FlyQuest vs Cloud9

The bigger LCS picture is finally starting to appear. After a few weeks of absolute uncertainty, we now know who's good and who isn't, but also who has the tools to truly challenge for a spot near the top and, potentially, leave some kind of a mark once the dust settles.

The standings are still somewhat confusing, in all fairness, but they, too, will "stabilize" in a week or two's time. This always happens -- absolute chaos leads to a reprieve of sorts, after which the best teams and challengers emerge. Upsets can still happen, mind you, but by no means will they be as shocking and vexing as they were in the recent past.

Cloud9 vs. FlyQuest is particularly interesting because, at its core, it so greatly illustrates what we've just talked about. On the one side we have C9, a team that has really come into its own -- their last two games have been absolutely mind-blowing.

They've handled LS' departure quite well and have made an emphatic statement with tremendous wins over Dignitas and 100 Thieves. Both games were blowouts, frankly, and they made it look far too easy. Now, we do have a few qualms and questions about their wins: were they so dominant because they're a phenomenal team with a high skill ceiling or because Dignitas no longer have what it takes to compete with the "big dogs"? You could argue both ways. It's easy to look good against an opponent that is struggling in a myriad of ways, and make no mistake: Dignitas *are* struggling.

Their win over 100 Thieves, on the other hand, is far less "suspicious" -- they blew them out of the water as if it were the easiest thing in the world. They really do look like one of the very best teams around, and if they can keep this up, they'll no doubt be challenging for the LCS throne sooner rather than later.

FlyQuest, on the other hand, have sort of regressed or, rather, they flew too close to the sun and have finally been "punished" for it. They've lost both of their last two games and, by the looks of it, they're about to lose another one well. They're capable, there's no doubt about it, but they were never as good or dominant as their record implied -- not even close, in fact.

Do they stand a chance? Absolutely! It's not like Cloud9 are the most consistent team around; they still tend to make egregious mistakes, and can, by all means, be punished given the right approach and set-up.

Be that as it may, C9 is still one heck of a team and if they draft well (which they almost always do) and enable Blaber to do what he does best (i.e. carry like his life depends on it) they'll no doubt be able to beat FlyQuest and improve their record even further.