Semifinals: Team Liquid vs Echo Fox

Echo Fox didn’t just beat Team Liquid the last time they met, they beat them by putting a Yassuo in the top lane. It doesn’t get much more humiliating than that. It didn’t help that Liquid simply didn’t do their part in trying to lock him down. With Huni, he is either going to support Echo Fox on champs like Gangplank, or he is going to carry them. He is simply a huge threat that has to be properly strategized against. Since then, Liquid has shored up their other lanes though, and there might be much more of a competition here.

What to expect:
Echo Fox will probably look to put down Liquid fast. They know that if they draft aggressively or go hard against Doublelift, he is likely to crack in frustration. Liquid has also found recent success trying to put power into lanes other than their bot lane. If Fox targets Doublelift and Olleh again, Liquid has a real chance to make plays in the other lanes, and if they do, they could get enough wins to take the series.

Semifinals: 100 Thieves vs Clutch Gaming

The last time they met, 100 Thieves pretty dominantly beat Clutch Gaming. They played around Ssumday – who is vastly stronger than Solo as a toplaner – and they kept Clutch constantly on the defensive. Since then, Clutch faced off against TSM, who looked to be trying to replicate 100 Thieves win by going aggressive on Clutch. Unfortunately, the confidence wasn’t there, and Clutch’s win over TSM gave them more experience against the style that the Thieves beat them with in Week 9. Still, Ryu is far more synced with his team than Bjergsen is with his, so a repeat of their Week 9 win could work again, but we wouldn’t count on it.

What to expect:
Clutch should try to take out of some of the Thieves mobility. Ryu has been doing stellar work for his team, and his map awareness and agility in responding to attacks has been second to none. If Clutch can take the legs out from under him, it will drastically reduce the Thieves power. On the other side, Meteos out-jungled LirA and Ssumday outright beat Solo. Even if the Thieves give up objectives – like they did in their last game against Clutch – they will be taking kills and turrets for it. If they can keep Clutch’s toplane and jungle on lockdown, Clutch shouldn’t have much of a chance.

Player to watch: Ryu

Since last year, Ryu has been a midlaner that hasn’t gotten the love he deserves. Few midlaners can lay claim to backdooring as much as Ryu has, add to the fact that he has backdoored on champions like LeBlanc, and you have a force to be reckoned with. His prediction and control of the Rift is absolutely stellar, and if he continues to play the entire map for 100 Thieves, he will be a key component in their taking the semifinals. However, if he gets locked down or punished, the Thieves might just fall apart.