The Playoff Race Continues at Full Speed Going Into the Last Week of the 2023 LCS Spring Split

With only three game days left in the 2023 LCS Spring, only half of the six playoff teams are determined.

The exciting regular season of the LCS is coming to a close. Heading into the last week before playoffs, only five teams’ playoff chances are certainly decided. Teams around the middle of the standings having pretty inconsistent seasons with mixed results mean a lot can change depending on their last three games. Week 8 of the 2023 LCS Spring Split is once again a Superweek, which means all teams will play three games each. In those games, five teams are fighting for the three remaining playoff spots.

A new team has entered the tie for first place! They play each other to kick off the #LCS super week on Wednesday 👀 pic.twitter.com/GOLfWOy56s

— LCS (@LCSOfficial) March 12, 2023

Match of the week will probably be the first game of Day 1 with two teams tied for the first facing each other. FlyQuest and Cloud9 seems to be on different trajectories at the moment. FlyQuest started the split with a seven game win streak, but they dropped three games in their last eight and looked beatable even in their wins. C9 on the other hand is on the rise ever since promoting EMENES from their Challengers roster. This game is especially important for C9 as a win means they bring their head to head with FlyQuest to 1-1, which can be important in a possible tie for the first place.

Other big games to watch this week will be TSM vs. 100T on Day 1 and CLG vs. TL on Day 2. Both these games will be important when deciding who makes playoffs.

Only five teams’ fates are determined with three days to go

As we come into the Week 8 half of the league’s teams know how their regular season will end. At the bottom of the LCS, Immortals and Dignitas has no chance to qualify for playoffs this split, even if they win all their remaining games. On the other side of the coin, three big title favorites in Cloud9, FlyQuest and Evil Geniuses all locked in their spots in post season. And Upper Bracket spots in the case of the former two.

This leaves us with the other five teams looking to clinch one of the remaining three spots. Golden Guardians have a pretty big advantage when it comes to this compared to the rest of the mid-table teams thanks to their big win streak. They currently have nine wins and just one more win should be enough for them. And considering they will be playing Dignitas in their last game, they have a pretty good chance.

Still, making playoffs is not the only goal for GG and EG. Both these teams are also in a good position to secure Upper Bracket spots, which is a big advantage as it means an extra life during the post season.

Team Liquid is in danger of missing the playoffs

While Golden Guardians surprised everyone with their unexpected run, Team Liquid did the same in a more unfortunate way. During the offseason, TL put together another ambitious roster that include two former World Champions, an LCS MVP and two of the biggest NA Academy prospects. They were in top half of almost all of the preseason rankings (5th in ours), but the reality did not meet the expectations.

With just three games left, they only managed to pick up six victories so far. Luckly, their last week schedule is not the hardest it could be. They will play against the last place Dignitas and an EG with Jojopyun having some health problems. Their biggest issue, except being 8th of course, is that they don’t have head to head advantage against any team they are competing for a spot. In most of the probably scenarios, TL will need to 3-0 this week and avoid tiebreaks to have a chance to qualify.

Competing with TL, we have the clump of TSM, CLG and 100 Thieves all tied with a 7-7 record. As mentioned, TSM and 100T will play each other which will be the most important game of the week for both of these teams. The game is critical for TSM who lost the first round robin matchup and needs to tie the head to head.

Then there is CLG. They are in a peculiar spot as they have the hardest schedule among all these mid-table teams (GG, TL and C9), but they have either winning records or are tied 1-1 against the same teams. In a perfect world, they would win their games and secure the playoffs for themselves, but there is a good chance they can go 1-2 and still qualify based on the other results. The math is complicated with only one thing looking like a certainty, Week 8 of LCS will deliver an exiting show to the fans.

For more of our LCS and LoL Esports coverage, follow us on ESTNN.