Smite

 by Nolan Evans

SMITE Masters: Spacestation Gaming day two recap

In the second matchup of North American vs European teams this season, Europe once again came out the victors.

In similar fashion to their regional scrim partners eUnited, Spacestation Gaming lost their quarterfinal set against Team Dignitas 2-1 at the SMITE Masters LAN event. The loss places Spacestation into the losers bracket in the tournament, giving them a win or go home, three-set path to the final. That path will potentially include yet another face-off between Spacestation and eUnited, two teams that know each other well. However, Spacestation must first get past the Latin American representatives in Nocturns Gaming, a team that looked the strongest in a relatively weak international field.

Game 1 – (Dig)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Achilles (2/2/6)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Ravana (3/1/7)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Poseidon (2/2/7)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Sylvanus (1/2/7)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Jing Wei (3/4/5)

SSG bans: Terra, Sobek, Hercules, Fafnir

DIG picks:

Solo: Harry “Variety” Cumming – Aphrodite (1/3/4)

Jungle: Anders “QvoFred” Korsbo – Serqet (4/2/3)

Mid: Joakim “Zyrhoes” Verngren – Janus (1/0/5)

Support: Jeppe “Trixtank” Gylling – Amaterasu (0/2/7)

ADC: Kenny “Arkkyl” Kuska – Rama (5/4/6)

DIG bans: Athena, Ullr, Geb, Artemis

In order for Spacestation to have won this game, they needed to get off to a strong start. The picks they made were all about the early pressure, with the hopes of snowballing to a quick and decisive victory.

Dignitas on the other hand drafted a dream late game composition. Their main goal was to keep it close until Aphrodite, Rama and Amaterasu could take over the game.

Unfortunately for Spacestation, they were not able to build a large enough lead to avoid going to the late game. Dignitas won the objective war, securing two Gold Furies, zero Pyromancers, and two Fire Giants. Spacestation however secured only one Gold Fury, two Pyromancers, and one Fire Giant.

This back and forth close action was exactly what Dignitas wanted, as they were able to take complete control of the game around the 30 minute mark.

QvoFred on Serqet proved to be a real thorn in Spacestation’s side. However, it was Variety’s superb play on Aphrodite that will leave a sour taste in Spacestation’s mouth.

Spacestation had the opportunity to snowball on Aphrodite’s weak early game, but Aquarius and andinster were not able to turn their pressure into invades to put the squishy mage far enough behind. That failure led to Dignitas closing out the game in 38 minutes.

Player of the game: Variety

Game 2 – (SSG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Achilles (4/4/5)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Serqet (9/1/9)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Apollo (8/3/10)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Sylvanus (0/2/13)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Hachiman (3/3/11)

SSG bans: Janus, Terra, Ravana, Ratatoskr

DIG picks:

Solo: Harry “Variety” Cumming – Sobek (1/2/10)

Jungle: Anders “QvoFred” Korsbo – Nemesis (10/3/2)

Mid: Joakim “Zyrhoes” Verngren – Discordia (1/6/4)

Support: Jeppe “Trixtank” Gylling – Fafnir (1/6/6)

ADC: Kenny “Arkkyl” Kuska – Rama (0/7/7)

DIG bans: Athena, Ullr, Jing Wei, Artemis

The story of game two was all about Spacestation’s ability to invade Dignitas’s red buff. Repeatedly, Spacestation was able to group to get a four man invade into the Dignitas left side jungle, coming away with kills and the coveted buff.

Their strategy not only gave them a lead, but gave them pressure on the left side of the map. This pressure turned into complete objective control, as Spacestation secured all three Gold Furies in the game.

QvoFred and Variety did all they could to keep Dignitas in the game, but andinster on Serqet was too much for Dig to handle. The initiation, mobility and burst damage that Serqet provides could not be adequately countered by either team in this set.

Ultimately it was Baskin piloting Apollo that denied Dignitas from two Fire Giant attempts, allowing Spacestation to build their lead and close out the game in 33 minutes.

Player of the game: andinster

Game 3 – (DIG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Achilles (1/3/0)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Ravana (1/7/2)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Jing Wei (0/2/0)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Sylvanus (0/2/2)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Jing Wei (1/5/0)

SSG bans: Janus, Terra, Amaterasu, Aphrodite

DIG picks:

Solo: Harry “Variety” Cumming – Sobek (1/0/7)

Jungle: Anders “QvoFred” Korsbo – Serqet (11/0/7)

Mid: Joakim “Zyrhoes” Verngren – Thoth (2/2/11)

Support: Jeppe “Trixtank” Gylling – Kumbhakarna (1/0/14)

ADC: Kenny “Arkkyl” Kuska – Rama (4/1/10)

DIG bans: Athena, Ullr, Apollo, Poseidon

It was the QvoFred show in game three. In a third straight game of Serqet dominating the field, QvoFred was able to do anything he wanted. His early gank on duo lane completely shut down Spacestation’s strategy of invading Dignitas’s red buff, and ultimately gave Dignitas complete control of the map.

Without the same level of pressure and map control as in game two, Spacestation quickly lost in both kills and objectives. Wherever QvoFred went, a kill was likely soon to follow him, as he was involved in 18 of Dignitas’s 19 kills in a 23 minute game.

This game was a sloppy performance by Spacestation, closing out an entertaining set in a disappointing fashion for the top North American seed.

Player of the game: QvoFred

Takeaways

Spacestation showed that while they are capable of putting forth a competitive set against European competition, they still are not able to take that next step to win. Games one and two were close games that could have gone either way, but game three was all Dignitas.

While Baskin did not have a bad set, Dignitas was able to do enough to keep him from controlling the game in games one and three.

Don’t expect andinster to go back to the Ravana for the rest of the tournament. While the god itself is not bad in the jungle, two straight poor performances will likely force Spacestation to look at other options.

High mobility was king in this set. Gods like Serqet, Amaterasu, Apollo and Janus dominated their respective roles. Expect to see a lot more of this style going forward.

Double hunter and four physical compositions proved to be viable in game two. With the strength of anti-tank items and the objective shred capability of hunters, having a balance of magical burst damage is not necessarily required in this meta. Look for Spacestation to go back to this strategy later in the tournament.

BaRRaCCuDDa looked to be refreshed in his first LAN set of the season. After struggling to provide an impact throughout much of the spring split, the North American ADC showed flashes of greatness in games one and two.

If Spacestation wants to keep their LAN dreams alive, they can’t afford to have a repeat of their game three performance.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Nolan Evans

Top image courtesy of Hi-Rez Studios.

