Final Five's Consistency Wins Them the Game.

by Josh C.

Today marked the first day of the NA expansion tournament, and first up was Final Five vs Zenith Esports. Zenith is a team characterized by early leads, unconventional top-laners, and a large champion pool. This was the first set of games in the expansion tournament and after a strong first match, Zenith came in feeling like they had the upper hand. On the other hand, Final Five had a lot more veterans on their squad, and they knew that both on and off the rift they just need to sit back, relax, and slowly win their game. Read more...

Expansion Tournament Sunday Preview: Fusion Continues to Successfully Hide from their Enemies.

by Jodi "PunkLit" McClure

The Expansion Tournament continues today with six fight-ready teams, but outside of some minor hype around tourney favorites, LolPro, today is really all about Team Fusion and its top laner, Korean stand-out and all around fun guy, Yoon "MakNooN" Ha-woon. MakNooN has won over American fans with his delightfully upbeat persona, and Fusion is a 'who's who' of LCS fan favs who have never reached their full potential. We love these guys. All of these guys! And it would be great to see them happy, but before I talk about the unusual particulars of their match, let's take a look at the rest of today's offerings.  

Starting out the day is Curse's Team LolPro vs Fission eSports. Lolpro is strong coming into this series, having destroyed all comers in the Black Monster Cup. Fission, on the other hand, can be inconsistent, one moment dismantling top teams like Coast, and the next losing to ladder unknowns. Lolpro 'should' make fast work of Azingy and his mates, but I wouldn't say Fission can't be dangerous. So long as Lolpro comes to play, a 2-0 here is probable.

The second offering of the day will be Enemy Esports vs Noble Truth. Another top contender, Enemy eSports finished second in the Black Monster Cup and have been looking very strong all season, fairly dominating ranked 5s with their 'The Cackson 5' moniker. Loaded with Challenger veterans, Enemy will undoubtedly have little trouble with relative newcomers, Noble Truth.

And finally, there is what would have been the dessert of this three course meal, but unfortunately, Team Confusion has already forfeited their match. The exact circumstances aren't really known yet, but MakNooN and Fusion have officially moved on to Round 2, and while this is good for Fusion, it is potentially disastrous for their next opponent. There are literally no VODS of Fusion playing as a team, and there's a ton of them out there for Enemy. Fusion has a strong support staff too, so there's no question they'll make use of this advantage, giving them a pretty glaring edge in next week's games. For fairness's sake, here's hoping that Enemy Esports can rise to the challenge.

NA LCS Expansion Tournament Preview

by Jodi McClure

If you've been suffering withdrawal from the NA LCS, relief is just around the corner. Starting today, NA challenger teams and the top seven finishers on the NA Ranked 5s ladder will be battling it out to occupy the two open slots in the new Ten Team LCS. Both veterans and unknowns alike will be competing during this weekends' Round 1 - which will be a Best of 3 Single Elimination series.

The tournament kicks off at 2:00pm est (7:00pm GMT) with a pretty even match-up between two middle-of-the-pack teams, Zenith eSports and Final Five. Final Five has some really good players, including LCS veteran, Rhux, but pseudo-newcomers Zenith managed to beat a strong Team 8 in the Black Monster Cup. Analysts seem to be giving the slight edge to Zenith, and if karma has anything to say about it, they'll be right. Not taking away from the rest of the team, but Final Five's AD Carry, Prototype White (aka Prototype Black), was a very toxic player and he doesn't deserve to win.

Today's second match-up is between the familiar down-home roster of compLexity White and relative unknowns, Monstar Kittenz. White is coL's ladder team offering, with a line-up full of recognizable names like Westrice, goldenglue and Kez, but there's a reason why these guys aren't still on their old teams. They were all underwhelming performance-wise (and lately getting stomped in ranked 5s) but they still have confidence and experience, and that alone could help them defeat the underdog Kittenz. Plus, Lohpally is a good shotcaller in the late game, and (unlike Black) they've got the added bonus of a coaching staff backing them up. Kittenz, unfortunately, have to sub out their top laner due to age, however...I wouldn't discount them altogether. They aren't a bad team, having placed 8th on the Ranked 5s ladder - and they certainly aren't the worst this tournament has to offer. White definitely needs to show up.

The final match-up of the evening is perhaps the most lop-sided of today's offerings. Fan favorite, Team Coast, who recently added EU pros Jesiz and Impaler to their roster, is by far the stronger team than their competitors, UCLA's Call Gaming, who barely made it into the tournament as it was. Even though Coast has been a little hit or miss as of late, this should be an easy 2-0 for them.

While not in the LCS studios, the tournament will be streamed live over lolesports.com with shoutcaster teams Zirene and PiraTechnics and EGAD and Azumoh. The Tournament Bracket graphic and a listing of the Team Rosters can be found here.

The tournament continues on Sunday with three more match-ups, including a team that's received more buzz than any of the others. Be sure to keep an eye on LCS FanZone this evening for Sunday's Expansion Tournament preview!

Voyboy Parts Ways With Curse

by Jodi 'PunkLit' McClure

Curse's mainstay mid-laner, Joedat "Voyboy" Esfahani, has decided to part ways with his team. Posting on Facebook about his choice early this morning, Voyboy stated he felt the need to take a break from playing competitively so he could spend more time thinking about what he wanted to do with his future. "I did not make this decision lightly. I have agonized over this for many months, constantly weighing my options and envisioning what is in store for my future," Voyboy wrote, citing his love for his fans as being the driving force that kept him playing this long.

His facebook post went on to reassure his fans this wasn't necessarily the end of his competitive career. "To be clear, this is not my retirement. I absolutely love this game, our community and all of my fans more than anything. I will continue to play and stream League, fight for the top spots in Challenger, and 'CYA NERDS' all over people each and every day."

Veteran players who have found success in streaming can make just as much if not more money than they would have playing in the LCS. It's possible Voyboy is following in Imaqtpie's footsteps and choosing the easier, less stressful career path, an idea his fans understand but lament just the same. Esfahani's choice leaves Curse in an unusual position, as their challenger team, Curse Academy, which includes potential mid-replacement, Keane, is set to play in the expansion tournament just a few short days from now.

North America's Expansion Tournament begins November 15!

Keep an eye on FanZone for the latest schedules, standings and stats! 

Current Line Ups - NA Expansion Teams

Tentative Line Ups - EU Expansion Teams