Team Dignitas vs Immortals

Arguably the most fascinating clash of the day, and that's surprising, really. No one thought either of these two teams would have what it takes to compete at the highest of levels and yet here we are -- Immortals tied for third, and Team Dignitas tied for fifth. And it's not just that their records are stellar, but their play as well.

Both teams have displayed admirable cohesion and team fighting prowess over the last couple of weeks. Dignitas were, to their credit, far more flashy and dominant, but have lost quite a fair bit of their edge over the last two weeks. After taking down the who's who of the LCS, they became complacent and it was evident in their play as well. Once they didn't have an insurmountable lead to play with, they became far less impactful, proactive, and cohesive. Then, all of a sudden, Froggen started playing a bit more selfishly, we saw the return of the 0/5 Huni, and Grig became an even bigger non-factor. In short, when they didn't start off on the right foot, they couldn't mount an offensive, and that's a problem.

Still, they should've been able to fix at least some of their issues -- enough time has passed, and even the players themselves realized that they needed to further grow and evolve if they want to challenge for the LCS throne. Their performance last week was, in a way, acceptable. That's not exactly what you want to hear if you consider yourself a top-tier team, but it's true nonetheless. They were solid, but still a bit shaky from start to finish. A win over 100 Thieves and a loss to the Golden Guardians puts them somewhere in the middle. Is it a realistic ranking, however? Are they a top-tier team in the making (that just so happens to be struggling at the moment), or a well-rounded (albeit inherently flawed) mid-tier gatekeeper? Unfortunately, it's still too early to know for certain, and we definitely need a bigger sample size before coming to any concrete conclusion.

Immortals, on the other hand, have cemented their spot as an actual threat. They're not going to blow you away with their insane mechanics or individual prowess, but they often find a way to win even when the odds are stacked against them. They even had a solid hype train which was, however, emphatically derailed by losing to Evil Geniuses last week. Over time, they're bound to drop in the standings. They might reach the playoffs, but nothing more than that as this Immortals line-up simply lacks the oomph which is necessary to compete with the very best teams the LCS has to offer.

Right now, however, they're still an enigma of sorts. With an exceptional top side of the map, they're finding way more success than anyone expected. Will they be able to continue growing? Will their assets (primarily sOAZ and Xmithie) be enough in the long run? Odds are -- no, but they're going to continue fighting regardless.

No one's quite sure what to expect, primarily because we saw many different shades of both Dignitas and Immortals over the last couple of weeks. Both outcomes are perfectly possible. Dignitas could come out the gates swinging and use their mechanical and individual prowess to outclass Immortals from the very get go. Then again, they might implode and fail to set the pace of the game, which could allow IMT to dictate the tempo and eventually eke out the win.

In the end, we have to side with Dignitas, although without much confidence.