DIGNITAS vs GOLDEN GUARDIANS LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

The 2023 LCS Championship continues this Friday with Dignitas taking on Golden Guardians in the second round of the lower bracket.

NRG Esports’ upset victories against Team Liquid (3-1) and Golden Guardians (3-1) created chaos in the race for the LCS crown. Because of how weak NRG looked throughout the regular season, Liquid and GG have both been knocked down a tier in the market’s eyes – but that only benefits us.

It’s hard to figure out why Golden Guardians were so bad against NRG last Sunday. The only possible explanation is that GG mentally bombed after choking the first map, where they had a +4k gold difference at 15 minutes. Golden Guardians bounced back in game three, but they didn’t look like themselves after the first map.

For this match, we don’t have to try answering what Dignitas can do, but whether Golden Guardians can bounce back. We know GG are much stronger than Dignitas – we have the head-to-head record (2-0) and performance metrics to confirm it – but there are no guarantees that they’ll show it.

The gap between these two teams is large enough to question why Dignitas are not priced higher than +275 with League of Legends betting sites. They’ve accomplished nothing this split, and even their 3-2 victory over TSM in the first round of LCS 2023 Championship was hardly worth celebrating.

As long as Golden Guardians pull themselves together, they should crush Dignitas, but we’ll tame our expectations and take GG to cover the 1.5-map handicap.

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T1 have won just a single series (2-0 against Nongshim RedForce) since Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s injury, and they reached a new low on Thursday when losing against DRX (1-2). It’s not fair to say that this is a one-man team, but it’s clear that without Faker’s shot calling, T1 are unable to put their talent to use. Still, they have three more chances to clinch their eighth win and secure a spot in the playoffs.

T1’s downfall has enabled KT Rolster to rise to the top of the LCK food chain. KT are 14-1 this split and on a 13-game winning streak, while they haven’t dropped a map over their last three outings against Kwangdong Freecs, Gen.G, and Dplus.

The main reason T1 are losing isn’t lack of talent – it’s their poor decision-making, which will be a massive problem against a KT Rolster side that is extremely good at punishing sloppy teams. With KT having side choice, expect a swift victory on the first map.

DRX’s 2-1 victory against T1 on Thursday pushed them back into the LCK 2023 Summer Playoff race, but don’t let that victory fool you. DRX are not a good team, and they’re not playing well. Beating T1 sounds very impressive, but that team is not the same without Faker.

Last week, DRX lost against Liiv SANDBOX (0-2) and Nongshim RedForce (1-2), which are not results a competitive team would put together. So even though beating T1 has helped DRX’s stock rise a bit, it doesn’t change anything.

Hanwha Life Esports sit fourth in the LCK standings, although the gap between the top three teams and the rest is still quite big. HLE might not be at the level of elite teams, but they consistently crush weaker opponents and have yet to lose a game this split as favourites.

We don’t have high expectations for Hanwha Life Esports and their chances of winning the LCS 2023 Summer trophy, but they should sweep this poor DRX team and win both maps plenty of kills to spare.

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TEAM LIQUID vs NRG ESPORTS LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

Team Liquid will have a chance to show their title credentials when they take on NRG Esports this Friday in the 2023 LCS Championship.

Liquid finished the LCS 2023 Summer regular season in fourth place, with a 56% win rate (10-8), which isn’t the most inspiring record. But this team is a sleeping giant and one of the most underrated squads entering the playoffs.

Team Liquid boast some of the league’s most impressive performance figures, including a +2241 gold differential at 15 minutes. To put it into perspective, the second-best team on that list and the favourites to win the LCS crown, Cloud9, have a +1226 GD@15. Liquid also rank first in Herald control (72.2% ), Drake control (63.9%), first tower rate (77.8%), average towers destroyed (7.6), and total damage per minute (2542).

Liquid’s record against elite teams isn’t the best – they lost against Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses in the final week of the split. But TL have all the tools to make a deep run and potentially win the League of Legends Championship Series crown.

