The final week of the 2023 LCS Spring Split regular season begins today and heading into the final three days of the split, five teams remain fully engrossed in the playoff hunt. With three teams already clinched and two others eliminated, that leaves half the league to fight for the final three tickets to the Spring Split playoffs.
Smacked in the middle of those teams is 100 Thieves, who currently sit in fifth place in the LCS, just within the boundaries of playoff qualification. But their 7-8 record is tied alongside two other teams—CLG and TSM—meaning they’ll need an extra push here in the final week to secure a postseason berth.
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No seven-win team has ever qualified for the LCS playoffs since the league formally adopted its 18-game split format in 2015, meaning 100 Thieves will need to win at least one game this weekend, with maybe a tiebreaker included at the back-end of the schedule to guarantee their place in the playoffs. Here’s how 100 Thieves can secure a playoff berth for the 2023 LCS Spring Split.
The direct road: A 3-0 superweek
The most obvious and direct way that 100 Thieves can secure their place in the postseason is by winning all three of their week-eight games. Wins against direct threats in TSM and Evil Geniuses to start the week would strengthen their playoff chances, while a victory over Immortals would guarantee them a spot in the playoffs. From there, they’d have to rely on other results to determine their seed, but a spot in the upper bracket would be possible.
Results may vary: A 2-1 superweek
If 100 Thieves win two of their final three games, their playoff chances are relatively strong. Beating TSM and one other opponent would guarantee them at least a tiebreaker to get into the postseason. But it’s imperative that they beat TSM, considering the two teams share a record coming into the superweek. Additionally, 100 Thieves beat TSM earlier in the year, so a second victory this week would give 100T the tiebreaker advantage, pushing them past TSM should they finish the split with identical records.
It’s getting dicey: A 1-2 superweek
If 100 Thieves only win one game this week, it better be their opening match against TSM. Wins against the already-eliminated Immortals or already-clinched EG will still count in the W column, but a victory against TSM will guarantee them a crucial head-to-head record against a direct playoff competitor, as well as a likely chance at a tiebreaker game against a different opponent. A 1-2 record still might not be enough for 100T, though, as CLG could pull off upset victories against Golden Guardians and Cloud9 to leave the Thieves in the dust. There’s also a world where Liquid finish with a 9-9 record and 100T round out at 8-10, leaving 100 Thieves in seventh place, just outside of the lower bracket.
A full washout: A 0-3 superweek
If 100 Thieves manage to lose all three of their superweek games, there’s a near 100 percent chance that they don’t go through to the playoffs. The only way they’d even have a chance at qualifying in this scenario is if other teams in the playoff hunt (CLG and Liquid) somehow defy the odds and finish with records of 7-11, forcing a three-way tie for the sixth seed in the Spring Split playoffs.
100 Thieves’ playoff push begins today, March 15, with that all-important match against TSM at 6pm CT. They’ll then play EG tomorrow, March 16, at 4pm CT and Immortals on March 17 at 8pm CT.
Published: Mar 15, 2023 11:39 am