NA teams that could win LCQ:
XSET(Assuming not qualify): Looking great with cryocell so far. very consistent top 4 and recent performance made sure they aren't impossible.
Faze(Assuming not qualify): Double firepower of Dicey and Babybay is a massive challenge for any team to overcome
NRG(Assuming not qualify): Looking good so far with the addition with Ethan. eeiu somehow just pulls off insane clips too, and we're not even counting W streamer s0m here.
The Guard(Assuming not qualify): Had a successful run at Challengers 1 and is definitely a force to be reckoned with if they get back to shape. One of the weaker teams though for sure(pls not another sentinel-type fluke)
100T:They've been getting better every match and it's not impossible they improve significantly once LCQ hits
EG: The only team that took a game off Prime-Optic(ik they got destroyed by Optic on rematch). If they manage the pressure of LCQ and potter gets the team together, then they still could win LCQ.
LG: Very consistent team and can prove to be quite a challenge for even a seasoned team like Optic(almost a 11-3 to 11-13 comeback if not for Victor's heroic 3k to force ot). If the likes of bdog and made pop off the whole season then they could qualify to champs ngl.
SEN:(pure hopium here) Less streaming, boot camping, hiring 2 analysts, and getting an entire month to reset from the 0-5 groups result/block out the toxicity of certain people, Sentinels has a great chance to fix themselves with talents like Tenz, Dapr, and Sick. If they actually fix their shit, they could be the one to take LCQ and potentially Champs.(I supported Sen until I switched to Team Liquid after LCQ)
C9: The team played like 2 people down during half of the season(Optic/Sentinels were when they had a great showing) because they got their roles all mixed up. C9 showed what they should have been the entire season against other teams if it weren't for the fact that they had to adapt to a new member. C9 can definitely fix their shit and get back their crown in this spare one month.
total teams that can win LCQ: 8 teams + 1 team that qualified to champs from circuit points
EMEA teams that can win LCQ:
Team Liquid: Double edshot machine ez
Guild(Assume not enough circuit points): They went 5-0 in their groups and qualified to champs. The only other team to do that is Fnatic which looks red hot rn.
m3c(Assume not qualify): They looked back to shape recently if you count out the Guild game. Very do-able by their team with their "No access to site" strategy
FPX: The only team to pose even a challenge to the red-hot Fnatic. Very winnable by them.
Acend: Imagine if Cned finally unleashed his op with Chamber in this one month, Just imagine.
total teams that can win LCQ: 4 teams +1 team that qualified to champs from circuit points
tldr: NA LCQ is going to be a lot more unpredictable than EMEA LCQ, which makes it a lot more interesting than EMEA LCQ. Plus EMEA plays like a fucking turtle compared to NA's playstlye.
P.S: I'm not saying NA as a region is better than EMEA since despite the similarity of team skill in NA, Optic is destroying everyone by a large margin while in EMEA although competition is a lot weaker to the top teams of EMEA, these top teams can easily make games stupidly close to each other and has a pretty close skill gap. In the end, only Champions will truly determine the superior region between NA, EMEA, or even the likes of APAC and Brazil.
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