We are into Week 8 of League of Legends, and despite some impressive runs, we can safely count out FlyQuest, OpTic Gaming, and Golden Guardians from qualifying for the quarterfinals. That said, CLG could still make a miracle run, and any of the remaining six teams could end up competing in the finals.

Match to Watch: TSM vs Team Liquid

There are a lot of reasons to watch this match, and not just because Doublelift is probably still salty at TSM. Last week Impact killed it on Shen, and all of TL played around him beautifully, always knowing when they had pressure to apply and when they could use it to outnumber their enemies in a fight. It showed some versatility that the team has been lacking since just trying to rely on Doublelift and Olleh. Meanwhile, TSM fell to 100 Thieves the day after TL defeated them. If TSM wants any chance at making it into the quarterfinals, they are going to have to treat TL as the gatekeeper they have to get past.

What to expect:
TSM are still making some highly questionable plays. Maybe Hauntzer is having a hard time getting the Gods of EU to fall in line. Last week Mithy tried a pincer attack on Kench and brought Bjergsen with him which got them both killed, and it’s these kinds of plays TSM can no longer afford. Nearly every game has had plays like this, and the only question against TL is if the mistake this time will be enough to lose them the game. This is especially true since Xmithie has been the backbone of TL for most of their recent games, and if he finds an opportune moment to strike – like a misplay from TSM – he will take it.

Match to Watch: CLG Vs Echo Fox

The last time these teams fought was in Week 3 when CLG handed Echo Fox their first loss of the split. At the time, Darshan said Huni was the weakest link of Echo Fox, and then he put his money where his mouth was and killed him in a 1v1. The hype train didn’t stop for Huni, but it definitely lost some steam after that. The fact that CLG did insanely well last week and Echo Fox took another surprising loss to Golden Guardians tells us that this match might be tougher than many would expect

What to expect:
The real question is which team learned their lesson best. Darshan is a volatile player, and his aggression in lane gets him into trouble. If Fox can bait him into trying to take on Huni and then put some Dardoch jungle support on him, they will probably take this game. However, if CLG keeps their heads down and plays as well as they did last week then they will almost certainly take down the first place team. If they do, that will be two weeks of taking down the number one then number two team. Of course, now that people are expecting they might win, CLG will probably screw the pooch.

Player to Watch: Darshan

This hardly needs saying. This weekend will determine if CLG is out for good or if they are making a miracle run for quarterfinals, and all of that falls directly onto the shoulders of Darshan. In the past he has been a split-pushing nightmare that few, if any, could deal with. He excels at carries and high aggression champions, but his competitiveness has spelled ruin for CLG too often. If CLG wins or loses, it will almost certainly be because of this player. No pressure.