If you’ve been playing League of Legends lately you may have noticed an odd occurrence in the support champion pool. For some reason only champions with heals and shields seem to be played as supports, most notably Janna. But that’s not all, these champions also seem to be skipping their Sightstone rush in favor of a different build path entirely. It gets even weirder when you see ADCs in the LCK start with a relic shield in order to funnel gold into their supports.
Ardent Censer
Starting a relic shield to buff up your support. Just LCK things. Courtesy of OGN
The Ardent Censer is an item that is so cost efficient, ADCs and supports are delaying their builds to complete it. The item gives 50 percent base mana regeneration, 60 ability power, ten percent cooldown reduction and eight percent movement speed. These raw stats provide 2138 gold alone for an item that costs 2300. The item then increases all healing and shielding by ten percent. Its final unique passive reads as follows: “Heals and shields on allied champions (excluding yourself) enhance their basic attacks for 6 seconds. Granting them +20% – 35% (based on level) attack speed and 20 – 35 (based on level) bonus on-hit magic damage healing them for the same amount.” This unique passive can be given a value of 1000 gold at level one, and 1750 gold at level eighteen. With this passive, the Ardent Censer is 136 to 169 percent gold efficient at levels one and eighteen respectively.
Quite the gold differential between supports by the time Janna comes back with an Ardent Censer. Courtesy of OGN
Ardent Censer is changing the meta in the bottom lane. For the first time, supports are rushing an item that does not grant vision control in favor of the raw stats and unique passive that the Ardent Censer offers. Supports are also taking summoner heal more often than ever before due to their build path and mastery choices. While this has probably been the better way to go ever since Windspeaker Blessing it has only just become a popular choice in competitive play. So if you are taking a healing and shielding support, take heal.
Who/what to nerf
Currently, Janna, Sona and Soraka seem to be utilizing the Ardent Censer best, but that is not to say that Lulu, Nami and Karma don’t effectively use it as well. Janna seems to be so powerful with Ardent Censer that nerfs have appeared for her on PBE. While these nerfs seemed to be healthy for her kit, they have since been taken down in favor of a nerf to Ardent Censer first.
The nerf to Ardent Censer shows that Riot’s balance team is staying on the safe side. Many times have champions been nerfed because they utilize an especially strong item, only for that item to later be nerfed. Cinderhulk, tank junglers have experienced this many times before.
The passive attack speed buff it gives champions you heal or shield is being lowered from 20-35 percent to 25 percent at all levels, while the health drain it gives is being reduced from 20-35 health to 25 health at all levels. Will this nerf be enough to keep Janna and other shield spammers in line with their support counterparts? Probably not, but it is a definite start.
Sona benefits from being able to easily apply the buff throughout the entire team. Courtesy of leagueoflegends
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The drought is over for the Greenwall. Over two years after forming a roster of impeccable skill, the longest standing roster in Call of Duty esports, OpTic Gaming, has finally been crowned a Call of Duty champion.
The Infinite Warfare season was not the greatest this OpTic Gaming roster has experienced, but they were able to finish it in style. With tournament wins at CWL Paris and CWL Dallas, OpTic was on the verge of another dominant season before poor placings in the Global Pro League (GPL) Stage One Playoffs and CWL Anaheim. They picked it up again just in time.
OpTic came into the Call of Duty Championship in Orlando fresh off a GPL Stage Two Playoff victory. That momentum made them a favorite, but not the only one, to win CoD Champs.
Unlike in years past, it was almost impossible to tell which team would emerge victorious. Would it be eUnited, or perhaps FaZe? The teams made high-profile roster swaps in hopes of a big payoff. How about Splyce? The European organization made it to the Grand Finals of CoD Champs on Black Ops III and was considered the best EU team again this year. Or what about Luminosity or Team EnVyUs? Both teams had solid years and were always able to contend with other top teams.
In the end, the Grand Final featured two of the oldest teams in Call of Duty esports: OpTic Gaming vs. Team EnVyUs. A regular ol’ eClassico.
OpTic and nV had played earlier on Championship Sunday in the winner’s bracket final, where nV was able to take a rare Hardpoint map off of OpTic to take the series 3-1. But OpTic surged right back in the loser’s final against Luminosity and the matchup was repeated. This time, OpTic had to defeat nV twice to take the crown. And they did just that.
The win cements OpTic Gaming as one of the greatest Call of Duty teams of all time, right up there with compLexity. Some would even say that with a CoD Champs title under their belt, OpTic has surpassed the old coL roster in that regard. Afterall, they were the team to beat for three years straight. It also helps that both Damon “Karma” Barlow and Ian “Crimsix” Porter were part of the coL dynasty, so essentially they have now surpassed themselves.
OpTic Gaming CoD Champs ring count
No other Call of Duty team collectively has as many CoD Champs rings as OpTic Gaming. They now have seven:
Damon “Karma (or three-rings)” Barlow x 3
Ian “Crimsix” Porter x 2
Seth “Scumpi” Abner x 1
Matt “FormaL” Piper x 1
Along with his first Call of Duty Championship win, FormaL is also going home with an MVP award. For OpTic, FormaL has always been a rock with the AR, keeping his team in contention when his teammates are having a bad game. The MVP award adds an additional $25,000 to his winnings from the tournament.
Even though he didn’t win MVP, it’s hard to say anyone deserved the CoD Champs win more than Scump. In player polls, he has consistently been considered the best player in the game. A part of OpTic Gaming since Modern Warfare 3, Scump has been to five CoD Champs with the team. In his first two, he managed to take home third place. In his next two, OpTic settled with seventh place finishes. But now, Scump has finally earned himself a ring. Perhaps more willl come.
Trailing right behind OpTic in CoD Champs in rings is Team EnVyUs, who, with the same roster as last year, returned to the Grand Final looking for a repeat win. If they had been successful, Jordan “Jkap” Kaplan would have been the first to three rings instead of Karma and the team would have nine rings combined.
Now, just two months remain until the release of the next game in the Call of Duty franchise: WWII. The game will put boots back on the ground, a return to traditional gameplay. It’s too early to tell which players will excel and which will fall off, but the next year of Call of Duty esports will be starting off on the right foot.
