kakao Archives • The Game Haus

February 2, 2018February 6, 2018 by Isaac Chandler

TCL Week 2 Power Rankings

Week 2 ended Monday morning for the TCL, and boy have these last two weeks been surprising. While many pre-season teams have lived up to their hype, or lack of it, a few surprises were in store, with one thought to-be strong roster falling flat on their faces. On the other hand, one team we didn’t expect to even take a win has managed to find the middle of the pack. With that said, lets get underway with out Week 2 Power Rankings!

As a note these rankings will cover Weeks 1 and 2, as I had prior obligations to take care of for Week 1, but expect weekly power-rankings going forward.

Rankings

1. BAUSuperMasive (+4)

GBM is back in form (image courtesy of GosuGamers)

GBM seems to have finally returned to his LCK form, leading the BAU-boys to a phenominal 6-0 start to the season. The whole line-up is firing on all cylinders right now, and has the Winter title in their eyes. This weekends match-up against league number two Royal Bandits will be their real test as to the strength of this roster. As the first match this Saturday, its looking to be a great start to this weekend!

2. Royal Bandits (-)

HolyPhoenix looks better than ever (courtesy of HolyPhoenix’s Twitter)

Outside of an off start, losing to bottom-side HWA Gaming, Royal Bandits have been off to the races. Malrang and Cepted have looked to already have developed strong synergy with their Turkish counterparts, putting on quiet a show these past two weeks. HolyPhoenix and Dumbledoge have looked great, as expected, and Broken Blade has even put up some strong numbers. The early loss to HWA is the only thing keeping them from first right now, and they’ll be fighting for that spot when they take on BAUSuperMassive this weekend.

3. 1907 Fenerbahçe (-2)

Fenerbahçe had a very rough start to the season, going 1-2 on the first week, and starting with two straight losses. The second week was much kinder to The Yellow Canaries (a Turkish nickname for the org), with a solid three game sweep of the opposition. The team seems to have struggled out of the gate with their communication, but its quickly coming together, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them 3-0 the weekend, even with RB and BAU closing it out. Stumbles happen with new rosters, but not many get back on their footing so quickly

4. Dark Passage (-)

Dark Passage is setting itself up as the gatekeeper to the upper-echelon of the league. The teams beating them are looking for the title, and the ones losing are trying to avoid relegation. This is not to say though that the team is bad, far from it: they’re good, just not currently title material. Lucete as garnered some nice synergy with KaKAO, and the duo has made quick work of the lower half teams. While they likely won’t be pushing for the title this Winter, the team should be utilizing this time to build synergy and improve, and could make a deep run come the end of Summer.

5. Galakticos (+3)

J1mmy really showed why he was so hyped these past two weeks (image courtesy of Leaguepedia)

I owe these boys an apology. I thought they’d be dead last and winless this split. But they surprised me and everyone else with a quick 2-0 start to the split with wins over YoungCrew and AURORA. J1mmy, the legend, and Rare both stepped up and brought strong performances to the team. Unfortunately, the team seems to have fallen off a cliff since then, going 0-4 in their next four games, and while a win against HWA seems likely, this team still looks like it has a long way to go before it’ll be a playoff contender. The team should spend the next few weeks building their synergy up and pushing to at least avoid the promotion tournament, and could make a decent run come Summer if they keep improving.

6. Team AURORA (-)

The good news for AURORA: the team isn’t the worst in the TCL. The bad news: there’s not much else going for them. The team has looked average at best, and everyone seems to just fade away in games they lose. Wisdom in particular seems to disappear on anything not named Jarvan so far, and Naru seems to struggle to find consistency (godly one game, feeding the next). The team needs to rely on Rain, who if given the tools to protect him, could potentially carry these team further up the standings, and has performed admirably so far.

7. YouthCrew (-4)

Does CoCo have what it takes to carry his botlane? (Image courtesy of EsportsTalk)

The biggest drop and disappointment so far, YouthCrew just can’t seem to get it together. With a single win over HWA as their lone victory, the team seems to struggle to find an identity. While the top half of the map has looked fine, the bot duo of Madness and Zzus have just looked dreadful. Combined, they have a total scoreline of 10/25/31 in six games, which gets even worse when you pull out their win against HWA, dropping them to an abysmal 6/24/21. Either the bot side comes together/the rest of the team picks up the slack, or YouthCrew could be looking down the barrel of the promotion tournament and relegation.

8. HWA Gaming (-1)

Can Ninja light the fire under his team going forward to bring them some wins? (Image courtesy of EU Lolesports)

HWA took a surprising win in their first game of the split against Royal Bandits with a nearly perfect game. Unfortunately that’s about the only positive thing they’ve had going for them. They’ve been unable to get even close to the same performance since then, and seem to really struggle in shotcalling. Armut in particular has looked lost or forgetful of his abilities, as shown in their Sunday match against FB where he had the chance at a well placed four man Gnar ult that would win them the fight, but refuses to use the ability. In fact, I only saw him use it once all game, and that was to escape at the end. Their import, Ninja, is just not looking good right now either, and unlike YouthCrew they lack starpower to fall back upon. If the team can return to the form they had that first game, they might win the whole split, but with the way they’ve played since, I’m becoming increasingly doubtful.

The TCL 2018 Winter Split continues this Saturday, February 3rd. Be sure to stay tuned here for all the exciting coverage, and check out The Game Haus on Twitter and Facebook for more esports news. Don’t forget to also follow myself on Twitter for more news on the TCL.

~Isaac “Raptearer’ Chandler

January 19, 2018January 20, 2018 by Isaac Chandler

TCL Winter 2018 Pre-Season Power Rankings

The Winter Split starts this weekend for the TCL, and the question on everyone’s mind clear; where do the team stand going into the season? Fortunately, we at The Game Haus are here to help. Here are our pre-season power rankings for Turkey!

Rankings

1. 1907 Fenerbahçe

Roster :

Top: Thaldrin
Jungle: Chaser
Mid: Frozen
ADC: Padden
Support: Zergsting

1907 Fenerbahce’s mid-laner Frozen (Image courtesy of 1907 Fenerbahce Facebook page)

They dominated the TCL last split, and its looking to be no different this time around. The addition of Chaser is a strong improvement for the team in the jungle, and if he and Frozen can establish strong synergy, they will devastate the competition. What’s more, the return of damage orientated junglers should help Chaser. They’ve also picked up former Team AUORORA Support Zergsting, whose large champion pool should be an upgrade on Japone. The only thing to be concerned about is if Chaser can pick up English (the teams comm language) fast enough. The team’s goals for this season should be to improve their laning and synergy, especially in the bot lane, and try to pick up some wins against the B5 regions at MSI and Worlds, along with the expected two domestic titles.

2. Royal Bandits

Roster :

Top: Broken Blade
Jungle: Malrang
Mid: Cepted
ADC: HolyPhoenix
Support: Dumbledoge

Royal Bandits look to make a name for themselves this year (image courtesy of leaguepedia)

After a disappointing finish to their TPL run in the Summer, Royal Bandits decided to take a new approach to qualifying: buying out newly promoted side Oyun Hizmetleri. The team seems to have learned from its failings in the lower league and decided to go with the new strategy: buy a good team. The team has put together a monster botside with famed ADC HolyPhoenix and legendary Faker killer Dumbledoge on Support. Former Galakticos top laner Broken Blade has switched to the Bandits top lane, while Malrang and Cepted bring strong synergy from their time on Ever8 last year. There is concern after their poor performances in the LCK last year, the duo should be strong enough to be top 3 in their respective roles here. Be on the lookout for this team to make a splash this season.

