Team Liquid vs Evil Geniuses

Finally, to close out the day, we have Team Liquid vs. Evil Geniuses. This isn't as exciting a clash as the one preceding it, but it's still insanely competitive and important for the standings and the region as a whole. Team Liquid is, at the time of this writing, the second best team in North America, with Evil Geniuses being considered as a middle of the pack team with a ton of potential. It's just impossible to gauge their current strength and power level, in no small part because of their inherent volatility. They'll dominate one day beyond measure and then implode mere hours later. They're a carnivorous, coin-flip kind of team and you never really know which shade of Evil Geniuses will show up. That's why betting or against them is so darn complicated.

This week, however, will change things up quite a bit. Evil Geniuses have decided to bench Jiizuke and Kumo in favor for Huni and Goldenglue -- a strange pairing, for sure. While it's not exactly better in any way shape or form when compared to EG's first duo, it will give this team a fresh start after slumping for a couple of weeks. They just haven't been playing good League of Legends, nor have they looked particularly good in any of their recent outings. Evil Geniuses was always a volatile bunch, but their highs have been much lower than before -- a worrying sign if you're an EG fan who's hoping for yet another dominant and memorable run. Goldenglue is nowhere near as good as Jiizuke nor can he hardcarry as much, and Huni -- while a legend in every sense of the word -- has been slumping beyond reason over the last couple of months. There's a reason why didn't start for any LCS team once Summer Split began. He's just not that good right now and is as volatile as ever. This incarnation of Evil Geniuses simply isn't better by any stretch of the imagination, and they'll have their hands full against a team of Liquid's caliber.

Speaking of Team Liquid, they've finally become a top-tier challenger after many months of inconsistent performances. They might not be as good as the Team Liquid of old, but they're not too far either. Broxah and Jensen have finally been popping off, with the latter being much more aggressive and prone to playmaking (like the Jensen everyone loved watching back during his Cloud9 days). Finally, Impact and CoreJJ are playing some of their best games yet, and while they're not as clean as they were back in 2018 and 2019, they're darn close. Impact, in particular, has stepped up immensely and shouldn't have any trouble in taking Huni down, even if the former Fnatic top laner happens to pop off in his patented ways.

Overall, Liquid is better in every conceivable fashion. They might not be as flashy, but give them an inch and they'll take a mile. They're clean, commanding in execution, and have been making fewer and fewer mistakes as time went on. They are, without a doubt, one of the best and cleanest teams North America has to offer and are bound to represent their region at the World Championship stage in China come October. All of that said, Evil Geniuses will fight to the best of their ability and should not be underestimated whatsoever.

These are volatile times for both the LEC and LCS, and with so many teams being so darn inconsistent, giving out predictions is becoming harder and harder -- there are no easy bets in West right now, so just keep that in mind if you're looking to put your money on the line.