Josh Billy is a long time Call of Duty fan. You can email him at joshuatbilly@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter.
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It’s been just under a month since the season three finale of the Rocket League Championship Series. Already players are hard at work changing organizations, building new rosters, practicing and competing in smaller tournaments.
This guide is an attempt to help Rocket League fans keep track of the scene’s ever-changing teams and offer potential team compositions for the coming fourth season of the RLCS.
RLCS Season Three Contenders
As with previous seasons, season three of the RLCS allotted eight league play slots for North American teams and European teams. In addition, the top two teams competing in the Throwdown Rocket League Oceanic Championship made it into the season three RLCS world championships. This was the first time the RLCS included teams from the OCE region.
The top two teams from both the NA and EU regions, along with the world champions, received auto-qualification for season four. Season four will be the first season in which teams are auto-qualified for league play. However, these teams must retain two-thirds of their season three roster in order to keep their auto-qualification.
Auto-Qualified Teams
Two NA teams are auto-qualified for season 4. These teams are NRG and Rogue.
NRG
NRG left to right: GarretG, Jacob, Fireburner. Photo courtesy of NRG Instagram (nrggram)
NRG’s Rocket League team consists of Jayson “Fireburner” Nunez, Jacob “Jacob” McDowell and Garrett “GarrettG” Gordon. Beginning under the name Kings of Urban, Jacob and Fireburner have been teammates since the first season of the RLCS. With Kais “Sadjunior” Zehri as their third roster member during the first two seasons, this squad won both regional championships.
Despite winning the first two NA regional championships, this squad was unable to place higher than fifth place at the world championships. Cut to GarrettG replacing Sadjunior. The updated NRG squad became three-time regional champions and placed third at the world championships, higher than they had before.
With this current squad taking second place at the first tournament of the 7-Eleven Summer Series presented by Brisk, it doesn’t appear that they’ll be changing their roster any time soon.
Rogue left to right: Sizz, Turtle, Matt. Photo courtesy of rocketleague.com
Atelier/Rogue
Beginning season three under the name Atelier, Emiliano “Sizz” Benny, Matt “Matt” Dixon and Isaac “Turtle” App made quite a mark on the NA region.
After placing second in the regional championships, Rogue acquired Atelier. Rogue went on to take the fifth-sixth slot at the world championships.
Travelling to Sweden for DreamHack Summer 2017, Rogue placed in the third-fourth slot. There are no signs of any roster changes as of yet.
Other Season Three Contenders
Of the six other teams that participated in season 3 of the RLCS, there is a mix of roster changes, continuing rosters and disbands. Here’s what we know so far.
Denial Esports
Denial’s season three team consisted of Treyven “Lethamyr” Robitaille, Gabriel “CorruptedG” Vallozzi and Sadjunior. Denial placed in the seventh-eighth slot at the season three world championships.
While there doesn’t appear to be any drastic changes to Denial’s roster so far, fans did see a different starting lineup during the first tournament of the 7-Eleven Summer Series. Sadjunior was moved to a substitute position and Jason “Klassux” Klass took over the third starting position. They were eliminated by Take 3 in the first round of this single-elimination tournament.
Nothing is official, but the addition of Klassux to Denial would create a team with a strong starting three and an equally strong substitute.
G2 Esports
G2, Photo courtesy of g2esports.com
As an organization, G2, has been active in the RLCS since season one. That being said, Cameron “Kronovi” Bills is the only remaining member from the initial team, who were crowned the first world champions of the RLCS.
After failing to qualify for the world championships in season two, G2 saw it’s first roster change. Ted “0ver Zer0” Keil retired and Brandon “Lachinio” Lachin left to help form Iris.
In season three, G2 and Kronovi came back to the RLCS with Dillon “Rizzo” Rizzo and Jacob “JKnaps” Knapman on the roster.
Despite not making it to worlds again in season three, the G2 roster has remained so far. In fact, the team took first place at the first tournament of the 7-Eleven Summer Series, beating NRG 4-0 in the finals.
When asked about season 4 during aninterview on RLCS Overtime, Kronovi said “it’s either third time’s the charm if I make it, or three strikes you’re out if I fail again.” Continuing with this roster could be the resurrection G2 needs or the end of Kronovi, the mountain himself.
Genesis
Genesis, during season 3, consisted of Klassux, Trevor “Insolences” Carmody and Robert “Chrome” Gomez. They placed in the fifth-sixth slot of season three league play, falling just short of qualifying for the world championships.
Genesis reportedly had some teammate conflict throughout the season. Klassux tweeted a screenshot of an argument between himself and Insolences, which took place during season 3. This is, supposedly, just one of several problems the Genesis teammates had.
Chrome left Genesis and played for Take 3 during the first tournament of the 7-Eleven Summer Series. As mentioned above, Klassux played for Denial during the same tournament. As for Insolences, he tweeted about his uncertainty of whether or not to continue with competitive Rocket League. This came shortly after Genesis failed to qualify for the season three world championships.
Although nothing is certain at this point, it will be interesting to see where these players end up.
Selfless Gaming left to right: Mijo, Timi, Dappur. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/selflessrl
Selfless Gaming
Selfless took season three by storm. The roster consisted of Chris “Dappur” Mendoza, Timi “Timi” Falodun, Jesus “Mijo” Gutierrez and Braden “Pluto” Schenetzki. Pluto subbed in for Dappur during day two of the season three world championships.
It’s uncertain what will happen with this roster. All four of these players were involved with the first tournament of the 7-Eleven Summer Series but none under the Selfless name. Timi played with Ohana. Despite suggestions that Mijo is retired, Ohana listed him as a sub. Pluto played for Splyce, alongside Jaime “Karma” Bickford and Matthew “Satthew” Ackerman. Finally, Dappur played for The Muffin Men, along with Mariano “SquishyMuffinz” Arruda and Kyle “Torment” Storer.
Ohana was eliminated in the first round by G2, Splyce was eliminated in the first round by The Muffin Men and The Muffin Men were eliminated in the second round by G2.
