Baron Archives • The Game Haus

June 23, 2017 by Thomas Baker

Summer 2017 over/under (part 2): LCS players above expectations

With three weeks of NA and EU LCS in the books, audiences are starting to get a feel for teams’ strengths and weaknesses. Some squads have carried over similar strengths from Spring Split. Others have risen or fallen in performance. But even within rosters that tend to play consistently, there always seems to be an ebb and flow on the individual player level.

Last week, I highlighted players who need to return to past form for their respective teams to have a chance at peak performance. This week it is all about the other side, summoners who are trending upward so far this summer. These players have visibly improved. They are putting up statistics that are exciting and surprising. More importantly, though, these members have elevated their teams’ overall performances with their gameplay on the Rift.

Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaha

CLG, Top laner

KP%: 61.8% (2nd top laner)

D%: 19% (4th top laner)

Darshan is a player who has come and gone as a presence in the top lane. While he almost mirrors his statistics from Spring Split, Summer Split seems different. Many of the imported top laners who struggled to find their place last split currently feel much stronger. Yet, Darshan has been able to keep up enough in lane to help CLG pressure the map through split-pushing and cleaner Teleports. Darshan’s team will rely on him to anchor his lane against top-heavy teams in the NA LCS.

CLG Darshan is exceeding expectations in top lane

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

DIG Shrimp is exceeding expectations in the jungle

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

Lee “Shrimp” Byeong-hoon

Dignitas, Jungler

KP%: 79.1% (2nd overall)

XPD@10: 325 (3rd overall)

Dignitas’ newest jungler, Shrimp, has been on a tear so far this split. He and top laner, Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho, are the only members of the team to start ahead of their opponents at 10 minutes. Despite Dignitas’ early deficits, Shrimp has enabled the team to control Elder Dragon and Baron better than most teams in the NA LCS. His Lee Sin is particularly strong.

Choi “Pirean” Jun-Sik

Team Envy, Mid laner

KDA: 4.2 (4th mid laner)

DPM: 494 (6th mid laner)

Pirean is by no means close to the best mid laner in the NA LCS. However, his addition to Team Envy has seemed to boost their overall performance. Within the team, Pirean has the highest KDA, lowest death share, and ties Apollo “Apollo” Price in damage share. Even in Envy’s losses, the mid laner looks proactive on picks like Taliyah and Ahri. Pirean seems like a much better fit than Noh “Ninja” Geon-woo in spring.

NV Pirean is performing above expectations in mid lane

LoL Esports Flickr

UOL Samux is exceeding expectations in bottom lane

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

Samuel “Samux” Fernández Fort

Unicorns of Love, Bot laner

DPM: 604 (4th overall)

DMG%: 28% (6th overall)

Despite already meshing well with Unicorns of Love in his rookie split, Samux is solidifying himself as a top AD carry in EU LCS this split. He is putting out high damage and keeping his deaths low, sporting a 7.7 KDA. Samux’s positioning and decision-making have been crucial to Unicorns’ scary team-fighting. Standing out this way among a strong field of European bot lanes truly is a feat.

Kim “Wadid” Bae-in

Roccat, Support

D%: 15.4% (2nd support)

KP%: 68.5% (6th support)

The flashiest Rakan player in the EU LCS, Wadid has been a primary initiator for Roccat this split. This trend started during Roccat’s win streak towards the end of Spring Split, but he has blossomed these past few weeks. Wadid enables his bottom lane partner, Petter “Hjärnan” Freyschuss, to get ahead during laning phase and clean up team-fights. Viewers feel this player’s presence on the map, which is impressive considering there are several competitive, veteran support players in the league.