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Hi-Rez Expo DreamHack
 by Philip Cole Young

Hi-Rez Expo to Move to DreamHack

Hi-Rez Expo (HRX) has been its own standalone event for three years. But soon, that’s going to change. This year, Hi-Rez is breaking tradition by holding HRX and the Smite World Championship within the DreamHack Atlanta Festival. The response from Smite fans has been mixed. Let’s look at the event with a critical eye, and see what’s good and bad about the Hi-Rez Expo DreamHack change.

The Bad

Audience at DreamHack Expo

Image courtesy of Georgia.org

The most immediate negative responses to the event were based on the new timing. DreamHack is held on November 16th through 18th, months before HRX’s early January date. Students with exams during that time, and people celebrating Thanksgiving will have trouble finding time in their schedule to attend the event. Late November is a busy time in many people’s lives, and other things will likely take priority to going to an esports event.

Another complaint about the change stems from the removed sense of community. Hi-Rez Expo was the only large gathering specifically for fans of Smite and Paladins. By becoming part of a larger event, Hi-Rez fans will no longer be isolated. Part of the draw of HRX for many people was getting to meet fellow Smite fans in a Smite centered environment.

But not everything about this change is negative.

The Good

The most obvious benefit of this shift is in attendance. HRX has consistently sold out every year, and it has only gotten bigger after incorporating Paladins into the mix. With DreamHack, there’s a much bigger venue. More Smite fans than ever before will have the opportunity to attend the event. And not only that, but DreamHack tickets are much cheaper than HRX tickets would be. While the timing of the event may prevent some people from going, the lowered price and the larger venue might may make up for that.

Hi-Rez has also claimed that the larger event space will let them provide more events to attendees. Panels, developer meetings, and a bigger stage are among the benefits of moving to DreamHack.

But potentially the biggest upside to DreamHack is the exposure the game will receive. Being a part of a larger event means that people attending or watching the stream for other games will see Smite at its best. The world championships are the perfect time to expose new players to Smite, when everyone’s passion for the game is at its highest. If moving HRX to DreamHack results in a bunch of new players getting into the game, then it will certainly have been worth it.

Overall

This change to HRX change may seem entirely positive or negative, depending on your perspective. If you’re someone that can’t attend or watch the event because of poor timing, it’s unlikely that you’ll view this change favorably. If you care more about the atmosphere of the isolated Smite community than how the Smite community contributes to esports culture as a whole, you’re going to be disappointed. But it’s important to see the bright side of Hi-rez Expo being at DreamHack. If the event can manage to draw new players to the game, then perhaps this change will be a net benefit to the Smite community. The only thing we can do now is wait and see.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Philip.

Top image courtesy of the Official Smite Twitter account.

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Hunter Builds
 by Philip Cole Young

Hunter Builds: Crit vs Qin’s

Ever since the beginning of Season 2, Hunters have had a choice between two distinct builds. In past seasons the choice has often been easy. But in the current patch the two builds are more even than they’ve been in years. In the Smite Pro League, the preferred build varies wildly from player to player, and game to game. So, which of the two Hunter builds is best? Let’s figure out the pros and cons of each build path.

Crit’s pros

Critical damage builds are the classic Hunter build. In the last few seasons they fell out of favor, being slowly replaced by the penetration and Qin’s Sais build. But in Season 5, Crit builds on hunters are viable once again.

The biggest strength of a Crit build is its ability to burst down squishy members of the opposing team. Once you’ve got two Crit items finished, it only takes two or three lucky shots to take down opposing Mages, Assassins and Hunters. Having the potential to take enemies down in nearly an instant will make those classes play carefully around you, and will likely net you a couple cheeky kills along the way.Hunter Builds

Another more recent bonus to the Crit build is the item Poisoned Star. While this item was added a while back, it’s only recently become a staple in Crit builds. Poisoned Star slows any enemies you Crit by 20%. But more importantly, it also reduces their damage output by 20%. This item both adds a good amount of utility to the Crit build, letting you take an enemy God’s damage down a notch.

But not everything is amazing about the Crit build.

Crit’s cons

The biggest problem with Crit builds is dealing with tanks. Crit builds already tend to be worse at dealing with tanks than their Qin’s Sais counterparts due to having less penetration. But when the enemy tanks properly counter build against Crit, your problems only get worse.

Thorns is a gigantic threat to any Hunter building Crit. Once that purple plant covers a tank you’re fighting, you have no choice but to immediately stop fighting and start running. Any hits you land on the enemy tank won’t deal much damage to them, but the damage reflected back to you will be massive. And unless you have super human reaction speeds, one or two stray basic attacks will inevitably hit their Thorns. And if one of them Crits, you’re going to take a lot of damage. If they supplement their Thorns with a Hide of the Nemean Lion, things only get worse.

In addition to Thorns, Season 5 has added a new counter to Crit: Spectral Armor. This item reduces the bonus damage of critical strikes by 50%. Even when Thorns is down, tanks are now much harder to kill for Crit builds.

Qin’s Sais builds

The Qin’s build’s biggest pro and its biggest con are a reverse of the Crit build’s: It’s great against tanks, but falls a little short when fighting other damage classes.

The Qin’s build still deals respectable damage to the squishier classes, but is far less threatening to them than Crit is. On the flip side, tanks have a hard time dealing with them. With the ability to build more penetration items, less damage reflected by Thorns, and no counter building options like Spectral Armor, enemy tanks will fear a Qin’s Sais hunter.

Another big advantage to Qin’s builds is their adaptability. Crit builds have to build two or three Crit items, and one of them is nearly always Deathbringer. When you factor in that they need Boots, a Devourer’s Gauntlet for Lifesteal, and either Executioner or Titan’s Bane for penetration, there’s not a lot of room to breathe on a Crit build.

A Qin’s build, on the other hand, can fit in any weird counter building item you want. The core of your damage comes from just Qin’s Sais and a good penetration item or two, so other than that you can just build to your team’s needs. If there are a ton of tanks, you might want to get both Titan’s Bane and Executioner. Feel like you need extra lifesteal? You can grab Asi and Devourer’s Gauntlet. Want to deal more damage to their whole group? Try Odysseus Bow.

The other big advantage to the Qin’s build is that it’s fairly cheap. Qin’s Sais is a decently expensive item, but compared to the important Crit item Deathbringer, it’s very affordable. And because you don’t need so many items to get your damage online, you do so much sooner in the game.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Hunter builds are no longer about which build path is objectively better. In Season 5, you have to be adaptable. If the enemy team is full of tanks, and you’re having trouble dealing with them, maybe pivot into a Qin’s Sais build. On the other hand, if they’ve got mostly squishy Gods, a Crit build is going to perform a lot better.

Your god choice can also affect which build is better. Gods like Ullr that like to build Transcendence will find it easier to build into Qin’s Sais. On the flip side, some gods like Jing Wei and Artemis have Crit already built into their kit. The age of cookie cutter Hunter builds is coming to an end, and you’re going to have to think on your toes when buying items on hunters now.

