The NA LCS anime will come to a thrilling conclusion this weekend as protagonist King Doublelift and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse play host to the challengers — Sneakyweeb, the Swole Bros, the Smol Bros, Kid Licorice, and the Z Fighter. Team Liquid will clash against Cloud9 to determine who will become North America’s top seed at Worlds. Will TL’s steady focus around their star marksman prevail, or will Cloud9’s deep roster outmaneuver and leave the Liquid herd in the dust? Here’s 10 thoughts going into Finals — this time highlighting 10 big storylines to watch for!

#1 Doublelift aims to tie Bjergsen for most all-time NA LCS Championship wins

In his earlier years, a young and brash Doublelift once declared, “Everyone else is trash.” He’s since learned that it’s better to just prove it. We are all trash, and he is the garbage man coming for his dues. He’s en route to his sixth straight NA LCS Finals, having won the last three he’s played in and four out of five overall. And, once again, his team’s strategy is heavily reliant around propping him up for success. In their 3-1 Semifinals victory over the 100 Thieves, he accumulated 40 to 50 CS leads over Rikara in every single game by 20 minutes. Some of you reading this can barely get 40 to 50 CS period (ayyyy). Win or lose, I think he’s made it clear he’s the greatest NA-born player ever, but a victory could solidify him as the greatest NA LCS player period. So if you’re a C9 fan, there’s no final boss more fitting.

#2 The Swole Brothers’ redemption arc seeks a happy ending

Goldenglue and Svenskeren have been flamed more than the city of Ba Sing Se when it was sieged by the Fire Nation for 600 days. But like the earth benders, they’ve been resolute and have held steadfast. Facing a 1-2 deficit against TSM over the weekend, they were subbed in to save C9’s season. And, honestly, I think most of us had the same kind of reaction — it was hard to tell if the move was a meme. Given history, you’d say yes, of course — they would lose and C9 would be roasted for the decision until the end of time. But given the Swole Bro’s most memorable performance this split was an absolute demolition of TL late in the season, you also thought, “Well, maybe…” And, of course, they went on to win and in convincing fashion at that. I don’t think many people would say Goldenglue is a better player than Jensen, but one could reasonably argue the team is better when he’s in (with Svenskeren). And given they trotted the pair out the last time these two teams squared up, it wouldn’t at all be surprising if they started the Finals.

#3 Pobelter will be attacked

The last time these two teams squared off, C9 pointedly attacked the mid lane repeatedly and made Pobelter look like a 200 elo player instead of a 200 IQ player. If a team can push down the mid lane early, it makes it much easier for their mid laner to roam around and make plays. When playing against Team Liquid, I think you can basically ignore their top lane — you should figure Impact will be relevant no matter what as a tank, so that leaves mid and bot, and generally the main person you need to keep down is Doublelift. But Liquid knows that, too, and so they invest a lot of resources into making sure he gets ahead. So by exploiting mid first, you can guarantee a numbers advantage for your team in the bot lane because your mid laner will always have priority. TL wins by rotating their bot lane around after they secure their turret first. If you can prevent that from happening, then you prevent their main win condition. All of this is, of course, easier said than done, but I expect TL to actually invest a lot more into Pobelter this go-around. They need to just trust that Doublelift and Olleh can win lane against the much less experienced Sneaky/Zeyzal combo. Essentially, I think whoever wins the mid lane matchup will win the series.

#4 Jensen vies for his first championship

Does this count as a win if he doesn’t even play? If Goldenglue and Svenskeren start and sweep TL — unlikely as that may sound — then that definitely puts an asterisk on Jensen’s first title with C9. That’s not to diminish the role he’d have played behind the scenes — all the practice and even the fact of getting them here in the first place, but fact stands that he wouldn’t have played a game on stage. It’s not an impossible scenario from C9’s perspective. As long as they don’t get stomped in the first loss, I’d expect Goldenglue and Svenskeren to be allowed to be pushed to match point before subbing in Jensen and Blaber. I personally hope he receives an opportunity to redeem himself on stage — one of my favorite scenarios to imagine is having two players on opposing teams each rack up quadra kills in a team fight and then duking it out for the penta. And in the C9 vs. TL version of this dream, to me, Jensen represents C9. He’s their best individual player, and the fan base has been waiting on him to deliver a championship for over four years. So if not now, then when?

#5 Sneaky is the sole member remaining from C9’s 2014 Championship

You know how a bunch of the Overwatch shorts feature one of the heroes holding a dusty picture of the old crew? That’s kind of how I imagine Sneaky some nights. What was once the greatest team of players NA has ever seen is nothing but an afterthought now. It’s not just that his old teammates aren’t on C9 anymore — they aren’t even in the league. If you traveled back to the 2013 Summer Split, you’d have been hard pressed to convince anyone Sneaky would have the longest career. He was essentially a utility player for that squad, but over the years, he’s developed into one of the strongest and most consistent players in the league. It’s pretty neat for me to see the history that’s transpired in the time since C9’s last championship. Sneaky can complete his maturation as a player with a win in the finals over Doublelift, who created a meme around Sneaky’s lane phase being poor that persists to this day. Behind the goofy cosplays and the memes is a player dedicated to winning, and seeing him rise to occasion in a serious moment would be a fitting tribute to the evolution of this organization.

