Immortals vs Cloud9

This is where things get a lot more interesting. Cloud9 vs. Immortals, at least on paper, is nothing more than a one-sided beatdown. In actuality, though, it'll probably be a lot closer than most folks expect. Immortals are no slouch and, frankly, they've been playing a lot better than anyone thought was possible. They're creative, fairly flexible, and have been rubbing shoulders with the who's who of the LCS — despite not having any true superstars or hardcarries whatsoever.

Impressive stuff, to say the least.

Xerxe has been playing out of his mind lately, and the same goes for the rest of the line-up, too. They're better than the sum of their parts, and have earned all the praise and commendation they've been getting over the last couple of weeks. They're not going to challenge the LCS status quo any time soon, that's just not going to happen, but they'll nonetheless try, and they're crazy enough to give the best teams in the LCS a run for their money. Watching Immortals go from "bottom-tier dweller" to "mid-tier gatekeeper" in just a couple of months has truly been a pleasure, and we're glad they hadn't made any changes to their roster between splits as that would've heavily affected their chances of finding success.

Cloud9, on the other hand, are still as hard to read as ever. This, simply put, isn't the C9 we all expected coming into the second half of 2021. And that's strange. They had all the right tools to once again blow our minds, and yet no minds have been blown just yet. They've been mediocre and, at times, downright dreadful. We know they're better than this, but their inherent talent doesn't mean much if they cannot get on the same page and execute as a unit.

To be fair, they *have* improved once they decided to bring Zven back into the starting line-up, but their play still leaves a lot to be desired. They lack confidence, but individually as well as a five-man unit, and that's quite a strange Cloud9 to watch — they have both experience and mechanical prowess in spades, so there's no reason for them to be so reactive and frail. And yet here we are. Regardless, they're better than Immortals and will probably prove it tonight as well. They're not guaranteed to get the win, but if they get on the same page and execute to the best of their ability, they shouldn't have too much trouble in taking Immortals down.