Golden Guardians vs 100 Thieves

Whenever the Golden Guardians step foot on stage to compete, it feels like we know the outcome almost by default. They're not the worst team in the LCS (although they're not far off), but it's like there's a very palpable ceiling above them. They're good but just not good enough for it to matter. They'll pull off an uspet, but never truly challenger the LCS pantheon. That's sort of been the case in the second half of 2021 as well, although it's worth mentioning that they've grown and evolved in a myriad of ways ever since the season began — despite having the cheapest roster in North America.

That's sort of the Golden Guardians M.O. — they assemble the most cost-effective line-up imaginable, and then give it the right guidance and just enough room to maneuver. And sure, they've never really made much of a mark, but they always did better than expected and have earned our benefit of the doubt for it. This time around, they'll start with Eric "Licorice" Ritchie (of Cloud9 fame) who was just bought out from FlyQuest. Whether that'll make a big enough difference in the grand scheme of things still remains to be seen, but you really shouldn't get your hopes up.

If they were scheduled to face someone other than 100 Thieves, maybe we would've been a bit more willing to give them a shot. But seeing how they're going up against the very best team in North America right now (and it's not even close), it'll be nigh impossible not to bet on them losing.

100 Thieves are a cut above everyone else, and, frankly, they've only just begun — this line-up will continue growing even further under Reapered's tutelage, and we can't wait to see how high they'll be able to soar once all is said and done. They too have a couple of odd showings from time to time, but it's nothing too egregious — we'll let that slide as they're still building synergy as a five-man unit, so a few mistakes along the way are pretty much par for the course.