Which build do you prefer? Go ahead and leave your thoughts in the comments.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Philip.

All images courtesy of smite.gamepedia.com

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Assassin Solo
 by Philip Cole Young

What makes a good Assassin Solo?

In Season Five, some Assassins have been making big waves in the solo lane. The most obvious Assassin to come to mind would be Camazotz, the most picked Assassin solo. But he’s not alone: Nemesis and Ne Zha have both seen decent success in the solo lane this split.

But that doesn’t apply to all Assassins. In fact, most Assassins can’t compete with their Warrior and Guardian opponents in solo lane. So what makes these three Assassins special, and are there any other Assassins that could work in solo lane?

Sustain

Winning lane in solo is all about getting positive health trades with your opponent. And in terms of trades, any healing you give to yourself is worth practically the same as damage to your opponent.

Thankfully for Camazotz and Ne Zha, they have some of the best health sustain in the game. Camazotz has some healing on nearly all of his abilities: his passive gives him healing and mana from his Essence Pools, he gets a lifesteal buff and a heal from his Vampire Bats, and Devour gives him yet another heal. All of this healing combines to let him out-trade nearly any God he goes up against.

Ne Zha may not have as many different sources of healing, but his heal is still incredibly powerful. Not only does it give him back 15% of his health, but it does so immediately, rather than over time like many other heals. And as long as his passive is stacked, he can use it to heal in-between waves.

The odd one out of this trio is Nemesis, who has no heal. But her shield can fill a similar role. While your shield is up, you win trades automatically since they aren’t dealing damage to your health.

Clear

Like any other lane, solos benefit from clearing minion waves quickly. If you can push further up than your opponent, you open up a lot of options for yourself. You can farm your jungle, zone them away from your minion wave, or even rotate to other lanes.

It’s also the area where most Assassins fall flat. With clear abilities designed to hit jungle camps, not full minion waves, it can be hard to compete with Warriors and Guardians.

Camazotz, however, can out-clear a lot of his competition. Camazotz’ Screech can hit the whole wave if not blocked by the enemy solo laner, and provides him with a valuable power buff. His Devour provides another AOE ability to damage the wave. He also has a cleave, giving every third basic attack he lands an AOE, and supplementing his clear.

Ne Zha might not have clear as good as Camazotz’, but his clear is nothing to laugh at. His Ring Toss can hit the whole wave and the enemy God after a few level ups. And just like Camazotz, the last hit of his basic attack chain is a cleave, even if his is a lot slower.

Nemesis, unfortunately, has trouble clearing. But she makes up for it with something else.

Damage

The biggest advantage of picking an Assassin in solo over their Warrior and Guardian counterparts is their damage. With a combination of their burst-oriented kits, and in many cases buffs and debuffs that give them power or penetration, these Gods can wreak havoc. This not only helps them win lane by bullying their Warrior and Guardian opposition, but also makes them terrifying to face late game in a team fight.

While this is a strength shared by all three of the mentioned Assassins, the one that stands out the most is Nemesis. Her passive gives her back some of the power she’s missing, and her shield reflects enemy damage the same regardless of her build. And with two slows and two dashes, it’s hard to get away from a Nemesis that wants you dead. But Nemesis’ real strength is her ultimate.

Dealing up to 30% of her target’s current health, this ability deals just as much damage when Nemesis is building defense as when she’s building offense. In addition, it gives a slew of buffs to Nemesis and debuffs to her opponent, including stealing 30% of their protections. While this ultimate is up, Nemesis can win practically any one on one fight, making her scary to fight against in lane. And in team fights, this ultimate lets her charge the enemy back-line and deal a massive amount of damage, even with her defensive build.

Ne Zha and Camazotz aren’t far behind. Each of them have plenty of highly damaging abilities, and enough mobility and CC to comfortably stick to enemy Gods. Ne Zha’s ultimate also serves as a great set-up for your allies’ abilities.

The Other Assassins

Now that we know what makes an Assassin viable in solo lane, are there any Assassins that fit the bill but aren’t often picked?

There are a few Assassins that might seem to have all the elements of a good Assassin solo, but just don’t pack enough punch. Kali might seem like a good pick on paper, with good sustain and a good penetration buff on her passive. But her late game depends on dealing a lot of damage, which means she can’t reasonably build defensively.

Thanatos is better than Kali, but still not quite good enough. He has some great sustain, okay clear, and his ultimate and Death Scythe let him be threatening while building defense. Unfortunately for him, while his kit is suited well to the solo lane, he just doesn’t pack as much of a punch as the more popular Assassin solos.

Ratatoskr has historically seen success in the solo lane, but has recently fallen out of favor. However, his kit is still perfectly suited to it, with good sustain, damage, and clear. The squirrel is likely to make a comeback in the solo lane at some point. For now, the only question is when.

It might seem like the only viable Assassin solos are the ones already being picked. But there is one Assassin rarely seen in the solo lane that seems to have the makings of a great solo pick.

Fenrir

Fenrir has all the elements of a powerful solo. A good amount of sustain through Seething Howl, incredible damage through a combination of Seething Howl and Brutalize, and one of the best set-ups in the game in his ultimate. In fact, tank Fenrir is so powerful that it’s become his standard build, even when played as a jungler.
His main weakness in solo is his clear. But even that isn’t terrible, especially if your opponent can’t interrupt your Brutalize, allowing the AOE to hit their whole wave.

Are there any other Assassins that you think could be the next big solo laner? Let me know in the comments, as long as you don’t say Loki.

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Top art courtesy of smite.gamepedia.com

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Luminosity
 by Brian Quisenberry

Week Six: Luminosity Gaming’s Current Standing

With only one week left to go in the spring split, Luminosity Gaming has continued to show time and again that they deserve their spot in the pros. Unfortunately, with only the top two teams moving on to Masters in May, it’s unlikely that LG will be moving on for the spring split. That said, matches have been very even in North America versus the European rankings with every team performing remarkably well. Let’s take a look at the moving parts and see how the Luminosity machine is running as we move into week six.

Solo

What started out as a very safe, slow solo lane has slowly evolved as Ismael “KikiSoCheeky” Torres has become more comfortable with what his team can handle. His god picks have remained fairly consistent, favoring guardians such as Artio and Cerberus over more traditional warrior picks. With how strong magical gods and assassins presently are this is not terribly surprising, but it’s always exciting to see.

Mid

Keegan “Keegsmate” Twoeagle has been one of the most interesting players to follow this season. After transitioning from console, he has continued to show that he can just as easily contend on the PC. While he’s no Baskin, Keegs is certainly no slouch either. His form on god picks such as Poseidon and Scylla have been impressive to watch. He consistently brings the damage for the team and has no problem following up on opportunities when presented. You can see a great example of this from week five’s match up against Splyce. The Kraken follow-ups on Poseidon to NotGeno’s Dharmic Pillars on Ganesha to keep Divios’ Cerberus shut down during team fights were masterful.

