TSM vs Golden Guardians – LCS Match of the Week (2019 Spring)

Posted on March 13, 2019

TSM and Golden Guardians are about to fight for the right to be the #3 team in the League of Legends Championship Series on March 16! The outcome of their battle has huge implications on the playoffs, so we decided to analyze this game in our LCS match of the week breakdown. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

TSM are a wildcard of the highest caliber. Their roster is stacked with talent, but they’re inconsistent when it comes to putting that talent to good use. Most of it stems from their brash decision-making, as TSM keep trying to fight even when the deck is stacked against them. Luckily, they can always fall back on their potent teamfighting and veteran shot calling to cover this shortcoming.

Golden Guardians aren’t exactly a perfect team either. Their macro is all over the place, and it’s common to see them fumbling around the map with monumental gold leads. However, the fact that they get these gold leads in the first place shows promise. And while they’re lacking in the strategy department, they make up for it in brute force.

TSM vs Golden Guardians Match Breakdown

Top Lane Matchup

The TSM vs Golden Guardians top lane will definitely be interesting to follow. With a 2.6 KDA and 8.3 CS per minute, TSM Broken Blade is a rising star that takes pride in his mechanical prowess. He’s also one of the few LCS top laners that has the guts to go for solo kills and employ splitpushing tactics, which makes him very scary to face on the Rift.

Golden Guardians have the means to challenge him. Holding a 2.7 KDA and 8.6 CS per minute, Hauntzer is the former TSM top laner that’s dying to show his previous team that it made the wrong choice by kicking him. He has enough talent to hold his own against most LCS top laners, and his veteran experience will come in handy against a rookie like Broken Blade.

VERDICT: GGS Hauntzer outmuscles his opponent in the top lane.

Jungle Matchup

Things will get hectic in the jungle. Sporting a 2.9 KDA and 5.2 CS per minute, TSM Akaadian is a fearless playmaker that’s always looking for new ways to break open the early game. He tends to get carried away on his search, though, as he frequently goes for high-risk, high-reward plays that can blow up in his face.

Contractz is more composed in comparison. With a 2.9 KDA and 5.0 CS per minute, he’s a decent jungler when it comes to playing around winning lanes, however, he struggles to generate leads on his own. And while he won’t make any drastic mistakes, he will have a hard time keeping up with Akaadian.

VERDICT: TSM Akaadian tears through the jungle.

Mid Lane Matchup

The mid lane is a clash of two living legends. With a 4.4 KDA and 8.9 CS per minute, Bjergsen is the pillar of TSM’s lineup. He’s the unwavering veteran that routinely secures a complete stranglehold over the mid lane and exerts a ton of pressure in late game teamfights.

Yet, he might meet his match in this TSM vs Golden Guardians matchup! With a 3.0 KDA and 8.7 CS per minute, Froggen has been on top of his game since the inception of competitive League of Legends. And while his reactive playstyle might put him on the back foot in the laning phase, Froggen will be sure to catch up to Bjergsen in the later stages of the game.

VERDICT: TSM Bjergsen finds a slight edge in the mid lane.

Bot Lane Matchup

A different story takes place in the bot lane. With a 4.1 KDA and 9.4 CS per minute, TSM Zven is a mechanical monster that takes over teamfights even when he gets no help from his allies. And while Smoothie (2.7KDA) needed some time to tone down his playmaking and adjust to the low-resource playstyle of his lane partner, he’s grown into a great support for his AD carry.

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As for Golden Guardians, things are a bit messy on their side. Holding a 4.2 KDA and 9.4 CS per minute, Deftly is decent in lane, but he isn’t nearly as dominant in teamfights and skirmishes. Meanwhile, Olleh (2.0 KDA) is the least consistent member on this lineup, as he frequently botches key plays and commits blatant positioning mistakes.

VERDICT: TSM Zven and Smoothies secure a huge lead in the bot lane.

TSM vs Golden Guardians Match Prediction

There’s no denying TSM and Golden Guardians have similar identities. However, a single glance at the rosters will let you know just how much better Team SoloMid is in terms of raw firepower. And considering Golden Guardians don’t have the macro prowess to outmaneuver their foes on the Rift, we’re going to have to predict a victory for TSM!

You can bet on TSM winning the TSM vs Golden Guardians LCS match for odds of 1.35 at ArcaneBet. However, both teams have huge average game times (40.1 minutes for TSM and 36.3 minutes for Golden Guardians), so you can extract more value by betting on the total game time being over 35 minutes for odds of 1.86 at the same platform.

Go To ArcaneBet »

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Kieran L.

Kieran is a gaming & esports betting enthusiast, and one of our top contributors based in Australia. He mainly follows the LoL esports scene, focusing on North America, LEC and LCK. Follow Kieran's updates, exclusive stories and bookmaker reviews.

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