Cloud14-0 is Definitely in Reach in the LCS

Through 12 games, Cloud9 sits at 12-0 with 6 more games left in the split. The first game of Week 7 is the rematch against Team SoloMid (TSM), followed by Golden Guardians.

Previewing Week 7

Team SoloMid: 6-6

TSM/Cloud9 is always a hype game. No matter where the teams are in the standings the games always entertain. Their first game was no different, as TSM got the early pressure on Cloud9 but couldn’t keep it up and eventually lost.

TSM will have to bring a brand new strategy to even challenge

Team SoloMid via LoL Esports Photos on Flickr

Cloud9. Last week Dignitas tried to punish Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer’s constant roaming by drafting the hard farming Anivia. No dice, as Nisqy roamed just as effectively as ever. Dignitas also tried to take Eric “Licorice” Ritchie out of the game early by having him face Heo “Huni” Seung-Hoon’s signature Lucian. Again, nothing happened with the exception of Licorice keeping Huni occupied.

But which TSM will show up? Will the TSM that took advantage of Cloud9’s aggressiveness in the first game, which awarded TSM two free kills? Or will the TSM from Week 6 vs CLG that refused to exploit mistakes? The former can and will give Cloud9 a challenge. Just punish mistakes and bait Cloud9 into bad fights, although Cloud9 turns bad fights into advantages. If the directionless TSM shows up, well, the game will be a mess from the get go.

Player to Watch: Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg

As always, the name implies a strong midlane presence for TSM. They will most likely look to put Bjergsen on a hard farming champion, Irelia, Ekko or maybe even a Vel’Koz, to again try to punish Nisqy. This week will be played on Patch 10.4, so a pre-nerfed Ornn is another possibility. Galio is another tank TSM may look to put Bjergsen on, as his ultimate can even out a Nisqy roam pretty fast. The bottom line is Nisqy has shown he can beat meta midlane champions, so Bjergsen will have to dig deep into his champion pool to challenge Nisqy.

Prediction – Cloud9 wins

Golden Guardians: 5-7

Player To Watch Hauntzer via LoL Esports Photos Flickr

Earlier in the split Golden Guardians (GGS) took a tier 2 tower from Cloud9 and remain as one of the few teams to take a tier 2 from Cloud9. In order to replicate this, GGS has to exploit any mistakes Cloud9 makes, like GGS does normally. This strategy works well against 90% of the LCS, with the exception being Cloud9. Either they don’t make mistakes or Cloud9 simply doesn’t care if they make mistakes. Punished for over extending in top lane? Cloud9 takes the Dragon. Nisqy caught roaming in the jungle? A couple turret plates. For GGS to pull out a win they cannot play reactively and must be more aggressive than Cloud9. 

Just as with TSM, GGS has two opposite teams. On one team, we have Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell split-pushing into oblivion and Jungler Can “Closer” Celik dominating the other lanes. On the other hand we have Yuri “Keith” Jew feeding the other team, thus allowing their opposition to scale into oblivion. Both teams do not stand much of a chance against the juggernaut Cloud9. At best, GGS can try to stall and scale into the late game and see how Cloud9 handles that. Cloud9 has played one game longer than 34:00 and that was in Week 6 against FlyQuest. GGS has four games longer than 34:00 and the have a 1-3 record in those games, which bodes well for Cloud9 should the game get to that point.

Player to Watch: Hauntzer, Golden Guardians

Hauntzer is a great top lane presence and above average on non-tanks. If he drafts a carry or high damage dealer, he should stand a chance against Licorice. Licorice is the better top laner right now, but Hauntzer has experience and will look to utilize it. Last week, Licorice has shown he can absorb pressure and mostly be left alone, which is exactly what Hauntzer wants to happen. If Blaber get involved in the top lane, Hauntzer will not have a good time.

Another thing to watch for is Hauntzer’s synergy with Closer. If these two can consistently be on the same page, Hauntzer may be able to win this lane. Although this will most likely mean the other lanes are falling behind, it may be the best bet for GGS to win the top lane.

Prediction – Cloud9 wins

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