3. YouthCrew

Roster :

Top: Elwind
Jungle: Mojito
Mid: Coco
ADC: Madness
Support: Zzus

Coco looks to bring his strong play to YouthCrew and bring the team a title (Image courtesy of Inven Global)

Crew took the offseason to rebrand itself as YouthCrew, looking for a fresh start going into 2018. The addition of Coco to this roster is massive, especially as he looked fairly strong last year in the LPL on NewBee, and likely will compete with Frozen for best mid in Turkey. Not much is known about the other import for the team, Zzus. He played four games for Longzhu in LCK Spring 2016, before getting moved to the sub roster, and hasn’t been seen since. The four games weren’t much to write home about either, going 2-2, with the two wins coming against Kongdoo on an average statline. If he pans out here, YouthCrew could look to fight for one of the top spots this year.

4. Dark Passage

Roster :

Top: Marshall
Jungle: KaKAO
Mid: Lucete
ADC: Ruvelius
Support: Japon

Dark Passage (image courtesy of leaguepedia)

2017 was a rough year for Dark Passage. After their strong 2016 performance, the team stared down the barrel of relegations in the Winter, and barely avoided it again in Summer Split. Dark Passage is looking to bring a return to form and reclaim its throne atop the TCL. Most of the roster has changed out, with Korean jungler KaKAO coming over from Europe to form a cornerstone in the jungle. Bringing former Crew ADC Ruvelius and Fenerbahçe Support Japone should provide them a good bot side. The big question mark is Lucete: the man hasn’t played a competitive game yet, having been a sub for Korean Challenger team APK Prince. He’ll need to really step up if the team looks to challenge the top three, and rise Dark Passage above the middle of the pack.

5. BAUSuperMassive

Roster :

Top: fabFabulous
Jungle: Stomaged
Mid: GBM
ADC: Zeitnot
Support: SnowFlower

New support SnowFlower could make the difference this year (image courtesy of Inven Global)

BAUSuperMassive’s offseason changes are interesting to say the least. On the one hand, they picked up what is likely to be the strongest support in the region in former Jin-AIr support SnowFlower. On the other hand, they made a complete downgrade in the mid lane with GBM, who struggled against Challenger players in the NACS last year. Coming to Turkey, he’ll have to again face the likes of Frozen and Coco, who are set to run circles around him. The team is going to have to hope the rest of the team can pick up his slack if they hope to have a chance of reclaiming their title this year. Unfortunately for them, the rosters above just look so dominating, I don’t see them above middle of the pack

6. Team AURORA

Roster :

Top: Panky
Jungle: Wisdom
Mid: Naru
ADC: Rain
Support: Rogu

Can Naru keep up with the Korean mid imports? (image courtesy of leaguepedia)

The Team Liquid of the TCL, Team AURORA is looking to break its curse this year with some bottom half of the map roster changes. Former BAUSuperMassive midlaner Naru and support Rogu have joined the team, alongside former Invictus Gaming ADC Rain. While Naru and Rogu are definite upgrades in their roles, Rain is a question mark. He had a very average year, and it remains to be seen if he has what it takes to really be the strong carry his team needs. The team is going to have to rely on the synergy between Wisdom, Naru, and Rogu to carry them through games. With the strong rosters forming throughout the region, there’s a good chance this team will struggle to even make playoffs.

7. HWA Gaming

Roster :

Top: Armut
Jungle: Trix
Mid: Ninja
ADC: Achuu
Support: Revanche

HWA makes their comeback to the TCL (image courtesy of leaguepedia)

After dominating the TPL (Turkey’s Challenger scene), and auto-promoting back to the TCL, HWA Gaming looks to be making only one change to their roster, moving former Dark Passage mid-laner Ninja to the team to replace Xico. While the roster looks decent in most positions, the addition of Ninja to the team isn’t likely to really give them the edge they need to make push up the ladder. After the disappointing time he had on DP last year, and the strengthening of the mid position in the region, he’s likely to struggle allyear. While this roster would’ve likely been fine last year, the vast increase in talented imports looks set to leave the team starting down the barrel of relegations again.

8. Galakticos

Roster :

Top: Rare
Jungle: Viking
Mid: Backlund
ADC: j1mmy
Support:Veux

Galakticos (courtesy of Galakticos Twitter)

Galakticos went through A LOT of players in 2017, and really seemed to struggle to build a solid and stable roster. Even the roster that 3-0’d them out of relegations couldn’t last the off-season, with everyone but Veux leaving. The new roster looks highly disappointing, using their two import slots for unknowns Viking and Backlund from Europe. While Rare has played on the roster before, disappearing in the middle of last year, he’s average at best, and will need to make up for the rookies making up the rest of the carry positions. J1mmy is a rookie who I’ve heard rumors of some hype, but nothing else. They have what is by far the weakest and most untested roster. Based on their history, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them getting auto-relegated at the end of Winter. I’d love to be proven wrong, but i just don’t see it happening.

The TCL 2018 WInter Split begins tomorrow, January 20th. Be sure to stay tuned here for all the exciting coverage, and check out The Game Haus on Twitter and Facebook for more esports news. Don’t forget to also follow myself on Twitter for more news on the TCL.

~Isaac “Raptearer’ Chandler

January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by Isaac Chandler

Turkish Champions League of Legends

Images Courtesy of Riot Games TR

The new year is finally upon us, and that means we are only a few weeks away from the start of the 2018 season of League of Legends. While the community is going crazy over the franchising of the North American and Chinese leagues, interest in the minor regions has grown after the success of Southeast Asian (GPL) team Gigabyte Marines last year. With the attention focused on them, as well as Russia and Brazil, many have overlooked the other minor region that succeeded internationally this year: Turkey.

The region, represented at Worlds by 1907 Fenerbahçe, upset Taiwanese third-seed Hong-Kong Attitude and the Brazilian representative to make the Group Stage at the tournament. Beyond this though, not much is known about the region to the West, soo let’s take a look at the eight teams and format of the Turkish Champions League.

The League

First started back in 2014, the Turkish Champions League (TCL) is the top-flight League of Legends league in Turkey. Consisting of eight teams, the league runs two splits, Winter and Summer, annually, and its playoff winner qualifies to MSI (for Winter) and Worlds (Summer) play-ins. The league has seen four teams take the domestic title since it’s inception: Dark Passage, BAUSuperMassive, 1907 Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş Esports Club.

It’s rival league, according to Riot Games, is the northern CIS region (Russia).

The current format sees the teams play a double-round robin, each match being a Best of One. The league has a six-team playoff in which the top two teams from the regular season automatically seed into the semi-finals.There is no third-fourth place match.

The losers of the third-sixth and fourth-fifth place matches play an extra match to determine who gets sixth place, and thus sent to the relegation tournament with the seventh place team. The eight place team at the end of the regular season is automatically relegated to the Turkish Challenger League (TPL), and the winner of that split of the TPL auto-qualifies to the TCL.

Teams

1907 Fenerbahçe

Coming off their first year in the TCL, 1907 Fenerbahçe has taken the region by storm and proving to be one of the most popular teams come out of the TCL. Created by the supporter group for the famous Fenerbahçe soccer club (and not officially owned by the organization yet), the team took a joint third-fourth place finish in the Winter split, before storming the league in Summer, losing just one series the entire split.

The team, led by Korean mid-laner Frozen, and commanded by regional star-shot caller Thaldrin, looks poised to reach new heights in 2018, having replaced jungler Move and support Japone with newly arrived import Chaser, and Team Aurora’s former support Zergsting. Be on the look-out this year for Worlds pentakill earner Padden to make a stand-out name for himself this year.

Dark Passage

The oldest team in the region to not be relegated, Dark Passage is a storied franchise, with multiple TCL titles under their belt. Consistently in the top half of the league, and more often than not top two, Dark Passage has been a powerful core for the region. Having hosted players from HolyPhoenix to Wikd, the team has shown strong resilience even in the face of a constantly evolving roster. Unfortunately, 2017 was not a kind year for the White Tigers. They missed playoffs for the first time in Winter, placing seventh and forcing them into the promotion tournament, and just avoiding the same fate in the Summer Split, achieving fifth.

