:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53463451/Faker.0.jpg)
Week five was a big week across competitive League of Legends. In North America, number one Cloud9 took a couple, pretty big, steps backwards, giving us a new leader in the region in Team SoloMid.
Meanwhile, in the LCK kt Rolster lost their first series of the week, once again bringing the league’s two best teams into a tie for first place. Though their two matches this week should give us a great opportunity to see which of these two teams really is the best in Korea.
As most of the world enters the second half of the split this week the shift in match- ups become even more important as we move into playoffs. This week is full of exactly those match-ups with some of the best teams in three different leagues playing each other:
kt Rolster vs SK Telecom T1
When: Thursday, March 2 at 3 a.m. Eastern (also: Sunday, March 5 at 3 a.m. Eastern)
How: LCK1
Why: It isn’t every week that the two best teams in the world play each other. And in week six, they play twice. With five weeks of warm-ups, both teams have had plenty of time to get used to their new rosters and should be playing as well as they have all split. That, alongside the fact that they have the chance to play twice, should mean that we come out of the week with a definitive answer to who is the best team in the world.
Misfits vs Unicorns of Love
When: Thursday, March 2 at 11 a.m. Eastern
How: EULCS1
Why: There is no question that the best team in Europe is G2. But this series between the league’s perspective second place teams should be fantastic. Both teams play their own uniquely aggressive style that will likely revolve around their junglers. This series should be the perfect place to see which team might stand a chance against G2 in the finals.
Phoenix1 vs Counter Logic Gaming
When: Friday, March 3 at 6 p.m. Eastern
How: NALCS1
Why: On the one hand, this may seem like just a mid-table match up, but it may be the biggest series in North American this week because of what it could mean for playoffs. Whereas some of the other NA series this week could mean the difference between first and second place, both Phoenix1 and CLG are likely to ride the line when it comes to playoffs. Meaning that this could be the series that decides which of them moves into the playoffs and has a chance at going to the Mid-Season Invitational.
Team SoloMid vs Counter Logic Gaming
When: Saturday, March 4 at 6 p.m. Eastern
How: NALCS1
Why: While it hasn’t been the best rivalry this year — thanks to the renewed intensity of Cloud9 vs TSM — a meeting between these two teams in the North American LCS has always been a big event. This time the stakes are high for playoffs with TSM trying to stay one step ahead of Cloud9 while CLG will look to prove that they are a team on the rise and that their recent success was no fluke.
Cloud9 vs FlyQuest
When: Sunday, March 5 at 6 p.m. Eastern
How: NALCS1
Why: The first time these two teams met this season it was an instant classic. FlyQuest grabbed early leads in two of the games, but lost both of them in the end to Cloud9’s strong late game shot calling. On the other hand, Cloud9 just went through their worst week of the split, dropping both of their series and falling out of first place in the standings. With both teams having something to prove, this rematch has a chance to be even better than the original.