There's only one week left in the regular season, and the playoff rush is looking to be quite an interesting one. We're going to take a look at all the teams that are locked in at the top, as well as those battling for the bottom seeds.
-Joshua Cosentino
1- Team SoloMid- The number one seed belongs to TSM, who is sporting a 14-2 record after eight weeks. Bjergsen has been as good as ever, and Hauntzer has finally cemented himself as one of the premier top laners in the league. If they continue to play as they have been, you would be hard pressed to find a team that will be able to unseat them in the playoffs. They're going into round one of this year’s playoffs with a bye, and are a heavy favorite to win this split.
2- Cloud 9- Although they've struggled as of late, C9 holds the number two slot. The past few weeks have held some uncharacteristic losses against Counter Logic Gaming and Immortals, but they've been very strong prior to that. Jensen and Impact have been consistent all split. They're going to finish the regular season as second or third seed, and it’s heavily dependent on whether or not they can edge out Phoenix1 on Saturday. If they can work out the kinks, they're a strong contender to take down the whole tournament.
3- Phoenix1- These guys are the second hottest team in the league right now. Following some roster moves that shook up the league, they are 4-0 and doing it in a dominant fashion. The bot lane looks unbeatable, and Meteos has been shredding through teams with his unconventional picks. The real test is this weekend. They have to play games against both of the top two teams, one of which is likely the deciding match for second place. At worst, P1 ends the split in third place, which is not a bad place to be come playoff time for a brand new team.
4- Counter Logic Gaming- The fourth place spot is where things start to get shaky. Only two games separate CLG from seventh place Flyquest, and the talent gap between all four teams from four to seven is minimal. CLG is definitely a feast or famine team with the highest highs and the lowest lows. At their best, they have a good chance against any team in the league. When they’re not at peak performance, they've been known to throw games against teams that they've been expected to toss aside easily. It's hard to say where they'll finish or how they'll do in playoffs, but they're going to put on a show either way.
5- Team Dignitas- If there were a “Most Improved Award" in the league, it would have to go to this team. Just a few weeks ago, their name would be in the conversation of who's getting relegated this year. Chaser and Ssumday lead the charge, and everyone else is finally holding their own. You'll likely see DIG with a playoff spot if they’re able to hold it together against Immortals this weekend.
6- Immortals- Coming in at just under .500, IMT are right on the cusp of not making playoffs this year. They managed to take down Cloud 9 last weekend, but so did their week nine opponents in CLG. That game, as well as the IMT vs DIG game, are going to be very crucial games to watch if you're concerned about who is making the playoffs on the bottom half of the bracket.
7- Flyquest- FLY started the season as one of the hottest teams in the league, and started to peter out as the season went on. They've only won one match since week four. Either Hai’s shot calling hasn't been as good as it once was, or the rest of the teams have met them on that echelon. They've tried to salvage it by surprising opponents with some off-meta picks, but even that has only worked sparingly in recent games. They have a fairly easy week nine, but it's entirely possible that they'll have to play for relegation if they lose both games.
8- Echo Fox- Eighth place Echo Fox is the first team currently on the relegation chopping block. The season has not been kind to them, but they can earn their spot in the next split if they can knock down Liquid and Flyquest.
9- Team Liquid- The playoff push that was mostly a pipe dream has finally come to an end for Team Liquid, and now it's time to focus on trying to remain an LCS team. All of their recent pickups have been in preparation for this point. This weekend doesn't mean much to them, outside of possible relegation seeding and trying to play spoiler for the other teams battling for playoff spots.
10- Team EnVyUs- The EnVyUs season started with visa issues, and ended with every other kind of issue. A lot of their players showed promise and will likely see more time in the league in the future, whether it be with NV or another up and coming team.
This weekend is going to be an extremely exciting one for League of Legends action. I'd keep an eye on both Immortals games, and the C9 vs P1 game. All of these have immediate playoff ramifications. Thanks for reading, and be sure to send any questions or comments to @goldcos on Twitter!