Carry

Luminosity

Conor “Clout” Roberts, formerly Vetium, is a relatively fresh face but no stranger to the scene. While never underperforming, much like the rest of his team, he has continued to improve with each passing week. With picks like Sol and Hachiman, he has continuously brought the pressure in dual lane. Clout has shown he has no problem out pressuring his opponents and certainly deserves his spot on the team. It’s refreshing to see the new blood, Clout and Keegs, holding their own in North America.

Support

Michael “NotGeno” Lukashin, the support of Luminosity, has been a solid foundation for the team. With regular god picks of Athena and Sylvanus, Geno has done well applying pressure and keeping his teammates alive consistently. Between Geno and Kiki, the amount of sustain these two are putting out makes it difficult to take down LG when they come together for late game pushes. The biggest concern with Luminosity has been reaching that comfort zone as a team, and Geno is certainly there. He knows when to initiate, when to setup, and when he needs to protect his team to secure objectives or get them out of a fight.

Jungle

SmiteKurt “Weak3n” Schray has made a very interesting transition in the weeks since the spring split began. When Luminosity started the season, they were a team finding a way to work around Weak3n. His Arachne was dominating the jungle, and his team was helping to make sure he could secure those gank opportunities. Now, while still a strong component to the team, Weak3n is more of a utility and less the whole tool. Given the opportunity though, Weak3n excels at his role. Not only that, he has been one of the few players to utilize Achilles to great result. Should he continue to show how dangerous he can be with the Hero of the Trojan War, it will be difficult for opponents to find a way to keep him from dominating in the jungle.

Week Six

This coming week, Luminosity will have their rematch with eUnited. The defending champions didn’t look too strong earlier in the season when they faced off but have returned to fighting form. Much of whether or not LG can secure another victory against EU will be that team element. Both teams have players that have proven they can excel in their individual roles. Who can make the better calls and is able to secure more objectives will be the deciding factor. The way that Luminosity has shaped up coming onto the scene , it won’t be easy match for eUnited.

You can find all of the hot plays during week six live on Mixer. The broadcast will be streamed exclusively through the SmiteGame channel on Mixer.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Brian Quisenberry.

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 by Nolan Evans

SPL: Spacestation Gaming week six preview

After clinching their spot for the SMITE Masters LAN event last week, Spacestation Gaming (7-1) is primed to play spoiler for the remaining teams in the sixth and final week of SPL spring split action.
spacestation

Image courtesy of esports.smitegame.com

Counter Logic (4-4), eUnited (4-4) and Trifecta (5-3) all have an opportunity to secure the second and final North American spot for the spring LAN in May. Both eUnited and Trifecta face off against Spacestation this week in a rematch of week one sets. Along with playing spoiler, Spacestation has the chance to clinch the first seed in North America this week with a single set win.

Much has changed since the teams played in week one, with both eUnited and Trifecta turning their seasons around. With Spacestation in their way, neither team will have an easy path into SMITE Masters. Trifecta controls their own destiny with their goal being to win and they’re in. eUnited on the other hand will require some help from Spacestation, Counter Logic or Splyce in conjunction with victories in their final two sets to secure their spot.

eUnited: Apr. 27, 2018 6:45 ET

Solo – Aquarius (SSG) vs BENJI (eun)

Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill has more than proven himself to be a stud solo laner for Spacestation this season. Week after week, the 19 year old Canadian has turned in a solid performance. This culminated last week in a dominating game two against Counter Logic, proving that he is capable of carrying the team out of the solo lane, solidifying himself as a top two solo laner in North America.

This week he will be tasked with going up against the other player in the top two discussion in Ben “Benji” Mckinzey. Benji has been the most consistent member for eUnited this year, and his presence is sure to be felt in this pivotal matchup against Aquarius. This is an incredibly close matchup that ultimately goes in eUnited’s favor.

Most contested god: Cerberus

Advantage: eUnited

Jungle – Andinster (ssg) vs screammmmm (eun)

For eUnited, success is heavily tied to their jungler Lucas “Screammmmm” Spracklin. Inconsistency issues that have plagued his career have resurfaced in season five, leading to a shaky split for eUnited. When he is on his game it is not hard to argue for him as one of the best players in the world. Going into the most important week of the season, Michael “PolarBearMike” Heiss is going to need to make sure Screammmmm is in the right mindset to avoid a devastating loss.

Going up against Andrew “andinster” Woodward is going to require Screammmmm to play a mistake free set if eUnited wants to win. The Spacestation jungler has had a fantastic set in the spring and looks to have found his old form. This game may come down to which jungler shows up on Friday, and in a close matchup the advantage goes to eUnited.

Most contested god: Nemesis

Advantage: eUnited

Mid – baskin (ssg) vs venenu (eun)

This split, Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim has proven himself to be on the shortlist for best player in the world. While that discussion is tricky, the discussion for best North American mid laner is not. Baskin has performed clearly above his competition this split, cementing himself as the best at his role.

This week he will be in for a tough matchup against the reigning SWC MVP Brandon “Venenu” Casale. Both players are going to play an aggressive style that should provide a lot of action in the game. However, Venenu looks to simply be outclassed in a matchup of that style, and he will need help from his team to keep Baskin from carrying Spacestation to victory.

Most contested god: Janus

Advantage: Spacestation

ADC – BARRACCUDDA (SSG) VS PANDACAT (EUN)

Neither John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter nor Maksim “PandaCat” Yanevich have had themselves a stellar spring split. In the case of BaRRaCCuDDa he hasn’t needed to provide his usual impact with the rest of his team playing so well. PandaCat on the other hand needs to step up and provide an impact when Screammmmm and Venenu aren’t able to carry. He has shown this ability in recent weeks, and it looks as though the eUnited ADC is finding his fall 2017 form that helped eUnited to win the 2018 SWC.

This is a matchup between two fantastic ADCs in a meta that has the role at it’s weakest in years. The advantage here does go to eUnited, but the overall impact on the outcome of the game will not be high.

Most contested god: Hachiman

Advantage: eUnited

Support – jEFFHINDLA (SSG) VS POLARBEARMIKE (EUN)

Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi has been the best support in North America this split. Similar to ADC, the support role has been a struggle. Itemization and farming have left a tough role in a tougher position. However, JeffHindla has seemingly not cared about any of this. Week after week the 24 year old American has put on clinics on how to have an impact as a support. Whether through peeling, setting up, stealing objectives or controlling the field, Jeff can do it all.