Radiance/SetToDestroyX
Joshua “Lemonpuppy” Wright, Michael “Memory” M. and Eric “Halcyon” R. entered season three of the RLCS under the name Radiance. They were quickly acquired by SetToDestroyX.
After coming in last during the regular season, SetToDestroyX may be making some changes to the roster. Showing up at the 7-Eleven Summer Series, the roster consisted of Lemonpuppy, Coleman “ColemanA” Arehart and Matt “Loomin” Laymin. They were eliminated in the first round by NRG.
It’s unclear what the official roster will be come season four of the RLCS.
Take 3
Take 3 made their debut in the RLCS with a roster consisting of Rizzo, Insolences and Christopher “Zanejackey” Jacobs. Although this squad came in fourth at the season two world championships, Rizzo left to join G2 and Insolences joined Genesis.
Adam “Espeon” Barth and Vincent “Vince” Viani joined to fill the open slots for season three. They came in seventh.
Take 3 showed up to tournament one of the 7-Eleven Summer Series with a slightly different roster. Chrome took over Espeon’s position.
One notable thing about this change is Espeon’s presence on the tournament’s analyst desk. Espeon may be moving towards a caster/analyst role and out of a player role.
Moving Forward
Registration for season four of the RLCS has not begun yet and, as such, there is still plenty of time roster changes and new teams to form. Teams are constantly changing and disbanding as players seek to rise to the top and dominate the competition. Below is the potential/tentative list of teams that you can expect to see competing for a spot in season four.
These are just teams consisting of contenders from season three of the RLCS. Expect to see other players rise up for their shot at glory. You can catch a glimpse of some of these other teams by tuning in to the NA Nexus Gaming Summer Invitational, beginning Saturday, July 1.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for part two, potential EU teams.
Tentative/Potential Season Four Teams (with season three contenders)
Denial: Lethamyr, CorruptedG, Sadjunior, Klassux
G2: Kronovi, Rizzo, JKnaps
NRG (auto-qualified): Jacob, Fireburner, GarretG
Ohana: Timi, Moses, Gimmick
Rogue (auto-qualified): Matt, Sizz, Turtle
SetToDestroyX: Lemonpuppy, ColemanA, Loomin
Splyce: Karma, Satthew, Pluto
Take 3: Zanejackey, Vince, Chrome
The Muffin Men: Dappur, SquishyMuffinz, Torment
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With the North American League Championship Series Summer Split dropping in just one day, here’s a list of the top three picks to see in each role. The League Championship Korea Summer Split has already been underway and it’d be a surprise for NA teams to not adopt the freshest Korean picks. So here it is, the top three picks in each role to be picked or banned in the NALCS.
Top Lane
Kennen is the most contested top laner due to his versatility and OP on-hit build. Courtesy of leagueoflegends.com
Kennen– Sure this champion has yet to be seen in-game in the LCK, but that’s just because the Heart of the Tempest has had a 100 percent ban rate. This is in large part due to the on-hit Kennen build that has become popular the past few months. With this build shredding through tanks like an electric woodchipper, Kennen fits perfectly in the current meta. The on-hit build makes building resistances difficult into Kennen’s mixed damaged, making laning against him just as painful as team fighting against his AOE ultimate.
Jayce– Also a tank buster, Jayce continues to be the Swiss Army Knife of champions. Jayce brings resistance shredding, max health percentage damage, hard CC, soft CC, artillery, gap closers, utility, and a whole lot of swagger to the Rift. Tank busters are pretty strong in the top lane right now, but Jayce is all that and more.
Galio– It’s no wonder how strong tank busters are right now, given the state of tanks in the top lane. It was a tough choice deciding who of the big three tanks – Galio, Gragas, Sejuani – to put in this list, but Galio smashes in at number one of these tanks with his dominant crowd control and game changing abilities. Galio makes it into this list, because like the other OP top laners, he brings percentage max health damage with his Winds of War. Watch out for Galio top and mid lane as the NA LCS dawns because the Colossus is as fun to watch as he is strong.
Honorable Mention: Sejuani– The Fury of the North has seen some considerable playtime in the LCK, but her laning phase brings with it too many bad matchups to include in the top three. This alongside some horrible Sejuani performances by the likes of Kang “ADD” Gun-mo of MVP has pushed her into the honorable mentions section of the top laners rising out of Korea. Still, it would be surprising not to see her charging into the NA LCS in the hands of players like C9’s Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong, an expert tank player.
Jungle
Lee Sin– I don’t see this guy ever leaving the top three competitive junglers in the LCK. It seems that almost every jungler in the LCK is a Lee Sin one trick, constantly pushing this champion to a whole new level of play. Whether it is Han “Peanut” Wang-ho on SKT T1 during MSI, or recently, Longzhu’s Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan showing that move speed nerfs mean little in the LCK, everyone seems to be prioritizing the Blind Monk.
Both Lee Sin and Orianna are making a return from their MSI conquest in the LCK. Expect to see them in the NALCS. courtesy of lolesports
Zac– Zaun’s Secret Weapon is going to have to stay secret a bit longer, unfortunately. Zac, like Kennen, has seen the ban list each and every game and with good reason. Zac’s Elastic Slingshot into Let’s Bounce combo has carries seen on that back of milk carton’s since his release, but it seems players are just now mastering Zac as his win rate has skyrocketed as of late. Expect NA to follow in the blob steps of the LCK with a perma-banned Flubber cosplay.
Elise– The Spider Queen has returned as the Queen of the Jungle. Elise, also known as AP Lee Sin, is an early game playmaker with enough hops to rival the blind monk. The terrifying spider tears through the jungle without taking much damage, while also being one of the only viable sources of magic damage from the jungle. With her hard hitting early game damage and that sweet percentage health damage, Elise has rappeled her way into the top three.
Honorable Mention: Graves– The Outlaw has been hit hard ever since the return of his smoking habit. With no more slick combos on his ultimate and a lack of MR coming out of one of his ten passives, Graves seems to be falling out of favor. However, Raptors are keeping this smoker on the Rift. With Raptor control as such a priority in the LCK, Graves has found his calling as one of the best champions that can clear the Raptor camp. This allows for him to dominate both his jungle and the enemy’s, and while this is important for the jungle meta, Graves seems to be lacking in some of the game-changing abilities his peers have.