The team used the off-season to make huge changes, removing everyone but top laner Marshall, and bringing in Korean jungler and mid laners, respectively, KaKAO and Lucete, along with native bot lane Ruvelius and Japone. Will they finally reclaim their thrown at the top this year? They’re sponsored by Domino’s Pizza.

YouthCrew Esports

Formerly Crew Esports Club, the team decided to take the offseason to rebrand themselves as YouthCrew Esports. Having been around since 2015, Youthcrew started as a bottom tier team, getting relegated their first split, returning to the top flight the following summer. Since then, the team has steadily improving, averaging third place over the last four splits, as is looking to capitalize on its rebranding to make a run at the league title.

The team has brought in two imports during the off-season: Zzus from Korea, and most shockingly former NewBee mid-laner Coco, and has opted to keep the core line-up of Elwind (top), Mojito (jungle), and Madness (ADC). Will this finally be Youthcrews year to take it all?

Team AURORA

The Team Liquid of the TCL, Team AURORA has made third-fourth place every playoffs they’ve been in since promoting from the Challenger Scene (TPL) at the end of 2015, no matter their regular season performance. A gatekeeper to success in the league, AURORA is looking to finally overcome the wall of semi’s to take their first domestic title this year. To help this along, they’ve brought in former SuperMassive players Rogu (Support, formerly known as hbiki), and Naru (mid). Will this be AURORA’s year to finally break the memes?

BAUSuperMassive Esports

A relatively new organization, having joined at the start of the 2016 season after buying recently promoted Challenger secondary team of Beşiktaş, BAUSuperMassive (known locally as just SuperMassive) has won three of the last four splits, only failing this last Summer split after falling the finals to Fenerbahçe. The team elected to use the off-season making some small changes to the team, bringing in Korean players GBM (mid) and SnowFlower (support) to aid returning members Zeitnot (adc), Stomaged (jungle), and fabFabulous (top), and bring them back to the top. The team’s main sponsors are Bahçeşehir University and Carl’s Jr.

Royal Bandits

The newest team to the TCL, Royal Bandits qualified after buying out the recently promoted team Oyun Hizmetleri. Having spent the previous split at the bottom of the TPL, Royal Bandits is looking to alleviate worries about its ability to run a team with some major signings in the off-season. From Korea they’ve brought in the former Ever8 jungle-mid duo of Malrang and Cepted, along with the star-studded domestic bot-lane of HolyPhoenix and Faker-killer Dumbledoge. Can the new boys on the block run the gauntlet and take a domestic title in their first season, or will they repeat their failings from the TPL?

HWA Gaming

An original member of the first Turkish Champions League, HWA Gaming has seen its fortunes rise and fall over the years. 2017 was no exception, seeing the team burn out of playoffs and fall to the TPL until the end of the year. Looking to make 2018 an up-year for the team, HWA has gone and replaced its Challenger Scene mid laner Xico with Korean import Ninja in the off-season, while keeping the rest of it’s promotion line-up. The team is anchored by long time jungler Trix, who has started for the team since Winter 2016. The team will be looking to push its way back to the upper half of the league this season

Galakticos

The most mysterious team in the TCL, Galakticos is the last team in the TCL. Joining at the start of 2017, Galakticos has spent much time in the cellar of the league. Spending much of the last year rotating through players for almost every position, they never seemed to find a composition that worked. According to the TCL home page, the team will consist of, from top of the map to bottom: Rare, Viking, Backlund, J1mmy, and Veux. Having the only fully domestic squad in the league, Galakticos will be looking to make a name for itself in this strengthening region as a builder of local talent.

Be sure to stay-tuned to The Game Haus for all your English coverage of the Turkish Champions League, including weekly power-rankings, English castings, and more, when the league kicks off it’s 2018 Winter Split on January 20th, alnog with coverage of your other favorites leagues. If you have scoops you’d like to share with us, feel free to drop us a line at isaac.chandler.tgh@gmail.com.

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Isaac Twitter

in Esports / League of Legends 0 comments

Misfits' roster may change in the off-season

August 31, 2017August 30, 2017 by Thomas Baker

Misfits: Europe’s newest international contenders

The EU LCS will be sending a new team to the League of Legends World Championship this year. Misfits are automatically qualified, since they made it into the EU LCS playoff finals. If they win the whole thing, Misfits would be Europe’s first seed team. If they lose the series to G2, then they would be second seed.

Misfits would finish the year with 120 championship points. Fnatic could tie that total by winning the third place match, but, as stated in Riot’s EU LCS rules, “In the event that multiple teams are tied in the standings at the conclusion of the Summer Split, then the team that gained the most points in the Summer Split will be considered the holder of the tiebreaker.”

Misfits’ qualification may come as a surprise to some, as they only managed to finish third in Group A in the Summer Split. However, they have blazed through the quarterfinals and semifinals. Misfits took down Group B’s second seed, Unicorns of Love, 3-0. They also upset Group A’s first seed, Fnatic, 3-1. This squad has certainly been turning heads, and G2 will be their last opponent for the Summer Split.

SPRING SPLIT RECAP

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

Misfits came into the Summer Split with 30 championship points, since they finished fourth place in the spring playoffs. During the regular season, Misfits had solidified themselves as second seed of Group A, between G2 and Fnatic. This finish caused Misfits to play Group B’s Splyce in the quarterfinals, who they beat 3-2. Unicorns of Love booted Misfits in semifinals by winning 3-1. Finally, Fnatic skunked Misfits 3-0 in the third place match, forcing them to finish fourth and to earn 30 championship points.

During the spring regular season, Misfits’ losses came at the hands of G2, H2K, Fnatic, and Roccat. Misfits lost both of their series to a G2 that only gave up one loss that split. They also lost their one cross-group match-up to H2K. Fnatic and Roccat were both teams in Group A that traded wins and losses with Misfits.

On the other hand, Misfits won both of their series against fellow Group A team, Giants. They also took down all of the other Group B teams: Unicorns of Love, Vitality, Splyce, and Origen. That is why it was a bit of surprise when Splyce took Misfits to five games in the quarterfinals, and Unicorns of Love beat them outright in four games. Fnatic had really come into their element in the playoffs, so few were as surprised with their victory over Misfits.

CHANGES IN THE MID-SEASON

Maxlore replaced KaKAO in the mid-season

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

These shortcomings in spring playoffs must have been part of the reasoning behind the Misfits’ mid-season roster change. They added Nubar “Maxlore” Safarian as their starting jungler, dropping Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon. There was an official announcement from Misfits’ website, which cited “despite his fantastic individual performance, KaKAO had trouble contributing to communication.”

Throughout the regular season of the Summer Split, this change had not shown to be as impactful as anticipated. It was unclear whether or not Maxlore was a clear upgrade from KaKAO. Maxlore finished Spring Split with a lower KDA, an even damage share, lower XP difference at 15 minutes and a lower first blood rate than KaKAO. To be fair, Maxlore was playing jungler on a highly inconsistent Roccat squad, and he did show moments of brilliance. Also, if communication in and out of the game were of primary concern, then it is difficult as an outsider to judge how much that improved after the switch.

However, Misfits are feeling Maxlore’s impact in the playoffs this summer. Comparing his regular season statistics and performance with those of playoffs shows major improvement. His KDA is 160 percent higher (3.7 to 9.6), his warding has shot up from .82 wards per minute to .97. And he has flipped from starting 107 XP behind at 15 minutes to being 194 ahead. Finally, Misfits’ gameplay around Baron has felt much more calm and calculated during playoffs. This shift cannot be fully contributed to Maxlore, but his presence in playoffs has allowed Misfits’ Baron control to rise from 53 percent (2017 Spring playoffs) to 58 percent (2017 Summer regular season) to 78.6 percent (2017 Summer playoffs).

