The best League of Legends pros in North America now know exactly who will be going to playoffs, as well as who they’ll have to face. With Echo Fox’s loss in Week 8 to Team Dignitas, Team EnVyUs’ position in the playoffs is secured, along with Team Dignitas, Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, and Team SoloMid.
NA LCS Week 8 Recap
Nothing was set in stone until the completion of Week 8 of the NA LCS. Team EnVy’s 6th place position was still on the line, and they were facing down the hardest schedule of any team for the remainder of the split. But Echo Fox was the only team in striking distance, and they proved unable to fell the surging Team Dignitas, riding the wave of their fresh bot lane combo, Altec and Adrian, as well as the persistent talent of top Ssumday.
Starting off with a strong start #DIGLOL continue to show great team synergy and take control of game 3 vs @Immortals!#DIGWIN pic.twitter.com/9jndIvntwK
— Team Dignitas (@TeamDignitas) July 29, 2017
Despite lackluster performances in Spring, Team Dignitas is shaping up to be a playoff contender in everybody’s eyes. In fact, of the six teams now heading to the playoffs, which are set to take place in Boston starting on August 19th, most fans and analysts would have agreed that everybody but NV stood a chance of winning the whole split.
But even that notion changed in the final match of Week 8, with NV going heads up against perennial favorites Team SoloMid. In what most would have thought would be a stomp for the established squad of TSM, NV was able to keep their losing games close, and even took a game of their own. NV’s support Hakuho proved adept at starting plays and catching picks, the synergy between jungler lirA and top Seraph continues to grow, and new mid Nisqy had some stellar performances throughout the match. Their win, secured in game 2 against TSM, came on the back of a quadrakill from Nisqy’s Lucian.
.@Nisqylol gets the quadrakill in the game winning team fight for @TeamEnVyUs! #NALCS pic.twitter.com/1CQdjRXvqz
— lolesports (@lolesports) July 30, 2017
So even though NV went 0-2 this week, not only is their playoff spot secured, but they’ve shown everybody, TSM included, that they’re a legitimate contender in the NA LCS. In perhaps another surprise, the struggling roster of Phoenix1 was able to take down Counter Logic Gaming, securing one of their few and precious wins this split. That extra win brings them up into a three-way tie with FlyQuest and Team Liquid. It could still be any of those teams, or even Echo Fox, that heads to the Promotional Tournament to take on NA CS champion Gold Coin United and runner-up eUnited. And it won’t be easy for Echo Fox in the final week, staring down matches against Immortals and Cloud9.
Meanwhile, the top teams will be in contention for the coveted first round byes, come playoffs. Right now, TSM and Immortals are tied for first, with records of 12-4. CLG is just one game behind, and both C9 and DIG two games behind. Week 9 will go out with a bang, featuring a match between long-time rivals Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming on Day 3.
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