Team Liquid vs Cloud9

To close out this week's Friday Night League, we have an absolute barnburner: Cloud9 vs. Team Liquid. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most exciting match-ups in the region as a whole. There's no more enticing clash than the one between C9 and TL, and there's a bevy of reasons why that's the case. First of all, it's a fight between the current champions and the team that was forced to relinquish their throne -- the same throne they held for two long years.

It's also a fight between two teams with players who share much of the same history. Impact and Jensen also played for Cloud9 years ago, and it was Team Liquid that outclassed the boys in black and blue when it mattered the most over the last couple of years. Jensen, in fact, left C9 in search for his first LCS title, and he found it in his very next split under the Team Liquid banner.

These narratives alone are reason enough to tune in, popcorn included!

This is also a fight between two of the best, most stacked, and promising teams in the LCS. Everyone's well aware of just how clean and dominant Cloud9 currently is, but Team Liquid -- especially this variant with Joshua "Jatt" Leesman as their head coach -- is no slouch. In fact, they've looked like the TL of old, albeit a bit less dangerous and cohesive which is understandable given the fact that they underwent a couple of key roster changes. If Liquid improve in certain areas of play and continue growing as a five-man unit, there's no reason why they couldn't once again reach the upper echelon of the LCS. They have all the right tools, after all, including two World Champions, a Worlds finalist, and a Worlds semifinalist. That's quite a staggering roster, all things considered.

Still, it's hard to bet against Cloud9, no matter whom they're up against. They've been playing the best League of Legends in North America, and the fashion in which they ran circles around their opposition last split left no one indifferent. It wasn't even close, frankly, with C9 losing only two games en route to lifting the LCS trophy. Two games, out of twenty-eight in total. They're the most dominant team in North American history, and they've earned such incredible titles and emphatic superlatives in just a single split -- they're that good and commanding, regardless if they have a lead in-game or not.

They've already solidified their spot as an LCS line-up of unparalleled talent and potential, and we cannot wait to see them in action once the World Championship comes around. They're in dire need of some top-tier competition, and watching them square off against the best teams in the world will be an absolute must. Team Liquid, to their credit, are playing much better than they did last split. Their 3W-1L record tells the same tale, and they're obviously making all the right moves which are necessary to get back to the top of the region.

But in their way stands a giant of competitive League that's just too good at this point in time. We simply have to side with Cloud9 on this one, although it's definitely going to be a lot closer than people expect, especially in the early game.