This week will feature another rematch between the only other support in North America that can match Jeff’s pedigree. PolarBearMike has been the de facto leader of eUnited with some of the best playmaking ability in North America. This is yet another extremely close matchup, but with how consistent Jeff has been, it is hard not to give Spacestation the advantage.

Most contested god: Athena

Advantage: Spacestation

Prediction

These two teams are much closer than their records indicate. eUnited look to have gotten past their early season struggles, giving them a good chance to come out the victors in the week six rematch.

2-1 eUnited

Trifecta: Apr 27, 2018 8:30 ET

Solo – AQUARIUS (SSG) VS SCARYD (TFECT)

The questions surrounding Ronnie “ScaryD” Belair in week one appear to have been answered. Like Aquarius, ScaryD has showcased his ability to put the team on his back and carry them to victory. In their first set, ScaryD was the only player keeping Trifecta from being blown out. While they did eventually lose that set, the Trifecta solo laner has continued to make his impact felt moving forward. He will once again be put to the test going up against the red hot Aquarius who looks to have the advantage in this matchup.

Most contested god: Hercules

Advantage: Spacestation

Jungle – ANDINSTER (SSG) VS MASK (TFECT)

Since joining Trifecta, Suharab “MASK” Askarzada has continued to prove why he is considered one of the best junglers in the world. Similar to last season with Luminosity, the 19 year old American has dominated his North American competition. His impact has been a major factor in Trifecta being in the strong position they find themselves in to control their own fate. Going up against andinster this week will be a tough matchup for the Trifecta jungler. Both junglers like to play an aggressive style, but in online play, MASK has the slight advantage.

Most contested god: Ratatoskr

Advantage: Trifecta

Mid – baskin (ssg) vs metyankey (tfect)

In what was originally a lopsided matchup in week one, Baskin against Michael “Metyankey” Fasciano has turned into an intriguing pairing in week six. This has come through the solid play of Metyankey who has shown that he should not be considered a weak link on the Trifecta squad. Unfortunately for Metyankey, he is just simply not on the same level that Baskin has been playing at. That fact is true for just about every player in the world right now. With that in mind, the advantage goes to Spacestation in this one.

Most contested god: Thoth

Advantage: Spacestation

ADC – barraccudda (ssg) vs zapman (tfect)

Similar to BaRRaCCuDDa and PandaCat, Steven “Zapman” Zapas has not had himself a stellar spring split. Like the two mentioned previously, this is more due to the state of the role compared to the skill of the player. Zapman is still an incredible ADC that will give teams a headache if he is given the chance. Unfortunately, it is hard to see this as being the case when the role is in such a weak spot. BaRRaCCuDDa gets the slight advantage in this one, though the importance of that should not be high.

Most contested god: Ullr

Advantage: Spacestation

Support jeffhindla (ssg) vs neirumah (tfect)

Neil “Neirumah” Mah has continued to climb the ranks of SPL supports. The 22 year old Canadian has shown great resiliency in the support role, coming back in games to make fantastic plays. This week will require him to keep up with JeffHindla, as Spacestation is not prone to letting their opponents back into games. Neirumah needs to do everything he can to match Jeff’s control of the field and positioning is Trifecta wants to have a chance.

Most contested god: Ganesha

Advantage: Spacestation

Prediction

Trifecta has been an underrated team this year. If not for two coin toss Fire Giant steals in their last set against Spacestation, Trifecta would be tied for first going into week six. However, Spacestation has only gotten better as the season progressed. This set is expected to come out as a close fought victory for Spacestation.

2-1 Spacestation

Things to watch

Don’t expect to see any Terra this week. Spacestation has shown they highly prioritize her in the first banning phase, and there is very little chance a team will allow JeffHindla to pilot the goddess in her current state.

Watch how the junglers on each team decide to start their pathing. It will give an indication of where they will want to apply pressure on the map. This decision may dictate the outcome of the game as was seen in game three against CLG last week.

Keep your eye on how the teams work to get their ADCs farm. This has seemingly been a bigger focal point for teams to attempt to increase the potential of a beleaguered role. These efforts may have a big impact on the ability of other roles, so watch the level disparities.

All games are available exclusively through SmiteGame on Mixer.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Nolan Evans

Top image courtesy of Hi-Rez Studios

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Smite Season Ticket Predictions
 by Philip Cole Young

Smite Season Ticket predictions: Week 6

Moving into the last week of the Spring Split, we’ve got some interesting matches lined up.

On the EU side, it will be exciting to see how Obey Alliance will perform. After their upset against NRG, they’ve proven they have what it takes to stand up to Europe’s best teams. And with match-ups against Team Rival and Dignitas, we’ll know how they stack up against the best by the end of the week.

Over in North America, it’s still intensely even competition in the Spring Split. After finding their footing in week three of the split, we get to see how far EUnited has come. With matches against the teams that obliterated them in the first week of the split, Luminosity and Spacestation, EUnited has their chance at redemption.

With that, let’s go to the picks.

Tuesday

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsTeam Rival vs NRG EsportsSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Team Rival

Both of these teams are around the same skill level. However after dropping a game to Obey Alliance last week, I have to give this one to Rival.

 

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsSK Gaming vs MousesportsSmite Season Ticket Predictions

SK Gaming

Mousesports are having some trouble finding their playstyle as a team. Everyone enjoyed watching their crazy picks at the beginning of the split. And while it may not have worked out for them in the short run, it’s better to be the meta definer coming up with new strategies if you aim to be a top team. In the past week, though, Mousesports have been picking fairly conventionally. And they haven’t seen any more success than when they were picking Janus Jungles and Chaac Mids. I don’t anticipate this being a good direction for the team, and I can’t see them finding their footing in the last week of the split.

 

Wednesday

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsEUnited vs LuminositySmite Season Ticket Predictions

EUnited

While Luminosity took this match up 2-0 in the first week of the split, EUnited is stronger than they were back then. While I don’t doubt Luminosity’s skills either, I think EUnited can manage to pull a win this time.

 

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsSplyce vs Counter Logic GamingSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Counter Logic Gaming

Splyce is still having trouble finding wins in this split. And while they’re not a weak team by any means, CLG is still looking stronger right now.

 

thursday

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsTeam Dignitas vs MousesportsSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Team Dignitas

Again, Mousesports are having identity problems. If they can’t manage to beat SK gaming, there’s certainly no reason to change my mind in a match-up against the EU powerhouse Team Dignitas.

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsTeam Rival vs Obey AllianceSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Team Rival

I want to believe that Obey can take these matches. They’re definitely the team to root for if you like underdogs. But I pick with my brain, not my heart, and my brain says Team Rival.

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsObey Alliance vs Team DignitasSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Team Dignitas

Again, I would love to pick Obey here. But with the information we have, Dignitas is just the stronger team.

