Golden Guardians vs Cloud9

For our second match of the day, we have Cloud9 taking on the Golden Guardians. Now, on paper, this isn't exactly a barnburner waiting to happen, but if things pan out as expected, we could be in for a much more competitive (and, therefore, entertaining) clash than the odds would lead you to believe.

And, well, it's been a while since the last time we had a bit of LCS action, so we'll take whatever we can get! Unfortunately, those hoping to see Cloud9's peculiar new roster (the one assembled by LS) will have a wait a a little bit longer -- the ongoing pandemic has once again thrown a wrench in everyone's plans and has stopped C9 from fielding its intended line-up. As a result, Darshan, Zven, and Isles have all been brought up from Academy and will be competing for the entirety of the Lock-In tournament.

Now, that's not such a bad outcome, all things considered. In fact, it might even be a blessing in disguise! These players already have a ton of synergy between them and there's also no language barrier to stand in the way. They could very well end up performing a lot better than the line-up Cloud9 *wanted* to field.

Still, the whole point of the LCS Lock-In is for teams to play without fear and experiment to their heart's content. It might be a worthless tournament given the broader context and relative to the entire competitive season, but it's nonetheless a great opportunity for everyone involved to synergize and get on the same page without feeling any kind of pressure to perform. Cloud9 will, therefore, be at a disadvantage seeing how they'll enter the forthcoming Spring Split without ever really competing as a five-man. It might not be the biggest hindrance one can imagine, but it'll definitely affect their performance.

In any case, we simply have to give Cloud9 the edge on this one. It's a no-brainer, really.