Mid Lane
Syndra– “Press R to Outplay.” Syndra has come back into the LCK with sovereignty. While she has been seen on the ban list more often than she has been picked, it is without a doubt that NA will assimilate her playstyle with ease. Like many of the popular mid laners, Syndra can set up ganks with ease via her semi-reliable CC, but more than that, she can capitalize on her allies CC by getting in range to press R and seal the deal. Just ask SSG’s Lee “Crown” Min-ho how easy it was to 2-0 SKT with Syndra.
Orianna– We saw Faker play Orianna to perfection at MSI, but have you seen Longzhu’s Kwak “Bdd” Bo-seong on Orianna? Longzhu 2-0’d kt on the back of Bdd’s Orianna in both games, where his Ultimates created tragically one-sided games for kt. Orianna has always been a staple of competitive League of Legends, but now more than ever has she risen to the top.
LeBlanc– While assassins seem to be falling out of favor in the LCK, LeBlanc consistently survives as one of the most valuable picks. There’s not much to say about the Deceiver that hasn’t already been said before, she is frustrating to lock down and packs a ton of single target damage. While Orianna seems to be able to survive the matchup pretty well, LeBlanc can dominate other popular picks in the LCK from Fizz to Karma.
Honorable Mention: Galio– Not only is Galio a top tier top laner, but he is doing pretty well as a flex pick in the mid lane. It is true that Faker lost lane using this pick, but Galio’s ability to freely itemize MR in a lane ruled by AP carries allows him to survive handily as a top value flex pick. With magic damage coming out of top laners and supports alike, don’t be surprised to see Galio smashing his way into the NA LCS mid lane.
ADC
Pray leads team to victory against kt via his jaw-dropping Ashe ultimates. Courtesy of lolesports
Ashe– If you haven’t seen Kim “PraY” Jong-in’s Enchanted Crystal Arrows, you haven’t been watching LCK. The pro’s use the high-value Ashe ultimate on cooldown, while also itemizing cooldown reduction through an early Essence Reaver. For Ashe in competitive play, it really is about the ultimate, but this is not to say that her early lane is weak. Ashe can force a level two fight bot lane with her early pushing power, and when this is paired with some of the more meta supports like Karma and Zyra, Ashe lanes can be kill lanes.
Varus– With a high value ultimate and a kit the shreds tanks, Varus is one of the top two ADC’s alongside Ashe. Both of these top-tier AD’s utilize Blade of the Ruined King to the maximum of the item’s ability. They both have game changing ultimate abilities that provide for pick potential as well as peel on a relatively short cooldown as well as AOE damage with their preferred build paths. Ashe and Varus are near one and the same, so it comes as no surprise that they are the two most valued picks in the AD role. Other champions such as Caitlin, Twitch, and Xayah seem to be the go to backups in the LCK.
Support
Thresh– The Chain Warden is back, and that’s great for spectators wanting to see big plays coming out of the support role. With relic shield item line buffs and a rather disappointing coin rework, Thresh is stronger than ever. Over this past spring split, it seems like every viable support has been nerfed except Thresh, making this split his time to shine. However, it is worth noting that Thresh has a very bad laning phase into Zyra, who seems to be prominent as well.
Zyra– The Thresh counter is back at it. Zyra is the classic mid laner gone wrong, as she dominates the game with very few items and a very cheap overall core build. While she peaks damage charts in solo queue environments she seems to be doing the same in the LCK. Except to see the rise of the thorns in NA as a solid counter pick to not only Thresh, but hard engage in general.
Lulu– As Zyra counters Thresh, Lulu counters Zyra. Lulu has seen some play since her whimsey was nerfed a few patches ago, allowing her to be lifted from the perma-ban list. That being said, she is still very strong especially in protect the carry comps that are oh-so-good right now. Not only does she excel late game as an ADC steroid machine, but she also does very well in lane and can get rid of the pesky Zyra plants with her Pix passive.
MVP Max flashes, then predicts Zyra’s flash with a beautiful hook. Courtesy of LCK
Honorable Mention: Max’s Blitzcrank– MVP Max has always been a support player that pushes the meta. His claim to fame Sion Quadra Kill has been followed by his extensive playmaking champion pool. As the support player to watch in the LCK, his most recent success on Blitzcrank has given professional players in the LCK flashbacks to solo queue nightmares. While I don’t exactly expect him to be picked in NA, I would guess Cloud9 to pick him up first as they already have last split.
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How strong are shields in ranked exactly? Currently, the only support champions that can shield allies with over a 50 percent win rate and significant play rate (above two percent) are Sona and Thresh. In the jungle, there is only Ivern, who sits at a solid 52 percent win rate in plat and above, but Ivern’s power is found in more than just his two-second long Triggerseed. For more on Ivern, check out my Playing Ivern Like the Pros.
While I understand players’ outrage over a six-second duration Lulu shield, Lulu has struggled recently with quest itemization, alongside some awkward Whimsey bugs leaving her at a 47 percent win rate. In short, it’s not the champion that is particularly strong that has the community in arms over shield power, but instead the ability to layer shields with specific team compositions and item paths.
2017 College Championship Finals show both supports rushing Locket of Iron Solari after their upgraded sightstone. Courtesy of Riot Games.
Possible Solutions Open Up Unique Gameplay Opportunities
That being said, shield stacking still seems to be very powerful, and a lot of this comes from a lack of support item diversity. Redemption and Locket of the Iron Solari seem to be the go-to items for supports, and a lot of this comes from the lack of viable build alternatives. Knight’s Vow is too expensive and doesn’t give cooldown reduction (the most vital stat for a support), while items like Mikael’s Crucible are too cost inefficient. It is frustrating that a champion like Blitzcrank, who is centered around making picks, has the most commonly built item as Redemption instead of something else that may highlight his pick-off play style. This does not go to say that Redemption should be gutted entirely, as the item is fun to play with and requires a certain amount of skill to use effectively. It does go to say that other items should become more available for supports who want to do something other than heal and shield.
