Top 5 games to watch this weekend in esports

August 26, 2021

by Brian Bencomo

Don’t know what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered. It’s a relatively quiet weekend in esports for every game except League of Legends. Champions will be crowned in both Europe (LEC) and North America (LCS), and seeding for the League of Legends World Championship will be determined for teams in both regions. Also, don’t forget to check out Nerd Street’s Rainbow Six Siege Summer Championship.

Fnatic vs. Rogue -- Saturday, 11 a.m. ET

LEC Summer Playoffs

The first big League of Legends matchup of the weekend is between Fnatic and Rogue. Both teams are going to Worlds, but whoever wins this match will ensure themselves a place in the main event. The loser will be Europe’s third seed and will have to play in the Worlds Play-In round. Rogue went 3-1 against Fnatic during the spring and summer splits, but they have not faced off in best-of-five this season.

Streams on twitch.tv/lec

100 Thieves vs. Cloud9 -- Saturday, 5 p.m. ET

LCS Championship

Like in Europe, both of these North American teams have secured Worlds spots. The difference is that this match determines who goes straight to the main event, and who will have to compete in the play-ins. Cloud9 have fallen off somewhat since the spring, but they always seem to rise to the occasion in bracket matches. After dropping to the lower bracket, they have won three straight best-of-fives, including one last week against TSM. Cloud9 beat 100 Thieves four out of six times during the spring and summer and beat them 3-0 in the Midseason Showdown, so all signs point to another C9 victory.

Streams on twitch.tv/lcs

MAD Lions vs. TBD -- Sunday, 11 a.m. ET

LEC Summer Playoffs

Despite not finishing atop the standings in either the spring or summer splits, MAD Lions have shown dominance during both the spring and summer playoffs. They beat Rogue 3-2 in the spring playoffs grand final after beating them 3-1 in the first round, and they took care of G2 Esports 3-1 in the upper bracket final. So far during the summer playoffs, they beat G2 3-1 in the first round and Rogue 3-0 in the upper final. It would be an epic upset if MAD lost to either of these teams at this point. For many years, Europe was dominated by Fnatic and G2, but now it seems that the torch has been passed to MAD Lions.

Streams on twitch.tv/lec

Team Liquid vs. TBD -- Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

LCS Championship

All signs point to another Cloud9-Team Liquid final. Both teams struggled during the summer but are peaking during the LCS Championship. They met in the preseason Lock-In tournament grand final, which TL won 3-2. They also faced off in the Mid-Season Showdown grand final, which C9 won 3-2, sending them to the Mid-Season Invitational.

If 100 Thieves beat C9 on Saturday though, we get a TL-100T grand final. That would be a rematch of their upper bracket final, which TL took 3-2. 100 Thieves have never won an LCS championship, so if they can beat Cloud9 and Team Liquid this weekend it would be their greatest accomplishment in League of Legends and grant them the No. 1 seed for North America at Worlds.

Streams on twitch.tv/lcs

TBD vs. TBD -- Sunday, 6 p.m. ET

Rainbow Six Siege Summer Championship

Nerd Street’s Summer Championships conclude this weekend with Rainbow Six Siege. The competition started Wednesday and ends Sunday with the grand final. Among the teams competing this weekend are the Kansas City Pioneers, Nerd Street July Monthly winners Team Mystic and May Monthly winners Brazilians From The Favelas. The team to watch is Brazilians From The Favelas featuring Leonardo “Kyno” Figueiredo, who is also signed to Oxygen Esports’ roster.

Streams on: twitch.tv/nerdstreet

Lead photo credit: Riot Games via ESPAT