100 Thieves vs Cloud9

A fight between Cloud9 and 100 Thieves has fireworks written all over it. But you already knew as much, especially if you've tuned in at least once throughout the last couple of weeks. It is, by all means, a fight between two exceptional challengers, and some of the best and most talented players that North America has to offer. In other words, it's an absolute must watch! To say that it's packed with potential wouldn't even begin to do it justice.

Still, how competitive of an affair it'll eventually be heavily depends on 100 Thieves and whether or not they show up and bring their A game. We've seen two vastly different shades of 100 Thieves thus far, and such volatility is becoming quite worrying, to say the least. When they show up and play to the best of their ability, they are undoubtedly one of the best and most capable teams in the region. But those days have been few in numbers, and no one's sure why. Ever since their phenomenal showing at the LCS Lock-In tournament, they've been a pale shadow of their former selves. And it boggles the mind. The meta didn't shift all that much, and it's not like they were ever a one-dimensional team. For all intents and purposes, 100 Thieves have all the right tools to once again dominate over most of their peers. And yet that just isn't happening, for whatever reason. It seems like that's a psychological thing. When there wasn't anything on the line they played without reserve and it showed. Once they transitioned over to the regular portion of the split, that aggression and bravado evaporated in what felt like a split of a second.

And you hate to see it. An LCS with more capable challengers will benefit everyone, but if one of the best and most capable teams are underperforming so severely, then the region as a whole will invariably suffer. That's just the way things go. By the same token, Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and Team SoloMid are far from consistent, so if no one steps up and shores up their weaknesses, the LCS will be Cloud9's for the taking. They're not perfect either, but they've done far better than all of their peers and are much more consistent than at the start of the split. And sure, they have pretty obvious weaknesses (most notably in the top lane), but the rest of the team is performing so darn well that they can definitely offset the fact that they lack a world-class top laner.

100 Thieves just aren't playing at a good enough level to challenge the boys in white and blue. They might come close but if they keep playing at the same level as last week, there's just no way they'll be able to handle Cloud9. They're far too vulnerable at this point in time. Their play lacks vigor and impetus, and it's not tied to their opposition either. They're struggling in every way, shape, and form, and Cloud9 -- unfortunately for 100 Thieves -- is the kind of team that can punish in the blink of an eye. You give them an inch and Blaber will take a mile. Plus, Perkz has stepped up immensely and it's a night and day difference. They're still gelling as a five-man unit, but even in their current "raw" state they're more than capable at taking 100 Thieves down.

It might not be easy or particularly one-sided, but Cloud9 should definitely be able to get the win. They know what needs to be done and have surely prepared well for the task at hand.