As someone who plays support quite frequently in Diamond Elo, I will never play Soraka again. This is not because I have internalized the “Soraka is cancer” monologue coming out of the loads of players plagued by over-committing aggression, but instead because there is an 800 gold item that reduces the impact of three of her four abilities by 40 percent. Playing just once against an ADC that buys this item first back is an experience that ultimately becomes too frustrating to ever pick this champion back up again. As Soraka in this matchup, you can go from dominating a lane to barely surviving in just one buy. That is insane because once the enemy AD has this item, your champion is significantly less impactful.
That being said, I do understand how frustrating playing against the likes of Janna and Soraka can be, and I do want to see counterplay to the growing power of shields. I just want to see this counterplay come from something more dynamic than a cheap one item buy. This problem actually gives game developers an opportunity for Strategic Diversity, a Riot hot word that will make developers salivate instantly.
The perfect counter for the shield meta could arise in a new champion design. A new “support” champion could have an ability that does damage, but when it hits an enemy with a shield, it completely takes what damage it does to that shield and creates a shield for itself. This ability would have to still be decent enough to be used against team compositions without shields; however, having a hard counter to shielding champions in the bottom lane would add a greater diversity of support champions.
The Consequences of a Grievous Wounds for Shields
So what happens if Riot follows the congregation of shield animosity all the way to the Rift? The first thing we would expect to see is the removal of an entire summoner spell, Barrier, as well as the removal of some strategic items, such as Locket of the Iron Solari, Seraph’s Embrace, Sterak’s Gage, Face of the Mountain, and Bloodthirster. But an item that diminishes the effectiveness of shields won’t only cut out the diversity of defensive items, but also defensive masteries. Courage of the Colossus will take a huge hit, and every champion that benefits from the massive late game shields of this mastery will also drop in win rate substantially, or be forced to take a different mastery entirely. This would lead to a situation similar to the league of Thunderlord’s, or Grasp for each and every top laner.
Already, the effective amount of items and masteries would be diminished from the inclusion of a grievous wounds item for shields, but the viable champion pool for many roles would also take a huge hit. Orianna, Camille, Nautilus, Shen, Skarner, Urgot, and most supports would be devastated by such an item. This item would hinder the Rift more than anything.
Why Shields Are Here to Stay
So what about nerfing shield duration? This is a common go-to for many, but what these individuals do not realize is that shields have a pretty short duration as is, aside from some variables, such as Lulu and Janna. Locket of the Iron Solari has only a 2.5 second duration, Karma shield only lasts four seconds, Rakan’s Battle Dance only lasts three seconds, and Sona’s shield only lasts 1.5 seconds. Sure each of these numbers can be nerfed, but that would be the nerf of an entire subclass of Support champions; but more than that, it would be an indirect nerf to marksmen.
The classic Mega’Maw team comp makes a return in the MSI Group Stages. Courtesy of Riot Games.
When the ADC in 2k17 meme was at its peak, the most viable support champions were all Ability Power Carries. Brand, Malzahar, and Zyra dominated the Rift, and they did so by devastating other supports in lane and being able to one vs. one the enemy carry early on. ADC was weak at this time due to itemization, but also due to the nature of bot lane. Quite simply, ADCs did not have someone enhancing their abilities; they had no support. What they had instead was a Mage who was ready to kill the enemy carry at any time. What a spooky era. Alas, supports got Redemption, and a few other healing and shielding items were buffed. Then, ADCs got their item paths made more efficient, and with the combination of defensive supports and offensive build paths, the Yin and Yang of bottom lane was finally able to take a crack at the ADC in 2k17 meme.
While ADCs have been stronger, the current shield meta allows them to duke it out in the late game with the protect the carry strategies that have been ever present in League of Legends. These compositions enforce cooperation and teamwork. The claim to fame Mega’Maw and other similar compositions are healthy for competitive League of Legends and solo queue environments alike, just as long as they don’t become the only composition.
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Video Courtesy of OGN. Featured Image Courtesy of leagueoflegends.com
Saturday May 20, 2017, the second semifinals match of MSI will be underway. Team WE will face off against G2 Esports for a spot in the finals. Both teams have exhibited their fair share of stellar and underwhelming performances throughout the tournament. They will be doing their best to shore up the weak spots and study their opponents in order to reach peak performance. This best-of-five series will be all or nothing.
Team WE
The LPL representatives have made it through MSI with a 7-3 record, just below SKT. They dropped games to TSM, SKT, and GAM. Every player has had standout performances throughout the tournament. Team WE will be favored to win in this match-up, since they defeated G2 in both of their Group Stage bouts.
How They Win
WE outclasses G2 in almost every statistic. Gold difference at 15 minutes (+1,047/-342), first three turrets (80 percent/10 percent), dragon control (47 percent/30 percent) and baron control (54 percent/38 percent) all heavily favor the Chinese team.
In both of their victories against G2, WE drafted Ashe for Jin “Mystic” Sung-jun and Malzahar for Nam “Ben” Dong-hyun. WE’s jungler, Xiang “Condi” Ren-Jie, massacred Kim “Trick” Gang-Yun in the early game. Su “Xiye” Han-Wei played AP diver-assassins LeBlanc and Kassadin. And Ke “957” Changyu has been most impactful on tanky disruptors, particularly Kled.
All of these pieces come together to form a bursty pick composition. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen was most often caught out by Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Nether Grasp, Explosive Cask, or Chaaaaaaaarge!!! and deleted before he was able to output enough damage. Team WE should maintain this draft strategy and playstyle, because G2 does not seem to have an answer at the moment.
Both wins were secured between 28 and 31 minutes. Team WE took first turret in both matches, which led to the first three turrets in just under 20 minutes. They then proceeded to take baron between 21 and 25 minutes, which allowed WE to break G2’s base and win. In their first game, G2 secured one tower and one dragon. In the follow-up match, WE did not allow them to take any towers or dragons.
