Cloud9 vs Team Liquid

Team Liquid vs. Cloud9. It really doesn't get any better than this. And sure, there's not a whole lot on the line this time around other than a sizable sack of cash and some bragging rights, but this is still an absolute must watch — clash between two of the best and most stacked line-ups North America has to offer. This one Best of 5 will go a long way towards establishing the overall tone and narrative of the regular season, and it's important in more ways than one. The team that wins tonight will universally be deemed as the front-runner to win the whole split and eventually represent NA at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational.

All in all, you do not want to miss it. That's for sure.

But despite both teams being stacked beyond measure, their roads towards this point have been vastly dissimilar. That point needs to be underscored. Cloud9 struggled, and mightily so. Team Liquid, on the other hand, pretty much cruised past all of their opposition. And, frankly, they made it look easy, too. Their 3-0 shellacking over Evil Geniuses yesterday was further proof of their staggering talent and potential. They made EG look like a bunch of scrubs, and they did the same to pretty much every other team other than 100 Thieves. Each and every member of this Team Liquid line-up is exceptional in every sense of the word, so it's only natural for them to dominate so darn hard regardless of whom they're up against. They're mesmerizing to watch, and that's especially true when they start "feeling themselves" with more offensive drafts and begin to dictate the pace of the game. They're also a lot more aggressive this time around, too — gone is the passive Team Liquid of yore! They're confident in each other and it's evident in their play as well. They just *know* they're better, both individually as well as a five-man unit. And, of course, they have more than enough talent to not only go for these aggressive, seemingly overconfident plays but even pull them off. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous team ever assembled on North American soil, and they have all the right tools to leave a mark on the international stage.

Cloud9, on the other hand, still needs time to grow and synergize. They're great, that's a fact, but they're far too inconsistent, and if Blaber and Zven aren't doing the hardcarrying, then Cloud9 doesn't have a path to victory. Perkz cannot be counted upon at this point in time, whereas Fudge still seems somewhat unfit to play on the LCS stage. He's not a rookie either, but you wouldn't be able to tell based off his positioning, dreadful laning, and relatively shoddy teamfighting. He's Cloud9's biggest weakness, and he's a huge liability. Team Liquid, on the other hand, has Alphari — the man who needed mere days to establish his dominance in the LCS upon landing in Los Angeles. He's already deemed as the best top laner in North America, and yet he's only been there for mere weeks. He's on a whole 'nother level, and it's impossible to imagine a world in which Fudge can compete on even footing. The rest of C9 is quite stacked and dangerous, but they're not better than TL in any which way.

We're going with the former four-time LCS champions on this one as it's the only logical choice. They're better across the board and shouldn't have too big of a problem in taking Cloud9 down.