How each team can win the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split

With all of the explosive victories and gut-wrenching defeats of the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split, it’s almost easy to lose track of all the crazy moments that have defined this season.

The 2016 NA LCS Spring Playoffs kick off on April 2 at 12pm PDT. Before the action gets started, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see what each team needs to do if they want to achieve Playoffs success.

Immortals

Regular Season Rank: 1st Place

Despite being a brand new team made up of five members with something to prove, the Immortals have torn through the NA LCS, taking one game after the other until they racked up a terrifying 12-game win streak.

When the Immortals went against Cloud9, it was a clash of titans -- the old kings of North America versus the new contenders for the crown. The game’s frantic, fast-paced energy, surprise Jhin pick, and strong aggression on both sides led many people to call this game one of the best of the year!

Cloud9 put up an incredible fight, with Jhin ults arcing across the battlefield, Lee Sin diving in hard, Viktor hunting the Immortals down with lasers and Chaos Storms, and the front line of Braum and Malphite chasing down carries. Ultimately, though, the Immortals came out ahead over the two-time NA LCS champions. WildTurtle’s Kalista tore through Cloud9’s ranks, Pobelter expertly used Lux’s range and power to pick up kills, Reignover and Huni showed incredible amounts of coordination, and Adrian’s Alistar fed his carries and peeled when necessary.

While the Immortals have looked like an unbeatable juggernaut, the Spring Split revealed some chinks in their armor. It's possible to abuse their early game, with even lower tier teams like Renegades and Team Impulse looking strong against them before 20 minutes. (That said, Immortals still has the biggest gold lead on average at 15 minutes of any NA LCS team this split.)

If the Immortals want to stand strong against the competition during the Playoffs, they’ll need to lock down the enemy team early and prevent them from scoring significant advantages. If the Immortals can keep their heads together in the early game, they’ll continue to roll over late game team fights -- and potentially take the Spring Split.

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COUNTER LOGIC GAMING

Regular Season Rank: 2nd Place

Counter Logic Gaming have proven that they deserve to be the reigning Kings of the Rift. Whether it was putting down long-time rivals TSM in a one-sided match in the opening weekend or breaking the Immortals’ win streak, CLG have been an incredibly strong team all Split.

The team started the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split by replacing their star ADC Doublelift and mid laner Pobelter. Afterwards, the team had a multitude of recruitment options, but they chose to promote from within: Stixxay was drawn from their Challenger team, and the hard working and reliable ADC has shown that he was worth the investment. Meanwhile, former CLG substitute player Huhi stepped up to take over mid lane duties.

These rookies have been mentored by CLG’s three veterans: Aphromoo, the rock solid support who’s helping Stixxay come into his own. Xmithie, the dangerous jungler who uses the team’s synergy to be in the right place at the right time. And of course, there's Darshan, the split-pushing monster who can’t be left alone without the risk of him taking your inhibitors.

In the CLG vs. Immortals match, we saw some of CLG’s strengths displayed in a short period of time. Jungler Xmithie on Udyr rushed in as the Immortals attempted Baron, stealing it away with a perfectly timed Smite. Meanwhile, Darshan ripped through the bot lane as a split push-focused Fiora. This match was a perfect example of how the team works as a cohesive unit, without relying on their mid and ADC to pick up gold leads and kills.

CLG will have to continue to rely on each other and avoid the temptation to make less strategically sound but more flashy plays in the Playoffs, where they’ll be playing in long Best of 5 series. They’ll also have to be careful not to over-rely on Darshan’s split-push, lest other teams counter it and they’re left without a Plan B.

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CLOUD9

Regular Season Rank: 3rd Place

After a series of off-season roster changes, Cloud9 now has three mechanical gods on the roster: mid laner Jensen, ADC Sneaky, and jungler Rush. With long-time veteran Balls in top lane, and world-class shot caller Hai at support backing them up, C9 have roared back with a vengeance this Spring Split, establishing an identity as the scrappy fighters you just can’t help but cheer for.

Cloud9’s triple threat roster and focused shotcalling mean they’re able to turn games with a high gold difference around. They also have LemonNation, their former support (and the man who's considered a pioneer of many North American pick/ban strategies) serving as their coach. The team share a long history with each other, and even their newest addition Rush already feels like part of the family.

Cloud9 displayed their ability to fight their way out of a corner in this match against TSM. With two inhibitor turrets down, Barons lost, and a massive gold disadvantage, most teams would have tapped out. Not C9. They clung on and won three perfectly timed fights in a row by focusing down Doublelift’s Kog’Maw and zoning TSM into unfavorable positions during team fights.

Cloud9 will be a difficult team to take quick games off of in the Playoffs, and they’ve proven that they can hold their own in long matches and series. However, they’re going to have to avoid sloppy individual mistakes -- like Sneaky’s infamous match on Jhin against the Immortals where he gave up First Blood due to wandering in a bush -- or Rush’s overzealous aggression. In a Best of 5, they’ll have to keep those strong individual mechanics up. Furthermore, Hai’s going to have to shotcall across a long series and will need to avoid the exhaustion that comes from such a feat.

With competition this strong, C9 is going to need to work hard to win their third Split championship. However, with this roster, they’re more than capable of it - and the boys in baby blue might just walk away the winners once again.

