LCS Spring 2019 Week 2 Preview and Predictions

The 2019 League of Legends season has begun and unlike the European region, the North American one has offered a bit more stability during its first competitive week. And with the second one knocking at the door, let’s take a look at what has happened so far and what is likely to happen next.

Current standings

These are the results after the first week of matches. Not everything went according to plan for some of the most important teams from last year, but that was partly expected, simply because a lot has changed for some of the underdogs, who have brought in a number of world-class players and are now at a completely different level as a result.

• Clutch Gaming – 2 W – 0 L
• FlyQuest – 2 W – 0 L
• Team Liquid – 2 W – 0 L
• Cloud9 – 1 W – 1 L
• Echo Fox – 1 W – 1 L
• OpTic Gaming – 1 W – 1 L
• Team SoloMid – 1 W – 1 L
• 100 Thieves – 0 W – 2 L
• Counter Logic Gaming – 0 W – 2 L
• Golden Guardians – 0 W – 2 L

This table may look odd to people who are familiar with the professional LoL scene in the North American region. Sure, Team Liquid is currently 2 W – 0 L, as everyone expected. But what’s going on with Clutch Gaming and FlyQuest being at the top of the rankings table while 100 Thieves is struggling at the bottom?

As I’ve already mentioned, some of the teams in the league have gone through some massive roster changes. They’re basically totally different squads now, even though they’ve kept their name from last season.

For example, Clutch Gaming has 4 new players and 2 of them are famous Koreans: Huni and Piglet. Both of them are former SK Telecom T1 players. Huni is also a former Fnatic and Echo Fox player while Piglet is a former Team Liquid member. Needless to say, both of them have experience with getting top placements at world-class events such as Worlds and Mid-Season Invitational.

As for FlyQuest, this team brought in one of the best Mid players in North America, namely Pobelter. Last season, he has successfully played alongside Team Liquid, with whom he managed to win both Splits. So it’s not that big of a surprise to see his new team doing surprisingly well after the first week of LCS Spring 2019. In all likelihood, FlyQuest will not survive for long at the top of the rankings table. But they might maintain a top 4 position overall as the weeks go by.

Predictions for week 2

These are the betting predictions for the 2nd week of LCS Spring 2019.

Echo Fox (1 W – 1 L) vs. Team SoloMid (1 W – 1 L)

Both of these teams lost against Clutch Gaming in the first week of LCS Spring 2019. TSM won their other match against 100 Thieves while Echo Fox also won their 2nd match against Golden Guardians.
Based on what happened in 2018 and the current rosters of these two teams, the odds certainly favor Team SoloMid here.

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of Team SoloMid, clearly regarding Bjergsen’s side as being much stronger than their opponent.

Match date: February 2nd

Cloud9 (1 W – 1 L) vs. Golden Guardians (0 W – 2 L)

Cloud9 is much stronger than Golden Guardians at this time and given the past history of these two teams, a victory for C9 in this match is almost guaranteed.

Match date: February 2nd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.25 – 3.55 in favor of Cloud9 and this is practically free money to be made. A 25% profit is more than Bitcoin used to give on a good day, back when people were interested in it.

100 Thieves (0 W – 2 L) vs. Team Liquid (2 W – 0 L)

With Team Liquid clearly proving during the first week of LCS Spring 2019 that they’re still one of the strongest teams in North America, I expect this match to be fairly one-sided. A defeat for Doublelift would be a huge upset given the skill difference between his team and 100 Thieves.

Match date: February 2nd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.75 – 1.40 in favor of Team Liquid, giving 100 Thieves a lot of undue respect considering how poorly they’ve performed so far.

FlyQuest (2 W – 0 L) vs. Counter Logic Gaming (0 W – 2 L)

FlyQuest are certainly not a main contender with their current roster but they are likely to prolong their winning streak with this match, as CLG are not exactly a top team either.

Match date: February 2nd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.60 – 2.20 in favor of FlyQuest and at these odds a bet on the favorite is definitely worthwhile.

Clutch Gaming (2 W – 0 L) vs. OpTic Gaming (1 W – 1 L)

This is by far the most promising betting opportunity on this list, as bookmakers haven’t realized so far just how strong Clutch Gaming are with their new lineup. People still associate the name from 2018 with the current roster, which is a big mistake. CG’s roster only has 1 player left from the squad of 2018 and the current players activating in this team are formidable. An easy win for Clutch Gaming is the most likely result of this match but the odds are way too high given the skill difference.

Match date: February 2nd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.55 – 2.30 in favor of Clutch Gaming, which is foolishly generous all things considered.

Golden Guardians (0 W – 2 L) vs. 100 Thieves (0 W – 2 L)

This should be the best opportunity for 100 Thieves to finally win a match in this Spring Split. Golden Guardians are nowhere near their skill level and so I don’t see how an upset could occur.
Match date: February 3rd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 3.20 – 1.30 in favor of 100 Thieves, understanding that there’s little that can stand in their way.

OpTic Gaming (1 W – 1 L) vs. Echo Fox (1 W – 1 L)

This will likely be a balanced match and either one of these teams could win, even though Echo Fox are slightly favored. You should be more careful with this match and and take safety measures by wagering a smaller amount if you want to bet on it.

Match date: February 3rd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.70 – 2.05, regarding OpTic Gaming as the actual favorite. Statistics from 2018 indicate a different favorite but the chances are pretty close.

Team Liquid (2 W – 0 L) vs. Clutch Gaming (2 W – 0 L)

This is the real derby of this split, as these are the two best teams by far in the North American region. Personally, I expect Clutch Gaming to win, simply because they’re not as known as Team Liquid and as a result, they’re much harder to analyze by their opponent. In addition to this, their roster is actually stronger than Liquid’s but the bookmakers heavily favor Doublelift’s team to win this one. So this is the perfect occasion to bet on the underdog and have a high chance of making a lot of money.

Match date: February 3rd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.32 – 3.10 in favor of Team Liquid, which is absolutely ridiculous given the reality of these two rosters.

Team SoloMid (1 W – 1 L) vs. FlyQuest (2 W – 0 L)

TSM is much stronger than FlyQuest and should win this match, in spite of the current difference between these teams in the rankings table. Keep in mind that TSM had strong opponents during the first week of LCS Spring 2019, while FlyQuest had to defeat Golden Guardians and OpTic Gaming, two very modest teams.

Match date: February 3rd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.45 – 2.55 in favor of Team SoloMid, which is a very reasonable assessment.

Counter Logic Gaming (0 W – 2 L) vs. Cloud9 (1 W – 1 L)

This is one of the better betting opportunities on this list, as Cloud9 is vastly superior to CLG and should have no problem defeating them.

Match date: February 3rd

Odds: Betway puts the odds for this match at 3.35 – 1.28 in Cloud9’s favor, assuming that the match has already been won by them. The odds aren’t amazing but the chance of losing your bet is very slim.