How They Lose
Karma and Nami are champion picks that stick out in Team WE’s losses. Xiye lost both games when taking Karma to the mid lane, and Ben lost both games when playing Nami support. 957 looked weak on top lane Jayce, as well. The individuals cannot be fully to blame, but it seems like a good idea to keep these picks on the bench for now.
All of WE’s losses came off the back of sub-30-minute barons secured by their opponent. Against TSM, the gold difference never rose to more than 2,000 until they took a baron. From there, TSM closed out the game, taking a second baron and only ceding 4 kills. Team WE was leading SKT by 2,100 gold at 22 minutes, but Han “Peanut” Wang-ho landed a baron steal. SKT broke their base, took a second baron and won. Team WE’s loss to GAM was mostly due to Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh’s Kha’Zix getting fed a triple kill around 10 minutes.
If WE gives over baron, their chances of losing are high. When viewing statistics for the four semifinal teams, their win rates align with their first baron rates. This objective is pivotal to their playstyle. Properly pressuring around baron was a main catalyst for drawing in G2 and picking off key carries. However, if WE is sloppy in clearing vision or shot-calling around Smite, then it could spell disaster.
Player To Watch
Team WE’s top laner, 957
Team WE’s victory will rely heavily on 957 in the top lane. They have won every game that he has drafted Kled, and he has maintained a 27.0 KDA with the champion. On the other hand, his single Jayce game fed TSM their first 5 kills. G2’s Ki “Expect” Dae-Han is not necessarily the same carry threat that SKT or TSM have. WE will rely on 957 to repeat the masterful disruption he exhibited against G2 in their prior match-ups.
G2 Esports
Making it into semifinals by the skin of its teeth is G2 Esports. The EU LCS representatives finished the Group Stage with a 4-6 record, only picking up wins against Flash Wolves (2), GIGABYTE Marines (1), and TSM (1). Seeing as they lost both matches against Team WE, they are the underdog in this best-of-five series.
How They Win
G2’s victories varied drastically from each other. Three of the four wins were secured 42 minutes or later, and allowed the enemy team to secure at least one baron. Two of those three late-game wins involved G2 falling behind 8,000-9,000 gold at some point. The only champions drafted in multiple wins were Caitlyn, Nunu, and Orianna.
In all of their wins, Zven had two or fewer deaths and had a gold lead on the enemy AD Carry. It is obvious that he is their primary carry threat. G2 lost both games that he drafted Ashe. Zven only has wins on Caitlyn, Twitch, and Kog’Maw thus, G2’s draft will need to revolve around these champions. Ivern, Lulu, Karma, and Orianna have at least 50 percent win rates for G2 thus far. Combining multiple enchanters into the draft may allow Zven to break even through the early game and fully carry in the mid-late game.
Luka “Perkz” Perković has also been a consistent source of damage throughout MSI. Mid lane is arguably the most stacked position at the tournament, and Perkz has been going toe-to-toe with some of the best in the world. He has been averaging 28.8 percent of G2’s damage, the highest among all mid laners (second highest overall behind Zven). Putting Perkz on a champion that can control side waves, particularly Fizz, could be a good back-up if Orianna is banned.
How They Lose
There are several situations that G2 should avoid. Keep Trick off of Lee Sin, he failed horribly twice on the champion. Also, they should not draft Ashe for Zven or Zyra for Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez. Zven needs to be able to output immense damage, and Mithy plays much better on protective champions. Even Tahm Kench or Braum are preferable to Zyra if Lulu or Karma are unavailable.
If Trick continues to have poor early games, then this will most surely be G2’s defeat. Trick has the second lowest KDA and the second highest death share of all players at the tournament. He also has the lowest average damage of all junglers at the event.
While their best strategy generally results in early deficits, G2 will need to play intelligently between 15 and 30 minutes. Team WE’s average game time is over 5 minutes shorter than G2’s, which means if they cede 4,000-6,000 gold leads, then it will be highly unlikely for G2 to win.
Player To Watch
G2 Esport’s top laner, Expect
Expect has been putting up some big games this tournament. He has maintained a 3.7 KDA while only contributing 11.9 percent of G2’s deaths. The top laner has secured wins on Jayce, Gragas, Shen, and Nautilus. G2 also released a video of the final shot-calling from their win over TSM, showing the team’s faith in Expect.
The flip side is that Expect has some of the lowest damage of the top laners at the tournament, and his kill participation is low compared to 957. G2 will need him to be more involved as a proactive member of the team, matching 957’s map movements. Perkz and Zven can pump out the damage. Mithy can shield and provide vision. And Trick is under-performing. Expect may be the biggest factor that could turn this match-up on its head.
Prediction
Unless the stars align, and G2 are able to draft a true “protect the ADC” composition, then Team WE will skunk them 3-0. Trick got steamrolled by Condi in both of their Group Stage games. Mystic and Ben have been performing well enough to keep up with Zven and Mithy. Expect and 957 will most likely be trying to execute similar strategies, but 957 has proven to be more successful up to this point. Perkz matches up against Xiye pretty well, but the synergy among the entire team is heavily in WE’s favor.
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This upcoming weekend marks the last week of Stage One of the CWL Global Pro League. Week four will commence with American teams OpTic Gaming and Enigma6 facing off against European teams Red Reserve and Elevate. The teams will clash at the MLG Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
As with weeks prior, each team will face one another in a double round-robin format. The top two placing teams will advance to Playoffs as well as qualify for Stage Two of the Global Pro League, Pool Play at CWL Anaheim, and Call of Duty World Championship later this year. The 3rd place team will also qualify for Stage Two of the Global Pro League, Pool Play at CWL Anaheim, and Call of Duty World Championship. The team that places last will face Relegation in order to qualify for Stage Two.
OpTic Gaming is most likely poised to take first place in the group while the other teams will be battling it out for the ever important second place. With no other teams available to scrim in the EU region, Elevate and Red Reserve have not been able to get in good practice since April.
OpTic Gaming
OpTic comes into this weekend, regarded by analysts and players alike, as the best team in the world. The combined talents of Seth “Scump” Abner, Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Damon “Karma” Barlow, and Matt “Formal” Piper have been playing together longer than any other team in competitive CoD.
