by Jodi McClure
If you've been suffering withdrawal from the NA LCS, relief is just around the corner. Starting today, NA challenger teams and the top seven finishers on the NA Ranked 5s ladder will be battling it out to occupy the two open slots in the new Ten Team LCS. Both veterans and unknowns alike will be competing during this weekends' Round 1 - which will be a Best of 3 Single Elimination series.
The tournament kicks off at 2:00pm est (7:00pm GMT) with a pretty even match-up between two middle-of-the-pack teams, Zenith eSports and Final Five. Final Five has some really good players, including LCS veteran, Rhux, but pseudo-newcomers Zenith managed to beat a strong Team 8 in the Black Monster Cup. Analysts seem to be giving the slight edge to Zenith, and if karma has anything to say about it, they'll be right. Not taking away from the rest of the team, but Final Five's AD Carry, Prototype White (aka Prototype Black), was a very toxic player and he doesn't deserve to win.
Today's second match-up is between the familiar down-home roster of compLexity White and relative unknowns, Monstar Kittenz. White is coL's ladder team offering, with a line-up full of recognizable names like Westrice, goldenglue and Kez, but there's a reason why these guys aren't still on their old teams. They were all underwhelming performance-wise (and lately getting stomped in ranked 5s) but they still have confidence and experience, and that alone could help them defeat the underdog Kittenz. Plus, Lohpally is a good shotcaller in the late game, and (unlike Black) they've got the added bonus of a coaching staff backing them up. Kittenz, unfortunately, have to sub out their top laner due to age, however...I wouldn't discount them altogether. They aren't a bad team, having placed 8th on the Ranked 5s ladder - and they certainly aren't the worst this tournament has to offer. White definitely needs to show up.
The final match-up of the evening is perhaps the most lop-sided of today's offerings. Fan favorite, Team Coast, who recently added EU pros Jesiz and Impaler to their roster, is by far the stronger team than their competitors, UCLA's Call Gaming, who barely made it into the tournament as it was. Even though Coast has been a little hit or miss as of late, this should be an easy 2-0 for them.
While not in the LCS studios, the tournament will be streamed live over lolesports.com with shoutcaster teams Zirene and PiraTechnics and EGAD and Azumoh. The Tournament Bracket graphic and a listing of the Team Rosters can be found here.
The tournament continues on Sunday with three more match-ups, including a team that's received more buzz than any of the others. Be sure to keep an eye on LCS FanZone this evening for Sunday's Expansion Tournament preview!
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