Going into Week 4 of the OPL, undefeated Legacy Esports face off against undefeated Chiefs Esports Club. Both rosters are stacked with talent and this will be an extremely close match. To prepare for this important game, it’s time to take a look at each team and their playstyle.
Legacy Esports
Players
Two of the outstanding players from Legacy Esports have been their Korean import players Kim “Topoon” Ji-hoon and Jang “EMENES” Min-soo. Topoon was the substitute top laner on 2019 OPL World’s representative Mammoth. He has made vast improvements this off-season and has been taking over games. Mid laner EMENES is a rookie who was previously a trainee with both Gen.G and DragonX. He was also on the Ulsan team that won the annual 2019 KeG amateur tournament. EMENES has been dominant some games, but has been a strong player at minimum.
Legacy also features a solid Oceanic core that supplements their strong imports. Jungler Leo “Babip” Romer, who was previously on the 2019 Mammoth team, has had varying levels of performances so far this split. He can have dominant performances, like his Rek’Sai against Dire Wolves, but he can also be invisible during the early game as seen while playing Lee Sin against Pentanet.GG.
Rounding out the team is the bot lane duo of AD carry Quin “Raes” Korebrits and rookie support Jonah “Isles” Rosario. This duo has done quite well so far, improving greatly since their weak one mishaps. Raes will be playing against his former team, who he played with since July of 2016. Raes is an incredibly consistent player and a great lane partner for rookie Isles.
Playstyle
Legacy Esports gain many of their advantages due to their superior mid and late game macro sense. In their closest game of the split against ORDER, Legacy found themselves at a 7000 gold deficit at 23 minutes. Despite this difference, they were able to claw their way back into the game by creating picks through the fog of war. Legacy were able to punish each of ORDER’s mistakes, making the most out of error from ORDER and sharply turning the momentum in their favor. However, Legacy does tend to have quiet early games, usually staying even due to the pure laning power of Topoon and EMENES.
For Legacy to take the victory in this match, its vital to control of the top lane matchup. Topoon is a major carry force for Legacy, and creating leads for him will help stem the Chiefs’ early pressure. In addition to this, drafting for the mid game power spikes is best for this team, as this fits their natural playstyle. The later this match against Chiefs goes, the larger chance Legacy will have to claim victory.
Chiefs Esports Club
Players
Led by outstanding young top laner Romeo “Thien” Tran, the Chiefs have been dominating each of their six games of split one. An expert on carry champions like Riven, Diana, Sett and Camille, Thien is an early contender for the next Oceanic import player.
The Chiefs had a strange off-season when it came to signing their Korean jungler Park “Croc” Jong-hoon. Only signed four days before the first game of the split, Croc was an unknown rookie and it was unsure how he would play in the League. So far, he has been an excellent addition, yet another player with high mechanical skill on this team.
The bot lane of Robert “Katsurii” Gouv and Kang “KoreaCK” Cheol-gyu is yet another strong addition to this team. Often being relegated to weak side, this does affect the laning stats of the duo. Yet during skirmishes and teamfights, Katsurii is able to consistently perform. So far, Katsurii has only played Miss Fortune and Aphelios, but these fit the aggressive playstyle of Chiefs. Despite not yet playing Senna this split, the pick could work quite well for playing around Thien. With the global ultimate acting almost like a Shen ultimate from the bot lane, it could provide good synergy with the aggressiveness of the Chief’s top half of the map.
The Chiefs’ mid laner is Brandon “Claire” Nguyen. Although prone to laning mistakes, Claire is a solid mid laner who excels on assassins like Diana and LeBlanc. Last split, it was common for him to disrespect the gank potential of his enemy jungler, positioning too far up in lane without crucial movement abilities up. This split, there have been brief glimpses of this, but he has also made many improvements.
Playstyle
Chiefs Esports Club have dominated the OPL so far, ending all six of their current games within 30 minutes, as well as massive gold leads. The least of these was a 7,500 gold lead in a game against Pentanet.GG as they won in 28:36 minutes. Each of their other five games featured gold leads over 11,000. The Chiefs are currently looking like the most dominant team this split. Although Legacy are their best competition yet, it is easy to see a situation where the Chiefs just run over yet another team.
Chiefs will be prioritizing the Diana in this game, because it is an excellent flex pick between both Thien and Claire. Securing an aggressive jungler for Croc will also be important. Expect the Chiefs to pull ahead in the early game. The mid game could be a toss up, but it’s uncommon for the Chiefs to lose their large gold leads during the mid game. If the game goes late, it is unsure how good their macro game will be. Because they have not played any games past 30 minutes, it is unsure how comfortable the Chiefs will be in the later stages of the game.
Matchup to Watch: Topoon vs Thien
These incredible top laners will most certainly be the focus of each team. Chiefs seemingly will be playing on red side this game, which is an excellent advantage to have. Chiefs should save the counter-pick for Thien, securing a good matchup for the star top laner.
This game will start at 3:00 AM EST. Tune in to find out who will end the first round robin with a perfect record.
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Featured Image Courtesy of Snowball Esports
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