LCS Playoffs Round 1 Best Bets: Will C9 Falter?

Ben Boland Published 08/09/2026

The LCS Summer regular season has finally come to a close and six teams will now do battle over the next few weeks with the hope of representing their region at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. The first round of playoffs is expected to set the tone for what is to be an exciting conclusion to the return of the LCS. Cloud9 and Shopify do battle once again, and FlyQuest takes on Sentinels. Here are some of the best LoL bets you can make for the first round of the playoffs.

Cloud9 vs Shopify Rebellion

Another split, and another playoffs for Cloud9. An organisation that is filled to the brim with championships and Worlds appearances stares down the barrel of another humiliation. It was this time last year that Cloud9 picked Shopify as their opponents in the opening round of playoffs, which came after the downfall of yet another C9 playoffs collapse.

There are a few ways to look at this series. Cloud9 is the favorite over Shopify, having only dropped a game between Sentinels, Shopify, and FlyQuest in the regular season, C9 looks poised to make Worlds. We have heard this story before, however, and over the past couple of years C9 has let their fans down time and time again. They have looked good recently, dismantling Sentinels, and edging out SR in a back and forth bo3. Here are some of the bets you could take, depending on whether you have faith in Cloud9 or not, with odds by Stake.

Take Cloud9 to win 3-1 with odds of 3.1
Take Shopify to win at 3.8 odds
Take this series to go over 3.5 maps at 2.7 odds

No odds available.
The bookmaker isn’t offering odds for this tournament, or it has already ended.

Odds are provided by third parties for informational purposes only and are subject to fluctuation.

FlyQuest vs Sentinels

Riot Games image

FlyQuest versus Sentinels is equally as interesting as the previous series. After weeks of poor performances against the teams in and around them, FlyQuest put together a solid series against Shopify, taking down the rebels 2-0 to secure a date with Sentinels. SEN, on the other hand, took a beating against Cloud9 in their last series.

Although BC Game has Sentinels as the favorite, their limitations in draft could be a hindrance down the stretch. C9 exposed Sentinels strongest picks in game one of their series, taking away the Ezreal for themselves while equally slamming Sentinels who picked Caitlyn and Bard. Many, including myself, are worried how deep Sentinels pool really goes. It looks like they are still trying to figure it out, which is a worrying sign given playoffs are only days away.

Take FlyQuest to win this series at 2.22 odds from BC Game.

No odds available.
The bookmaker isn’t offering odds for this tournament, or it has already ended.

Odds are provided by third parties for informational purposes only and are subject to fluctuation.

☑️ Editor’s view

Both series could honestly go either way — and that is the beauty of being a spectator. If C9 plays up to their standard, they will have a comfortable day out against Shopify. But if the nerves start to kick in, as has been the case in these high pressure situations, it could be a big payday for viewers betting on Cloud9 to lose. As for Sentinels, I think they will be exposed in the playoffs. They are a solid team on their picks, but take them off of them and they look lost. With playoffs being on one patch, this favors FlyQuest who did look much improved after two weeks off.

Image credit: Riot Games

Ben Boland

About Ben Boland

Ben is the Lead Editor at Win.gg, bringing a decade of iGaming industry experience having worked for both the operator and affiliation sides. With a formal journalism background, he is responsible for ensuring that every piece of content that we publish is relevant, accurate and well-written. In his own time, he enjoys playing video games and especially enjoys Rockstar titles, considering Red Dead Redemption 2 the finest title ever made. He has also spent a lot of time playing GTA V over the years and is fascinated by how streaming is changing the landscape of the industry.

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