It would only make sense that on the eve of America’s day of independence, that like majestic fireworks Phoenix1 would finally rise from the ashes AND KILL OUR GODDAMN THREE TEAM TEASER. Salty bellyaching aside, Week 5 of the North American League Championship series gave way to the middle of the split, and teams are beginning to round out in form as they race towards the playoffs.

Phoenix1’s victory has began a ripple among the bottom half of the table, as its defeat of Apex Gaming has opened the door for Counter Logic Gaming to sneak into the final playoff spot. CLG’s downward spiral following an impressive second place finish at the Mid-Season Invitational has been compounded by a regression in play by top laner Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaya. Darshan’s failure seems even all the more harmful due to the current split-push top lane meta that was once his bread and butter. This decline has lead to more pressure placed on Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun who, unsurprisingly, has melted in the hot Los Angeles sun.

Team Liquid has flourished, cooling off the hot start by Team EnvyUs and raining on Cloud9’s top three parade. Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett has continued to run rampant over opposing jungers as Liquid’s swap to AD carry Jovani “fabbbyyy” Guilien has freed up resources and utility duty to allow Dardoch to do what he does best: carry. With a matchup looming against spring split MVP jungler Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin and Immortals on Saturday, Dardoch and friends look to avenge a Week 4 loss and ride a red hot streak into the top three.

Despite Phoenix1’s arrogance in the face of our gambling prowess, we’re still in the black and looking continue providing the keys to making free money. That said, in light of recent gambling scandals in Counter-Strike, remember to be smart out there. And if you ever find yourself struggling to keep the fun of gambling in check, don’t be afraid to reach out and get help. We’re here for fun on this podcast, and we’re dedicated to making sure it stays that way for you lovely listeners. Enjoy the episode, and come back next Wednesday as we breakdown the wild wild west of Tie-land (Europe).

On today’s episode of the Rough Drafts Podcast, Chase “RedShirtKing” Wassenar and Walter “Ceades” Fedczuk bask in the glory of Immortals and Team SoloMid so far this split while pausing to consider which team has a chance to threaten either of them. Together, they break down whether Team Liquid has finally arrived, just how far Counter Logic Gaming has fallen, and what in the world has happened to Apex. They close by giving their smart money bets of the week.

Be sure to subscribe to the Esports Rough Drafts Podcast on iTunes to keep up with every episode here. And if you happened to leave a nice review along the way, that’d be cool too.

Go to Unikrn today to bet alongside all your favorite esports matches for the chance to win awesome prizes.