Despite finishing the week with only one win against CLG, Dignitas still managed to look good in week six as they competed well in their losses against top teams Team Liquid and Cloud 9.
After going positive last week for the first time since the opening week, Dignitas looked to continue their momentum in week six. They walked away with only one win putting them at a record of 18-18 and keeping them still in sixth place but the team is looking much better and still has a chance to move up in the standings going into the final third of the regular season split. Here are three takeaways from the week six performance of Dignitas.
1. Yusui Kassadin Play Exemplifies Youth of Team
Roster changes and a lack of team chemistry have caused another problem with Dignitas’s roster to be overlooked: their lack of LCS experience. In this weekend’s games, this issue was made evident, especially by Mid Laner David “Yusui” Bloomquist.
In their opening game against Team Liquid, DIG drafted a composition that was extremely strong late game, especially with Kassadin in the Mid Lane. The champion hits a very big power spike at level 16 and the team was clearly playing around that. After hitting level 16, Yusui impressively solo killed TL Mid Laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen. Feeling his strength, Yusui decided to test it in the following team fight and jumped onto four players on TL under tower. He was instantly bursted and TL was allowed to end the game right then and there. With Yusui’s Kassadin at level 16 he would have been really hard to kill had he been patient and played it slow.
AD Carry Toàn “Neo” Trần and Top Laner Aaron “FakeGod” Lee have also made some pretty obvious mistakes throughout the season but this play by Yusui just perfectly captures the true youth of this team. This youth will certainly not help DIG when it comes to playoffs. Luckily for these players and DIG is the fact that they have veterans Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black and Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham on their team. They will definitely aid in mitigating their losses and developing them into strong players. Getting them in the right form with playoffs only four weeks away will be quite the task, however.
2. Can Compete with Upper Teams, Will Make Good for Playoffs
Once again Dignitas struggled with taking advantage of their leads this weekend. In their first game against Team Liquid the team was in the driver’s seat until the previously mentioned play by Yusui. And then against Cloud 9, after picking up two nice kills in the bottom lane the team seemed to lack proactivity. Both of these games could have served as crucial wins not only because it would help have DIG’s overall record but also because wins against top teams can spark confidence within a squad, especially a young one.
The key from these games however is really the fact that they can compete with these teams and that they aren’t getting blown out of the water by them. This will be really good come playoff time due to the fact that playoff series are best of five. This will allow DIG to break down what they did wrong in a game and fix it in the next game.
3. Slow Play When Having Early Lead is Key
Moving forward if Dignitas wants to win games they will have to play the macro level of the game much slower. As mentioned in the previous section, DIG has blown a good amount of games this season where they had a lead and were in prime position to win the game. These blown leads come from mistakes the team makes by trying to force a certain play. The team must play the game slower to avoid doing this.
The team played with this pace in their upset last week against then first place TSM and did so again this weekend against CLG. After gaining a lead in the game, DIG recognized it and made great decisions based off of it. They didn’t force any objectives and instead fully covered the map, eventually taking all three of CLG’s inhibitors. One great decision they made which really showed great decision making and macro play was when they decided to not force the baron.
Late in the game and up a hefty amount of gold, DIG was preparing to do baron and hopefully end the game off of it. CLG’s mid and top inhibitors respawned however and DIG didn’t have much pressure in lanes with super minions. This allowed for CLG to be around the baron pit as their base was not being sieged. Instead of doing the baron and giving CLG the chance to steal, DIG instead forced a fight where they managed to kill two members of CLG and then end the game. If DIG wants to make any kind of noise in the last three weeks or in playoffs, it will be these types of smart plays that will be crucial.
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