NRG Esports, meanwhile, are one of the most overhyped teams in the league. Their performance metrics are pretty poor, and the only thing saving them from being regarded as a weak team is their solid record against the top LCS squads.

Known as the ‘giant killers’, NRG Esports have won most of their games this split against top-five teams, including against Cloud9 and Golden Guardians in the final two weeks of the LCS 2023 Summer split. However, they’ve also suffered defeats against weaker opposition, such as Immortals, 100 Thieves, TSM, and Dignitas.

NRG’s status as a team that regularly does well against better opponents makes them an interesting underdog pick, but winning a best-of-one and winning a best-of-three are two entirely different things. Barring any surprises, Team Liquid should make it past NRG Esports comfortably.

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EVIL GENIUSES vs TSM LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

The LCS 2023 Championship kicks off on Thursday, July 27, with a clash between Evil Geniuses and TSM. The two North American LoL esports teams have met twice this split, and both games ended in EG’s favour.

Evil Geniuses finished the regular season in third place with a 12-6 record, four wins above TSM, who placed sixth with 8-10. But even though Evil Geniuses have won more games, it’s fair to question whether they deserve to be priced as -500 favourites for this match.

TSM have been middling for most of the regular season, but they’ve delivered a few good games. They rank mid-table across most performance metrics and tend to be volatile in the early game, which they’ll have to work on if they wish to do well in the playoffs.

Evil Geniuses looked excellent midway through the split, and they had a real chance to compete for the no.1 spot, but they started to crack in Week 5 when they lost against Golden Guardians, FlyQuest, and Cloud9. And it was easy to see what led to their slump.

Evil Geniuses are vulnerable in the early game, and when teams disrupt their flow before the 15-minute mark, they struggle to get back in the game. Fortunately for them, TSM’s early game hasn’t been that potent, and while we can expect them to do their research and hit EG where it hurts them the most, they might not have the tools to do it.

Evil Geniuses can sweep this series, but TSM should be good for at least one map. As such, we’re taking a chance on the correct score market.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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After producing mixed results over the first rounds of the regular season, TSM found traction in Week 4 when they defeated Immortals, NRG Esports, and Golden Guardians, improving their record to 6-6 ahead of LCS 2023 Summer Week 5. Their sudden resurgence isn’t that shocking.

TSM have been playing well but haven’t received much respect from the market. That’s not to say that TSM are a great team or have a realistic chance to win the LCS crown, but they know how to punish sloppy opponents.

Dignitas are tied with TSM at 6-6 but have won just one of their three games against FlyQuest; however, the losses happened against Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses, so Dignitas deserve some slack. Much like TSM, Dignitas have picked up a few wins this split, but they haven’t done anything spectacular.

It’s tough to pick a winner as the teams are qualitatively equal. Still, TSM are in much better shape and have looked better in their recent outings. Perhaps this is a sign of TSM gaining momentum, but they still have much to prove.

Evil Geniuses have done a great job keeping up with Cloud9 in the LCS 2023 Summer regular season title race and legitimately look like the second-best team in the league. They suffered a shock loss on Friday against NRG Esports, but that loss doesn’t take away from EG’s impressive run since the second week of the regular season, which includes wins against 100 Thieves, Dignitas, Immortals, TSM, and Team Liquid.

Golden Guardians are not quite in the same bracket as Evil Geniuses and Cloud9, but they’re not that far behind. With an 8-4 record, GG look poised for at least a top-four finish, and if they can get it together, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they secure a direct bye into the second round of the LCS Championship 2023.

But that’s a big “what if”. Golden Guardians are slowly looking more like themselves as the season goes on and have a much higher ceiling than their record suggests. But they’re not quite there yet, and their defeat against TSM on Friday proved it.

Evil Geniuses are better than any other team in the LCS besides Cloud9 and shouldn’t struggle to beat Golden Guardians. GG have the talent to keep it close, but a lot will come down to whether they can contain EG’s explosive early game.