CHALLENGER SERIES TO WORLDS QUALIFIERS

Image from LoL Esports Flickr

All in all, Misfits’ 2017 season will culminate in their joining the short list of European teams participating in the World Championship. They will be the 15th team to represent Europe at the event. This is an amazing honor.

Some may not remember that this is Misfits’ inaugural year in the EU LCS. Misfits follow in the path of other European teams that have qualified for Worlds within their first year of joining from the Challenger series. Last year, Splyce and G2 both qualified for Worlds, and they had just been promoted into the LCS that spring. Origen qualified for the 2015 World Championship by winning Europe’s regional gauntlet, despite that summer being their first LCS split.

While Origen has since been relegated from the LCS, G2 and Splyce have maintained a strong presence. G2 continues to stay at the top of the tables and Splyce has remained a playoff contender in Spring and Summer Splits. Hopefully, Misfits will join their ranks to remain a consistent top European team. They will be looking to prove themselves in the EU LCS finals against G2. Then Misfits will travel to China to further build their legacy.

Featured Image: LoL Esports Flickr

Other Images: LoL Esports Flickr

Player Statistics: GamesofLegends.com

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

Unicorns of Love may lose some members for 2018

April 19, 2017April 18, 2017 by Thomas Baker

EU’s Final Showdowns: G2-UOL, FNC-MSF

The last matches of the 2017 EU LCS Spring Split are happening this weekend, April 22nd-23rd. The playoffs have been exciting thus far, and the final two series look to be just as juicy. Fnatic will battle Misfits for third place, while Unicorns of Love attempts to dethrone G2. All four of these teams have rounded out the past few weeks well, but here are some notes going into their last match-ups of Spring.

Misfits

courtesy of Riot esports

Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage has had an excellent playoff run. Among all of Misfits and Fnatic’s players, PowerOfEvil has been averaging the highest damage per minute: 620 (the next highest is Martin “Rekkles” Larsson with 497). He makes up 29.8% of Misfits’ damage. His average during the regular season was 495, or 28.8% of the team’s total. PowerOfEvil will need to maintain this high level of play and shut down Rasmus “Caps” Winthe if Misfits want to stand a chance of winning.

Their jungler, Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, will need to adjust. Between all ten Misfits and Fnatic players, KaKAO sits bottom two in KDA, kill participation, first blood rate, and experience difference at 10 minutes. This is not going to cut it if Misfits are to win this weekend’s series and secure third place. Many analysts have criticized his play on Rengar. His win percentage is only 33% on this champion, so he should try to stay away from it in the draft. Unicorns of Love were smart to ban Lee Sin and Elise, for which he holds 78% and 67% win-rates. His next best options are Ivern and Rek’Sai, for which he also holds 67% win-rates.

Overall, Misfits have mainly lost the early game pressure they exhibited during the regular season. So far, they have averaged 384 gold behind their playoff opponents, which is awful compared to their 820 gold ahead during the regular season. The largest discrepancy between Misfits and Fnatic has been their respective abilities to take the first three turrets. Fnatic holds the top spot among playoff contenders, taking their opponents’ first three turrets in 71% of games. Misfits have only achieved this in 44% of their games.

Fnatic

courtesy of Riot esports

Fnatic’s most improved player for playoffs has been Jesse “Jesiz” Le. Almost every statistic of his has improved over the past two weeks. His KDA went from 3.4 to 5.2. His kill participation rose from 60.3% to 68.9%. Jesiz has been a primary engage tool for the team on champions such as Camille, Thresh, and Zyra. He is also a big reason why Rekkles has been able to get through laning phase on off-meta marksmen. Hopefully, Jesiz is able to maintain this high-pressure playstyle.

While having a wide champion pool can be good, it is not always necessary. Fnatic’s odd champion choices essentially ended their series against G2 last weekend. Vayne, Tristana, Kayle, Annie: these selections were not necessary. The flexing of Camille and Kennen have generally worked well for Fnatic, but branching out much beyond those picks is a bit much. The surprise factor does not outweigh the execution factor.

One area where Fnatic has excelled during playoffs is Baron control. Fnatic has taken the first Baron in 86% of their playoff games (compared to 38% during the regular season). They have also maintained a 71% Baron control rate (compared to 33% during the regular season). This focus is much better than Misfits, and will more than likely be the biggest factor in Fnatic’s favor. Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen and crew will need to continue to prioritize this objective.

Unicorns of Love

courtesy of Riot esports

Unicorns of Love have strong players at every position except, arguably, their AD carry. During playoffs, Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás and Fabian “Exileh” Schubert have averaged 605 and 600 damage per minute, respectively (third and fourth highest of all players). Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir tops the competition in KDA (10.5) and has the second-lowest death share of all player in playoffs (8.9%). While Samuel “Samux” Fernández Fort generally averages behind in CS at ten minutes, he stays ahead in gold and experience, and he maintains the third lowest percentage of UOL’s deaths (13.3%).

One of the Unicorns’ biggest strengths is their champion pool. Xerxe has 75-100% win-rates on four champions with three or more games (Warwick, Ivern, Rengar, Rumble). Vizicsacsi has 75-100% win-rates on four champions with three or more games (Renekton, Rumble, Nautlius, Shen). And Exileh has won games on 11 different champions this spring. Pinching their pools will be virtually impossible for G2.

As a team, Unicorns of Love has secured first blood and first dragon in every game of playoffs so far. UOL has also secured the first Baron in in 75% of games with a 71% Baron control rate. If they are going to beat G2, it will most likely be off the back of a Baron trade. G2 have averaged a poor 25% first Baron rate during playoffs, and a 50% Baron control rate. During the regular season, G2 secured first Baron 72% of the time and maintained a 74% Baron control rate.

G2

courtesy of Riot esports

G2 will be a formidable foe for Unicorns of Love. They offer similar strong players in virtually every role. Luka “Perkz” Perković has really shined throughout playoffs so far. He has the highest damage per minute (635) and percent of his team’s damage (33%). He has the lowest death share of all players in playoffs (8.5%), and he has the third highest KDA (7.0). UOL’s Exileh showed a bit of weakness against PowerOfEvil during laning phase last weekend. Perkz will be even more difficult for him to overcome.

G2’s other primary carry has been Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen. Although he was not quite as dominant in the Fnatic series last weekend, his match-up with Unicorns’ bottom lane should be much easier. Zven has averaged 6.5 CS and 164 gold ahead at ten minutes. If there is a player who needs to step up in this series, though, it is Kim “Trick” Gang-Yun. Trick’s regular season KDA was 4.7. So far in playoffs, it is 1.8. He averaged significantly ahead in gold, experience, and CS at ten minutes. In the playoffs, he has averaged 7 CS and 108 experience behind.

G2’s early game was phenomenal against Fnatic last weekend. The squad averaged 877 gold ahead at 15 minutes. That was the case during the regular season, as well. What looks like a weak spot is taking early towers. During the regular season, G2 took first turret in 64% of games and the first three turrets in 73% of games. In their series last weekend, they only did 50% and 25%, respectively. Unicorns of Love take the first turret less often, but the first three turrets more often. G2 will have to transition their early game leads into early objectives if they want to stand a chance against UOL. Teamfighting may not be the correct strategy. Smart rotations and perfect execution will be their only chance at victory.

predictions

Fnatic has looked much stronger in the past few weeks than Misfits have. I do not think it impossible for Misfits to take this, but it is highly unlikely. Just as Misfits took one game off of Unicorns of Love, they should get one from Fnatic, but Fnatic should win 3-1.