 

Friday

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsTrifecta vs Counter Logic GamingSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Trifecta

CLG has been underwhelming lately. They’ve fallen from grace after looking like the strongest team in the split half way through. On the other side of the spectrum, Trifecta has been fairly impressive. Taking wins off of both EUnited and Luminosity, Trifecta has had a strong showing in the past two weeks. Because of that, I have to predict Trifecta.

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsEUnited vs SpacestationSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Spacestation

This is another match-up where I want to vote for EUnited, but I just can’t. Spacestation has seated themselves on the throne of the SPL, and while EUnited certainly has a chance to take this I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Smite Season Ticket PredictionsSpacestation vs TrifectaSmite Season Ticket Predictions

Spacestation

Just like with the last match, Trifecta is a strong team that has a chance. But it’s hard to deny that Spacestation is the strongest team in North America right now.

 

Summary

Team Rival > NRG Esports

SK Gaming > Mousesports

EUnited > Luminosity

Splyce < Counter Logic Gaming

Team Dignitas > Mousesports

Team Rival > Obey Alliance

Obey Alliance < Team Dignitas

Trifecta > Counter Logic Gaming

EUnited < Spacestation

Spacestation > Trifecta

 

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Philip.

Top Image courtesy of Smitegame.com, SPL logo and Esports Team logos courtesy of Esports.Smitegame.com

in Smite 0 comments
 by Nolan Evans

SPL: Spacestation Gaming week five recap

spacestation gaming

Image courtesy of esports.smitegame.com

In week five, Spacestation Gaming became the first team in North America or Europe to clinch their spot at the SMITE Masters LAN event.

After going down in their first game against Counter Logic (4-4) on Wednesday, Spacestation (7-1) came back to win the set convincingly 2-1. On Friday, they went on to defeat an inconsistent Luminosity (3-4) team in a 2-0 set. With the victories, Spacestation separated themselves from the rest of North America as the team to beat going into the spring finals LAN event in May.

Spacestation Gaming vs Counter Logic Gaming

Game 1 – (CLG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Artio (0/4/2)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Nemesis (1/5/0)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Ullr (1/2/1)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Athena (0/2/1)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Jing Wei (0/1/1)

SSG bans: Terra, Janus, Achilles, Odin

CLG picks:

Solo: Alec “fineokay” Fonzo – Sobek (1/0/7)

Jungle: Alexander “Homiefe” D’Souza- Ratatoskr (3/0/9)

Mid: Tyler “Hurriwind” Whitney – Sol (6/1/5)

Support: Connor “Jigz” Echols – Fafnir (0/0/12)

ADC: Evan “Snoopy” Jones – Hachiman (4/1/4)

CLG bans: Camazotz, Da Ji, Serqet, Cerberus

Game one of this set saw little competition as Counter Logic snowballed their way to victory. Spacestation fell behind early due to the pressure that Homiefe was able to provide by playing Ratatoskr.

With a Fafnir and double ADC on their side, Counter Logic was able to turn their early pressure into objectives. Those objectives allowed Counter Logic to dominate the team fights and win the game game convincingly in 29 minutes.

Player of the game: Homiefe

Game 2 – (SSG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Artio (4/2/12)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Nemesis (2/2/8)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Ullr (9/3/6)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Athena (0/2/13)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Jing Wei (4/1/10)

SSG bans: Achilles, Terra, Ratatoskr, Janus

CLG picks:

Solo: Alec “fineokay” Fonzo – Sobek (0/1/6)

Jungle: Alexander “Homiefe” D’Souza- Awilix (6/4/4)

Mid: Tyler “Hurriwind” Whitney – Sol (3/5/5)

Support: Connor “Jigz” Echols – Fafnir (0/5/6)

ADC: Evan “Snoopy” Jones – Hachiman (1/4/5)

CLG bans: Da Ji, Serqet, Camazotz, Cerberus

Game two saw almost a direct replay of game one picks from both teams. The only difference came after Spacestation banned away Ratatoskr, forcing Homiefe to select Awilix. While Awilix’s ultimate counters Jing Wei and Ullr, the missing global presence from the Counter Logic jungler was felt.

Spacestation’s early game execution prevented a repeat of game one, as Aquarius was able to put the team on his back and front line his way to victory. Artio’s cripple field proved too much for Counter Logic as Aquarius was able to lock down his opponents for his teammates to clean up. This led to the game going in Spacestation’s favor, 33 minutes in.

Player of the game: Aquarius

Game 3 – (SSG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill – Odin (0/4/2)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Serqet (1/5/0)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Ullr (1/2/1)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Geb (0/2/1)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Sol (0/1/1)

SSG bans: Thoth, Terra, Discordia, Janus

CLG picks:

Solo: Alec “fineokay” Fonzo – Cu Chulainn (1/0/7)

Jungle: Alexander “Homiefe” D’Souza- Camazotz (3/0/9)

Mid: Tyler “Hurriwind” Whitney – Hel (6/1/5)

Support: Connor “Jigz” Echols – Fafnir (0/0/12)

ADC: Evan “Snoopy” Jones – Hachiman (4/1/4)

CLG bans: Athena, Da Ji, Artio, Achilles

In a complete reversal of game one, Spacestation dominated Counter Logic from the start.

Homiefe and Hurriwind teamed up to make repeated mistakes early in the game, allowing Baskin to build an insurmountable lead. First, Homiefe went for an early invade of Spacestation’s blue buff instead of clearing his own. The invade came up empty handed forcing Homiefe to go back to finally clear his own buff. This allowed andinster and Baskin a free gank onto an out of position Hurriwind in mid lane for the first blood.

To make matters worse for Counter Logic, Homiefe followed this up with dangerous pathing that led directly into Baskin and andinster waiting around the corner for the second kill of the game.

At this point Baskin’s two level lead on Hurriwind turned into a quick third kill as Hurriwind was once again caught out of position by a ganking andinster. At only three minutes into the game, these three kills gave Baskin an enormous lead on a character known for snowballing. Spacestation went on to dominate the rest of the game, leading to the quickest victory in the SPL this season at 19 minutes in.

Player of the game: Baskin

Spacestation Gaming vs Luminosity

Game 1 – (SSG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” O’Neill – Cerberus (0/1/6)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Da Ji (3/1/5)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Apollo (5/2/3)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Athena (0/1/8)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Sol (2/2/7)

SSG bans: Janus, Terra, Discordia, The Morrigan

LG picks:

Solo: Ismael “KikiSoCheeky” Torres – Artio – (0/2/4)

Jungle: Kurt “Weak3n” Schray – Achilles (3/2/2)

Mid: Keegan “keegsmate” TwoEagle – Poseidon (0/2/4)

Support: Michael “NotGeno” Lukashin – Sylvanus (2/3/3)

ADC: Conor “Clout” Roberts – Hachiman (2/1/4)

LG bans: Ullr, Camazotz, Jing Wei, Odin

Luminosity got off to a strong start in game one, getting the first blood along with an early team fight victory. While this put them up 5-1 in kills, they were not able to capitalize on this by capturing objectives. Instead it was Spacestation securing the big objectives on the map, allowing them to stay in the game.

