Explaining the Card: A Gambling Degenerates View on Week 8 Day 1 of the LCS – The Game Haus

Back in freshman year of college, I would find myself reading Bill Simmons Friday morning column, commenting on what he thought were the best bets of the NFL that week. Typically in a mailbag format, he would preview some of the games that week and present what he thought were the best bets.

I never got my questions included on his site and to this day, I remain bitter over it.

Every single week, I find myself talking out loud about picks what should I gamble on? Does this pick make sense? Will Evil Geniuses not try this week?

While competitiveLeague of Legends is dependent on so many different attributes, making it incredibly difficult to predict, a lot about the game can be broken down to logic, statistical trends and a little bit of reading the room. I swear, this lengthy, introductory piece wont be included on every single article but it is a nice little start to things.

The second to last week of the regular season is here for the LCS and were getting ready for the playoffs. We think we know who are the four best teams in the league 100 Thieves, TSM, Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses. We believe that Team Liquid will continue to distance themselves from the middle of pack and make it a contentious top five. FlyQuest, Golden Guardians, Counter Logic Gaming are going to keep things interesting towards the end but theyre probably stuck. And we could be in for a war for the sixth seed in the LCS between Dignitas and Immortals.

Well learn a lot from Day 1 of Week 8. A relatively stacked day ofLeague of Legends in North America could build the story of what to expect in the play-offs.

Its the battle between two of the best teams in North America that doesnt necessarily feel like a battle between two of the best teams in North America. 100 Thieves continue to impress but at times regress. And Cloud9 has their heads in the clouds if they think this is the season everyone thought it would be for them.

Theyre incredibly similar. If their jungler is on point, theyre unstoppable. They have an incredible support that does a great job at influencing the map. And then they have three players in skill positions that seemingly can be the best players on the Rift at any point in time.

So who sh**s the bed?Who knows.

What we do know is that 100 Thieves are one of the best early game teams in North America. Theyre first in first turret percentage (71%), third in first dragon percentage (52%) while Cloud9 have been towards the bottom of the standings. 100 Thieves have also improved in the month of July earning first turret 78% of the time and first dragon 67% of the time.

Despite the name and the legacy, Cloud9 continues to look uninspired in 2021. Its one thing for Luka Perkz Perkovi to be underperforming as a mid-laner given the general decline in performance over the years along with uninformed expectations of what he offers as a player. But to see such a mess of a team on the Rift without much excitement, thats just weird to think about.

With that being said, this feels like a trap and if you dont bet on C9, youre going to be kicking yourself. Philippe Vulcan Laflamme continues to prove that he is an MVP caliber player and we just need to respect how good he is.

Since Peter Dun took the microphone and said he doesnt really care about the performance of Evil Geniuses in the summer, Evil Geniuses have been performing really well.

Figures.

An 8-1 record in July is the best among teams in the LCS. Jeong Impact Eon-young continues to be one of the best players in North America and deserves the first team all-pro spot for top-laners. Dennis Svenskeren Johnsen is returning to form. It really has been impressive to see how Evil Geniuses approached the potential usage of Juan Contractz Garcia, how the team responded to the substitution and more importantly, how Svenskeren responded to the substitution.

When Evil Geniuses are taking the game seriously, it is hard to bet against them. But theyre going against the one team in the LCS that simply just wins games.

TSM are tied with Evil Geniuses for the second-best record in North America for the Summer Split but TSMs lack of consistency continues to leave a sense of dread. Mingyi Spica Lu is listed as a potential MVP candidate yet really hasnt been an MVP caliber jungler. He has had shining moments especially with his critical ultimates on Diana but continues to sit in the middle of the pack among junglers when it comes to statistics.

Peter Dun and company appear to have TSM figured out. Bringing in Contractz for the matchup was a clear strategic decision. Spica struggles to operate from behind and at times disappears from matches only to be saved by veteran leadership in TSMs mid and support position. And you have to let the hot team stay hot.

Since the departure of Joshua Jatt Leesman, Team Liquid have been on a bit of a cold streak. Their 6-6 record since then has been a result of no clear vision of the team. While roster moves have played a significant part, Jonas KoldAndersen has not made a significant case for why he should be the future head coach of the roster rather than filling in. On the opposite side of things, FlyQuest are figuring things out with the academy line-up 4-2 in their last six.

The story tells you to go with the hot team FlyQuest but teams have had more and more time to catch up on how they operate. In their second week being promoted, they were sniffed out against better competition.

This is a clear trap game. Either storyline seems realistic: FlyQuest upset Team Liquid with their aggressionor Team Liquid smothers FlyQuest with their veteran prowess. Team Liquid are begging to be bet against and FlyQuest are begging to bet on.

Why not just bet on a close game?

Golden Guardians feel like the great story of 2021 summer. Trading in their spring misfortunes for progress in the summer makes them a threat in every single match they play. Their rookie talents are stepping up to the play in a massive way and it looks as if their star mid-laner will be receiving the honors of rookie of the year.

Everything is going right for them.

On the other hand, Counter Logic Gamings front office is an embarrassment, and it is tough to find anything nice to say. What has been done in the past few weeks by their social media team and their general manager DanielTafokints Lee is a disgrace and should never happen in the esports scene.

TheirLeague of Legends roster is currently battling through the emotional damage caused by Lees incompetence and it is incredibly tough to watch. Despite progress being shown throughout the season, Lees inability to be a good leader has created a toxic environment and likely impacted the reputation of every single member of hisLeague of Legends roster including a promising young head coach in Galen Holgate.

Golden Guardians are clearly the better team. But betting against Counter Logic Gaming just feels more important than betting on Golden Guardians.

Did you know that Dignitas has the best first blood percentage in North America?

Dignitas taking a step back from their spring form was a dream come true for analysts. Having to potentially cope with the fact that Dignitas had a really good read on the skirmish meta along with a potential top-talent in Ton Neo Trn paired with legendary support Zaqueri aphromoo Black is off the table.

And that sucks. Neo was very much deserving of recognition for his incredible spring split.

Immortals strong start to the Summer Split was halted by a questionable, early substitution. It appears to have killed most of the momentum with the line-up. With a lack of consistency in the bottom lane, it is tough to see how Immortals will find their way to hold off the feisty underdogs in Team Dignitas. Immortals have the second-worst record in NA in the month of July. Compounded with having the third-lowest first blood percentage, third-lowest first turret percentage and lowest first dragon percentage in July, it feels strange to see them as -165 favorites to win.

It seriously is still surprising this was a game where Dignitas received plus odds.

If possible look for a member of Immortals bottom lane to give up first blood.

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Explaining the Card: A Gambling Degenerates View on Week 8 Day 1 of the LCS - The Game Haus