After an exciting LCS Lock-In event, the real action is about to begin in North America with the League of Legends Championship Series spring season.
As usual, we’ll see 10 teams battling it out in the LCS, all aiming to be crowned the spring champions. The winter break has seen teams shake up their rosters again, with some teams debuting in the Lock-In, while others met with slight delays and will only see full rosters come together for the spring season.
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Make sure to check out our guide on how to bet on League of Legends and let’s take a look at the event in more detail.
Who’s Playing In The LCS Spring Season 2022?
We’ll see the usual suspects in terms of organizations this season, with all 10 LCS teams retaining their slots and rebuilding their rosters for 2022.
Individual teams are where we’ll find the juicy offseason moves. Most teams have made some changes, ranging from small reshuffles to complete roster overhauls. If you watched the Lock-In, you’ve probably seen some of the new changes.
Most notably, Sportsbook favorites Team Liquid created, on paper, one of the strongest rosters in the league, picking up Hans Sama, Bjergsen and Bwipo. Evil Geniuses also shook things up with Inspired and Vulcan joining the team, and we saw both rosters impress as they met in the Lock-In grand finals.
However, three teams, Cloud9, TSM and Golden Guardians, weren’t able to display their new rosters during the tournament. Instead, we’ll see those three teams debut all-new squads during the spring season.
All of these teams made some pretty sizable changes. Cloud9 brought in four new players, including young guns Berserker, Isles and Winsome, all making their LCS debuts with one of the biggest teams in the world.
Golden Guardians made similar moves, picking up young stars Pridestalker and Lost, as well as veteran Olleh to lead the team. Meanwhile, TSM went international, picking up Keaiduo and Shenyi, two young stars from China, as well as ex-Liquid Tactical.
All in all, there are plenty of new rosters and a ton of young talent coming into this LCS season. It will be interesting to see how well all these rookies are able to adapt and how much they can spice up the league.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Team Liquid | +125 |
| Cloud9 | +175 |
| Evil Geniuses | +550 |
| 100 Thieves | +600 |
| TSM | +1200 |
| Dignitas | +4000 |
| FlyQuest | +4000 |
| Immortals | +6600 |
| Golden Guardians | +15000 |
| CLG | +20000 |
Odds as of February 2 at Sportsbook
Team Liquid Looks To Build On Lock-In Triumph
Team Liquid enters the spring season as the favorite, having not only put together an incredibly strong roster, but also triumphing in the Lock-In event.
The team enters in hot form after a 3-0 win in the grand finals, with all of their players firing on all cylinders. They definitely look to be the team to beat, with a wealth of experience and raw talent in their squad.
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However, we’ve seen this story all too many times. A big favorite enters a LoL season, only to crumble and fall apart when it matters most. Sometimes it’s a matter of players not jelling, overconfidence or just pure bad luck. What’s most important is that it does happen.
That’s why, despite their great start and amazing roster, we can’t call it done just yet. Liquid will definitely be a strong side, but they face some stiff competition in the LCS and will have to prove they can live up to expectations over the course of the entire season.
Are Evil Geniuses Being Underestimated?
Evil Geniuses are a team that, based on the Lock-In, may be quite underestimated in the spring season. They enter at pretty large odds of +550, which correlates to implied odds of just 15.38 percent on our Super Calculator, despite having gone head-to-head with favorites Liquid and finishing in second place at the Lock-In.
In fact, Evil Geniuses were one of two teams to actually defeat Liquid on a map at the event, while also dispatching Golden Guardians, CLG, Dignitas and Cloud9. The team boasts an impressive roster with an experienced core of Impact, Inspired and Vulcan, as well as two rookies, Dany and Jojopyun, who already look to be some of the best in the LCS.
It remains to be seen how their spring season plays out, but we’re very likely to see Evil Geniuses at the top end of things, if not even challenging for first place while taking games off of the favorites.
Could Dignitas Be A Potential Dark Horse?
Another team that could unexpectedly cause some damage is Dignitas. Despite a slow start in the Lock-In, they made some waves, taking out one of the favorites, 100 Thieves, 2-0, before taking a map off of Team Liquid in a very tight series.
The team is made up of young stars, including some making their LCS debut, and is led by a North American veteran, Biofrost. On paper, they aren’t the strongest team in the league, but they’ve definitely got something to them.
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With four young stars ready to impress and an impressive leader at the helm, Dignitas could be the dark horse of the season. They’ve already proven they can take out the best of the best, but the real test will be if they can perform under the pressure of the spring season, and if they can remain consistent for eight whole weeks.
Dignitas is a long shot for good reason, but if you want to bet on a daring dark horse, they’re the best bet in all of League of Legends.
