Week 7 of the League of Legends Championship Series Summer has concluded, and we are only two weeks away from the playoffs. The race for qualification is getting intense, with no clear-cut favorite to win it all.
Fly Quest’s dream run ends
After struggling for weeks and having the worst record in LCS, Fly Quest management made a significant decision to bench the entire starting lineup at the start of week 6. The management filed an entirely new squad comprising all the Fly Quest’s academy players, and the decision paid off as the team surprisingly won all three games in week 6.
However, the newfound glory was short-lived as the team dropped two games in week 7. Despite winning the first game of the week against the stronger Team SoloMid, they lost subsequent games to Evil Geniuses and 100 Thieves.
Although Fly Quest showed resilience and mechanical prowess, the lack of experience was evident. They tried to take an aggressive approach against Evil Geniuses but it backfired. Early ganks turned into free kills for opponents, and Fly Quest never got a hold of the game. This was again the case against 100 Thieves, where they stumbled in the early game and eventually lost.
Team Liquid struggles continue despite Alphari’s return
Team Liquid have been a subject of discussion for the entirety of the Summer Split. Constant roster reshuffles and inadequate coaching have led to a shaky period for the side.
The decision to bench star player Barney “Alphari” Morris after just one game of the Summer Split took many by surprise. With it, the team lost its spearhead and, as a result, dropped several games throughout the split. Due to the inconsistent performances and unsatisfying results, Alphari was called back to the starting lineup at the start of week 6. He shared game time with Thomas “Jenkins” Tran for the first few games but was quickly given the sole ownership of the top lane at the start of week 7.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Team Liquid from then on either as they only managed to win one game. Despite the return of Alphari, they only managed to defeat the already crippled Counter Logic Gaming while losing to both TSM and 100 Thieves.
It is clear that Team Liquid need to address several issues. The team is heavily reliant on Alphari and his individual brilliance. Nevertheless, Team Liquid often crumble when he fails to win the lane. There is also a lack of team coordination as the roster has not been stable since the start.
100 Thieves maintain the top spot
Despite dropping their first game of the week to Team Dignitas, 100 Thieves are still in first place. Currently boasting a 27-12 record, they are clearly the best-performing team in LCS.
Their loss against Team Dignitas was a one-sided affair, getting dominated from the get-go. 100 Thieves failed to secure a single Dragon throughout the game and barely challenged Dignitas. That said, the first-placed team quickly retaliated by defeating Team Liquid and Fly Quest in the following games
Ian Victor “FBI” Huang and Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun have emerged as one of the best-performing bot lane duos, with FBI in particular being an MVP candidate. Can “Closer” Çelik has also been on a rampage and is currently considered one of the best junglers in LCS. Moving forward, it would be interesting to see if 100 Thieves can maintain their form and eventually win their first-ever domestic trophy.
