Tier 1:
1st Cloud9
The clear cut favourites for the Summer Split as they bring back their entire roster. And without MSI, they still seem motivated more than ever especially their Bot Lane who have been grinding throughout the break.
Tier 2:
2nd Evil Geniuses
They finished 3rd in the Spring Split and I think bringing on Huni as a mentor for Kumo will continue the team's momentum going into Summer. They also could take a page from Cloud9 and deploy a 7-man roster, which could come into play later in the split.
3rd Team Liquid
Yes, they finished 9th in the Spring Split, but when you have a "leader" (Doublelift) not motivated and quit on the team, it brings the entire team down. Tactical coming in will provide everyone with a burst of energy and Broxah now has a split under his belt.
4th FlyQuest
Solo will occupy the starting spot in the Top Lane and with their strong play in the Spring Playoffs, I think they can compete for a Top 4 spot in Summer. The trio of Santorin-PoE-Ignar should continue to get PoE ahead towards their win conditions.
5th Team SoloMid
Doublelift returns to rejoin Bjergsen and Biofrost to try to regain the glory of 2017. With BrokenBlade being a strong presence in the top lane and Doublelift in the bot lane, I think their new "rookie" jungle will struggle.
Tier 3:
6th 100 Thieves
The same roster returns, but they were middling at best last split. After two straight playoff series losses, they finished 5th-6th in Spring, and with other teams improving around them, I think they'll stay around the same level.
7th Golden Guardians
They were the surprise of the Spring Split as everyone predicted that they would finish 10th but were able to sneak into the playoffs off tiebreakers and finish 5th-6th in Spring. Damonte joins as a last-minute addition and should solidify them in Tier 3.
Tier 4:
8th Counter Logic Gaming
Pobelter and the team comes back with a fresh start and they showed glimpses of being a decent team in Spring, but I just don't think they have the talent to truly breakout. I have them sneaking into the 8th spot, which makes playoffs.
9th Dignitas
Huni is out, V1per is in, Dardoch joins, JayJ joins. They needed to cut costs and lost a lot of talent, so this budget roster will probably struggle this split.
10th Immortals
They lost two games in a row in tiebreakers in Spring and finished out of the playoffs in 8th, but with the surprising news that Xmithie starts on the bench, there are little to no expectations for this team now.
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