As the game went on, Spacestation continued to outclass Luminosity. Objective after objective went in Spacestation’s favor allowing them to close out the game in 26 minutes.

Player of the game: Baskin

Game 2 – (SSG)

SSG picks:

Solo: Ryan “Aquarius” O’Neill – Odin (7/0/10)

Jungle: Andrew “andinster” Woodward – Da Ji (4/4/7)

Mid: Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim – Apollo (8/2/8)

Support: Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi – Geb (1/1/9)

ADC: John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter – Sol (2/1/4)

SSG bans: Janus, Terra, Discordia, The Morrigan

LG picks:

Solo: Ismael “KikiSoCheeky” Torres – Camazotz – (0/5/1)

Jungle: Kurt “Weak3n” Schray – Achilles (4/6/3)

Mid: Keegan “keegsmate” TwoEagle – Raijin (0/6/4)

Support: Michael “NotGeno” Lukashin – Ganesha (0/3/6)

ADC: Conor “Clout” Roberts – Hachiman (4/2/0)

LG bans: Ullr, Camazotz, Jing Wei, Odin

It was all Spacestation in game two as Baskin continued to show why he is in discussion for being the best player in the world. Once again Spacestation’s objective play outclassed Luminosity’s allowing Spacestation to quickly finish the game in a dominating 20 minutes.

Player of the game: Baskin

Takeaways

Baskin continues to show he can make anything look overpowered in mid. Whether it be Camazotz in previous weeks, or Apollo this week, Baskin has proven his god pool has no limit.

Aquarius has been noted by casters as a role player in recent weeks, but he continues to prove that analysis wrong. The 19 year old Canadian has the ability to put the team on his back and dominate from the solo lane.

As two teams that started the split hot, Counter Logic and Luminosity are both in danger of missing the first LAN of the year. The two teams need to iron out their inconsistencies if they want to be considered as true contenders in the upcoming summer split.

All SPL games are available exclusively through SmiteGame on Mixer.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Nolan Evans

Top image courtesy of Hi-Rez Studios.

in Esports / Smite 0 comments
 by Philip Cole Young

Why are Hunters so weak right now?

Smite hunters have always been the rulers of the Team Fight in past seasons. As your team’s main source of consistent damage, many times the performance of your Hunter is what would win or lose you the game. In Season five, though, it’s a different story.

The duo lane is under performing in Season 5. For Supports, this isn’t new. They’ve been getting less farm than anyone else since Season 2. But for Hunters, this is a frightening new meta. They have less impact on the outcome of matches than they ever have. And until very late in the game your Mid Laner is expected to deal far more damage. What brought about this shift in power?

The causes

Easily the most damaging change that hit hunters recently was the reduction of XP sharing. In the Season 5 patch, the total split XP from sharing minions was brought down from 150% to 120%. Originally, this change might not have seemed massively detrimental to Hunters due to the meta toward the end of Season 4 favoring a roaming support. But as the meta developed, this change became the dread of all Hunter players.

The biggest immediate reaction to this change, along with the jungle changes that increased the farm of jungle camps, was to have your jungler primarily farm camps. This meant that when your support rotated, there was less farm in it for them.

Image courtesy of smitegame.com

In addition to this, the larger map size made rotating cost more time. As a result, Supports have wound up ordinarily staying in the duo lane until well into the Mid Game. Compounded with the XP changes, Hunters lost an enormous amount of farm going into season 5.

But in the early Season 5 meta, Hunters were still strong. This was due primarily to the item Deathbringer being way too powerful. At the beginning of Season 5, this item gave 35% critical strike chance, along with its critical damage improving passive. After patch 5.2 hit, it was massively nerfed. But unfortunately, a few other Hunter items were brought down with it: Devourer’s Gauntlet and Asi saw nerfs in the same patch.

Towards the end of Season 4, Hunters were admittedly a little too powerful. But after all the changes, it seems like Hi-Rez has hit the role too hard. What can be done to bring the role back up?

The fixes

The most obvious way to fix this situation would be to give the duo lane more farm. This would help not only the Hunter, but the Support as well. But that’s easier said than done. You can’t just increase a number to give the duo lane more farm.

Smite Hunters

Image courtesy of smitegame.com

A buff to Guardian’s blessing could be the answer. Something that increases the XP split to players in your assist range could improve things. But that’s always a difficult balancing act: you don’t want to improve it to the point where junglers pick it up too.

Another suggestion would be to increase the number of minions in a wave for the duo lane. But this could lead to more problems. With increased minion wave sizes, Sieging duo lane Towers would become too easy. The duo lane’s Towers would need to be buffed in response, creating an inelegant design situation where the Duo Lane follows different rules from other lanes. Additionally, this could impact the meta in unexpected ways. If the Supports decide to roam again, suddenly Hunters are ahead of everyone else in the game. It would also reduce the viability of Hunters with poor clear, like Xbalanque.

There is not an easy fix to this problem. It seems most changes Hi-Rez can make have equal downsides. That’s a problem for Smite’s Designers to solve in the following patches. For the moment, though, the duo lane is going to be stuck feeling a little under powered.

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Philip.

Top art courtesy of smite.wikia.com

in Esports / Smite 0 comments
 by Nolan Evans

SPL: Spacestation Gaming week five preview

Spacestation Gaming (5-1) look to keep up their momentum in their week five rematch sets against Counter Logic Gaming (4-3) and Luminosity Gaming (3-4).

spacestation week one

Image courtesy of esports.smitegame.com

Counter Logic took the first set in a decisive 2-0 manner, but since then the two teams have taken divergent paths. Spacestation has won their last three sets since the March 28th meeting, while Counter Logic has gone 1-3 in that same span. This week, both teams will be looking to put themselves in a commanding position for clinching a top two seed in the 2018 spring split.

Luminosity has shown regression since losing 2-0 to Spacestation in week two. The roster mixed with fresh and old faces have shown inconsistencies this year on a week to week basis. After a strong 2-0 win against Counter Logic last week, Luminosity needs to prove they are capable of being consistent against North America’s best. Time is running out for LG this split with only three games left to move from 5th to 2nd in a competitive North American landscape.
Clinching Scenario: If Spacestation wins their two sets this week, they will clinch a trip to the SMITE Masters LAN event in May.