ROC Wadid is exceeding expectations as support

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

honorable mention

IMT Cody Sun and Olleh are above expectations in bottom lane

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

Li “Cody Sun” Yu Sun, Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung

Immortals, Bot lane duo

DPM: 534,251 (2nd bot lane duo)

FB%: 27%,20% (1st bot laner, 1st support)

The success of Immortals’ bottom lane is difficult to separate between marksman and support. Both Cody Sun and Olleh have exhibited vast improvements from their starts at IEM Gyeonggi. Many fans could see the power shift towards the end of Spring Split, but not to the current degree. This duo has consistently pressured opponents throughout the game in laning, turrets and team-fights. Olleh’s aggressive Bard and Morgana pairs particularly well with Cody Sun’s Caitlyn and Varus. Immortals’ bottom lane has been a force so far, and remaining at the top of the standings will definitely depend on their continued growth.

All of these players are playing above their previous benchmarks. It only takes a short time for above expectations to turn into the expectation, and, as the NA and EU LCS advance, viewers will look for continued improvement. No one will necessarily remember which teams and players were stomping or slumping three weeks into the split. If these players truly want to leave their mark, they will need to maintain this high level of gameplay over many more grueling weeks of League of Legends.

Featured Image: LoL Esports Flickr

Champion Statistics: Oracle’s Elixir

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May 25, 2017 by Rodger Caudill

So You Missed Smite

So You Missed Smite…

It’s happened. You missed smite. Maybe you smote too early, perhaps you still have it up and just didn’t use it altogether. What now?

Well, now it’s time to get typing. You need an alibi before your teammates flame you into oblivion. So, let’s get to it, with my handy list of useful excuses for missing smite. The following 10 excuses become exceedingly more ridiculous and impractical, so for your benefit, start with the basic excuses before mastering some of the more complex ones.

The most unfornate baron steal in all of competitive League of Legends. Courtesy of OGN

“I lagged” – This classic excuse is a go to in my book, but the true master of this excuse uses a third party application in order to temporarily devour their bandwidth temporarily. Alt-tabbing and activating this program after you have missed smite, can increase your ping (latency), allowing you to then ping your ping to prove to your teammates how “laggy” you are. Need help temporarily increasing your ping? Try updating a game on Steam.
“My cat/dog jumped me” – Another classic excuse utilized frequently by streamers and Bronzies alike. I enjoy taking this excuse to a different level by discussing my hypothetical cat’s medical history, creating sympathy amongst my comrades.
“My mouse ran out of batteries” – Have a wired mouse? Your teammates don’t have to know. This classic excuse is bettered by an absence of movement following the missed smite. Try playing a few clicks of minesweeper, or booting up a game of Hearthstone in the meantime.
“I was watching LCS” – This excuse works well when LCS is live, and even better when TSM is playing, but don’t let this stop you from claiming to watch rebroadcasts and VODs. This excuse is best when you throw in the matchup followed by a “No Spoilers please.”
Saintvicious from his days on team Gravity. Courtesy of lolesports flickr
“It was my turn in Hearthstone” – This optimal cover-up works even better if you tell your teammates how far you are on your Arena run. Remember that Hearthstone can be replaced by 3-D and even 4-D chess for maximum impact.
“I’m practicing for my Saintvicious cosplay” – This strategy is best at higher elo, with players who have been around the competitive scene for quite some time.
“Oh, I thought you were going to” – Bold, and precocious, this excuse transfers blame onto another player. I have yet to see this one work, however if you are playing with a Nasus, or any other stacking champion you can modify this one by saying you were letting them get stacks that they did not capitalize on.
“Sorry fam, there was a (input natural disaster) making it hard to hit my smite” – This high-level excuse is as effective as it is well designed. Start with a whimsical opening in order to soften the blow of whatever natural disaster you choose to create. Remember, your goal is to balance comedy and tragedy here so keep it light, but also devastating.
If they aren’t running out of batteries, they are running across something. Courtesy of miriadna.com
“A mouse ran across my keyboard” – This excuse works best when you cast smite too early. Mice are scary, so your teammates may empathize with your situation. The challenjour rendition of this excuse can also be helpful, “ A keyboard ran across my mouse.”
“I’m human” – This last ditch excuse will never work. Avoid at all costs. Admitting to being fallible is the first step towards your entire team sharpening their pitchforks and burning down your home. It’s just absolutely ridiculous that your teammates could accept that you are in fact a person prone to the imperfection of humanity.

