League of Legends: After starting off the year 4-0 in the North American LCS, Echo Fox will look to continue their scorching start against some of the worst performing teams in the league thus far.
All eyes on Echo Fox
Echo Fox square off against the three bottom teams, Golden Guardians, OpTic Gaming, and Counter Logic Gaming, before finishing off week four with the match of the weekend against Team Liquid. Echo Fox have been impressive to date, winning both via early advantages as well as coming from behind with brilliant late-game shot-calling.
That being said, the Rick Fox-owned outfit are also extremely volatile, with the ability to come crashing down quickly should any resistance be put forth. However, with three one-sided matchups expected to start the coming two weeks, Echo Fox should continue their impressive run through the NA LCS.
Team Liquid not dominating
Team Liquid have an interesting schedule, facing off in week three against the winless Golden Guardians as well as the 2-2 FlyQuest. This should be a fairly easy matchup for the preseason favourites, but the fourth week presents a daunting test that will help prove whether or not those preseason expectations will be justified. Liquid will face fellow 3-1 team Cloud9 before the aforementioned showdown against Echo Fox.
Team Liquid have performed well thus far, with their loss to 100 Thieves being their only negative of their season. However, the team, outside of their first performance against TSM – who have struggled so far – have not dominated much of the competition despite expectations to the contrary. The team have continued to pull out wins, yet have also looked undeserving of the so-called “super-team” they were billed as before the season kicked off. They do have a number of flexible players, and with a new patch coming in, their flexibility could be a valuable asset against teams that struggle to adapt (particularly young teams).
100 Thieves looking to build
Arguably the easiest schedule for a top team over the next two weeks belongs to 100 Thieves, who have Clutch Gaming (2-2) and TSM (1-3), followed by FlyQuest (2-2) and Golden Guardians (0-4). 100 Thieves have been one of the most impressive teams thus far, with their only loss coming in a close match against fellow 3-1 team Cloud9, while one of their wins was against Team Liquid.
The trap game for 100 Thieves could be Clutch Gaming, as 100 Thieves could be looking ahead to trying to keep TSM down later that week, while Clutch have been a solid team thus far, without putting on anything particularly flashy. The key upside for 100 Thieves is that their core is arguably the most consistent entity in the league, with pr0lly leading them off the rift, and support aphromoo leading on it. Pr0lly is one of the most respected coaches in the west, with a key ability to adapt on the fly – an ability especially good for best-of-ones on a new patch, such as the coming weeks.
Aphromoo is also widely respected, and his presence in the game cannot be understated. While questions arose about whether or not Meteos or Cody Sun could perform, the overwhelming presence that aphromoo has on the late-game shot-calling is clear. 100 Thieves should have a strong showing in the coming weeks, with hopes of a top seed for the playoffs.
OpTic could bounce back
One team that could come out of nowhere, especially in week four, is Team OpTic, who currently sit with a 1-3 record. OpTic have been competitive in all of their losses, pushing even the likes of Liquid to the brink. OpTic do, unfortunately, find themselves against Echo Fox and Cloud9 during week three, but Clutch Gaming and a struggling Counter Logic Gaming in week four could be winnable games for them.
Weeks three and four should help to shake out who the legitimate contenders are in the spring season. The momentum is there for Echo Fox to either grab or lose and it will be fascinating to see how they perform in what, at least on paper, is an easy schedule.