Counter Logic Gaming: Apr. 18, 2018 6:45 ET

Solo – Aquarius (SSG) vs fineokay (clg)

Ryan “Aquarius” Oh Neill has shown he is not to be doubted this season. The 18 year old Canadian has done more than hold his own in the solo lane. He has shown the ability to play both an aggressive style to capitalize on pressure, as well as a passive supportive role.

This week Aquarius will get a rematch of the week two matchup that saw Alec “fineokay” Fonzo come out on top with the help of seemingly constant ganks on the right side of the map. If Spacestation want to avoid the same fate this time, they will need to do more to support Aquarius in lane, either through ganks from the jungler, or through the selection of gods with global presence. After their first matchup, fineokay showed he has a slight advantage.

Most contested god: Achilles

Advantage: Counter Logic

Jungle – andinster (ssg) vs Homiefe (clg)

Andrew “andinster” Woodward’s return to the jungle has been seamless this split. After a shaky start, the Spacestation jungler has been a force for his team in tandem with Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim. His opponent in the jungle this week is Homiefe, one of the best junglers in North America this season. Homiefe was far and away the best player in the week two set against Spacestation earlier this split.

If Spacestation wants to avoid their second loss of the season, they will need to find a way to shut down the Counter Logic jungler. The goal for Spacestation should be to keep Homiefe off Baskin at all times. It was clear in week two that if Homiefe could get to Baskin, the fight would go in Counter Logic’s favor. Spacestation and andinster need to find a way to control Homiefe and keep him playing from behind. This means they will need to draft more control and movement to ensure Homiefe is not sticking to their carries.

Most contested god: Nemesis

Advantage: Counter Logic

Mid – Baskin (ssg) vs Hurriwind (clg)

The matchup in mid for this set will feature the rematch between two of the best mid laners in the world. Tyler “Hurriwind” Whitney has been incredible in the midlane for Counter Logic, while Basking continues to make his case for being the best player in the world. It is clear that the game plan for Counter Logic will be to shut down Baskin and get him out of team fights as early as possible. So far this season, Counter Logic has been the only team capable of doing so. Now, Spacestation will need to adjust and allow their best player to have a clean playing field.

Most contested god: Thoth

Advantage: Spacestation

ADC – BaRRaCCuDDa (SSG) VS sNOOPY (clg)

It has been a quiet split for John “BaRRaCCuDDa” Salter. Few ADCs in the league have been able to provide an impact in a meta that sees the role struggle to get farm. BaRRaCCuDDa and Evan “Snoopy” Jones once again are no strangers to each other. The two are not only having a rematch from week two, but have faced off as opponents and played together as teammates. As with previous weeks, don’t expect a big impact out of the duo lane. However if Spacestation is able to get BaRRaCCuDDa going, it will substantially take pressure off of Baskin and andinster in the midlane.

Most contested god: Jing Wei

Advantage: Spacestation

Support – JeffHindla (SSG) VS Jigz (clg)

Rosario “JeffHindla” Vilardi has been putting on a clinic in his games this split. From stealing objectives, to setting up kills, to peeling for his team, the Spacestation support has done it all. In his match this week comes a counterpart that JeffHindla has seen a lot of in his career. Both he and Jigz have been battling out the support role since season two. The two play a similar aggressive style of game that sees a lot of rotations around the map. Overall the advantage is in Spacestation’s favor as JeffHindla has been the top support in North America this split.

Most contested god: Terra

Advantage: Spacestation

Prediction

This matchup is one of the closest in the entirety of the SPL. After getting beat in week two, expect Spacestation to come back and get revenge on the Counter Logic squad.

2-1 Spacestation

Luminosity: Apr. 20, 2018 6:45 ET

Solo – Aquarius (SSG) VS KikiSoCheeky (lg)

The matchup between Aquarius and Ismael “KikiSoCheeky” Torres features two players that enjoy playing guardians in the solo lane. Don’t expect to see a lot of action here if the trend continues.

In their first matchup, Aquarius dominated in lane both as Camazotz against Terra, and as Terra against Camazotz. In that set Aquarius outclassed Kiki in every facet of the game. The Luminosity solo laner will need to change that this week if he wants his team to have a chance at the win.

Most contested god: Camazotz

Advantage: Spacestation

Jungle – andinster (SSG) VS Weak3n (lg)

As the outspoken and charismatic leader of his teams, Kurt “Weak3n” Schray has drawn the ire of many fans throughout his career. This season it has been clear he has a chip on his shoulder to prove wrong those who doubt him. However, he will need to improve his consistency playing against one of the league’s top junglers in andinster. If the Luminosity jungler is allowed to control the game, Spacestation will be in for a rough set. Spacestation showed it was possible to shut down the Luminosity jungler, and they need to show the same this week to pull out a win.

Most contested god: Serqet

Advantage: Spacestation

Mid – Baskin (ssg) vs keegsmate (lg)

Keegan “keegsmate” Twoeagle has been living up to the hype since his spectacular week one debut. The rookie mid laner has put forth dominating performances against some of the world’s best. This week though, he is put up against the best mid laner in the world in Baskin. Luminosity will once again need to focus on shutting down Baskin if they want any chance at winning. The advantage in this game goes to the incredible experience and skill of Baskin.

Most contested god: Thoth

Advantage: Spacestation

ADC – BaRRaCCuDDa (ssg) vs Clout (lg)

Conor “Clout” Roberts has been arguably the best ADC in North America this season. The Luminosity ADC has shown the ability to take over games, which is not a common thing for other players in the role. BaRRaCCuDDa will need to match that level of play and not allow Clout to snowball early. After their first set, Clout showed he is more than capable of matching up with BaRRaCCuDDa, and you can expect a similar result until the Spacestation ADC can figure out a way to break through.

Most contested god: Sol

Advantage: Luminosity

Support – jEFFhINDLA (ssg) vs nOTgENO (lg)

As another newer face, NotGeno has been proving he can compete with the top supports in the league. He has had a promising start, outplaying many other top supports in the league. Both teams highly value Athena for her global presence, and you can expect to see her a lot in this set. If JeffHindla is able to continue making the MVP level impact he has had so far, then we should be in store for a repeat of the 2-0 set we saw in week two.

Most contested god: Athena

Advantage: Spacestation

Prediction

Luminosity has looked too inconsistent this season to favor, especially compared to the dominance Spacestation has displayed. Spacestation should take this one in a clean two games.

2-0 Spacestation

Things to watch

Expect to see a lot of Achilles and Terra in picks and bans this week. The changes to Terra have been a big boost to her stock, and it would be surprising to see her get through very often. Achilles on the other hand has been valued by just about every team in just about every role.

Watch out for how the teams treat the Fire Giant this week. In recent weeks there has been more fights around the Fire Giant pit, and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues this week.

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