The LCS Lock-In tournament is wrapping up quickly, and this weekend, fans will be treated to watching NA's top contenders duke it out for the preseason trophy. Both the group stage and the quarters had some surprising results, which shook up the initial power rankings a bit. Now, only four teams remain in the playoffs race. With more intel and footage on how each team plays, we lay out our predictions and previews for the LCS Lock-In semifinal matchups.

Unlike the actual LCS season, where there would typically be a week gap between each round of playoffs, the Lock-In tournament is taking the high-speed route. The best-of-three quarterfinals already wrapped up last week right after the group stage concluded. Fans will get to watch both semifinals matchups as well as the finals over just one weekend. Unsurprisingly, the LCS opted for a single-elimination format, meaning no chance of a lower bracket run at least for preseason. Thankfully, the semis and finals will both be best-of-five series, so we can at least hope for more games to get a better look at the teams in the league.

LCS Lock-In 2022: Semifinals Predictions and Preview

Team Liquid vs Dignitas [January 28, Friday]

Prediction: TL 3-1 DIG

Well, the superteam is already starting to click, that's for sure. Many expressed worry initially about how well Team Liquid (TL) would gel together, especially as it's early days yet into the 2022 season. Not to mention, there was the whole debacle with fielding only one-half of their actual starting bot lane duo of Steven “Hans Sama” Liv and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in due to the latter's green card delays. But if preseason means anything—and to be quite frank, Lock-In results could really hold little indication as to how Spring Split itself would pan out—then TL fans can find themselves quite pleased with their team's performance thus far.

Liquid went 3-1 in the group stage, emerging as the second seed behind the undefeated Evil Geniuses in Group B. Even with just those four games, the squad has showcased why the rest of the league may be so fearful of them reaching their full potential. The roster is no doubt stacked, and any one of them can carry on a given day. Even before seeing them play, just going off the sheer talent on paper, many already pinned TL as the favorites to win the Lock-In tournament, or at least make it to the finals. Now that seems an even more likely possibility.

On the other side of the coin, you have a team that wasn't at all expected to reach this stage of the competition. Especially because Dignitas (DIG)—who were fourth place in their group—had gone up against Group A's top seed and defending LCS champions, 100 Thieves (100T). But DIG showed up on the day to squash them, 2-0, in their quarterfinals matchup. It was quite the shocker for 100T, for sure, as they were the other team that fans were highly anticipating to win Lock-In. What's more, they hadn't shown any particularly alarming signs of slowing down in the group stage. (Although, granted, 100 Thieves did drop their game against FlyQuest, so maybe there are some cracks just beginning to show).

Still, all due credit to DIG for reaching the Lock-In semifinals contrary to pretty much everyone's predictions. Now another test comes in the form of TL, and if DIG pull off another upset, they're putting themselves in prime position to be the giant-slayers of the LCS. It's a refreshing and exciting prospect, with the likes of Kim “River” Dongwoo and Ersin “Blue” Gören raring to style on their opponents.

That said, I don't think Dignitas have enough firepower just yet—or rather, enough ways to pull off three wins—to take out Liquid. They'll win at least one game in the series, and could possibly even push it to game five, but I don't expect them to fully topple TL's strengths just yet. Even though Liquid bled at the hands of EG, the superteam has shown that they aren't going to implode or have a drastic off-day (from what little sample size we can work with). Moreover, the last meeting between them had been a one-sided, 25-minute affair, with Hans sama getting an early lead and never letting the opponents find a way back into the game.

Up top, Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau would probably be the most “unpredictable” member of the squad in terms of his champion picks, but fans can rest easy knowing he'll be a reliable performer regardless. Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg has also shown that he hasn't missed a beat despite not playing professionally for a year, and he won't necessarily be expected to be the biggest damage threat, having played more enabling champions like Zilean. CoreJJ will continue to be an important part of the puzzle for TL, holding the team together in terms of shotcalling and macro, as well as initiating plays alongside jungler Lucas “Santorin” Larsen. All eyes will be on how they can enable the carries to dish out the damage in League of Legends' current duelist meta.

Evil Geniuses vs Cloud9 [January 29, Saturday]

Prediction: C9 3-2 EG

This matchup is so volatile, and could honestly swing either way. There's a lot of shared history between the squads, with Evil Geniuses (EG) top laner Jeong “Impact” Eon-young and support Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme both previously playing for Cloud9 (C9). Combined with LEC 2021 Summer MVP Kacper “Inspired” Sloma, and you can understand why EG have been such a force to reckon with.

Logically, EG should win out over C9. After all, they are still undefeated in Lock-In, from both their 4-0 group stage record and 2-0 quarters victory over Golden Guardians. In contrast, C9 were second out of Group A, although they had a tied 3-1 record with 100T, but lost out due to the head-to-head matchup. (Galaxy brain move to avoid Dignitas, or something to that effect.)

They also dropped a game against a surging Counter Logic Gaming during the quarterfinals, and overall, many would say that C9 are looking less convincing compared to when they were playing high-octane, early aggression games at their peak in the 2021 LCS Spring Split. But are they less dominant, or are they just less flashy?

There certainly has been some moments where C9 still look shaky and make questionable decisions. Still, fans who have been watching them closely can't be too frustrated about the slightly slower approach, despite some mistakes. We do still get to see Robert “Blaber” Huang getting the momentum going for his team, without the result teetering on a knife's edge depending on how aggressive he can be in the early game. The dragon priority has been a nice shout for the squad, and C9 will definitely be in a good position if they keep that going in the semifinals series.

Meanwhile, EG are making the case for themselves as the team to beat in Lock-In. It's hard to bet against them, and ironically, I daresay it's only because of Cloud9's versatility (or variability) that I'm even considering a possibility where EG loses. For me, it's a series that C9 takes if it stretches out to a do-or-die game five, but one that they lose in a very straightforward way if EG go up 2-0 or 2-1 from the get-go.

Even though C9 have “Academy” members on their current roster, these players—barring support Jonah “Isles” Rosario, who due credit to him, has been stable so far in his LCS debut—aren't unknown quantities. As such, I expect that one of the more deciding factors will be the bot lane, with both ADCs grabbing pentakills in Lock-In. We've seen Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen show flashes of his former glory, and EG's Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki is on the right path towards becoming a top caliber marksman.

Evil Geniuses are strong and daunting, even if they may not be regarded as a “superteam”, they are fiery and ready to pack a punch. But Cloud9 are looking to turn their style into a collected one, and they've always been dependable in best-of-fives when they've had their backs against the wall. It'll be an electrifying clash for sure.