NA LCS Summer 2018 – Team Liquid vs Cloud9 Grand Finals Preview

Today we will be making a prediction on one of the biggest matches of the year in the competitive world of League of Legends. The reason why we are picking this game is that it is a grand final between two of the biggest rivals of the league. So, it will a great exercise to comprehensively predict the result of this highly anticipated final.

Cloud9 vs Team Liquid (2018 NA LCS Summer Split, Best of 5 series, SEP 9, 2018, 11:00 PM CEST):

Cloud9

In the competitive scene, the year started badly for one of the historical teams of the League of Legends North America, Cloud9. Earlier in 2018, Cloud9 was defeated in the quarterfinals of the Spring Split by their upcoming opponents, Team Liquid who went on to lift the trophy. On the weekend, in the town of Oakland, California, both teams will face each other again but this time the winner will take the trophy.

The miraculous Summer Season for the C9 team started with poor performances. The start of their NA LCS campaign was quite shocking since they got only two wins and faced six losses after the first four weeks, which is nearly the first half of the season. This terrible form saw them at the bottom of the rankings.

The problems were solved after a few days into the second half of the championship when the team of Cloud9 almost changed their entire roster: Three players, Smoothie, Sneaky and Jensen who were not moved from the first team in a long time, but seeing the poor form, they were put on the bench. Their positions were filled out by Goldenglue, Keith and Zeyzal from the Academy and the B team. It was the first time for 1909 days that the Cloud9 will play without Zachary Scuderi, aka Sneaky. Moreover, Blaber, a young North American Academy star made his way to the role of jungler and the first team player, Svenskeren was benched.

So many changes in such a little time was surely a big gamble for Cloud9 in the middle of the season but it paid them handsomely. This new lineup managed to beat Team Liquid in their first game who was sitting at first spot and were the winners of the Spring Season.  Even though they lost to OpTIc in their second game, they won their following eight games. They would have set a new record for most consecutive wins in NA LCS if they had won their ninth game. This incredible form saw Cloud9 rose to second place in the Summer Season. During this astonishing rise, Cloud9 did rotate Smoothie, Sneaky, and Jensen which could be the secret to the recipe of success for the team.

What could be said about a team which is considered to be outdated, unlucky, unstructured and in the last position of the competition, then gets consecutive victories, even beat the greatest LCS NA champion, TSM in a semi-final? Of course, Cloud9 worked several miracles, and one of them was to “unleash” the giant against Team SoloMid in this final.

At the end of the day after beating TSM 3-2, it is possible to see that a lineup of old and young stars also works in the competitive world of League of Legends. Cloud9 was a team that did not abandon its beliefs and had tremendous confidence in all its players of team A and B, silencing the critics game after game.

Now, they will play the final of the LCS NA with an absurd hype, since any of the players on the team can shine and guarantee the title for Cloud9. Even if they don’t arrive in the finals as a favorite, Cloud9 team will once again be playing the role of underdogs and who knows they just might win the title.

Team Liquid

The man who will shine for Team Liquid will be none other than Doublelift. If he will play in his usual exceptional style then there is no hope for Cloud9. On the other hand, if Cloud9 directs their focus in the bottom lane then it will surely be a big problem for Cloud9. Team Liquid only needs to make space for the best Carry of the NA Season. The team knows how to play around him and will surely be aiming to utilize his maximum potential.

Doublelift will be against Sneaky of Cloud9. He has played against him on numerous occasions and Doublelift have almost always come out on top. Doublelift love playing aggressive and poses a lot of problems for his counterparts. So Cloud9 will need to direct their attention to the bottom lane.

Xmithie will also be looking to shine against Cloud9’s Blaber in the jungle. In the past weeks, his performances have surged especially in the playoffs. His experience will be of vital importance since he has played in a number of finals and will surely have an edge on Blaber.

Overall, the experience of Team Liquid should get them an edge over this highly talented yet inexperienced team of Cloud9. Cloud9 might have beaten Liquid in the last encounter but it was a best of one game. The pressure will only multiply 110x in this big final and Team Liquid is amongst the few teams that know well to play in the high-quality series with so much on the line.

Final Verdict

Team Liquid 3 – 1 Cloud9

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	Team Liquid Odds	Cloud9 Odds
EGB.com	1.647	2.093
Betway	1.75	1.95
Loot.bet	1.75	2.04
GG.bet	1.80	1.93
Bet365	1.80	1.90