FlyQuest has an impressive bounce-back in the third week of the LCS 2023 Summer regular season but returned to their old ways last week, with defeats against 100 Thieves, Golden Guardians, and Dignitas. What is happening with this team is anyone’s guess, but FlyQuest just can’t seem to get any traction.

NRG Esports are 5-7, but there’s more to this record than meets the eye. Even though NRG Esports aren’t one of the LCS title candidates, they always perform well against top teams. NRG Esports have won five games this split, four of which came against Cloud9, Golden Guardians, Team Liquid, and Evil Geniuses.

FlyQuest defeated NRG Esports two weeks back, but that was during FlyQuest’s sole positive week. And while they might wake up again on Wednesday, it’s tough to justify backing FlyQuest to defeat any team in the league in their current state.

Immortals are by far the worst team in the LCS, and based on what they’ve shown over the last couple of weeks, their situation won’t change anytime soon. Immortals haven’t won or come close to winning a game since the opening week of LCS 2023 Summer and enter this match on a 10-game losing streak.

That’s hardly surprising. Immortals rank bottom-three across all performance metrics, including all gold stats and Baron, Herald, and Dragon control. It doesn’t get much worse than this.

100 Thieves are in a better spot than Immortals, but they’re not very convincing. They still struggle in the early game and lack creativity, which should’ve been addressed by now, but 100T instead cruise on and seem content with being a mediocre team.

As much as we can criticise 100 Thieves, this is still their game to lose, but instead of taking 100 Thieves to win or cover the kill handicap, under 11.5 towers is the best bet for this match. 100T are not a very bloody team, and they aren’t good at demolishing towers (5.2 towers per game) but instead rely on scaling, which should lead to a drawn-out, low-scoring game with sidelanes left relatively untouched.

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After a 0-6 start to LCS 2023 Summer, FlyQuest rose from the ashes and racked in three wins against Team Liquid, NRG Esports, and Immortals last week. It was a much-needed bounce back for the fallen giants and a huge morale boost, which might help FlyQuest get back on track.

100 Thieves secured two wins last week against Dignitas and TSM, continuing the trend of beating lesser teams but struggling against LCS’s top squads. And even though they are 4-5, which puts 100 Thieves in an excellent spot to lock in a place in the playoffs, they’ve yet to show any serious quality.

100 Thieves are a mid-table team which will struggle to accomplish much against the top dogs, but they might have a chance to defeat the limping FlyQuest for the second time this split.

Both teams can be hit-or-miss, and since neither is very efficient in closing out games, a wager on a longer match and over 12.5 towers is a fine choice.

Evil Geniuses entered LCS 2023 Summer Week 3 with some of the best performance metrics in the league. The recent loss to Cloud9 means little given C9 are a cut above any other team in the league, and based on what EG have shown so far, they’re also a class above any other team below them.

Dignitas are 5-4, but that figure doesn’t accurately represent how good this team is. Three of those wins shouldn’t have happened (against Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, and FlyQuest), but Dignitas still came out on top, thanks to their opponents’ misplays.

It’s unsurprising to see LoL betting sites pricing Dignitas as the underdogs for this match, but the number is way off. Evil Geniuses are significantly better than Dingitas and should win with plenty to spare.

Immortals are on a seven-game losing streak, and it’s becoming clear that this might be the worst team in the league. That was already noticeable in their earlier games, but it hadn’t caught up with the market until last week.

TSM haven’t accomplished much so far this split and have managed to win just one more game (3-6) than Immortals, but this is not a bad team. Their early game is concerning, but as long as TSM face a team that can’t punish that, they should be in a good spot.

This is important to note because Immortals are by far the worst early-game team in the LCS, with a -2946 gold difference at 15 minutes. Consider a big play on TSM to win this one.

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Dignitas are priced as favourites to defeat TSM, likely due to the overreaction to Dignitas’ win against Team Liquid last Friday. On paper, it looks like a massive achievement, but Liquid threw that game, so it doesn’t count for much.