After a slow start to the Infinite Warfare season, OpTic won back-to-back International LANs: CWL Paris and CWL Dallas. Having lost to eUnited in the Grand Finals of CWL Atlanta after a miraculous Loser’s Bracket run, a new fire was lit under the team. With Formal now acting as their “In Game Leader” the newly invigorated OpTic looks to place first this weekend.
OpTic has been teaming together since April 2015
Enigma6 Group
Enigma6 were unable to complete during the 2016 Black Ops III season due to the age restriction of the CoD World League. Now with a team able to compete, E6 have experienced moderate success so far this season. At the first LAN of IW, E6 came out of the Open Bracket to eventually place 7-8th. So far they have not been able to repeat this performance, with their most recent placing a 9-12th finish at CWL Dallas.
After CWL Dallas, rumors swirled that Mike “MRuiz” Ruiz would retire and Preston “Priest” Greiner would take his place. Controversy ensued due to the rules surrounding CWL roster locks leading into the GPL. However, MRuiz stayed on the team as they hope to secure a spot in the Stage One Playoffs.
Enigma6’s 2017 CoD Roster
Red Reserve
Having lost half their original roster during the EU rostermania following CWL Paris, Red picked up Niall “Niall” Sunderland and Sean “Seany” O’Connor. Since then, Red has been on a hot streak. In their first MLG GameBattles 2K series, the newly formed team placed second and won the next 2K.
Red would go on to put on an incredible performance in the Loser’s Bracket at CWL Dallas. They would eventually finish 5-6th. At the next LAN CWL Birmingham, Red again placed 5-6th, showing that this newly formed squad can hang with the best. Red is poised to make a serious run at the second place spot this weekend.
David “Urban” Marsh of Red Reserve
Elevate
At their first LAN after adding Rhys “Rated” Price in place of Seany, Elevate had an abysmal performance placing 21-24th after starting in Pool Play. After their poor performance in the US, Elevate seemed to bounce back with a 5-6th placing at CWL Birmingham.
Like the other EU team in the group Red, the biggest issue for Elevate heading into the GPL is their lack of practice. With other EU teams leaving early to boot camp in the US, Elevate has not scrimmed since April, according to players on the team. Looked at as the weakest team to qualify for Stage One of the GPL, Elevate has a lot to prove this weekend.
Jordan “Reedy” Reed and Josh “Watson” Watson at CWL Birmingham
Predictions
OpTic Gaming
Red Reserve
Enigma6
Elevate
Jack Waters is an avid Call of Duty Esports fan and wants to hear from YOU! Find him on Twitter.
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The first stage of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational is complete. Two wildcard teams have moved on to enter the second stage where they will meet representatives from NA LCS and LMS. Last weekend was a joy to watch, as teams from around the globe came together to battle on the Rift. This weekend promises similar excitement.
Before heading into the match-ups, though, it is important to highlight key champions. These are champions who had high pick and ban rates. They have been contested throughout the tournament. As regions enter and exit the competition, some preferences are bound to change. However, the following choices have proven themselves to be fruitful, and will most likely remain power picks for the remainder of the contest.
Top
Pick/Ban Rate (P/B): 58% Win Rate (W%): 25%
Shen is valued for his ability to impact the map. Stand United allows the top laner to protect allies with a shield, or follow the channel with Shadow Dash to engage fights.
Split-pushing is a bit easier, since Stand United and Teleport allow Shen to enter a neighboring lane. Top laners generally build Tytanic Hydra, Spirit Visage and Guardian Angel on this champion.
Do not let the low tournament win rate fool you. Players such as Seung “Huni” Hoon Heo and Yau “MMD” Li-Hung have 100% win rates with the champion, and Ki “Expect” Dae-Han, Asım “fabFabulous” Cihat Karakaya, and Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell are 67% or higher (Spring 2017).
P/B: 79% W%: 57%
AD tank Fizz has become a menace yet again. Trinity Force is essential to this playstyle. Top laners have built Sunfire Cape, Spirit Visage and Guardian Angel for tankiness. They may include Blade of the Ruined King or Wit’s End for attack speed and augmenting the bonus damage of Seastone Trident.
Fizz has also been used for split-pushing. Playful Trickster is a low-cooldown spell which allows for speedy roaming. Top laners have been choosing Ignite-Teleport as Summoner Spells for early laning and global pressure.
Gigabyte Marines flexed Fizz into the mid lane once already, and other teams will most likely be open to this idea. In the right hands, this champion is truly a nuisance, which is why he has been banned so often.
P/B: 75% W%: 86%
The newly reworked Colossus made his debut at MSI. So far, he has been oppressive. Galio’s combination of tankiness, utility, and damage are difficult to overcome.
Players are building Spirit Visage and Sunfire Cape to provide resistances and ambient damage. Knight’s Vow and Iceborn Gauntlet have been prominent items, too.
The semi-global pressure of Hero’s Entrance is perfect for top laners, especially playing around objectives. Shield of Durand and Justice Punch provide high-impact crowd control for Galio’s team. So far, Nautilus has been the only other top lane champion with a higher win rate than Galio (with more than one game played).
Jungle
P/B: 79% W%: 50%
Redemption, Locket of the Iron Solari and Athene’s Unholy Grail are only built by the jungler if they are playing Ivern. His shielding and healing are ridiculously powerful when combined with Triggerseed.
Teams excel when Ivern enables his laners to snowball and siege turrets with Daisy! His jungle clear is quicker than most. He is also able to donate his blue and red buffs more frequently to teammates.
Drafting Ivern allows teams to create protect-the-carry compositions. When paired with Lulu, Orianna, Karma or Shen, Ivern unlocks marksmen, assassins, and mages to play fast and loose.
P/B: 88% W%: 53%
Lee Sin is League of Legends’ perennial jungle champion. Once truly overpowered junglers have been banned or picked, many players fall back to Lee Sin. His mobility and early pressure allows teams to push the pace and snowball quickly when played correctly.
This tournament has seen Lee Sin played 15 times: 6 games more than the next most played champion. He is a versatile pick that can mesh with almost anyone. None of the best junglers are afraid to pull him out to demonstrate their Flash-Dragon’s Rage mechanics.
