What to Watch For: NA LCS Week 3 Preview

             

By Matt “It’s Pure Luck” Lee

So who didn't predict that after two weeks the LCS would have these current story lines: Team Gravity is in a three way tie for first, upstart Team 8 would be in a four way tie for fourth at 2-2 and Cloud 9 would sit in last place.

I admit I can’t raise my hand and say I saw this coming, but I’d argue that outside of the players on those teams, nobody really saw a start like this happening in the spring split. While I like to preach patience and a “wait and see” approach with teams like Cloud 9 (who frankly have earned benefit of the doubt with past performances), keep in mind that after this week the season will already be one third of the way through.

While I fully believe Cloud 9 can turn this around and Team 8 could plummet in the standings (the difference between 4th and last is only one game after all), the clock is starting to tick on teams like C9 and Coast who are in desperate need of at least one win this week. These games are SO crucial with the new format.

With that said, let’s take a look at three key points to look after in this upcoming set of games!

Can Hai step up for Cloud 9? – To be blunt, it has been an utterly dismal start to the season for Hai. The oft maligned midlaner for C9 must pick it up for this team to rediscover the magic it had in the past three LCS splits. The surprising factor here is that C9 looked very solid just over one month ago back at IEM San Jose. All that is forgotten now as they look completely lost. Being the main shotcaller for this team, Hai’s mental state is crucial to Cloud 9. If he can avoid tilting and keep himself calm, this NA juggernaut should be able to right the ship. C9 has two winnable games this weekend (Coast, T8) and I’d argue only winning one would be a disappointment to them.

Will the real Team Liquid Please Stand Up? – It was a great start to the season for Liquid. They managed to go 2-0 even with the absence of Piglet as IWillDominate had a masterful Week 1. Week 2 was a bit of a different story. They lost to Cloud 9 and Team SoloMid and weren't competitive in either game (they failed to pick up a kill vs TSM). I think that IWillDominate himself said it best; Liquid perhaps isn't as amazing as they played in Week 1, nor are they as poor as they played in Week 2. Now that they have had a set of real matches to play on the LCS stage with the entire roster, it will be interesting to see how Liquid try and bounce back when they take on a desperate Team Coast and a reeling Dignitas. If C9 has trouble getting their act together, I believe this is the team to beat in North America.

Always Winning Until They Lose: Can Team Coast Recover? – Since EG rebranded and multiple members of the team departed, somebody in the NA LCS had to take up the crown of “losing games that are in our grasp in painstakingly heartbreaking ways.” Team Coast have more than obliged that as they have started off this season 1-3 but I don’t think they have really played that poorly at all. In fact this is a team that is just a couple of bad decisions away from being 3-1 (one being the atrocious Baron call in the game vs Dignitas.) Yes, decision making is a crucial part of this game, but it just felt like they had all of those losses in their favor while watching. Unfortunately for Coast, it won’t get any easier this week. They take on Team Liquid in their first game and have a very crucial match against Cloud 9 on day two. 1-1 would likely be a more than acceptable result for this team this week but it’s a tough task. Maybe it’s time for a few breaks to fall in favor of this team who has played better than their record would show.

Enjoy the games this weekend everybody!

Twice is Nice; SHRC Make Second Straight Finals Appearance Against Heavy Favorite Samsung White

by Matt “It’s Pure Luck” Lee

New name. New roster (mostly). Same result for Star Horn Royal Club; a trip to the League of Legends World Championship finals. It has been a fairly surprising run for Royal as they were somewhat of an afterthought in this tournament. Before Worlds began, the general consensus about the teams representing the LPL was that if any of them were to make the finals it would have been Edward Gaming. Yet, in the end, it would SHRC who took down EDG in five games, avenging the loss they suffered to them in the LPL regional qualifiers to determine the region’s top seed.



Star Horn then moved on to face off versus another LPL opponent, this time it was surging OMG. OMG looked brilliant in dismantling Najin White Shield in their previous series. This showing had people leaning on OMG as a slight favorite to win this series, but once again SHRC had other ideas. They won what was a very entertaining, back and forth series in five games, including a dominant performance in game five to close OMG out.

Samsung White on the other hand has had about as simple a road to the finals as you could ask for. Not because of the quality of opponents they have faced. Rather, they just look so dominant in almost every performance they have. The series win against Samsung Blue was one of the most impressive performances I’ve seen in League of Legends. Samsung White didn't just win; they absolutely dismantled a team that was one of the top favorites to win this tournament. It was all the more impressive because Blue is a team that has constantly given White trouble in the past. The only loss White suffered was a lackadaisical effort versus Team SoloMid when they held a 2-0 lead in that quarterfinal series.