#6 Impact against his former team

Last year, I remember writing that Impact was Cloud9’s shield, and his alternate then, Ray, was the sword. Impact was a trustworthy tank that served as a key backbone for whatever C9 wanted to do. Thanks to him, they excelled at team fights. He’s since gone on to provide that exact service for Team Liquid. His replacement on C9, Licorice, has been adept at both — being that shield and at being the sword. Because of this, he’s generated a lot of MVP buzz in an overall dominant split — just his second as a pro. When C9 was struggling, he showed off his prowess as the lone symbol of hope for the team. And then when they started to win, he showed off he could adjust his style to fit whatever composition called for him. Last split in the Playoffs, his playstyle was a little one-dimensional in that he just always played aggressively, but now he’s capable of pulling his foot off the pedal to better absorb blows. His matchup against Impact will either show C9 fans what they’ve lost or what they’ve gained in top over the year. And it’s the perfect chance for him to justify the MVP calls and etch his name permanently in the C9 lore.

#7 Blaber, Zeyzal, and the rookie blues

Imagine taking a practice a test for, say, the SAT. Not much pressure — just practice, right? Now imagine doing it for real — you’re in the room with a hundred people. The room is a little colder than you imagined. There’s an analog clock on the wall that you can barely read these days, and what if that breakfast starts to rumble? What if you didn’t study enough? Still not a big deal? Okay, now imagine 20,000 people sitting in the room with you — just watching you. Suddenly it’s a little different, huh? Neither Blaber, Zeyzal, or Licorice have ever experienced a crowd like that they’ll see in Oakland on Sunday. I think players are really good at talking at a big game — no one ever wants to look “weak” by saying they’re affected by nerves, but there’s a lot of visible pressure that hits players on stage. There are, of course, some people who rise to and live for those moments. For all of Team Liquid, this isn’t even close to the biggest moment of their careers. They’ve already qualified for Worlds, and C9 is just a stepping stone. But C9 must win to secure Worlds, lest they fall into the grind that is the gauntlet. And I just wonder if these guys will be able to adjust their nerves in time.

#8 Xmithie — the greatest NA jungler ever?

Xmithie is the type of guy where if a bird pooped on him, he’d take a selfie and say, “Haha, shit happens!” because he is absolutely immune to being tilted. Through the years, he’s been traded from team to team despite being successful on each of them. Every single team he’s been on has been to Worlds — first Vulcun, then CLG, IMT, and now TL. And each time, he’s been the unsung hero of the squad — never one to receive that much praise. And maybe that’s all the more fitting for his style. He’s never been a particularly flashy player, and he’s not a Solo Queue star or a big-time streamer. Hell, the most notable thing about him might be that his family goes to his games and his dad high fives all of his teammates. He’s so wholesome it seems almost unrealistic — like, you almost want it to be revealed that his family is a bunch of paid actors or something. But no! They’re real. Just like Xmithie. I know when I’m playing LoL, I want a jungler who just ganks for me and doesn’t flame or demand anything from me — it’s selfish, yeah, but it makes it so much easier for me as a laner. I want the guy that goes 1-3-11 every time if it means the deaths were to keep me alive. I bet pro laners are similar — and that’s what Xmithie brings to the table. A win here would be his 4th championship, which would put him in elite company with only a handful of players. So, on the All-Time NA LCS junglers list, who could you reasonably place above him?

#9 Third place exhibition

Aside from the Finals, the third place match will take place on Saturday between the 100 Thieves and TSM. This matchup actually has some major implications for TSM — if they win, they’ll be the 2nd seed in the gauntlet, and if they lose, they’ll be 3rd. It doesn’t matter for 100 aside from pride and morale. Being the 2nd seed means you avoid the first Best-of-5, and for TSM, that means avoiding Clutch, who they have some unfavorable history with. 100’s fate is in the hands of the finalists — if TL wins, they qualify for Worlds, and if C9 wins, 100 becomes the final boss in the gauntlet. 100 in particular could use the automatic jump to Worlds as they just haven’t looked inspiring lately, but qualifying for Worlds would give them a month to adequately prepare and address their issues. For TSM — they just endured a grueling 10-game playoff run, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to defeat C9. Something seems to be off about their mid-game lane assignments, as they appear slow on the map, and big early tower deficits cost them dearly against C9. If they can solve that, they still have the individual talent to recover in the gauntlet.

#10 The stakes at hand

So who’s going to win? Well, let me offer this insight for you — some of these questions most desk analysts won’t even think to ask. Which logo would win in a fight? Cloud9 — not even close. A horse can’t even fly. What a dummy — it’d also just get zapped by lightning. Its only option would be to offer itself up as a gift and hope the Cloud9 lets it in, but that’s a 3000 year old trick. We all know it!! Which team has Doublelift? Team Liquid. Whose dad is stronger? Jack’s actually dad, so C9 wins. Final verdict? C9. I’ve been hesitant to get on this train all split because C9 has a history of crushing my heart, but to hell with my heart! I expect C9 to take this series 3-2 in another comeback. The biggest difference for me is that C9 is a more versatile team — both in that they literally have roster options they can flex and in the playstyles of those rosters. Licorice can bring carry top laners to the table more effectively than Impact. Sneaky has proven more adept at mages and off-meta champs like Quinn than Doublelift, and then C9’s mid and jungle duos both bring different types of synergies and champions to the table. I think it’ll take a few games, but I expect them to eventually identify what they need to do to knock out Liquid in an extended series, and I don’t expect Liquid to be able to counter the adaptations.