This week in the NA LCS sees Echo Fox, the current number 1 team in the North American standings, taking on Clutch Gaming, the current number 3 team. The first match for week 8 should prove to be a very interesting game to watch.

Clutch Gaming are coming off an excellent week, managing to walk away with a 2-0 record to lock in their spot in Playoffs. While the matches they faced were not against super impressive teams, they still put up very good stats, especially from mid laner Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten, who showed fans exactly what to do when playing Azir. If last week doesn’t prove that this is a must ban against him, then heaven help the rest of the teams.

Clutch Gaming are locked into the playoffs now (LoL Esports Photos, Flickr)

By comparison, Echo Fox only managed to go 1-1 last week, and while they took down OpTic Gaming, they fell prey to an extreme upset by losing to the Golden Guardians. For Echo Fox, win or lose they still manage to pull great performances out of jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, and mid laner Kim “Fenix” Jae-hun. Echo Fox will need to make sure they have their A-game when it comes to squaring off against Clutch Gaming this week. Clutch is likely to have seen the Guardians match and will be looking to exploit those weaknesses in the once-thought undaunted armor of the Echo Fox game.

Echo Fox may have had a rough week, but they should bounce back (LoL Esports Photos, Flickr)

The last time these two teams met, it was a very decisive victory for Echo Fox, managing to control the map and bully Clutch Gaming away from neutral objectives, despite it being a relatively low kill game. Much of this game will be decided in the mid lane, as Fenix and Febiven battle for supremacy.

For more information on when these teams are facing off, check out the Official Schedule page here, and for more League of Legends content, check out whether fans are watching more NA LCS than previously.