LCS 2022 Spring Split Picks, Predictions March 25

• The LCS rolls on this weekend with another three rounds from the SuperWeek
• Cloud9 are currently at the top of the standings after another solid week
• The mid table is quite crowded with at least six teams vying for the postseason

Team Liquid (moneyline)

Team Liquid vs Golden Guardians Predictions

Team Liquid Are The Favourites

The LCS 2022 Spring Split is in its business end, with games coming thick and fast. The first of our weekend specials pits second-placed Team Liquid against the Golden Guardians. Liquid are one of only three teams so far this split to rack up 10 or more wins. Liquid are currently sitting pretty with a 11-4 record, a playoff berth sealed. Their final few games will help determine where in the bracket they will be seeded, although they cannot mathematically fall below sixth place.

Guardians are in a three-way mid-table jostle for fifth, with a 7-8 record. Currently outside the periphery, they need to get on a roll and keep winning to control their own playoffs fate. They’ve started well to that extent, having won two on the bounce, but they will need a mad winning streak.

Can they extend it? Golden Guardians, by virtue of being where they are on the table, also have the odds stacked against them. It’s been a season riddled with inconsistency. Wins have invariably been followed by crushing losses. So the pattern to their performances have somewhat swung like a pendulum.

For all their winning ways, Liquid have lost two of their last three games, most recently against FlyQuest. It was a narrow loss, one that can either sap one’s morale completely or galvanise them for having run the opponents till the very end. The contest as such was a battle for gold that kept yo-yoing from one side to another, with FlyQuest eventually finishing with 72.9k gold, just 2.5k gold more than Liquid.

FlyQuest also pipped them by three kills and one tower. CoreJJ had an off day, managing just 1 kill, 2 deaths and 3 assists, while Bjergsen couldn’t manage a single kill, apart from 2 deaths and 7 assists. They expected much more from Zeri too, but she ended with 2 kills, 2 deaths and 1 assists. Now, if they could run their opponents close without any of their players being at their optimum efficiency, you can only imagine the result if they fire in unison.

Do Or Die Time for Golden Guardians

One of Golden Guardians’ biggest signings, Pridestalker keeps their flag flying. He’s confident the team is better than the results they’ve shown so far and is highly impressed with the coaching stand. He believes not overloading players with information will possibly help them have better clarity.

He has touched upon how “negative momentum” can make the team feel worse, but it’s one they’re trying to get out of. Guardians are the cut-off point for the playoffs, and have Evil Geniuses up next following this clash. They couldn’t have asked for three tougher games to end the split. It’s do-or-die time now.

FlyQuest vs Evil Geniuses Pick

Evil Geniuses (moneyline)

FlyQuest vs Evil Geniuses Predictions

Odds against FlyQuest Despite Higher Position on Table

FlyQuest lies fourth with an 8-7 record. With a playoff position yet to be sealed, they’re still in a vulnerable position. Evil Geniuses are in a muddle, with a 7-8 record and a spot lower, tied with two others. They are also desperately trying to break away from a rut they have gotten themselves into. On paper, this is a no contest going by current form and personnel experience.

Games are not played on paper though, and it’s this point Evil Geniuses will want to drive home. It’s for good reason that they’re the more pedigreed team overall,  which is why the odds are against FlyQuest despite their better record.

FlyQuest Fresh Off A Conquest Over Toppers Liquid

One of the reasons why the punters are bullish on FlyQuest is because of their manner in which they took down Team Liquid, the toppers, three days ago. With competition intense and stifling in the mid-table, teams need to upset the apple cart of a top side to break away from the pack.

By maintaining a strong mentality despite a lopsided early game, FlyQuest have kept their flag flying. It’s possible Liquid and Cloud9 also lowered their guard a wee bit, which helped FlyQuest’s case againstLiquid. The slow yet damaging slips of their leads may be attributed to them having sealed their playoffs.

Evil Geniuses – Coming Off A Defeat

Evil Geniuses are coming into the game on the back of a loss to 100 Thieves, but they fought a good fight while going down. Evil Geniuses managed 85.9k gold to 100 Thieves’ 91.2k. They landed 10 kills to their opponents 16, and as the game progressed and they lost control, things spiralled out of hand. They eventually managed just 6 towers captured to 100 Thieves’ 11.

