Team Liquid vs Team SoloMid

Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid is pretty much what dreams are made of. These two perennial North American giants have been trading blows atop the region for what feels like an eternity. And, frankly, their seismic clashes are still as entertaining as ever which is a true testament to their staggering talent and potential.

Whenever these two giants step foot on stage to compete, fireworks are pretty much guaranteed. Now, they don't always deliver, but when they do (which is certainly more often the case), those moments compensate for any odd fiesta that might happen from time to time. They are, simply put, LCS royalty. Now, granted, that might not mean much in the grand scheme of things (i.e. the vast world of competitive League), but it's still a prestigious position nonetheless.

Tonight, they'll clash off for a shot at facing Cloud9 in the 2021 LCS Spring Split finals. There's quite a lot on the line, and one could argue that it's a "do or die" kind of moment for both TL and TSM. Then again, there's a lot more pressure on Team Liquid precisely because they had made the bigger moves during the course of the off-season. They might not have spent as much money as TSM did, but they *did* enter the 2021 season with a lot more synergy. By signing Alphari and Santorin, most folks thought TL had the perfect line-up to once again claim the LCS throne. And, well, this sort of narrative made all the sense in the world. But for one reason or another, they fumbled and failed in a myriad of ways throughout the regular portion of the split, and had barely managed to correct course in time for the playoffs.

TSM, on the other hand, accomplished a bit more than people expected. Sure, they had an exceptional line-up to work with, but their players had no cohesion whatsoever. The fact that they eventually managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Cloud9 and Team Liquid is simply astounding, and they deserve a ton of praise for it. One can only imagine the heights TSM will eventually reach, once they have a bit more time to synergize and get on the same page.

Now, this particular Best of 5 is interesting for two entirely different -- albeit interconnected -- reasons. The first one is simple: TL have already beaten the boys in black and white a couple of weeks ago, and they did so in relatively clean 3-1 fashion. It was by no means a perfect showing, but they were the better team on the day and got the job done which is the only thing that matters. So, on paper, they're favored over TSM for a reason.

The second peculiarity, however, is vastly more important: Team Liquid will be forced to play without their seasoned veteran jungler Santorin and will instead field Armao (formerly known as Grig). The gap between the two -- both in terms of talent and experience -- is as vast as the Grand Canyon. This might be an overly harsh way of phrasing things, but it is by no means incorrect. Without Santorin, Liquid's chances plummeted considerably. He was their most important early-game catalyst and often the biggest difference-maker when it mattered most.

Now sure, Team Liquid still have a slew of exceptional players who can definitely step up and take the reins, but without a well-performing, top-tier jungler, it's hard to imagine Team Liquid emerging victorious against a motivated (and we can only assume well-prepared) Team SoloMid.

In the end, we'll side with TSM on this one. The aforementioned jungle gap *should* give the boys in black and white the upper hand, although we'll surely witness one heck of a series!