After a short-lived Stage 1 playoff run, the Atlanta Reign are looking to stay with the pack at the top of the standings as they enter Stage 2. With metas shifting and their star player retiring, the Reign will have to display major adaptability to stay relevant.
Atlanta has two games in the opening week of Stage 2, and they will need to make a strong start if they hope to make the second stage playoffs. Their schedule may start mildly this stage, but it ends with back to back games against against the behemoth New York Excelsior.
This Week’s Matches
Boston Uprising 4-3
The opening game of Stage 2 is against the Boston Uprising. The Uprising had a bumpy Stage 1, but nonetheless found themselves in the stage playoffs with a similar record to Atlanta. Both teams were knocked out in the quarterfinals, and both are preparing for two games for their opening week of the stage.
What the Reign have differentiating themselves is a hole in their roster where Daniel “dafran” Francesca used to sit. With him retiring at the end of Stage 1, Atlanta will need to rely on their Russian hitscan player, Ilya “NLaaeR” Koppalov, to slide in and help the team keep pace. If they can show adaptability of roster with the recent shake up, Atlanta should have no other problem in finding their way with the new stage.
The Uprising are no strangers to roster changes after selling their main tank early in the season and moving up a player from their academy team. While Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth has found success in the role, their were some adaptability issues they had to iron out first. Boston will be hoping the Reign faces similar struggles, and will be looking to exploit them.
Prediction: Atlanta Wins 3-1
Player to Watch Out For
With dafran having stepped down from professional at, all eyes will be on the replacement to the active roster. A highly talented player from Last Night’s Leftovers, NLaaeR has not had a whole lot of opportunity on the main stage to showcase his abilities. This will be his opportunity as the Reign will need to both show an understanding of the new meta and a newfound synergy with him in order to succeed. Keep an eye on NLaaeR to make a strong statement in the opener.
London Spitfire 3-4
The second game of the week will be against the London Spitfire. The Spitfire are a much more dangerous team than their record shows and the Reign should not be sleeping on this matchup. While the Stage 1 meta was not one that London found success in, their squad is still filled with remarkably talented players. If they can show a better understanding of the new meta, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
The Reign will need to flex high individual skill in order to match what the Spitfire bring to the table. With balance changes looking to bring back more DPS diversity to the meta, strong 3-3 play may not be enough like it was for many of London’s Stage 1 opponents.
Atlanta will need their entire team playing well individually in order to allow their DPS line to go toe-to-toe with their London counterparts. Without decisive tank play and intelligent support play, the Reign DPS will have trouble finding openings to work with.
Prediction: Atlanta Wins 3-1
Player to Watch Out For
Keep an eye on Joon “Erster” Jeong in this game as well as the season in general. With a focus shifting back towards DPS viability, the Korean all-star from Contenders China will finally start to have the opportunity to show off. After being rated in the preseason by a number of analysts as potentially the top rookie, he will finally start to have a platform to show off why. Hopefully he’ll be unleashed from Brig-jail and show us why he is so highly respected.
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