Vulcan had a middling outing, finishing with 7 assists, lesser than the 9.33 he averages. This robbed them of some proficiency in the middle. And that spiralled onto the approach of some of the other players, which eventually led to their loss.

Dignitas vs Cloud9 Pick

Pick: Cloud9 (moneyline)

Dignitas vs Cloud9 Predictions

Can Dignitas Play Out Of Their Skins To Win?

Cloud9 are the table toppers, having ransacked their way to 12 wins. It’s been a dominating season like no other. They’ve been precise with their planning, have had continuity with their personnel and haven’t reacted adversely to slip-ups which you’d expect in a long season anyway.

Their opponents Dignitas are in the mid-table jostle for fifth, with a 7-8 win-loss record. They have lost two on the bounce, and the luck of the draw hasn’t favoured them in the quest for the playoffs. It can’t get tougher than this. The odds are heavily stacked against them and it will need an out of the world performance to upset the toppers here.

Cloud9 Coming Off A Shocking Loss

Cloud9 are a proud team. But losses of the kind to TSM, who’ve had the exact opposite journey as them this split, are bound to hurt. It promises to be a lopsided game given it was a clash between the toppers against the wooden spooners, but shockingly enough, for everyone, TSM controlled the game and made Cloud9 do all the running.

The result was all the more astounding because TSM were in a muddle literally, having less than 24 hours fired one of their coaches Peter Zhang due to “serious conflict of interest allegations and unethical practices.” The stir in personnel hardly affected them in the game.

Dignitas – Blow Hot, Blow Cold

Dignitas have had a pattern you wouldn’t come to expect of teams trying to make a serious pitch to be on top of the ladder. They will show steaks of brilliance and then go on an unexplained downward spiral, before suddenly once again stirring the pot with an astounding win.

They were on a four-match losing streak, written off when they suddenly shocked 100 Thieves with a convincing performance not many saw coming. So every now and then, they have let every know they are around. But the lack of consistency has hurt them big. Can they find a big finish?

Immortals vs Counter Logic Gaming Pick

 Immortals (moneyline)

Immortals vs Counter Logic Gaming Predictions

Immortals Strugglers in Low-Stakes Clash

The stakes are pretty low for this one because not much except pride is at stake when ninth-placed Immortals take on eighth-placed CLG. Immortals are currently in a fight to not finish last. They currently are on a 4-11 record that is equal to bottom-placed TSM. But worryingly, Immortals have lost seven in a row to be sapped of any momentum.

Mid season, they were superbly placed for the playoffs, but whatever could go wrong has since then. How do you explain such an alarming fall? It’s definitely likely to elicit changes going forward. All said, the odds are equal for this one. You wouldn’t go wrong with either side, for such has been their form.

Xerxe’s Form Key For TurnAround

Nothing may be going right for them but Immortals haven’t played all that badly, something you can notice if you peel off the layers. Their victory over 100 Thieves is a good example from earlier in the season, a win against all odds.

Their jungler Xerxe has been a proven match-winner in the past, but has struggled for momentum in the meta resulting in a slew of ordinary results. Can he pick himself up? Xerxe in top form can help set the ball rolling again.

TSM v 100 Thieves Pick

 100 Thieves (moneyline)

TSM vs 100 Thieves Predictions

Last-placed TSM up against third-placed 100 Thieves is a giant mismatch. But TSM need to look at their win over Cloud9 last week for inspiration. That they still have some hopes of a playoff berth – even if it may be one in many million – is reason enough to try and finish on a high.

For TSM to qualify for Playoffs without a tiebreaker, they first need to win each of their remaining games to finish on seven wins. After this, their upcoming game against 100 Thieves, they play Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid.

They will carry with them the confidence of wins over Cloud9, table toppers, and Immortals. Even if they somehow manage this gargantuan task, it’s still only half of the work done. The four teams above TSM – EG, CLG, Immortals and GG – need to finish with less than seven wins.

TSM making Playoffs means that all four of the teams above lose all of their games where they don’t play each other.

In other words, if any of the four teams above play Cloud9, Team Liquid, FlyQuest, Dignitas, or 100 Thieves, they need to lose. The stars have to align in unimaginable ways for them to qualify.  Let’s be real. TSM have had a shocking season and will need to improve massively to compete better. If they can end on a high, that’s enough encouragement going into the Summer Split.

Back 100 Thieves to win. Going big on TSM is only for the brave-hearted.

How to Watch LCS 2022 Spring Split