At the end of Week Two of the 2018 NA LCS, Echo Fox, a team that was placed in the middle of the pack on most pre-week one power rankings, is the only team to remain undefeated.
After failing to meet expectations in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Echo Fox had to show that they were a team worthy of being in the LCS and if the start of the 2018 season is anything to go by, then they have definitely proved they are worthy.
Echo Fox have shown how amazingly dominant they can be. They have continuously shown how they can snowball games early and proceed to stomp on their opposition. They begin to bleed their enemies of XP and gold, building the advantages up over time. These advantages eventually convert into entire item leads that allow for Echo Fox to completely take over the map with relatively little opposition.
Even in matches where Echo Fox has been severely behind, they have shown just how good they are. They have shown they can win team fights even when the enemy team has the advantage. At no time was this better shown than in the game against Team SoloMid on Saturday in which they were behind by 10k gold. With Fox on the ropes, TSM moved in to secure the win, Michael “MikeYeung” Yeung dove the bottom Inhib turret with the rest of his team on his heels ready to respond. The play was very much unnecessary due to the huge amount of pressure they had on Echo Fox’s base, yet nonetheless, they went for it. Echo Fox was able to capitalize on the dive by immediately locking TSM between a Gangplank ultimate and the turret, allowing Echo Fox to turn the tide of the game and eventually win the match.
Ultimately, the reason why Echo Fox is proving to be so dominant is due to their opportunistic and aggressive playstyle. They are a team that is never too afraid to pick a fight and are able to commit to a play within seconds. This gives them a distinct advantage over other teams that aren’t as quick on the trigger. Whilst some may say that committing to plays so quickly could be a recipe for disaster, Echo Fox continues to do so. They understand that sometimes in order to be the best, you have to take risks. With the way Echo Fox has been performing, they could quite possibly become the best team in the region, and perhaps even bring NA to the world’s finals, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Featured Image: LoL Esports Flickr
Other Images: LoL Esports Flickr, LoL Esports Flickr
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