Cloud9 are far and away the best team in LCS. In fact, many fans are beginning to regard the situation as Cloud9 aren't the greatest team, just that no one else is good. Their reputation is still strong, ranking 5th in ESPN's Global Power Rankings, just behind MAD Lions, but the reputation of their opponent's is quickly decreasing. Let's take a look at the five teams tied for second in the LCS so far this split.
Evil Geniuses
After holding their own against Cloud9 better than most teams, they ended up beating Team Liquid, and then losing to TSM. Quite the bag of mixed results, and thankfully they were able to stabilize against Dignitas. Kumo and Zven have been standouts for the team, but the inconsistency they have shown makes me think they have a way to go before challenging Cloud9. The point here though isn't to see which team can challenge Cloud9, but more so to see how large the obvious gap is. As for EG, they are definitely a step or two away, but they are one of the closest to closing that gap.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid was able to keep it down to the wire against Cloud9 a few weeks ago, but it wasn't enough. They seemed unable to capitalize on their leads that they generated throughout the match, which is worrisome, but overall, they have a great chance at finishing second this split.
I think Jensen is a great midlaner, and the rest of the team might not have superstar written all over, but they are all capable and any given week they could perform to a top level. The problem is just getting them to all turn up at the same time. Team Liquid lost to Evil Geniuses the week before their loss to Cloud9, so that is two of the harder teams knocked off the schedule, which gives them a boost as they look to finish the split. However, if we are discussing the gap of talent, it still shows they aren't at the same level of Cloud9.
Flyquest
Solo has been a solid player this split and two of their past four games have been wins against teams tied for second place. The hype train for this team went off the rails this past week though after losing to Golden Guardians. Its hard to see a team that could come close to Cloud9 dropping games like that.
Their loss was due to Golden Guardians getting out to an early lead which isn't going to happen every week, so these players shouldn't be judged off of one match for the rest of their split, but it was a rough outing. I think these guys are one of the least convincing of all the second place teams at this moment.
TSM
I really like some of the pieces on this team. If we look at their last three matches, we see a loss to FlyQuest, a victory over Evil Geniuses, and then... That win over FlyQuest. As many have described the LCS this split, its a bit... "crazy." However, this team is built to succeed and I highly rate Bjergsen, Doublelift, and Biofrost. Spica and Broken Blade are solid, but those first three I think can really be a solid core of players. They need to work out some of their issues, as shown by their narrow victory over a struggling and sloppy 100 Thieves, but they are in contention for that second place spot.
CLG
My personal favorite of the second place teams, these players are in a similar position as TSM in my mind- lots of core pieces, but they are just one level below them in their development as a team. Stixxay and Pobelter are some of my favorite players and I believe all three of the other starters can show up on any week to contribute to a win. As this team develops, I imagine at least one or two of these players will break out and become one of the best in their role. But for now, there is a lot left to be desired.
Their loss to FlyQuest was essentially the only test they have had since February, and weren't able to snowball off of any lead they were able to get their hands on. Their solid record is essentially just the result of them getting a very easy early schedule and this weekend will be massive for seeing if these players are really having a breakout season. Even if they don't end up securing second place, the improvement from spring is obvious. Although I don't think they are close to competing with Cloud9 right now, in a split or two, this team could participate in making Cloud9 look like what is currently happening to G2.
Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Please comment and contribute to the conversation!
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