There is no doubt that this has been a great run for SHRC. They have shocked even themselves as Uzi mentioned that even Star Horn players were not sure they could get this far. But winning this series would require a monumental effort from the entire team, both mechanically and strategically. The biggest name on Royal is Uzi and it’s for a good reason. The argument could be made he is the best AD carry in the world. SHRC has been opting to go with the “Feed the ADC” strategy and it has been working but against a team as strategically sound as SSW it will be hard to win on that alone. And let’s keep in mind that as good as Uzi his, the other half of that “Best AD carry in the world” debate will be his opposite number in Imp. Both of these players are highly aggressive and it should be a fun match-up to watch.

Outside of the bottom lane match-up, one of the biggest keys for Star Horn will be to control their aggression. Dandy is so good and always seems to be in the right place at the right time for a counter-gank. If InSec’s decision making isn't on point, or SHRC as a whole doesn't have great vision control, a poor engage can easily spiral a game into Samsung White’s favor. That isn't to say Star Horn want to play passive. That simply isn't their style. But picking their spots is going to be more crucial in this series than ever before.

As much as I would love for this series to go to five games, I cannot see it happening. SHRC has performed admirably to get this far, especially when you consider things such as language barriers between the players and a lack of extended time playing together. But Samsung White is just playing too well at the most important time of the year. Look for SSW to hoist the Summoner’s Cup tonight and take their place as the League of Legends World Champions.

Prediction: Samsung White 3:0 over Star Horn Royal Club

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By Matt "It's Pure Luck" Lee

A Quick Look: Samsung Galaxy Blue vs Cloud 9

Matt “It’s Pure Luck” Lee

Heading into the final day of games last Sunday, it seemed to be a bleak situation for Cloud 9. A loss to Alliance on day three, followed by an Alliance upset of NaJin White Shield put C9 on the ropes and needing multiple things to fall their way. Yet, what was considered nearly unthinkable happened on the final day. Alliance was defeated by the international wild card, Kabum eSports, and Cloud 9 came right back with a clutch victory over Najin White Shield to clinch a spot in the knockout stage.

It won’t get any easier for them from here on out as they meet the OGN’s top seed next in Samsung Galaxy Blue. SSB escaped the “Group of Death” with minimal damage. The only blemish was a loss to Fnatic on the first day, but they bounced back with a vengeance and won four straight games to close the group stage. Eliminating Fnatic had to be particularly sweet for Dade, as they dealt him two losses when he was on SSW (then known as Samsung Galaxy Ozone) in the group stage last year.

This will be the biggest test Cloud 9 has ever had. As terrific a player as Dade is, the biggest challenge probably lies with Sneaky and LemonNation in the bottom lane. Deft has repeatedly shown an ability to make himself relevant in games where he falls behind, something that is very tough for the AD carry position to do. If C9 manages to grab a favorable 2v2 match-up, I’d also expect SSB to lane swap on them to try and nullify this. I’d expect Sneaky to lean towards Lucian and Corki this series. Picking Tristana will play into the hands of Samsung; as strong as she is late game, opting to try and beat a team with such great late game prowess is playing with fire.

For Cloud 9 to have a shot in this series, mid game will be key. If they allow Deft/Heart to get ahead, I’m not sure how they will manage to salvage a win. SSB can be taken advantage of early game and mid game and this where C9 must strike. They are fairly passive early on as they are fine letting games go late and winning with their superior team fighting and objective control. This was evident in most of their group stage wins outside the first victory over LMQ. It often felt as if they were just sort of cruising along before they would slam their foot on the gas and take total control.

In the game Samsung dropped versus Fnatic, we may have seen the blueprint to beating OGN’s top seed. Despite being down (albeit only 4-1) in kills, Fnatic left the lane phase with a decent-sized gold lead all around courtesy of creep score discrepancies and taking two of three dragons. After setting a trap and getting multiple picks above the Samsung blue buff in the mid game, Fnatic seemed to take total control and used the team power spike of Lucian to take over the game before Kog’Maw could become a serious issue. Fnatic snowballed the game from that point and took the easy victory, showing that as great as Samsung Blue is, they are beatable. If C9 hope to pull off the upset, this is the strategy they need to employ. Considering how well versed SSB are in best of five series, it won’t be easy.

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By Matthew "It's Pure Luck" Lee

NA LCS Week 11 Power Rankings

by Ethan “AkeyBreakyy” Akey and Matt “It’s Pure Luck” Lee

First it was Europe’s turn, now we turn our attention to the North American scene before super week gets under way!  Just a reminder, here are the criteria the teams will be judged on; it is no different than Europe.

• It’s not just your record that determines your ranking. Just because you have a better record than another team does NOT necessarily mean you are better in my eyes.  The proverbial “eye test” is incredibly important. Are you winning games narrowly or convincingly? Did you go 2-0 in a week where you trailed in both games but the other team made massive mistakes and it allowed you to come back? How a team looks is very important.
• Results from the past few weeks.
• General trends of a team’s performance vs upper-echelon opponents in the league. Playing well vs the top tier teams is obviously more impressive than crushing the bottom three constantly.
• A team’s performance historically. This will weight a bit less, but a team like Fnatic will get more of a pass when they are struggling a bit than someone like the Copenhagen Wolves will.

