100 Thieves Academy playing in LCS could affect potential playoff picture

100 Thieves has announced that they would be playing their 100 Thieves Academy team in their final League of Legends Championship Series game of the season . While they have already secured first place, the decision impacts the three-way tie right beneath them in the standings. Evil Geniuses, Cloud 9 and Team Liquid are all tied, and Evil Geniuses will have a chance to face a supposedly weakened 100 Thieves roster.

With a top 2 finish locked in for the regular season, we will be playing our Academy roster for tomorrow's LCS match to give our LCS team extra time to prep for playoffs & our Academy team an opportunity to play on the big stage!@tenacityna@KenviLoL@Ryoma1@lugerlol@poomelol pic.twitter.com/mnCNo2Hz7f

— 100 Thieves Esports (@100T_Esports) August 1, 2021

The primary reason for 100 Thieves to start their academy team this week is to give them an opportunity to play on the big stage according to the organization’s statement. The team has also secured second place for the 2021 summer split.

100 Thieves Academy ended third this season and also third in Proving Grounds. A roster with ex-LCS players such as Tommy “ry0ma” Le, Philippe “Poome” Lavoie-Giguere and Head Coach Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer will be looking to make a splash against Evil Geniuses in the final week of LCS play by potentially upsetting an already close playoff race.

The decision looks like an opportunity for the Academy team to gain experience. However the decision could severely impact the current LCS standings. Evil Geniuses might have gained a potential advantage in this week’s matches due to the roster swap. Lucas “Santorin” Larsen, Team Liquid’s jungler, called the decision “disrespectful” in a reply to the original announcement. He cited that the changes would affect Cloud9 the most, as a loss this week would put them in fourth place.

Usually I would agree with giving academy players stage time but you're doing it while it could affect the standings / seeding for playoffs AND it's played from home.. honestly pretty disrespectful especially for C9 who could potentially be affected the most from this decision.

— Lucas Larsen (@Santorin) August 1, 2021

The complaint has been met with criticism, with most fans saying that it is within the organizations right to play their Academy team. The team will feature three players on the 100 Thieves Academy team that have never gotten an LCS start before. This week will feature the debut of Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij, Shane “Kenvi” Kenneth Espinoza and Fatih “Luger” Güven to the LCS stage.