2019 NALCS Summer Spilt Week 8 Recap

S. Samek

Its the next to last week of the season, so lets see what happened as the playoff race comes down to the wire.

CLG and Golden Guardians picked up undefeated weeks. CLG downed Clutch and Echo Fox to score wins you would expect them to get.

Golden Guardians defeated Optic and 100 Thieves. Those are both quality wins over playoff contenders. The win against 100 Thieves could be critical to getting them into the playoffs as they have an 8-8 record against the Thieves 7-9. 8-8 is also tied with Optic. They also sit only a game behind TSM for as high as the fourth seed. I would say that Golden Guardian have a their playoff spot pretty much in their own hands this week. Especially if they beat Clutch gaming.

CLG is the hottest team in the league right now with four wins in a row. They have Optic and 100 Thieves left on the schedule after beating Echo Fox and Clutch in week eight. CLG has a chance at first seed, trailing Liquid by a game. A 2-0 week is very likely and would help even if they have to settle for the second seed behind Liquid. Yet going into playoffs with six wins in a row should inspire confidence in this lineup to challenge for the split win.

The 0-2 teams for week eight were Echo Fox and Optic. Echo Fox is out of playoff contention and pretty much out of gauntlet contention as well. The lost to TSM and CLG as expected in week eight and have a week nine schedule of Team Liquid and Flyquest. Yet if they go 2-0 they could tie for last place. which they beat Liquid earlier in the split so its not out of the question.

Echo Fox is fighting to stay out of last place and needs a 2-0 week to do so. Not much left to watch if your an Echo Fox fan.

Optic is 8-8 after losing to Liquid and Golden Guardians during week eight. They have Cloud 9 and CLG this week, which could make things complex for there playoff spot. An 0-2 week sits them at 8-10 ,which could miss the play offs if Clutch or 100 Thieves finds a 2-0 week ,or Golden Guardians go 1-1 to pick up a 9-9 record. Which playing CLG and C9 puts Optic in a position to go 0-2 and miss the playoffs. Conversely a 2-0 week puts them at 10-8 and pretty much in the playoffs and going in with momentum after two bigger wins.

In typical fashion we have a pile of 1-1 teams. C9, Liquid,TSM,Clutch, Flyquest and 100 Thieves each added a single win and loss to their totals during week eight.

C9 stands out by beating Liquid, but fell to an underachieving Flyquest. They did make have Deftly in for Sneaky in that loss and it didn’t work. Yet That would just seem like an excise as to why they threw away a winnable game. They have a playoff spot pretty much clinched if not done already and a chance to finish with a couple more this week.

Liquid has the top seed for the moment and gets a match with Echo Fox this week before playing TSM. They have a good Chance to go 2-0 and lock up the 1st seed and bye for playoffs if they do so.

TSM hasn’t been playing to well, despite winning games. The took a wild win off Echo Fox, but fell to 100 Thieves in week eight. They sit at 9-7 and in the playoffs. Yet I’m not to confident this is a team making a big run this summer to take the split title. Most likely a regional run, or no worlds for the second season in a row.

Clutch gaming and 100 Thieves sit tied at 7-9 with a match against each other left.

2-0 weeks by either team puts them at 9-9. Nine wins is going to be a bench mark I think for making playoffs. Yet with four teams already at nine wins and two at eight it still might not be enough to slide into the playoffs. Yet a Clutch win could set the up for a win to get in game with Golden Guardians.

100 Thieves play CLG on day two , which makes it a harder task to finish off an 2-0 weekend. I don’t see eight wins being enough without a lot of help. Better season though than anticpated after a rough start though.

Finally we have Flyquest. They won over C9 to pick up a solid victory during week eight. Yet all they really can do is finish out the season avoiding last place. They have Echo Fox in the last game of the season and a win against them would secure ninth place. They could also make things interesting in the playoff race if they beat TSM. Its pretty much playing for pride this weekend though for Flyquest.

Its a pretty tight race still with a week to go. Worth tuning into for sure.