher. And while some took their ambitions with a grain of salt, CLG knew where they were heading.
It did not take long after the split started for CLG to establish themselves as a team that should not be underestimated. Their first order of business was to take down Team Liquid in week two, which helped them reach an impressive 4-2 record by the end of week three.
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But they did not stop there. Fast forward to week five, when Counter Logic demolished Team SoloMid after warming up against Clutch Gaming in game one.
To complete the trilogy CLG only needed to defeat Cloud9, which would conclude their quest to defeat the trio of the most successful NA teams. In the end, CLG needed to wait only 12 days to get their chance to do so, as they defeated C9 on July 21 in the last game of week seven.
By defeating Zachary ��Sneaky�� Scuderi and his team, CLG not only achieved an impressive hat-trick but also improved their record to 9-5, meaning they needed only one more win to join Team Liquid in the final six.
The decisive 10th win for CLG came this weekend, when they came from behind to defeat Clutch Gaming. A sneaky 29th-minute Baron kill played a huge role in CLG��s comeback in addition to their controlled and patient approach to the game – a playstyle often displayed in some the world’s best League of Legends esports teams.
CLG went on to win both of their games in week eight, as they took down Echo Fox in a destructive fashion with a 19-6 lead in kills and over 13k gold lead. That saw them move into outright second place with 11 wins for the split.
Seeing how impressive CLG have been this split and how they have improved in both macro play and overall playstyle, many speculate this might be the start of something special for the oldest still-active League of Legends teams.
While Counter Logic Gaming have all but secured a spot in the 2019 LCS Summer Split playoffs, it��s do-or-die for Clutch Gaming when the two sides meet this weekend.
It has been an uphill battle for Clutch in the last couple of weeks. Following a slow start to the split, they have sought out a recipe for success that still eludes them after seven weeks.
CG were never considered a team that would fight for the top spots, and they have done nothing to suggest otherwise. With the exception of a perfect week two, they have failed to impress and now sit in a three-way tie for sixth place with 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians.
While Clutch are still a chance to reach the playoffs, they need to wake up and start winning matches – starting with Saturday’s clash against CLG.
Week seven did not give us a clear read on CG’s form. While they completely outclassed Echo Fox, who are in a terrible spot and look destined to finish bottom, they were also well beaten by a world-class Team Liquid outfit that has already qualified for the playoffs.
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Nonetheless, we can give some credit to Clutch for their innovative team compositions, which could surprise their opponents and grab them an upset win.
Counter Logic, meanwhile, are fresh of their third perfect week of the split. Impressive wins over FlyQuest and Cloud9 took their record to 9-5, meaning they only a need a couple more wins to book a playoff spot.
While the whole team is playing well, it is Kim “Ruin” Hyeong-min who deserves a lot of credit. CLG’s coordination, macro play and proactivity has improved drastically since he arrived in mid-May, which is clearly seen in the team��s performances and overall record from that time on.
Not only is Ruin the best player in the CLG squad, he is also widely considered to be one of the best top laners in the LCS. A wide champion pool and impressive performances across the board make him a player who should not be ignored by his opponents.
CLG vs Clutch Gaming betting predictions
The last time CLG met Clutch, we saw a close match that was decided in the 38th minute when Counter Logic took the Baron and made one last push to seal the deal. While another close match is something the fans would like to see, there is little to suggest CG have enough firepower to withstand CLG��s aggression and overall quality.
The fight between Ruin and Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon will be under the spotlight on Saturday, as both teams rely heavily on their top laners. That is especially the case for CG, as their only win condition is for Huni to get up and extend his pressure to the other lanes. Ruin will have to do his best to prevent that from happening.
Clutch’s reliance on Huni means Nam “Lira” Tae-yoo will have to focus on helping his teammate, leaving the other lanes to carry their own weight in the early game. That, combined with CLG��s known early aggression, can only mean one thing.
Expect Counter Logic to establish a big early lead before Huni and Lira can takedown Ruin and turn the game in CG��s favour.
Prediction: Counter Logic Gaming to win – $1.61 at GG Bet
]]>A three-way tie for sixth place will be put to the test in week eight of the LCS Summer Split when Golden Guardians face off against 100 Thieves in what could be a decisive match in the race to the playoffs.
GGS need to avoid another 0-2 week if they are serious about reaching the post-season. In theory, that should be much easier to achieve compared to week seven, when they faced Team Liquid and Team SoloMid.
Guardians will look to repeat their success from week three, when they beat 100 Thieves with relative ease. However, a closer look at that match reveals it was not so much a dominant performance from GGS but rather a poor performance from 100T that shaped that result.
Also, a lot has changed since then. While GGS have gone 2-6 in the four weeks since these sides last met, Thieves are a much better team with Maurice “Amazing” St��ckenschneider and “Ryu” Sang-wook on board.
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100T have won three of their last four matches, including triumphs against OpTic Gaming, Echo Fox and FlyQuest. And whereas Guardians have slumped after week three, Thieves have a 5-3 record since then.
To sum up their performances in the last two weeks, 100 Thieves look strong. Although they copped a heavy defeat to Cloud9 recently, the rest of their performances tell the story of a side that belongs in the top six.
Much of their success is due to huge improvement from Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black and Bae “Bang” Jun-sik. Their boosted confidence is reflected in their aggressive playstyle, which benefits the team more often than not. Even when they end up losing the laning phase, they perform well in team fights and contribute to the cause in any way they can.
Golden Guardians vs 100 Thieves betting predictions
The biggest concern for GGS ahead of Saturday��s fixture is their bottom lane, which will have to face an in-form Aphromoo and Bang. Not only do the 100T duo look better in the laning phase, they contribute much more in team fights compared to Victor “FBI” Huang and Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun. Huhi has the tendency to die too often and too early, while FBI fails to contribute enough damage, which is a huge problem for GGS and their team fighting strength.
Should huhi and FBI perform up to par and stop Aphromoo and Bang, GGS will have a good chance to win against 100 Thieves. However, from what they showed last week, there is little to suggest they can match the quality of their opponents.
Prediction: 100 Thieves to win – $1.98 at GG Bet
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