The finals series will be much more exciting. G2 have looked a bit weaker, while Unicorns seem hungry. Either way, it should be a five game series. If UOL wins it will be from snowballing the top side of the map, while G2 should look to snowball the bottom side. While both will likely happen, Vizicsacsi’s gameplay lately is seemingly unstoppable. This should be Unicorns’ spring split playoff victory.

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March 14, 2017 by Thomas Baker

EU LCS Players Who Need to Bounce Back in Week 8

The EU LCS had a few shake-ups in Week 7. There was a tilting remake in the Giants-Vitality series. Origen took their first match win of 2017. Splyce had a convincing win against G2 in Game 1, then completely dropped the ball. Roccat finished the week 2-0. H2K beat Misfits much harder than many expected.

Coming into Week 8, several teams will be looking to bounce back. There were some brutal losses last week. There were some who underperformed, and others who surprised the audience. There are only three more weeks until Playoffs begin. Teams at the top are vying for first place in their groups. Teams at the bottom are clawing out of the relegation tournament. Teams in the middle are doing their best to maintain their Playoff spots.

Here are five players who will need to come back this week off of heavy losses to boost their teams into higher positions.

Origen’s Jungler

courtesy of Riot esports

While Origen must have been excited to win their first game of Spring Split, they still finished the week with another 0-2. They currently sit at the bottom of Group B at 0-9. They are a full two wins behind the next lowest three teams.

Origen announced that Kim “Wisdom” Tae-Wan will be leaving the team, and they have brought on Jacob “Cinkrof” Rokicki as a replacement. Cinkrof has been playing in the Spanish professional league, LVP. While Wisdom has shown certain bright moments, he stands out as a particularly weak piece of Origen’s roster. He tends to play over-aggressively, especially in the mid-late game, getting picked off or caught out of position regularly.

Cinkrof, if he does start in Week 8, will have his first tests against Team Vitality and Splyce. Neither of these teams should blow Origen out of the water, but they will be challenging. Many fans have written off Origen as already being solidified into the relegation tournament. Cinkrof will be their last hope for rising through the ranks of Group B, and possibly defending Origen’s slot in the LCS.

VIT Djoko

courtesy of Riot esports

Team Vitality had a rough Week 7, despite their victory against Giants. Vitality gave away Game 1, and Giants were far ahead in Game 2 before the Orianna bug was detected and the game was remade. Giants did lose the next two games, but gameplay-wise, Vitality looked outclassed prior to the bug. Later in the weekend, Roccat beat Vitality 2-0.

Charly “Djoko” Guillard looked particularly weak in these two series. During the first 20 minutes of Game 2 against Giants (prior to the remake), Djoko was killed three times. While he had decent showings on Gragas and Graves, he also had some unconvincing games on Gragas and a sub-par performance on Elise.

In Week 8, Djoko will be battling Origen’s new jungler. This could be a complete wildcard, but it will be up to Djoko to ensure that Vitality maintain control of the game. It should be an easy 2-0 victory, but, then again, same goes for Roccat last week. A loss here could spell devastation for Team Vitality’s chances at escaping the relegation tournament.

SPY Trashy

courtesy of Riot esports

Splyce showed us their ceiling in Week 7, Game 1 against G2. They played a clean, fast-paced game, took a decisive Baron, and won. But after that, it all came crumbling down, especially for Jonas “Trashy” Andersen. He finished Game 2 almost 5,000 gold behind G2’s Kim “Trick” Gang-Yun. Game 3 was around 3,500. Since Jungle is such an impactful role in the current meta, these deficits can be difficult to salvage.

Luckily, Splyce play against Origen in Week 8. This series should be a walk in the park for Splyce’s roster; but if Origen’s new jungler, Cinkrof, can hold back Trashy, it may be more difficult than expected. Splyce need to prove to fans that they will be stronger moving forward. Expectations have been high for this squad since the preaseason. If they want to solidify their spot for playoffs and beyond, wins against teams below them have to be convincing.

FNC sOAZ

courtesy of Riot esports

Fnatic had a rough time against Unicorns of Love last week. They did get a late-game win in Game 1, but Games 2 and 3 were not as lucky. Paul “sOAZ” Boyer seemed outclassed overall by UOL’s Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás. Even in the win, sOAZ finished almost 3,000 gold behind his counterpart. The losses were less pretty.

Throughout the season, sOAZ has been floating under the radar as a mediocre top laner. There have been few especially bright moments, even when the team had his partner jungler, Maurice “Amazingx” Stückenschneider, starting. His tank plays are generally decent, but his carry plays have looked sub-par.

In Week 8, Fnatic will face Roccat. Similar to the Splyce-Origen match-up, this series needs to be a solid 2-0 from Fnatic to reinstill confidence in fans. Ambrož “Phaxi” Hren has not looked like a huge barrier for opposing teams, so sOAZ should look excellent against him. The veteran should be quicker on Teleports and create more pressure overall. Fnatic seems stuck in the middle of Group A, but Roccat are coming off of a big 2-0 week, and they would love to leapfrog Giants with a win this week.

MSF PowerOfEvil

courtesy of Riot esports

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Misfits went wrong in Week 7. Many speculated that their match-up versus H2K would be a battle of titans, with either winning 2-1. However, once the cookie crumbled, Misfits seemed out of sorts. One individual that needs to bounce back in Week 8, though, is Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage. He has been such a rock in the mid lane, and looked weak against Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten.

Top players who have bad games look worse than mediocre players having bad games. All of the members of Misfits share the blame for last week, but PowerOfEvil has been the anchor for them all Split. He will also be particularly important in Week 8, because they will face the number one team in Group A: G2. With G2 comes Luka “Perkz” Perković. Perkz is in the same tier as Febiven, so PowerOfEvil will need to shake off last week and hold steady with him. Otherwise, Misfits will risk another hefty loss. Misfits’ jungler, Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, will be in a similar position, but mid lane should be the biggest factor in Misfits’ success this week.

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March 7, 2017 by Thomas Baker

EU LCS Week 7: Misfits or H2K?

Most of the EU LCS match-ups this week will pit low-standing teams against one another. However, there is a spicy match-up to tune in for: Misfits v. H2K. Both of these two teams hold second place in their respective groups. They are also coming off of solid wins in Week 6. Week 7 will be their first clash.

There are a number of factors that set up this particular series to be explosive. Firstly, they have similar game records. Misfits has 15 wins, four losses. H2K has 14 wins, five losses. Secondly, they sit in the top two positions for Gold Difference at 15 minutes. Misfits average 1,771 ahead. H2K average 1,351 ahead. Thirdly, according to OraclesElixir.com, they also average first and second in their Early Game Ratings among the EU LCS (Misfits 71.4, H2K 65.4). Expect both squads to do their best to win leads in the laning phase and snowball as hard as they can.

The areas of gameplay where H2K and Misfits diverge are objective control and kills per minute. H2K take the first turret, first three turrets, and first dragon more often than anyone in the LCS. Misfits stand in third, third, and fourth in those respective categories. Misfits only takes the first baron in 58% of games, while H2K secures it in 82%.

However, Misfits is extremely efficient in securing kills without giving deaths. They have the highest team Kill-Death ratio in the LCS: 1.90. H2K average 1.45. Even though H2K has secured 321 kills over 19 games, they have also conceded 222 deaths. Compared to Misfits 287 kills and 151 deaths, H2K’s overall trades are not always the best. Misfits also have the lowest Combined Kills per Minute statistic in the LCS (0.6), which implies that their games rarely become clown fiestas.

