We know who is making it straight into the playoffs. Echo Fox, Cloud9, Clutch Gaming and 100 Thieves have all secured a solid place in the standings. There is still a chance for these teams to shift – Clutch or the Thieves could easily surpass C9 or Fox’s spots – but it’s the final two spots that are in most contention. With tied scores, Team Liquid and TSM are just barely qualifying for the final two spots, but this also puts both teams just in reach of CLG. If CLG manages to get another 2-0 weekend – which would be three weeks in a row of doing so – they can tie TL and TSM… but only if one of those teams loses both their matchups.

Match to Watch: CLG vs TSM

The importance of this match is very dependent on a few factors – TSM and TL must lose their first matches and CLG must win theirs. If Golden Guardians manages to take TSM down, then this is a key factor setting up their head-to-head on Sunday. A CLG win against TSM (if CLG wins against OpTic) means the two teams will tie their scores and be forced into a tie breaker match (and if TL manages to lose both of theirs, it will mean a three-way tie). Part of what makes all of this exciting is that it feels like everything has to fall perfectly in place. If CLG perform a miracle run, it won’t just be because they play amazingly (but it will mean they have to win 7 matches straight in a row); it will also be because their opponents have managed to lose all of theirs.

What to Expect:
TSM have been playing far more proactive than the beginning of the split, and it has been paying huge dividends. Last weekend they even managed to take down C9 by looking for picks and staying focused. It’s likely that TSM is going to be looking for cracks in CLG’s armor and trying to exploit them. However… there is always a chance that if TSM loses to the Guardians they resort to their old turtling-late game strategy. Let’s hope that isn’t the case. CLG, on the other hand, have been busting out some impressive strats left and right. If they play their draft right, like they did against Fox, they might just take TSM.

Match to Watch: 100 Thieves vs Clutch Gaming

It isn’t all about CLG this weekend though. 100 Thieves and Clutch Gaming will also be going head to head. While Clutch have being pulling out wins left and right, they are still playing extremely passive. Their games are some of the lowest kill games on record, which is the opposite of how the Thieves have been playing their recent matches. While there isn’t a huge amount on the line, This match could dictate if either team moves into the first or second place spot, dramatically upping their odds of taking the championship.

What to Expect:
Another slow game out of Clutch. This is just how they play it, and if they can force the Thieves to match their pace – which is exactly what they did against Fox – then they can probably take them. However, the Thieves have been a wild winning streak and their gameplay has matched pretty phenomenally. If the Thieves can force a faster pace on Clutch, it will probably spell disaster for them. We’d also love to see Aphromoo back in the driver seat on playmaking, perhaps on a Rakan or Thresh.

Player to Watch: Biofrost

Not our usual pick, but considering how phenomenally he played last week and the importance of CLG’s games this week, we have to take a closer look at Biofrost. Against OpTic’s LemonNatioon, Biofrost and Stixxay should come out ahead, but it’s TSM where the real show will be. Mithy and Zven have been underperforming the entire split, especially with the huge egos that they brought into the NA LCS. By far, TSM’s power is in their mid and top lane, and if Biofrost can not only lead his bot lane to victory but control team fight’s in CLG’s favor, he might again be the win condition for this team.