LoL LCS Lock-In 2021 Odds to Win, Schedule, Teams & Prize Pool

• The brand new LCS Lock-In tournament begins on January 15th, 2021 at 6PM EST
• The 10 LCS teams are split into two groups of 5, with the top 4 in each advancing to the knockout stage
• The first place finisher will receive a grand prize of $150,000 USD

The 2021 LCS Lock-In Tournament is a brand new pre-season event prior to the start of the LCS season. There was a lot of changes during the off-season as every LCS team shook up their roster. The tournament begins on January 15th, 2021 with the group stage.

The groups were drafted by the top two teams from last season, as TSM and Flyquest alternatively picked teams to be in the other team’s group. Four teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which starts on January 23rd. The tournament wraps up on January 31st and all the action can be caught on Twitch.tv.lcs.

Odds to Win LCS Lock-In Tournament

Odds taken Jan. 11 at bet365

A Hectic Offseason

Another offseason in the LCS has come and gone and once again it was a whirlwind of roster changes. After not having a single team qualify for the playoffs of the 2020 World Championship, teams have shuffled players and brought in some international talent to try to strengthen their rosters. The 2021 LoL World Championship odds still aren’t convinced as Cloud9 is currently NA’s best hopes of winning at +5000.

Although they’re at +5000 on the World stage, Cloud9 made huge news in the off-season when they signed ‘PerkZ’. He was a star in Europe and helped G2 Esports make it to the final four in three consecutive World Championships.

Cloud9 is hoping that ‘PerkZ’ will bring that international experience to a team that is already fairly strong. The acquisition of ‘PerkZ’ already has Cloud9 as the favorites entering the LCS Lock-In tournament, and knowing what he’s done in Europe, it’s hard to argue with it.

Although TSM and FlyQuest were the top two teams in the LCS summer playoffs, they trail both Cloud9 and Team Liquid in the odds. For TSM, their off-season saw two LCS legends retire. Both ‘Doublelift’ and ‘Bjergsen’ announced their retirement, with ‘Bjergsen’ shifting to the head coach position for TSM.

Although losing both players is devastating, TSM signed ‘PowerofEvil’, ‘Lost’, ‘SwordArt’, and ‘Huni’ to supplement their roster. It’s a team that has a lot of potential, but there’s a few too moving parts to expect great things in their first tournament. Their star power will get them deep into things, but winning it all would be expecting too much.

Sleeping on Team Liquid

Team Liquid has the second highest odds of winning this preseason tournament, yet all the attention is focused on Cloud9. Liquid made Worlds last year as the third seed from North America, and a couple of new additions could take them to the next level. They picked up European top laner ‘Alphari’ and playmaking jungler ‘Santorin’ to their already strong roster.

Team Liquid should be Cloud9’s toughest competition and with a lot of unknowns, the value is certainly there. With new rosters competing in a new patch of the game, there’s a lot of variables that can impact who wins the 2021 LCS Lock-In tournament. However, with last year’s rookie of the year in ‘Tactical’, and the Summer Split MVP in ‘CoreJJ’, I’ll put my money on Team Liquid.

Dark Horse

With so many revamped rosters in the LCS, it’s hard to predict which teams will quickly build chemistry. Based on talent alone, there are a couple teams that could surprise the likes of C9 and Team Liquid. 100 Thieves built a strong unit in the offseason by picking up ‘Closer’, ‘Damonte’, ‘FBI’ and Huhi’.

CLG also made some notable changes by signing ‘Finn’, ‘Broxah’ and ‘WildTurtle’. Although both teams show promise, it’d be surprising to see them defeat the teams that are viewed as the strongest in the LCS.

Pick: Team Liquid (+225)