So let’s get right down to it!

1) Cloud 9 (15-9) – Not much room for debate here. Their win over current top-of-the-table LMQ on Sunday was as dominating a performance as we have seen from any team this entire split. Currently sitting at 5-1 in their last six games and 7-3 in their last ten, Cloud 9 seem to have gotten over the middle season slump they had been in. One other impressive thing to note about Cloud 9 is their record vs the other teams in the top six of the standings. The only teams they do not have a chance to grab a 3-1 record versus are compLexity and Team SoloMid. LMQ has been good and currently hold first place, but everything points to Cloud 9 still being the team to beat in North America.
-Matt

2) LMQ (16-8) – While LMQ clings to the top of the LCS standings, their devastating loss to Cloud 9 last week has dropped them to our #2 spot. Like Cloud 9, LMQ has a 5-1 record for their previous six matches  - their only loss coming from Cloud 9, who hold a 3-1 record against them. The only other teams LMQ has a losing record against are Curse and Dignitas, both of whom face them in Week Eleven. If LMQ can pull wins off in both matches, C9 will be their only losing record.
-Ethan

3) Team SoloMid (15-9) – Week Ten was a very good week for TSM as they went 2-0, including a big win over slumping arch-rival Counter Logic Gaming. It wouldn't have been surprising if TSM had instead struggled the final two weeks of the season while they adjusted to their roster change, but it turned out not to be an issue. One knock against them is that they have been awful vs the top teams in the league, but I’m not sure that is entirely true. Against the top six, they sport a record of 7-10 which isn't great, but neither is it as terrible as it’s been made out to be. They are also the only team in the top six (and one of only two in the league) to have winning record vs Cloud 9. The major blemishes are the current 0-3 marks vs LMQ and Dignitas, and they will get a shot at both of them this weekend. A bye into the semifinals would be perhaps more important to TSM than any other team; the more time Lustboy and WildTurtle have to play together, the better off they are.
-Matt

4) Counter Logic Gaming (13-11) – After falling 0-2 in Week 10, and losing to their rivals, TSM, we have CLG sitting in the fourth position. Entering Week Eleven, CLG currently only holds positive win records over three of the four  bottom ranked teams. With their most recent loss to TSM, CLG now sits with a even 2-2 record against them. With their starting roster sitting out Week Eleven in order to attend boot camp in Korea to prepare for playoffs, it is highly likely that CLG will land in the fourth or fifth place semifinal spot. We can’t really judge CLG on how well their substitute roster will play, but from recent showings, CLG has fallen to our fourth spot.
-Ethan

5) Curse (10-14) – Curse is one of the more bizarre teams in the North American LCS. They currently sport winning records vs each of LMQ, CLG and Dignitas respectively. And yet at the same time, they are 1-2 vs Complexity and 1-3 vs EG.  Curse have been playing fairly well since they had a poor 3-7 start with a 7-7 streak since then. While nothing amazing, it’s at a level of what you would expect from a team that’s in the middle of the pack in the standings. Despite the fact they are two games behind Dignitas, Curse gets the nod in this spot with the free fall Dignitas are currently in.
-Matt

6) Dignitas (12-12) – While Dignitas does hold the better record over Curse,  they are another bizarre team that holds winning records over top teams such as LMQ and TSM. At the same time, Dignitas is also 1-3 vs Complexity and 1-2 vs Curse. Dignitas opened the Summer Split with a stunning 7-2 record into Week Five. Since then, Dignitas hasn't had a positive win record from any week. Even though they have two games on Curse, by going 1-5 in the past 3 weeks of the LCS, Team Dignitas falls down to our sixth spot.
-Ethan

7) Evil Geniuses (7-17) – EG had a rough super week back in Week Seven when they went 0-4. But since then they have played to the tune of a .500 record, winning three out of their past six games and beating Curse twice and CLG once. EG also seems to be the team who lose more heartbreaking games than anybody else (Curse might argue that point though), often giving some of the top tier teams all that they can handle. More often than not, it seems that Altec is the catalyst for this team, especially if he gets his hands on Twitch or Tristana. It will be interesting to see how the Evil Geniuses finish the season as they draw both Cloud 9 and LMQ this week.
-Matt

8) compLexity (8-16) – Now that we have reached the bottom of our rankings, it’s hard for fans to not expect compLexity to sit at the eighth spot. The difficult decision of whether coL or EG should be at the bottom was decided by the potential that EG shows against top-tiered teams, compared to what compLexity has to show. The only glimpse of light that compLexity has shown this season is the winning record they have over Cloud 9, although one of these wins was coming out of a Super Week when it's easier to snipe a top tier team. In the past six games, compLexity is 2-4, and they haven’t had a winning week at all this split. It will be interesting to see how they fare against Evil Geniuses this week, as they could potentially can finish the season off with a draw.
-Ethan