The LCS Spring 2022 Playoffs continue from Saturday as 100 Thieves faces Team Liquid in the upper bracket.
100 Thieves and Team Liquid are set to play each other for the first time in the Spring 2022 playoffs. After 100 Thieves’ dominant win over Cloud9, they look like in peak form. On the other hand, Team Liquid looked shaky against Evil Geniuses. Thus, two teams have come to a matchup where the winner goes to the Finals and the loser faces either Evil Geniuses or Cloud 9. Let’s talk about the series in detail.
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100 Thieves vs Team Liquid
This series is building up to being a heavyweight series in the LCS Playoffs. Also, this could be the precursor to the finals as we will potentially see both of them in the Finals facing each other once more. Regardless, both teams want to win the game badly and this could be a very close series.
Looking at the series in greater detail, this is clearly going to be a series that will be a game-by-game approach. Both teams are so talented that we could see massive swings during games. Both teams have their strengths and weakness and it’s apparent how these teams play. Let’s talk about what both team’s plans could be going into the series.
100 Thieves’ Potential Gameplan
For 100 Thieves, it’s all about the mid jungle duo as they have the best mid jungle duo in the LCS. Abbedagge has found form as of late and Closer was a monster in the last playoff series. Meanwhile, the rest are playing very well so this is a tough group of players to crack. 100 Thieves main target will be to attack the opponent’s jungle and mid lane and take control of games through that.
Meanwhile, Closer will have to make sure their side lanes are stable as that’s where Team Liquid’s strengths lie. If 100 Thieves wins in the jungle and mid lane, we could see a quick series if it happens in all 3 games. 100 Thieves are a very versatile side and they can win games in different ways. Thus, 100 Thieves is starting to peak at the right time, and beating Team Liquid should build up more momentum as they make a push for the Finals.
Team Liquid’s Potential Gameplan
For Team Liquid, it’s all about lane dominance and Santorin using lane pressure to get a lane ahead with opportune ganks. TL’s strength lies in the lanes as they have the likes of Bjergsen, Bwipo, Hans Sama, and CoreJJ in their respective lanes. Hans Sama and CoreJJ might be the best bot lane in the LCS, perhaps the west but they have some problems facing up against Danny and Vulcan.
FBI and huhi should pose the same problems and it’s up to Santorin to support the bot side as much as they can. Top lane is more in favor of TL as Ssumday does not typically play strong side top lane. Mid lane will be the big contention point while Santorin has to be ready to face Closer’s aggression. The games will hinge on the mid jungle duo and TL will have to be at their best to counter what 100 Thieves have to offer.
Other Insights
Considering how good Closer’s Lee Sin was, it will be interesting to see how TL drafts. 100 Thieves usually is a team that comes with a good amount of preparation in terms of drafts, particularly in a series. Meanwhile, TL has been a strong team with versatile players on their roster. This series will start during the drafts and might even end due to bad drafts.
Other than that, this is as close of a series as we can get. Hence, our prediction is a 100 Thieves 3-2. Given how TL struggled a bit against Evil Geniuses and 100 Thieves dominance over Cloud9, we are expecting 100 Thieves to come out as victors. 3-2 would be the best outcome for the fans but this could even end in a 3-1. However, we hope the series will be great and we will have fun watching these two top LCS teams battling each other.
