Since it’s 2026 and esports offseasons are basically a fever dream, I’ve been rewatching old NA LCS VODs. Let me set the scene: it’s the week Kayn becomes eligible, and Cloud9 picks him on day one. I’m not gonna lie—I didn’t even realize we were getting patch 7.14 with all those Lethality changes and a brand-new champion running around. Big silly energy.
The standings looked like a three-way staring contest at the top and a support group at the bottom.
| Seed | Teams |
|---|---|
| 1 | Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, Team SoloMid |
| 4 | Team Dignitas, Team EnVy, Cloud9 |
| 7 | Echo Fox, FlyQuest |
| 9 | Team Liquid, Phoenix1 |
No huge changes from yesterday because only two matches happened, but Team Liquid grabbed a win and climbed into a tie for last with Phoenix1. That’s not exactly a victory parade, but hey, progress is progress.
The Four Matches
| Match | My Prediction |
|---|---|
| Team SoloMid vs Team Dignitas | 2-1 |
| Counter Logic Gaming vs Echo Fox | 2-0 |
| FlyQuest vs Immortals | 0-2 |
| Phoenix1 vs Team Liquid | 2-1 |
Team SoloMid vs Team Dignitas
Team Dignitas officially ditched Chaser and went full-time Shrimp. With that change they won both games last week, and this match is a proper test. Their bot lane popped off: Altec had big games on Kalista and Tristana. Keane also generated plenty from the mid lane, but on this day he has to deal with Bjergsen and the rest of the TSM all-stars. Getting a lead in bot and mid will be incredibly tough. Sven is going to be roaming like a caffeinated raccoon to get his lanes ahead, so the jungle and lane clashes should be spicy. I’m going with TSM because doubting them after their recent play just feels like a bad decision.
Counter Logic Gaming vs Echo Fox
This is a big week for CLG. If they win both matches and TSM drops one, CLG takes sole possession of first place. At minimum they can knock Immortals out of a share, and the worst case is getting knocked out themselves. This one shouldn’t be that, since they’re playing Echo Fox. Echo Fox is basically trying every roster combination in the game—they’ve subbed everyone in. From Lolesports it looks like Damonte and Grig are getting the nod, at least in game one. That could change, but that’s the listing. With franchising coming, I’m curious who EF wants to bring back when contracts expire, but for now they’re throwing pieces at the wall. CLG should profit from that chaos.
FlyQuest vs Immortals
FlyQuest got swept 2-0 in their last match against a top team. Not surprising given their record, and it’s likely to continue here. Immortals and CLG have been the two teams to beat all split, and they’ve been annoyingly consistent. FlyQuest would need a small miracle—maybe three—to find a win. I picked them for an upset last week after a decent week, but I can’t do that here. I’ll keep my clown makeup in the drawer. This one should be quick.
Phoenix1 vs Team Liquid
Team Liquid found another win yesterday. I was genuinely surprised, but a lot of it came down to Goldenglue leveling up. He’s not hard carrying, but TL is giving him safe picks and he’s doing his part. He had a big Taliyah game to close out yesterday, and honestly? Good for him. I’d give them the upset here, but P1 played well into Cloud9, so I’m torn. Liquid is definitely showing improvement and can absolutely win this one, but I don’t want to hard commit just yet. We’ll see if P1 can stop TL from having their first two-win week in a while.
Long story short: the top three are in a knife fight for first place, Dignitas looks fun again, Echo Fox is a roster test kitchen, FlyQuest is on upset watch, and Team Liquid might actually be cooking. Kayn arriving at the same time as a Lethality patch is basically Riot handing the league a loaded squirt gun.