Featured image Courtesy of Riot Games

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in Esports / League of Legends / Sports 0 comments

May 12, 2017 by Thomas Baker

Standout Performances from Day 2 of MSI Group Stage

Day 2 of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational Group Stage has come to an end. League of Legends fans have settled into expectations for their favorite teams. While the tournament has had its fair share of under-performers, these players deserve recognition for outstanding performances on the day.

SKT v. TSM: Peanut

Consistently ranked as a top player internationally, Han “Peanut” Wang-ho has shown up just as expected. During SKT’s match-up against TSM, Peanut demolished the field. He finished the match with a 13.0 KDA, and 82 percent more damage per minute than Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen (375 to 206). Due to Peanut’s early pro-activity, and punishing Svenskeren’s map movements, SKT was able to secure a 5,000 gold lead around 14 minutes in. Peanut’s Lee Sin continues to be undefeated, and this match illustrates why.

GAM v. FW: Betty

Gigabyte Marines built a huge lead on Flash Wolves, but they were unable to secure the win. Much of the comeback was mounted by Lu “Betty” Yuhung on Ezreal. After he finished building Blade of the Ruined King and Muramana, Betty was able to melt through GAM’s team, particularly Phan “Stark” Công Minh’s Galio. Using proper positioning, Betty stayed safe through most of the mid-late game and put out high damage. He finished with a 16.0 KDA, and an enormous 819 damage per minute (39.2 percent of FW’s total damage).

G2 v. WE: Condi

A 10.0 KDA, 100 percent kill participation, and 21.9 percent of Team WE’s gold are all the highlight stats for Xiang “Condi” Ren-Jie against G2. His Graves delivered tons of damage while accelerating the tempo of the game, which finished in 28 minutes. This win was definitely a team effort. Jin “Mystic” Sung-jun and Ke “957” Changyu contributed Ashe and Kled ultimates to lock down G2’s carries. However, Condi’s early control of the jungle neutralized Kim “Trick” Gang-Yun and blew the game wide open.

FW v. TSM: Karsa

Hung “Karsa” Hau-Hsuan has been having a good tournament so far, despite Flash Wolves’ overall poor start to the MSI Group Stage. Playing against TSM, Karsa was the catalyst for countering Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell’s Fizz, which got ahead early in this match-up. Karsa moved around the map to always be in the middle of the action. He finished with a 14.0 KDA, 459 damage per minute, and 5.9 CS per minute. Beyond the first eight minutes, TSM’s Svenskeren paled in comparison.

GAM v. G2: Perkz

Fizz has been much more popular in top lane so far at MSI, but Luka “Perkz” Perković decided to take him mid against Gigabyte Marines. Once he reached level 6, and unlocked Chum the Waters, he was a true force. Not only did Perkz do the most damage in the match-up (27,677), but he also controlled the side lanes throughout. He engaged, disengaged, and re-engaged effectively, hopping in and out of fights using Playful Trickster, Hextech Protobelt, and Flash. His risky plays around Baron and Elder Drake dazzled the Brazilian crowd.

WE v. SKT: Bang

Bae “Bang” Jun-sik’s two deaths were both within the first 15 minutes of this game. From there, he was able to amass seven kills and six assists, ending with a 6.5 KDA. SKT was confident to put Bang on a squishy hyper-carry, Twitch. Han “Peanut” Wang-ho and Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan were given Ivern and Nami, respectively, while Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was drafted Orianna (all healing and shielding champions). If Bang had failed to rebound after the poor early game, then SKT would have most likely lost their first match of the tournament to Team WE.

Player/Champion Statistics: Games of Legends, Stage.GG

Featured Image: LoL Esports Photos

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in Columns / Esports / League of Legends / Sports 0 comments