LoL LCS Lock-In 2021 Final Odds and Matchup Picks

• The LCS Lock In Final takes place on January 31st at 4PM EST
• Cloud9 and Team Liquid are the final two teams competing for the grand prize of $150,000 USD
• Despite pulling off a reverse sweep against 100 Thieves, Cloud9 find themselves as slight underdogs against Team Liquid

After two weeks of competition, the LCS 2021 Lock In tournament comes down to one final best of five. In the LCS Lock In Semifinal matchups, C9 barely survived against 100 Thieves and pulled off a reverse sweep to advance to the final. Meanwhile, Team Liquid swept aside the Evil Geniuses 3-0 in a dominant showing and they’re now favorites heading into the last best-of-five of the tournament.

Now the LCS Lock In comes down to the two North American teams with the best 2021 LoL World Championship odds.

LCS 2021 Lock-In Final Matchup Odds

Odds taken Jan 30 at Bet365

The Reverse Sweep

It really didn’t look like Cloud9 would be moving on the finals. They were down 2-0 to 100 Thieves and were seemingly always on the back foot. Their drafts were somewhat out of character and 100 Thieves were the aggressors. In game three, Cloud9 altered their game plan and drafted a strong bot lane that had priority. Once ‘Zven’ was unlocked, the tides began to turn. ‘Zven’ got a couple of pentakills in the final two games and ‘PerkZ’ was asserting his global presence on Twisted Fate. Cloud9 managed to pull off the reverse sweep but they were incredibly close to losing this series 3-0.

Although C9 was able to move onto the finals, there are still some major concerns looming around the team. The first is their top laner ‘Fudge’ who constantly found himself far behind his lane opponent. It wasn’t just a one-time thing. In nearly every game of the series it seemed like he was down 30-50 farm. In the semifinals he was up against one of the best top laners in the LCS in ‘Ssumday’, but it won’t get any easier in the finals. Fudge was targeted relentless by 100 Thieves and that game plan will likely be instilled by Team Liquid.

Cloud9 also needs to try to get their bot lane of Zven and Vulcan a winning matchup. They’re already considered one of the best, if not the best bot lane in the LCS and when they have priority in the bot lane, it demands attention. As long as their draft strategy mimics what they did in games 3 to 5 against 100 Thieves, Cloud9 will have a chance of winning LCS Lock In. They’re clearly a strong team but in the playoffs of LCS Lock In, they’ve had to go the distance to advance.

Team Liquid Dominates

As Cloud9 looked shaky in both their quarterfinal and semifinal matchups, it was the exact opposite result for Team Liquid. TL was proactive and just outright dominant as they handed Evil Geniuses a 3-0 sweep. Outside of a fairly close game one, Team Liquid was in complete control of this series and convincingly moved on to the finals.

Team Liquid played the entire series with Santorin in the jungle after he missed a couple of games in the group stage. With their full roster, Team Liquid simply look like the best team in the LCS right now and a large part of that is the core of their team that returned from last year. ‘CoreJJ’ and ‘Tactical’ make up what is quite possibly the best bot lane in the LCS and the matchup against ‘Zven’ and ‘Vulcan’ will probably decide the series. However, Team Liquid gets the edge in this regard because of the consistency in play that surrounds this star bot lane. ‘Alphari’ was able to win his top lane matchup against ‘Impact’, and he should be able to have his way with ‘Fudge’ after his very weak showing in the semis.

Cloud9 has a way of clawing back into series that they appear out of, but Team Liquid will give them fewer openings than 100 Thieves did. Team Liquid were the best team on paper heading into the Lock In tournament and they’ve now backed it up with an incredibly strong showing in the playoffs. Stick with the favorites in this one.

Pick: Team Liquid (-188), U 4.5 (-225)