Besides that, Dignitas also took advantage of FlyQuest’s struggles on Saturday, and a week prior they caught Evil Geniuses off guard. Overall, Dignitas haven’t shown much and are the same team from LCS 2023 Spring – they will win some games but won’t compete for top spots.

TSM aren’t much higher in the power rankings than Dignitas, but they have looked good this split. The players are stepping up, and it’s clear that the new coaching staff are doing a good job, as seen in the team’s approach to games and drafting.

We shouldn’t overreact to a couple of strong showings from TSM, but they’re a good team. On the other side, Dignitas are just OK and more reliant on their opponents messing up.

Evil Geniuses are 5-1, but they are a bit overhyped heading into LCS 2023 Summer Week 3. On a more positive note, EG have an explosive early game which will be enough to roll over lesser teams.

Even though it’s unwise to bet on a team whose record doesn’t show their true power, betting against Immortals in the state they’re in is the only right choice. Besides bad form, with losses against Liquid, TSM, Golden Guardians, and 100 Thieves, they’re also fragile in the early game.

Evil Geniuses are the second-best early-game team with a +2180 gold difference at 15 minutes, while Immortals are by far the worst with -2231. This creates an interesting angle to bet on under total time, but we’ll keep it simple and take Evil Geniuses to win with seven kills to spare.

According to the best LoL esports betting sites, Golden Guardians should easily beat 100 Thieves. GG are 4-2 and on a four-game winning streak, whereas 100 Thieves are 2-4 with just one win from their last five outings.

Besides their poor form, the primary issue with 100 Thieves is their lack of creativity. Two weeks in, their gameplan seems to have been figured out by other teams. This roster still has potential, but it’s fair to doubt 100T when faced with other strong teams.

Golden Guardians are the far more efficient team in the mid-late game, so unless 100 Thieves show something new, GG winning is the most likely outcome. 100 Thieves have been very passive in their games (6.7 kills per game), and Golden Guardians aren’t a team that’ll run into the opponents, so under 23.5 kills looks like a fine choice.

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?Esports betting sites are only giving us -250 for Evil Geniuses in the head-to-head market, but it’s easy to see why. EG are 5-1 ahead of LCS 2023 Summer Week 3, with wins against NRG Esports, Golden Guardians, 100 Thieves, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid.

TSM have been playing better than expected and are 3-3 after the opening two weeks. However, they’ve only beaten FlyQuest, Immortals, and NRG Esports – the bottom three teams on the LCS ladder.

Evil Geniuses stumbled against a weaker opponent in Week 1 when losing to Dignitas, but since then they’ve looked great. They still have some work to do before we can talk about EG’s chances to win the LCS crown, but they should take care of business on Wednesday.

?100 Thieves have not shown anything noteworthy this split and deserve to be 2-4 ahead of LCS 2023 Summer Week 3. Last week, they lost against Evil Geniuses and Cloud9 but managed to take down Immortals, yet even that is nothing to write home about.

100T’s main issue is that they’re too one-dimensional. But despite winning just two games – against Immortals and FlyQuest – 100 Thieves are still priced as -163.93 favourites with BetOnline for this match.

Dignitas went 1-2 last week when they were the beneficiaries of Team Liquid’s throw and took full advantage of FlyQuest’s abysmal form. But even though Dignitas had it easy, they didn’t look bad.

While 100 Thieves might have a higher ceiling, they’ve shown about the same, if not less, this split than Dignitas, who shouldn’t be priced as +120 underdogs for this match. The value is with the outsiders.

?Immortals started the LCS 2023 Summer with two wins against Dignitas and NRG Esports, but since then they’ve lost to Team Liquid, TSM, Dignitas, and 100 Thieves in succession. We didn’t expect much from Immortals, but they are now the worst-performing team in the league.

