Golden Guardians vs Team Dignitas

What does one even say about a clash between Dignitas and the Golden Guardians? It's not exactly hype-inducing, but you already knew as much. By and large, it's a clash between a mid-tier gatekeeper (one that had made two pretty big changes to its starting line-up) and a bottom-tier dweller. For these two challengers there's quite a lot at stake here; the rest of us, however, really couldn't care less.

Still, despite this clash being pretty darn uninteresting on paper, there's definitely a reason to tune in. Both teams are doing a bit better than expected, so it's not like they've decided to surrender and wait for 2022. Quite the contrary! The Golden Guardians are currently riding a two-game winstreak which, in all fairness, isn't the most spectacular feat in the world, but it's still worthy of praise and commendation. They're currently ranked tenth in the LCS but their Summer Split record is relatively acceptable — 5 wins and 8 losses. Nothing to write home about, but not that bad either. They're actually doing better than both FlyQuest and Counter Logic Gaming and have the exact same record as Dignitas, so credit where credit is due.

They're playing a lot better than anyone thought was possible, and even though they won't accomplish anything in the grand scheme of things, they're still a feisty bunch worthy of respect. They've improved tenfold ever since they brought over Solo and Chime, and watching them overperform and subvert our expectations has truly been a delight. They're still a bottom-tier team, mind you, but they're actually trying and are fun to watch.

Dignitas, however, are a complete enigma. Are they good? It's still too early to tell. As already mentioned, they have the exact-same record as GGS, so it's not like they've been clicking heads and taking names. Still, even in their losses — most of which came at the hands of the LCS creme de la creme — they looked pretty darn good. Once we factor in the fact that they're playing with not one but two substitutes, you start to be a lot more forgiving of their mistakes and fumbles (of which there were many). To make matters even more interesting, they've just taken down Team SoloMid, and it wasn't a fluke either. Now, will they upset the LCS status quo? Absolutely not, but they'll nonetheless try, and they obviously have more than enough talent and grit to pull off an uspet when you least expect them to. That's just Dignitas in a nutshell.

They're better than GGS, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to execute and prove it, too. There's never any certainty whenever bottom-dwellers clash off, so if you're after a safe bet and a match-up that's easy to predict, you'd be wise to skip this one entirely. In the end, we'll side with Dignitas on this one. Doing the opposite wouldn't make any sense seeing how they've just beaten one of the best teams in the LCS. We're not going to read too much into it, but they're obviously capable enough to compete, so credit where credit is due. GGS should, therefore, be a fairly easy test.