NRG and Cloud9 Battle it Out in Upper Bracket Final

The LCS Playoffs are well underway, with the field having already shrunk to six.

The pressure is on for all of the remaining teams as the Top 3 finishers will get a spot at the League of Legends 2023 World Championship, with the 4th place finisher having the ability to also qualify via the Wildcard Qualifier.

NRG and Cloud9 are both guaranteed spots at Worlds after securing Top 3 finishes as Golden Guardians, Dignitas, Evil Geniuses, and Team Liquid all will fight for the last two spots to keep their seasons alive.

• When: Thursday, August 10th – 5 PM ET
• Odds: Team Liquid (+120) vs. Evil Geniuses (-159)

The first match of the next round of the LCS playoffs is between Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses. There was a point where it wouldn’t have shocked fans if both teams were to qualify for playoffs. Unfortunately, their meeting in the lower bracket will cause the loser to be forced to watch the World Championships at home.

Evil Geniuses ended the Summer Split Regular season with a 12-6 record ending just a single game out of the tie for 1st place. For the majority of the season, they were in contention to take a top spot and earn a bye week in the playoffs. Though they missed out on the bye week, they were able to take down TSM in a 3-2 match before they lost to the tournament favorites, Cloud9.

Team Liquid ended the Regular Season with a 10-8 record, giving them the 4th seed going into the Playoffs. They were favorites heading into their match against NRG in the tournament’s opening round; however, they fell in a hard 1-3 match to NRG. Luckily they bounced back in the Lower Bracket to take down 100 Thieves and earn a shot against Evil Geniuses.

• When: Friday, August 11th – 5 PM ET
• Odds: Dignitas (+260) vs. Golden Guardians (-375)

Dignitas is happy to have found a win in the Playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 7-11 record. This poor finish put Dignitas in the 7th seed in playoffs, which automatically seeded them into the lower bracket. They had a strong performance in their 3-2 win over TSM, but Golden Guardians will be a much harder opponent.

Golden Guardians finished the Regular Season with a 13-5 record, ending the season in a tie for the top seed with Cloud9. They’d lose the tiebreaker and go into the Playoffs as the 2nd seed, where they’d face off against a surging NRG who beat them 3-1. Golden Guardians will need to show up if they don’t want to go from one of the best teams in the LCS to missing out on Worlds.

• When: Saturday, August 12th
• Odds: NRG (+310) vs. Cloud9 (-450)

Cloud9 entered the Playoffs as the top seed after ending the season with a 13-5 record placing them in a tie with Golden Guardians, who they beat in the tiebreaker easily. They entered the playoffs as the favorite to win the whole thing and showed why in their first match dismantling Evil Geniuses 3-0.

NRG, on the other hand, waited until the Playoffs to play their best League of Legends as they look like a completely different team in the playoffs compared to the regular season. They started with a 3-1 win over Team Liquid before pulling off an even bigger upset, taking down Golden Guardians 3-1. Only time will tell if the miracle run will continue.