Cloud9 looked unstoppable until their shock loss against NRG Esports last week, yet they are still the top team in the LCS right now. That slip-up proved that Cloud9 could bleed, but it was mostly down to some uncharacteristic early-game mistakes.

Barring any more surprises, Cloud9 should come out ahead with plenty to spare.

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?Team Liquid finished the first week of LCS 2023 Summer with wins against TSM, 100 Thieves, and Immortals and are one of the only two LCS teams to enter the second week with a flawless record. As much as we shouldn’t overreact to results from the first week of the split, Team Liquid looked good in their games.

With the highest K/D (3.27), gold per minute (2053) and gold different per minute (498), Liquid are finally playing at the level expected of this talented roster. And the question now is not so much whether Liquid are serious LCS title contenders, but for how long Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in and co. will manage to keep this pace up.

NRG Esports didn’t look too bad last week, but that’s relative to the expectations for the league newcomers. With two defeats against Evil Geniuses and Immortals and one win against 100T, NRG have shown enough to believe they’ll compete for a playoff spot, but they still have a long way to go before we can compare them to the LCS top dogs.

So early into the season, much of the team stats are irrelevant, but the eye test proves that Team Liquid are the better side. Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin’s men shouldn’t be losing a game like this, and while Team Liquid can easily cover the map handicap, a moneyline bet is a better option at the offered price.

?FlyQuest were the outright favourites to win the LCS 2023 Summer, and there’s still a chance they might do it. However, based on what they showed in Week 1, it’s tough to feel overly optimistic about their chances to do well against Cloud9.

FlyQuest went 0-3 in the first week of the split with defeats against 100 Thieves, TSM, and Golden Guardians. That is concerning – not only because FlyQuest lost against three teams that finished Week 1 with a 1-2 record, but because they didn’t show much on the Rift.

Things likely won’t improve for FlyQuest on Wednesday, when they clash with their main rivals for the LCS crown. Unlike their next opponents, Cloud9 won all three of their games in LCS 2023 Summer Week 1 and looked very good doing it.

Even though these teams are evenly matched talent-wise, Cloud9 looked much cleaner in their games last week. FlyQuest need more time to find the required synergy, and until they show something, fading them is the right play.

TSM and Immortals are two of the weakest teams in the LCS, so this should be an exciting series between two squads that have a lot to prove. According to the latest LoL esports betting odds, Immortals should win, which makes sense considering they won two games last week (against NRG Esports and Dignitas), but TSM’s 1-2 record shouldn’t be taken at face value.

Unlike Immortals, who had to play Dignitas, NRG Esports, and Team Liquid, TSM had to play three of the strongest teams in the LCS – Team Liquid, FlyQuest, and Cloud9 – so it’s not like they had a realistic chance to secure a positive win rate. TSM performed well in those defeats, so maybe they aren’t the bottom-feeders they were portrayed as ahead of the split.

This match is closer to 50/50 than the esports betting odds suggest, so we’ll side with TSM at plus money.

100 Thieves finished the first week of the split with just one win against the struggling FlyQuest, but they were far less successful against Team Liquid and NRG Esports. Losing against the improved Liquid isn’t a problem, but 100T’s defeat against NRG Esports is concerning.

In 100 Thieves’ defence, they had to start the season without mid laner Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung and instead fielded assistant coach Erlend “Nukeduck” Holm, who ended Week 1 of LCS 2023 Summer with a 1.3 K/D. Fortunately, Quid is expected to join his team this week, so things are looking up.

Evil Geniuses had a solid start to the season, with wins against NRG Esports and Golden Guardians, while their only loss came against Dignitas. Against Dignitas, EG were in an excellent spot to win but threw away their lead; however, that was also the only game of the week where Evil Geniuses executed their gameplan poorly.

With Quid’s expected return, 100 Thieves should improve, but it remains to be seen by how much. So while this looks like 100 Thieves’ game to lose, we would rather side with proven quality than bet on a team that should perform better with a new mid laner.

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