LCS Schedule, Standings, and Preview - Week 2
The second week of the 2023 LCS season is upon us, and to say the least of it, things haven't gone according to the script so far. If we'd have told you that the Match of the Week in week 2 would be CLG vs. Cloud9, you'd have rightly laughed in our face. Yet here we are.
And The World Turned Upside Down
Standings As We Enter Week 2
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Two Colossal Match Ups In Week 2
Week 2 Matchups
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
LCS Week 2 Preview
The second week of the LCS has some major questions still looming over it.
Are CLG and TSM for real?
There used to be a meme about CLG - Win one game, give fans false hope. Well, CLG is 2-0, so now what? Counter Logic Gaming is running on the motto of 'Defend the Faith' as they were the only team to return their full squad from last year. It's a great story, and a fun one to root for in esports. Can they keep up the pace they set in the first week? It's hard to say after one week, but they'll have the chance to prove it against Cloud9 tomorrow.
TSM, on the other hand is a different story. They engineered an amazing comeback against Immortals and then beat Team Liquid to get off to a 2-0 start, but I'm sorry, I'm not ready to buy in. Immortals outplayed them badly but then slipped up and let them get back into the game. And Team Liquid just doesn't look right. Speaking of which.
What happened to Team Liquid?
That was one of the ugliest opening weeks for an LCS team in recent memory. A loss to FlyQuest can be forgiven, as FlyQuest might be one of the best teams in the LCS, but that day 2 loss to TSM was brutal. Liquid looked completely out of sorts and was playing on the back foot from the beginning.
We've seen this before in years gone by, however. Team Liquid frequently starts slow out the gate, only to find their stride and dominate. This season, they've gone to a full Korean-speaking roster and had a major shake up on the team. It's unsurprising that they need some time to gel. I expect they will before long, and they'll be a problem for a lot of teams this year.
Are Cloud9 and FlyQuest as good as advertised?
In a word, yes. FlyQuest is better than I thought they'd be, or at least, they're better than I thought they'd be at this point. Needing no time to gel whatsoever, they stormed out the gate to wins over Team Liquid and Team Dignitas. Cloud9 meanwhile took on 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians, cruising to two easy wins. I'm willing to bet we won't see Fudge get his hands on K'Sante again this split.
Which of these two teams is better? Well, we'll get a good idea this Friday in what may well be a preview of the grand finals this split.
How To Watch League of Legends
Check out all the action over at the LCS Twitch and Youtube channel. You can follow the LCS every Thursday and Friday throughout the Spring Split.