Top Lane

courtesy of Riot esports

Barney “Alphari” Morris and Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu will most likely be the center of attention in Week 7. Neither of these players are afraid of making big plays. Alphari averages a higher CS difference at 10 minutes (+8.9), and he maintains a higher KDA (4.3). Odoamne has the edge when it comes to doing a higher percentage of damage for his team (24.9%), and he has higher kill participation (59.8%). However, both top laners trend towards the top of the league in most categories.

A major difference between these two is their champions played lately. Alphari showed up huge on Rumble last week, while also putting in two games on Renekton, and even brought out Fiora. Odoamne’s last three champions have been tanks: Nautilus, Maokai, and Poppy. Misfits and H2K have shown flexibility in drafting, but Misfits generally prioritize bully laners for Alphari.

Jungle

courtesy of Riot esports

Despite being titled “First Blood King,” Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski has only secured First Blood in 26% of his games this split. On the other hand, Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon has the second highest rating in the league (53%). KaKAO has also beat out Jankos in KDA (7.1), kill participation (71.8%), and CS difference at 10 minutes (+3.5). Surely, he will have the upper hand in this match-up, unless Jankos can return to his dominant form. There is no doubt that both Misfits and H2K rely on their junglers to create significant early game leads.

As far as champions go, Jankos’s most recent performances were on Graves and Kha’Zix. He excels at cleaning up fights and isolating the enemy jungler. Elise and Lee Sin were KaKAO’s choices last week. He used their early game gank pressure to enable his lanes and spread vision across the map. In the mid game, he transitioned into tankier items for survivability and utility. Much of the series will be decided by these two players.

Mid Lane

courtesy of Riot esports

Anchoring Misfits and H2K for Week 7 are their mid laners, Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage and Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten. While both have proved more formidable this split, their playstyles diverge a bit. Febiven tends to farm much more in the early game, sticking to the lane. He averages 6.1 CS ahead at 10 minutes. PowerOfEvil averages behind 2.2 CS, but ahead by 244 gold, indicating that he either gets kills or assists to get ahead in the early game. This is shown by his high First Blood rate (32%) and overall kill participation (74.6%). PowerOfEvil’s KDA is a stellar 7.9, while Febiven maintains 4.6.

Last week, Febiven played Syndra twice. He finished 5-2-5 and 2-1-2 against Fnatic. Meanwhile, PowerOfEvil showcased incredible skill on Orianna and Ahri. Both players have deep champion pools. Other than overpowered meta picks, do not expect many bans to target mid lane.

Bot Lane

courtesy of Riot esports

The bottom lanes for these squads are strong, as well. Steven “Hans sama” Liv and Shin “Nuclear” Jung-hyun match-up rather well. Hans sama averages a 7.7 KDA. Nuclear maintains 6.6. Nuclear averages behind 0.1 CS at 10 minutes, while Hans sama averages -2.7 CS. Kill participation and team damage numbers give Hans sama a slight advantage.

Both of these players show true mastery of the meta marksmen: Jhin and Varus. Last week, Hans sama played three straight games on Jhin. Nuclear played two on Varus. Misfits or H2K may attempt to pinch the AD Carry picks and force these guys on Ezreal, Sivir, etc. Regardless, they both seem to play more aggressive than other EU LCS marksmen.

courtesy of Riot esports

The support players, Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun and Choi “Chei” Sun-ho, are just as formidable. IgNar is more of a roaming playmaker, pairing with KaKAO to spread pressure throughout the map. Warding against Misfits will be important for H2K’s success. IgNar’s KDA is 6.4, and his kill participation is 71.1%. Chei’s are 3.8 and 62%, respectively. However, Chei averages around 80 extra damage per minute. Chei also matches IgNar in total assists over 19 games, 190 and 191. Chei has died 52 times in that period, while IgNar has only conceded 32.

Overall, IgNar seems more flexible champion-wise. He has played nine unique champions, such as Alistar last week. Chei has only shown six unique champions. Just like mid lane, do not anticipate too many support bans outside meta overpowered picks. Misfits or H2K may try to secure a ranged support advantage, but picks such as Tahm Kench and Braum have been cropping up internationally with variable success.

Conclusion

All in all, Misfits seem to have the advantage in this one. Their jungler and support have been extremely proactive throughout Summoner’s Rift to gain advantages in vision and rotations. PowerOfEvil has been having his best split yet. Alphari and Hans sama fill their roles on the team well, while playing as cleanly as possible. H2K will need to hold it together through the early game and do their best to secure leads through taking turrets, dragons, and barons. If they draft compositions with Odoamne on a sturdy tank, and force Misfits onto a non-tank composition, then they may be able to demonstrate their superior late game.

This match-up will be one to watch in Week 7 amidst several low-tier matches. Tune in on Saturday, March 11 to catch the action.

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January 26, 2017 by Thomas Baker

EU LCS Week 2 Preview

Boy, is it great to be back! Week 1 of EU LCS was action-packed. There were plenty of surprises: champions, builds, and stand-out performances. The standings should not surprise anyone, though. G2 and H2K are at the top of their respective groups. Misfits and Unicorns of Love each got a win under their belts. Everyone else lost a game to one of those four teams. There is not much we can decipher from just one week. It will take a couple more to really know how these teams match up. Nonetheless, you should keep an eye out for these four head-to-heads in Week 2.

courtesy of lolesport.com

These teams are on different ends of the spectrum for me. Vitality looked better than I expected during their match against Unicorns of Love last week. Splyce looked pretty weak against H2K. This Week 2 match-up should be a good gauge of Group B as a whole. Based on pre-season predictions, Splyce should win, sticking to the top of the standings. But if Vitality win, then it shakes up the momentum for the rest of the season. Most analysts assumed Splyce would maintain the same level of macro-play they demonstrated last Split. This synergized team would theoretically have an advantage over other Group B teams that were pieced together in the off-season. Sadly, it did not seem to be there in Week 1.

None of the Splyce members stood out to me against H2K. They all seemed to be stifled under pressure, particularly Mid, Jungle, and Top. The kill scores for their games were 24-6 and 22-10 over 27 to 29 minutes. H2K were playing fast and hard. The individual match-ups should be less intimidating against Vitality, but Splyce’s solo play has never been considered a great strength. They will need to showcase the smart group play that got them to Worlds last year to re-instill confidence in the squad.

Vitality looked weaker in Game 1 last week against Unicorns, but Game 2 was back and forth. Pierre “Steelback” Medjaldi and Ha “Hachani” Seung-chan were able to get a lead in bot lane with the help of Jungler, Charly “Djoko” Guillard. The point of weakness was in the top-side match-up between Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet’s Fiora and Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás’ Camille. After two games, Cabochard’s KDA was 1.8. He finished last among Top laners in Gold Difference at 10 minutes (-475) and Kill Participation (39.1%). Meanwhile, Djoko topped the entire league in Kill Participation at 82.6%. Vitality may need Djoko to shift more focus to the top side of the map. Cabochard will also need to utilize his Teleport earlier to join his team.

Splyce failed to outweigh their individual shortcomings with strong macro-play against H2K. Hopefully, they can try again against Vitality. If Vitality can try to match H2K’s calculated aggression, then they may be able to take down Splyce as well. Cabochard should not be as neutralized against Martin “Wunder” Hansen. Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm should match Chres “Sencux” Laursen much easier than Fabian “Exileh” Schubert. On the other hand, Jonas “Trashy” Andersen will need to make sure Djoko is not free to influence the map as he pleases. It should be much easier than facing Jankos.

courtesy of lolesports.com

H2K tops Group B with two wins, zero losses. Unicorns are second with one win and zero losses. Week 2 will decide who finishes 2-1. If H2K win, then they stay in first. Assuming Unicorns of Love beat Origen this week, they will need to win against H2K to move up. This should be an exciting game to watch, since both teams looked explosive in Week 1 with a heavy focus top-side.

