by ESB brings you free League of Legends predictions for four games on Wednesday in the final week of the LoL Championship Series (LCS) 2023 Summer. Here are our selections for Golden Guardians vs Team Liquid, FlyQuest vs TSM, NRG Esports vs Cloud9, and Dignitas vs 100 Thieves on July 19, 2023.
GOLDEN GUARDIANS vs TEAM LIQUID LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | GG -125 at BetOnline | TL -111.11 at BetOnline |
| When: | July 19, 2023 | 15:00 PDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
Team Liquid and Golden Guardians enter the final week of the LCS 2023 Summer regular season with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and are now only playing for seeding. But that doesn’t mean either can afford to put its foot off the gas. Golden Guardians can secure a direct bye into the second round of LCS Championship 2023, whereas Team Liquid are in a tight race for a top-six finish and a ticket for the upper bracket.
Team Liquid have had their moments this split but have proven to be very inconsistent, and the same can be said for Golden Guardians, although to a lesser extent. However, both squads tend to perform well against stronger teams, suggesting that this should be a close game.
There’s not much to separate GG and Team Liquid quality-wise, and they should match up nicely stylistically. But there’s another angle we can approach betting on this game.
There was a noticeable uptick in total kills in the LCS with patch 11.13, so betting on over 27.5 kills is an intriguing choice. Team Liquid and Golden Guardians are two of the bloodiest teams in the league (15.5 and 15.7 average kills per game) and tend to play longer games than most, but the offered line (32.5 minutes) is too high.
Over 27.5 total kills
FLYQUEST vs TSM LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | FQ -121.95 at BetOnline | TSM -106.38 at BetOnline |
| When: | July 19, 2023 | 16:00 PDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
FlyQuest showed improvement last week when they crushed Evil Geniuses, but it’s still fair to feel concerned about how much FlyQuest can accomplish. This is a very stacked roster, but lacks synergy, and FlyQuest have already proven that they can lose to anyone.
TSM are the complete opposite, as a team has outperformed everyone’s expectations. TSM don’t field the star players of FlyQuest, but they are well-coached and know how to move around the map. But most importantly, TSM are efficient in punishing sloppy teams.
With the players they have, FlyQuest shouldn’t be losing against TSM or most other teams in the league. But their poor decision-making and sloppy mid-late game will be a huge issue when faced with TSM.
TSM to win
NRG ESPORTS vs CLOUD9 LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | NRG +240 at BetOnline | C9 -333.33 at BetOnline |
| When: | July 19, 2023 | 17:00 PDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
Despite losing four games over the first five weeks, Cloud9 are still the best team in the LCS and the main favourites to win the league. However, despite everything Cloud9 have shown this split, they are not a good bet at the offered LoL betting odds.
Over the last two weeks, Cloud9 have shown some cracks and have proven vulnerable even against lesser teams. That is likely due to Cloud9 experimenting in preparation for the playoffs, or perhaps they’ve lost traction.
NRG Esports are 8-7, which is surprisingly good for their standards, but this is not a very good team because they rely too much on getting kills. NRG also don’t have the talent needed to compete for the top spots, but just like TSM, they’re very good at punishing top teams. Five of their eight wins have come against the strongest teams in the LCS – Cloud9, Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and Golden Guardians (twice).
At the offered League of Legends betting odds, backing Cloud9 isn’t a wise choice and expecting them to cover the 7.5-kill handicap is too optimistic since this is a very high number. Underdogs with a 7.5-kill advantage is a better play, but we’re getting more value on the moneyline market.
NRG Esports to win
DIGNITAS vs 100 THIEVES LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | Dignitas +100 at BetOnline | 100T -138.89 at BetOnline |
| When: | July 19, 2023 | 18:00 PDT |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
Dignitas and 100 Thieves are tied at 6-9, two wins above FlyQuest and Immortals, so this is a crucial match for both teams as it will decide which of the two will make the LCS Championship. But even though we can expect them to give their all, picking a favourite is tough.
100 Thieves finished last week with defeats against Immortals and Cloud9 and a win against TSM. But even that victory was not convincing, as it mostly had to do with TSM making a few misplays early and allowing 100T to run away with it.
Dignitas are in a similar spot but didn’t win a single game in LCS 2023 Summer Week 5, with defeats against TSM, NRG Esports, and Immortals. This explains why Dignitas are priced as underdogs for this match, even though they’re not much worse than 100 Thieves.
This match can go both ways, and there’s no telling which. However, we know that Dignitas are the bloodiest team in the league (12.3 kills, 17.3 deaths) and like to force their opponents to either fight or let Dignitas roll them over. So even though 100T are the least-bloody LCS team, Dignitas should dictate the tempo and force a game with plenty of kills on both sides.
