The 2021 LCS Spring Season closed out last weekend, with Cloud9 winning the Mid Season Showdown to secure the title. League of Legends looked a little different this year for North America. The season kicked off with NA’s first Lock In tournament, followed by a six-week regular season which included three games per week for each team, and finally the Mid Season Showdown to crown a champion leading into Mid Season Invitational. Alongside these format changes, the LCS saw 16 new players enter the league: rookies, OCE players (now considered residents) and true imports. Here is a brief review of the 2021 Spring Season OCE residents after their first split in the big leagues.
Cloud9’s newly promoted top laner had about as good a first split as one can ask for. He came in talking trash, got put in his place in the Lock In tournament, steadily climbed his way to the top, and finished the split with an outstanding best-of-five versus Team Liquid’s Alphari. Anyone who expressed concerns about the top laner’s ability to replace Licorice have thoroughly been quashed. Fudge continues into the Mid Season Invitational, where he will test his mettle versus top international talent.
Immortals’ bottom laner flew under the radar a bit. Keith and Joey substituted during the Lock In tournament, but Raes and Destiny played the full regular season. Immortals suffered from the weakest early game in the LCS, starting at a 1,032 gold deficit at 15 minutes on average. Raes and Destiny averaged about 420 of it. This translated to only 28.7 percent dragon control (lowest in the LCS) and 1,710 gold per minute (second lowest) for the team. Raes did not really stand out from the pack, despite having five years of previous experience in OPL and a decent track record.
Destiny had some strong performances, but mostly middle-of-the-pack in his first LCS split.
On a similar note, Destiny didn’t have many opportunities to stand out this spring. His opener against Team Liquid with the Blitzcrank counterpick looked great, and he carried the CLG match on Galio. These high moments helped offset his low moments more than Raes, but not by much. The support role currently has so much influence, as demonstrated by the top LCS teams. Destiny generally looked like he was trying to dig his team out of the hole, but rarely succeeded. The team has some kinks to work out before any individual can really shine.
This batch of first-split OCE residents had opposite starts in the LCS. Fudge rose to prominence and stood out as a personality. Raes and Destiny just kind of got by–not looking strong, but not looking completely out of their league. Hopefully, Fudge can maintain his form and continue to solidify himself within the LCS, while Raes and Destiny try to find their footing with the rest of Immortals.
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