Unicorns of Love have historically done well in chaotic games. If Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski gets recklessly aggressive, and Unicorns are able to exploit it, then it could be H2K’s demise. With immobile ADCs and Supports in meta, I imagine Exileh will continue to pull out his pocket pick Kassadin and wreak havoc. Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten joins him at the top of Mid lane KDAs, both averaging just above 10. Febiven will need to maintain lane control in this match-up to keep Exileh from roaming.

The Top lane will be an epic duel if Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and/or Vizicsacsi get on carry champions. Similar to the Mid lane match-up, these Top laners are above all others, averaging 5.4-5.5 KDAs. Vizicsacsi had higher Kill Participation, lower Death Share, and higher CS Difference at 10 minutes, but Odoamne will have more Jungle pressure to back him up. Vizicsacsi will need to exploit all Teleport advantages.

The Bot lane will most likely decide this match. Samuel “Samux” Fernández Fort averaged 9.5 CS ahead at 10 minutes, while Shin “Nuclear” Jung-hyun averaged 10.3 behind. This bodes well for Unicorns of Love. However, Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov over-extended and got caught out repeatedly, resulting in a 39.1% Death Share, highest in the league. Hylissang needs to play more passively to prevent excess deaths. The other issue that Unicorns’ Bot lane could run into is champion pool. Samux and Hylissang played Caitlyn-Lulu in both games, while Nuclear and Choi “Chei” Sun-ho showcased Jhin-Zyra and Ashe-Tahm Kench. Of course, the bans will most likely be directed towards Top, Jungle, and Mid, but if H2K decide to pinch Unicorn’s AD Carry and Support picks, then I hope they have an answer.

courtesy of lolesports.com

This will be Group A’s premier match-up. Similar to H2K v. Unicorns of Love, Week 2 will decide which of these two teams will remain at the top of the group. Assuming Misfits beat ROCCAT, one of these teams will end the week 3-0. Both teams came into the season with high expectations, and enjoyed a strong first week. Dropping one game each, some weaknesses appeared in G2 and Misfits, which makes this week even juicier.

G2’s series against Fnatic last week was full of highlights. All three games went 42 minutes or longer. The game that Fnatic won involved a couple of solo kills on Luka “PerkZ” Perković and strong macro-play around Baron, Dragon, and manipulating minion waves. Fnatic also picked off Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen to end. The games they looked strongest involved PerkZ drafting Leblanc and amassing 4,000 Gold leads on his opponent. G2 will need to make sure PerkZ’s play becomes consistent. While his KDA is higher than Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage, his Kill Participation is almost 10% lower. Both Mid laners have a high Death Share for their teams.

Misfits dropped their game to Giants due to a surprise Illaoi pick in the Top lane from Olof “Flaxxish” Medin. After leading for 23 minutes, and by 3,000 gold, Misfits botched two teamfights around Baron. However, the following two games were rather one-sided. Barney “Alphari” Morris is a solid Top laner. He was able to average 10 CS over his opponent at 10 minutes, despite playing two games on Maokai against Illaoi and Nautilus, and one game on Rumble against an AD Kennen. Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun boasts the highest KDA of all players in the league, thanks to his 26 assists over three games and only 7.7% Death Share (third lowest in the league). Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez will need to try his best to match this playstyle, since he has the lowest Kill Participation of all Supports, and a high Death Share.

The real uneven match-up between these teams is in the AD Carry position. Zven more than doubles Steven “Hans sama” Liv’s KDA. He also has half his Death Share. And even though Hans sama averages high Gold, XP, and CS at 10 minutes, he was facing Martin “HeaQ” Kordmaa. Zven faced Martin “Rekkles” Larsson and Petter “Hjärnan” Freyschuss. Misfits will need to make sure that they do not come into this series with any arrogance. Each player will need to execute properly around objectives. If Misfits can take G2 in a best-of-three, then they will solidify themselves as king of the hill. G2 are going to do their best to knock them down a peg.

courtesy of lolesports.com

While neither of these teams had a stellar Week 1, they will have a chance to redeem themselves. Giants took a game off of Misfits. ROCCAT was decidedly beaten by G2. These series exposed clear weaknesses in both squads. They will need to watch those games to see where they can leverage their opponents’ weaknesses, and where they can improve their own.

Giants win against Misfits came off the back of a Top lane Illaoi for Flaxxish. He laned well and Misfits fell into the trap of fighting in the Baron and Dragon pits. Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi stole the Baron multiple times in the series. Na “Night” Gun-woo also made several pro-active roaming plays on the map. However, he was completely shut down on Ekko. The biggest pain point was the Bot lane. HeaQ averaged 11 CS behind at 10 minutes–lowest of all EU ADCs. He and Morgan “Hustlin” Granberg will need to exert more lane pressure.

There was nothing notable about ROCCAT’s performance against G2. They were purely outclassed in every position and in macro-play. Since the team rebuilt around Mid laner, Felix “Betsy” Edling, I was expecting him to stand up a bit more to PerkZ’s pressure. Betsy looked particularly lost in Game 1 on Taliyah. I cannot recall a single well-placed Weaver’s Wall. PerkZ was able to roam on Leblanc, rather than have his lane pushed in. I do not want to see Betsy on that champion until ROCCAT can synergize. And even though Hjärnan averaged 11 CS ahead at 10 minutes, he only participated in 37.5% of his team’s kills (second lowest of all players). He needs to transition any advantage in the laning phase to helping teamfights around neutral objectives.

I imagine Giants will win this somewhat easily. If they can play around neutral objectives like they did against Misfits, then ROCCAT will not stand a chance. However, if Hjärnan and Kim “Wadid” Bae-in can exploit Giants’ Bot lane, then this may be closer than it looks on paper. NighT did not enjoy facing Syndra in the Mid lane, so maybe Betsy should draft her. Assuming Misfits beats ROCCAT and Fnatic beats Giants, this match-up will decide who finishes Week 2 at the bottom of Group A.

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January 20, 2017 by Thomas Baker

Spring Watchlist 2017: ROCCAT, Misfits, H2k, and Fnatic

Another year of professional League of Legends is upon us. It is time to reflect on Europe’s end of 2016, adjustments in the off-season, and discuss the possibilities for 2017. With the introduction of a two-group format and 10-ban system, it is difficult to predict how the Spring Split will go. Established organizations changed rosters, veterans retired, and an up-and-coming Challenger team joined the LCS.

Unsurprisingly, G2 and Splyce decided to retain their entire starting rosters. None of the other teams seem prepared to challenge these two for group dominance. Unless the new pick-ban phase exposes unforeseen weaknesses, we expect these two teams to stay at the top. Ideally, they have taken time to address flaws affecting their abilities to compete internationally since the World Championship.

On the other hand, Origen seems to be the only team that did not catch a break in the off-season. After a 9th place finish in the Summer Split last year, the entire squad dissipated. Origen’s pick-ups each appear to be a downgrade from their respective predecessors. Bringing on Erik “Tabzz” van Helvert as AD Carry is an improvement from Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez, but he is not playing at the level that Origen will need. Max “Satorius” Günther, Yoo “NaeHyun” Nae-hyun, and Aleksi “Hiiva” Kaikkonen will all be rookies from Challenger scenes. Kim “Wisdom” Tae-Wan has more professional experience, but not enough to carry this roster. The floor is low on this team, and we expect that they will round out the bottom of Group B.

All remaining teams have room to rise and fall in the ranks. Some storylines will be more exciting than others, but following this season should be interesting, to say the least. Based on 2016 results and pre-season decisions, there are four teams I will be watching closely. These are the teams I see having the greatest influence on shaping their group standings.

