LCS semi-finals progress on Friday and Saturday, 100 Thieves face off against a fledgling Cloud9 while Team Liquid looks to bring an end to Evil Geniuses’ Cinderella run. While the 100 Thieves versus Cloud9 match may have the potential to go either way, the Team Liquid match is much more clear cut: let’s get into the picks!

Captain

Tactical ($11,400)

Because we prefer 100 Thieves over Cloud9, there is pretty much no issue with money on the day: pick what you desire. There is a good case in my eyes for Tactical though; I’m just not entirely convinced by Deftly yet. While his KDAs do appear pretty solid, it doesn’t take much past a glance at his opponents to perhaps tell you why: Zven? Nice! But then you get into Keith, Neo, Stixxay… See what I’m getting at? His loss to FlyQuest’s Johnsun was pretty much the nail in the coffin; he’s had a favorable run, and he’s likely a solid mid tier ADC, but Tactical is the best for a reason. I expect TL to take the entire tournament now that Santorin has arrived, and I think TL will make quick work of the EG bottom lane. If you want a different pick for captain, I’d either recommend Santorin or FBI, with a slight preference for the latter due to his pop-off potential.

Alternatives to consider: FBI ($11,100)

Top Lane

Ssumday ($5,800)

Alphari versus Impact is an absolute no-no, and I would never wager against either one of those players: it’s an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object in its purest form. 100 Thieves’ Ssumday versus Cloud9’s Fudge looks much more promising however: Fudge has not been good, and while he had a lot of hype following his promotion to LCS, I really am not observing the brilliance he displayed in academy. I’d refer to Ssumday as “just solid”, not top 2 like Impact or Alphari, but still very good and I do legitimately believe that 100 Thieves is the 2nd best team in the LCS right now. If you had to choose between the two, Alphari has the edge in the jungle, so I’d pick him.

Alternatives to consider: Alphari ($6,200)

Jungle

Santorin ($6,600)

While Svenskeren is statistically superior to Santorin, you have to look at the facts: Santorin, who arrived late, had to face off against much more challenging opponents in Josedeodo and Spica, whereas Svenskeren had the opportunity to farm Iconic and Potluck, while losing pretty badly to the aforementioned Josedeodo. Santorin’s good play at Worlds and the 2020 splits (alongside Svenskeren’s relatively mediocre performances) gives me good faith that it’ll be more of the same: Santorin laying the smack down on Svenskeren. If you want to choose a different jungler, I think Damonte+Closer is a great counter to Blaber+Perkz, the latter looking very uncoordinated during the Lock-in tournament.

Alternatives to consider: Closer ($6,400)

Mid Lane

Jensen ($7,000)

Jensen versus Damonte is by far the hardest choice you have to make on Friday: do you want the raw statistical power of Damonte, who has the highest KDA of every single player at the event so far? Or do you want Jensen, the more proven, consistent player who has a better match-up versus Jiizuke. The fact that Damonte is the favored mid laner against Perkz is absolutely bonkers, but that’s the fact of the matter. Perkz should be hard gapping North American mid laners, but he’s felt underwhelming since arriving in the continent. Take your pick; Damonte may be capable of winning big, but I just value Jensen due to his history of being a top mid laner in North America, where we may just be seeing the beginning of Damonte’s ascension.

Alternatives to consider: Damonte ($7,200)

ADC

FBI ($7,400)

Despite the fact I expect Cloud9 to lose, I will say: Zven and Vulcan are the two players on Cloud9 that actually look pretty decent. Stylistically though, Zven performs exceptionally well against ADCs that prefer to handshake the laning phase and will play for teamfights. FBI and Huhi are… not that kind of lane. Huhi is a solo killing monster who is at the top of his role mechanically, and FBI is more than happy to simply kill you in the laning phase. Combined with a stronger top side, FBI has a big advantage over Zven. That being said, I think Tactical will also smash Deftly, so take your pick of the two.

Alternatives to consider: Tactical ($7,600)

Support

CoreJJ ($5,600)

Tactical and CoreJJ are just the best bottom lane in the LCS, there’s no real competition. While Deftly and IgNar have been a delightful surprise and maybe necessitates a re-examination on Deftly and Matt as a lane, EG’s bottom lane is by no means bad. The strength that the Liquid bottom lane have is the ability to play as a unit with a clear dynamic: CoreJJ is just as good at roaming as IgNar, and he’s even better in lane. Tactical can match Deftly in teamfights and playing on the weak side while his support roams, and is even better at aggressing and timing his trades properly. These two are narrowly straight upgrades over their opponents. If for some reason you don’t want Core, pick up 100 Thieves’ Huhi.

Alternatives to consider: Huhi ($5,000)

Team

100 Thieves ($4,800)

Between Liquid and the Thieves, I think it’s more likely for Liquid to win, but I value the player slots more; if you chose Damonte, I’d pick up Liquid. If you chose Jensen, you’ll probably get 100 Thieves. Between the two, they’re pretty indistinguishable and your choice here doesn’t matter much: 100 Thieves are cheaper, if that matters to you.

Alternatives to consider: Team Liquid ($5,200)

Stacks

Tactical & CoreJJ

The Team Liquid bottom lane performed great at worlds 2020, and they hard carried their mediocre jungler to almost getting out of groups in what was likely the hardest group of the tournament. Domestically, they’re set up to stomp another season and with Bjergsen’s retirement, it’s likely that they’ll take the entire season. EG is likely a speed bump in their path.

Damonte & Closer

100 Thieves are likely the only team to bring a challenge to TL, and the mid/jungle dynamic of Closer and Damonte is a massive reason why: Damonte has looked great over the course of the Lock-in tournament, and is a perennially underrated mid laner. Closer looks as great as ever, and with an upgrade in the top lane in Ssumday, these two continue to run over their passive mid/jungle competition.

Damonte & Ssumday

Damonte is a player who levels up his side laners through his fast paced, roam intensive play style. Damonte’s strength across the map allows Huhi to spend extra time in lane to expedite FBI’s scaling, and influence Ssumday’s lane on picks like Galio or Twisted Fate. 100 Thieves is one of the only teams that can carry from any position, and their playstyle reminds me of Cloud9’s 2020 Spring when they were at their peak.

Top Picks: Santorin, FBI, Tactical

All 4 ADCs on Friday are great for different reasons: Deftly is a KDA player, Tactical is just the best, Zven is a high performer on an underperforming team, and FBI is a gold vacuum point generator. Santorin as a jungler is an odd man out; but he is highly resource intensive, great at defending his laners, and is likely the best jungler in North America unless Closer is on his A-game. I highly recommend rolling with double ADCs.

Top Value: Anyone from 100 Thieves

That’s it. 100 Thieves is straight undervalued; Cloud9 is a “meh” team with a high ceiling, but their solo laners have been playing straight terrible and Blaber hasn’t been remarkable. Perkz looks like a major flop so far, whereas it’s consistently been Tanner time. I’d make this section more “serious” if cash wasn’t basically free on Friday, but since players are so cheap I don’t think ‘value’ means much.