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LIQUID

Regular Season Rank: 4th Place

Liquid's a team that always seems to be falling just short of winning the big prize, but this may be the Split where they rally to claim 1st place. The team started the season with a highly unusual 10-man roster, and have pulled from that pool of talent to settle into their current LCS roster.

At first, it was assumed that TL's Spring Split would be dedicated towards helping their rookies grow. Instead, Matt, Lourlo, and Dardoch have made huge contributions to the team and dramatically exceeded expectations. Dardoch's an ambitious jungler who can stand up to accomplished teams like CLG and TSM on his Lee Sin or Nidalee, Matt's a reliable and intelligent support who has a great synergy with his ADC, and Lourlo's reliability and strong initiations have helped put Liquid in position to win many times.

Liquid's also bolstered by the fact that their World Champion ADC Piglet has regained the fire of his days on SKT T1. The rest of the team uses their synergy to get Piglet early kills and keep him as the primary threat the enemy team has to deal with. Check out the clip above of Liquid taking on TSM in Week 7, where Liquid rallies to get Piglet the early double kill on Lucian. Piglet continued to pick up kills and dished out enormous amounts of damage throughout the game.

There’s another threat on Liquid that can’t be forgotten: Fenix in the mid lane is well known for his flashy, mechanically intensive plays on high skill ceiling champions like Azir and Orianna. With these damage threats and a rock-solid team built around them, Liquid is an extremely dangerous team with solid decision making, initiation, and very few weak spots.

In Playoffs, Liquid will have to be careful not to become too confident, and avoid getting worn out or tilted during the inevitable struggles of Best of 5 series. If Liquid can continue to pull off early game plays, support their carries, and remain strong under pressure, they might just be the dark horse that end up running away with the entire Spring Split.

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NRG

Regular Season Rank: Tied - 5th Place*

The 2016 NA LCS offseason was buzzing with roster changes, but one of the most substantial was NRG's. As the team unveiled its new lineup, it became clear there was another powerhouse about to enter the NA LCS.

NRG had picked up World champion Impact in the top lane, ex-Gravity ADC Altec, promising Challenger players Moon and KonKwon, and the former Jin Air Greenwings Korean player GBM.

Yet the most stylish team on the LCS stage has been inconsistent.

When NRG went up against the Immortals in Week 2, each of them boasting a 3-0 record, everyone was watching to see who would break the streak. NRG stood up against the Immortals in a nail-biting match, going toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team until a couple of key team fights turned against them. However, they’ve also suffered key losses, including dropping to CLG and C9 in Weeks 5 and 6. Their inconsistency is reflected in their record: 9 wins, 9 losses.

When they’re doing well, the team goes off. Check out this clip where Moon and GBM pick up a kill top and then swing mid to push their advantage. They win a team fight, and just when you think the action’s over, GBM dives deep to pick up two more kills with his signature audacity. This is NRG at their best, and they’re often able to turn small advantages into big moments through this mid-lane focused strategy.

Fans are hoping that this Spring Split is the beginning of an upward climb for NRG as the team grows and evolves. Now that they're heading into Playoffs, the roster has shaken off their inexperience and miscommunications that plagued them in the earlier part of the Split and they're coming back hard. NRG will need to keep up that momentum if they want to succeed against the other top teams in North America

*Note: Both NRG and TSM finished Spring with a 9-9 record. However, NRG's record against TSM this split has been 2-0, thus giving NRG the higher seed going into Playoffs.

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TSM

Regular Season Rank: Tied - 5th Place

TSM was expected to dominate after their offseason roster changes. The North American titans had seemingly assembled a super team, with Fnatic’s famous shot caller and captain Yellowstar moving into the support role and one of Europe’s most aggressive players, Svenskeren, stepping into the jungle. Gravity’s Hauntzer has taken up Dyrus’s mantle in the top lane. And in one of the most newsworthy roster changes in League history, ADC Doublelift switched from CLG over to TSM. Yet instead of rolling over the competition, they’ve experienced a bumpy ride.

The five individual members of TSM have all proven that they’re great players throughout their careers, and the team managed to win half of their games in the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split so far. When they’re on point, they are vicious and relentless. In Week 5 of the NA LCS, TSM shined when they took down long-term rivals CLG in a one-sided, bloody match.

However, the big challenge TSM faces isn’t their individual skill -- it's been their inability to function as a team. They often seem a bit confused and spread out, with Yellowstar catching flack for initiating without receiving any follow up. It’s this lack of decision making and direction that they need to resolve.

But when things do click, the team's potential is clear. In the above clip, TSM is able to capitalize on Svenskeren's expertly placed Gragas ultimate to funnel a handful of kills into Doublelift's Kog'maw. Without hesitation, the team then moves on to secure an easy Baron off of those kills, with Bjergsen hardly breaking stride as he picks up one more on Balls.

Of course, that game did not result in a victory for TSM, and in many ways the team's greatest opponent this split seems to be themselves. They need to focus on their communication and coordination, and they have to be willing to let their team play hard carries -- and play aggressively. If they can harness the potential of their super team, TSM could still walk away as the Spring Split Champions.

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These moments are some of the most memorable from the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split and will be part of these teams’ legacy for seasons to come. Which games from NA LCS Spring did you cheer the loudest for, and which team fights had you reeling in your seat?

Weigh in and let us know the moments from the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split that you’ll never forget and don't forget to check back to Lolesports when the NA LCS Playoffs kick off on April 2 at 12pm PDT.