Can ROCCAT get higher than 9th place?

courtesy of Riot eSports

ROCCAT had a horrific 2016. After finishing 9th in the Spring Split playing in the Summer Promotion tournament, ROCCAT fell to 10th last Summer. They did maintain their slot in the LCS in the Spring Promotion tournament, as well. They replaced every member of the team in the off-season except mid laner, Felix “Betsy” Edling. Betsy actually saw decent performances last year, despite being on a bottom-tier roster. While many analysts are having conversations about top-level teams, ROCCAT has been able to fly under the radar this off-season.

ROCCAT have added Ambrož “Phaxi” Hren (Top), Nubar “Maxlore” Sarafian (Jungle), Petter “Hjärnan” Freyschuss (ADC), and Kim “Wadid” Bae-in (Support). Phaxi and Wadid are relatively unknown entities. Phaxi was a substitute for Dark Passage in TCL, while Wadid was a substitute for SBENU Korea in LCK. We can only speculate at this point what they will be able to do against other players in EU LCS. The language barrier in the bot lane is the only concern that can be raised.

Meanwhile, Maxlore saw passable performances on Giants last Summer. He averaged a 3.2 KDA, 73% Kill Participation, and +2.7 CS above his opponents at ten minutes. These figures put him slightly above Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi from last Split. Vitality benched Hjärnan, ROCCAT’s new AD Carry, last Summer after a solid Spring Split performance. He ranked 3rd in KDA, 4th in Kill Participation, and 3rd in CS Difference at ten minutes among all ADC’s. He will be replacing Pierre “Steelback” Medjaldi who was consistent in both Splits, despite ROCCAT’s low rank overall.

I find myself wondering if ROCCAT can actually pull it together and get themselves out of this 9th-10th place rut. Origen and Giants both appear to be just as shaky as what ROCCAT has put together. Misfits are new to the pro scene and lost two key players in the off-season. I am keeping my eyes on this new ROCCAT. They could get a few wins under their belt and avoid the Summer Promotion series this year. They could end up in last yet again, but everyone loves an underdog, right?

Are Misfits ready for LCS?

courtesy of Riot eSports

The only newcomer to the EU LCS this Split, Misfits qualified in the Spring Promotion tournament. Touting a 90% win-rate in the Summer Season, this team has many analysts speculating how they will stack up. Challenger teams in the past made serious waves when entering the scene, such as Origen and G2.

However, the situation with Misfits is a bit different. Firstly, there are major formatting changes that were not in place when they were playing last year: the two-group league and the ten-ban system. Challenger teams historically have less coaching and support staff available. Major strategic changes can disproportionately affect them. Secondly, Misfits is not maintaining their same roster coming into 2017. Neither Origen nor G2 kept their qualifying roster when entering the LCS, but their replacements were obvious upgrades at the time. Origen brought in Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage and Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen. G2 brought in Kim “Emperor” Jin-hyun and Kim “Trick” Gang-Yun.

Meanwhile, Misfits will be replacing Marcin “SELFIE” Wolski and Kim “Wisdom” Tae-Wan with PowerOfEvil and Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon. SELFIE and Wisdom had the highest average KDA during the Summer Season in Mid and Jungle. They both maintained high average CS Differences at 10 minutes, 10.5 and 6.7, respectively. On the other hand, PowerOfEvil finished with the second lowest average KDA last Summer and averaged 1.7 CS behind his opponent at ten minutes. KaKAO spent 2016 in the Chinese Challenger scene with Wan Yoo, who finished 13th out of 16 teams. Over 24 games KaKAO averaged a 3.69 KDA, which placed him 18th of 36 Junglers with three games or more.

PowerOfEvil and KaKAO have both shown moments of promise, but their recent performances are not reflective of high skill. If Misfits want to make an impact, they will need their remaining players to continue to play at the top level, while incorporating PowerOfEvil and KaKAO seamlessly. Barney “Alphari” Morris, Steven “Hans sama” Liv, and Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun will need to maintain lane dominance against tougher lanes. This team does have a high ceiling, but these roster changes will need to prove themselves fruitful.

Can H2k play as well without FORG1VEN, Vander, or Ryu?

courtesy of Riot eSports

Many did not expect H2k to be the highest finishing Western team at the 2016 World Championships. H2k managed to make it to the Quarterfinals and finished 3rd-4th overall. It seemed like all of their players were on a whole new level, particularly AD Carry FORG1VEN and Mid laner Ryu “Ryu” Sang-wook.

Looking at FORG1VEN’s KDA throughout 2016, it bottomed out in the Spring Playoffs at 3.8. This was preceding his announcement to step down as H2k’s starting ADC. After his unsuccessful stint with Origen, FORG1VEN returned to H2k for the tail-end of the Summer Split. He averaged a 14.5 KDA over five games in Week Nine, and carried the team to a 3rd place Playoff finish. His KDA during Summer Playoffs leveled out to 5.9, then boosted to 7.9 at Worlds (1st among all players with more than two games).

Ryu’s KDA followed a similar trajectory throughout 2016. He averaged 2.9 in Spring Playoffs, up to 3.8 in Summer Split, up again to 5.8 in Summer Playoffs, leveling off at 4.0 for Worlds (5th among 17 Mid laners with more than two games). His pressure became noticeably greater among international Mid lane competition. His synergy with Jungler, Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski, also seemed to be smoother. Only one other Mid-Jungle duo had a higher First Blood rate (among players that played more than two games).

But these two carries, along with Support Oskar “VandeR” Bogdan, are not part of the roster for 2017. Will the momentum of last year continue, or did it fizzle in the off-season? H2k picked up Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten, Shin “Nuclear” Jung-hyun, and Choi “Chei” Sun-ho to fill Mid, ADC, and Support. Febiven has proven himself to be a top-tier European Mid laner. He should be able to step in without issue. However, Nuclear and Chei are Korean imports, which could prove to be dangerous. Other experiments in this roster style have been middling at best, such as NA’s Team EnVyUs. On top of that, Chei’s last team, Jin Air, declined throughout last year, and Nuclear’s last team, SBENU Sonicboom, disbanded altogether after they failed to re-qualify for the LCK last August.

Jankos and top laner, Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu, are experienced, high-pressure players that will hold their own against the rest of EU. However, this H2k roster is radically different from the successful team of last year. The coaching and support staff will need to pull these pieces together if they want to maintain the same level of competitiveness.

Will Fnatic bounce back with a rebuilt roster?

courtesy of Riot eSports

Fnatic’s 2016 was tumultuous, especially when compared to expectations coming out of 2015. They had achieved 3rd-4th at the 2015 World Championships and won five out of their last six EU LCS splits. But everything began to decline after Fnatic announced that Top-Jungle duo, Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin, would be leaving the team. Then they reported that team captain, Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim, would be departing. Fnatic rebuilt, finished the Spring Split in 6th place, and fought their way to a 3rd place finish in the Playoffs. After replacing a couple of players between Spring and Summer (including bringing back YellOwStaR), they still finished the Summer Split in 5th place. H2k immediately eliminated them from Playoffs. With the Championship Points tallied, Fnatic did not qualify for the 2016 World Championships.

2017 has started with even more changes. Only the AD Carry, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, remains from last year. Fnatic brought on Paul “sOAZ” Boyer and Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider who played as the Top-Jungle duo for Origen last year. Rasmus “Caps” Winther joins from Dark Passage after helping them win the TCL. Jesse “Jesiz” Le returns as Support after operating as an Assistant Coach for Immortals throughout 2016.

This roster has a lot of combined experience. But will it be enough? SOAZ and Amazing might have helped Origen finish 3rd-4th in the 2015 World Championships, but they fell throughout 2016. SOAZ appeared particularly weak in the Spring. Amazing was lost in the Jungle in the Summer. Jesiz has not played a professional match in more than a year. Most EU LCS fans are probably pulling for Fnatic to do well in 2017. While this line-up’s ceiling is quite high, they could also finish middle-of-the-pack.

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