All of the remaining junglers at MSI have at least 64% win rates on Lee Sin this Spring. Han “Peanut” Wang-ho has maintained a 100% win rate over 11 games.
P/B: 88% W%: 75%
Teams have been smart to frequently ban Graves. Junglers have won 6 out of 8 games with him at MSI. End of the Line provides insanely fast jungle clears. Quickdraw allows him to move through thin walls and gain bonus resistances. Collateral Damage nukes low health targets.
No participating jungler has less than a 73% win rate using Graves. Hung “Karsa” Hau-Hsuan has a 100% win rate and a 13.3 KDA over 5 games on the champion. Kang “Blank” Sun-gu sports 100% and 17.5 over 2 games.
Black Cleaver and Maw of Malmortius are featured items beyond Enchantment: Warrior. Players at MSI have even been building Blade of the Ruined King, which is arguably overpowered at the moment.
Mid
P/B: 79% W%: 50%
Koray “Naru” Bıçak and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok have the lowest win rates on Syndra: 67%. All other mid laners at MSI sport 71% or higher.
Syndra has been a mainstay in the mid lane for a few splits at this point. Her combination of waveclear, crowd-control and reliable burst damage are hardly matched. She has the highest total number of bans for a reason.
The average damage per minute for Syndra players at MSI is 629. This is higher than any other mid lane champion with multiple games played. Expect her presence to remain on the high side moving forward.
P/B: 71% W%: 33%
LeBlanc’s strengths are similar to Syndra, except LeBlanc is more of an assassin. Distortion allows mid laners to quickly roam to other lanes or into the jungle. High level players can utilize Mimic to confuse and outplay opponents.
Hextech Gunblade and Void Staff are currently staples within LeBlanc’s build. When paired with Sorceror’s Shoes and Abyssal Scepter, LeBlanc’s burst is unsettling. One successful Ethereal Chains stun onto a squishy target is guaranteed death.
Văn “Optimus” Cường Trần lost his only LeBlanc game at MSI. Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok have yet to get the chance to play her this Spring. All 4 other mid laners have 60% or higher win rates.
P/B: 50% W%: 75%
Mobility is Ahri’s biggest strength in the current meta. Spirit Rush gives her three dashes to enter and leave fights as she pleases. Ahri’s item path is also one of the most flexible, as she can build into a teamfighting mage, an assassin, or some combination. MSI featured Morellonomicon, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Hextech Protobelt, Hextech Gunblade, Abyssal Scepter, and Luden’s Echo during the first stage.
Ahri has had the highest total plays during the tournament: 8. She also had the highest win rate of any mid lane champion with more than one game played. It would not be surprising to continue seeing her picked throughout the remainder of the tournament. However, Su “Xiye” Han-Wei lost his only Ahri game this Spring in the LPL.
Bot
P/B: 88% W%: 50%
Ever since Blade of the Ruined King rose to prominence, Ashe has remained pick or ban in most regions. Her global engage (Enchanted Crystal Arrow) and follow-up damage (Ranger’s Focus) potential is unrivaled in the AD Carry position.
Only Nguyen “Slay” Ngoc Hung has fewer than nine games on Ashe this Spring. All bot lanes in the tournament should be comfortable playing on this champion.
Items on Ashe are straightforward. Runaan’s Hurricane, Infinity Edge, Berserker’s Greaves, and Last Whisper generally round out the build. Landing ultimates is crucial for an Ashe to succeed. The entire team needs to be ready to pull the trigger after a well-placed Enchanted Crystal Arrow.
P/B: 67% W%: 40%
The non-utility marksman with the largest presence at MSI thus far is Caitlyn. While her Yordle Snap Traps provide small amounts of crowd control, Caitlyn’s primary goal is to rattle off as many auto-attacks as possible. Her passive, Headshot, can decimate entire teams once Runaan’s Hurricane is in play.
It’s unclear whether or not Caitlyn will remain such a high priority for the rest of the tournament. Her win rate so far has not justified her high pick rate. Many of the world’s top AD Carries seem partial to drafting marksmen with higher skill caps and higher risk-reward, such as Ezreal, Twitch or Lucian.
Only Jin “Mystic” Sung-jun has played Caitlyn more than 3 games this Spring. Lu “Betty” Yuhung, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik and Jason “WildTurtle” Tran have played her one game each.
P/B: 67% W%: 43%
Varus has the lowest average damage per minute of the entire AD Carry class at MSI (392). He is played similarly to Ashe, except he trades lower engage pressure for higher poke damage. A well-placed Chain of Corruption can lock someone down long enough to eliminate them. Piercing Arrow gives bot lanes the ability to snipe low-health enemies.
Varus’ build path is virtually identical to Ashe’s, as well. Blade of the Ruined King, Runaan’s Hurricane, Infinity Edge, and Last Whisper are common. Some attack speed builds can include Guinsoo’s Rageblade.
Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and Mystic have win rates 50% or lower with Varus. Betty has maintained a 100% win rate over sevengames played.
Support
P/B: 100% W%: 53%
The only champion that is currently 100% pick or ban is Lulu. However, she only won just over half of the time. Lulu’s majorly impactful Wild Growth couple with the reliability of Help Pix!-Glitterlance-Thunderlord’s Decree poke makes her relevant at all stages of the game.
All support players at the tournament should be well-versed in Lulu’s gameplay. Her mechanics are rather straightforward, but proper timing of speed-ups, shields, slows and enlargments separates the best Lulu players from the majority.
P/B: 33% W%: 50%
321 damage per minute is not bad for a support champion. That has been the average for Zyra at MSI so far. Brand is the only support to out-damage her.
Zyra seems to work for all support players at the tournament except Vincent “Biofrost” Wang, who only has a 20% win rate on the champion. Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Jie has even maintained a 100% win rate with Zyra over 8 games.
Depending on the needs of a team, support players build full damage or more healing and shielding. MSI has seen Redemption, Locket of the Iron Solari, Liandry’s Torment and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter.
P/B: 63% W%: 50%
When Lulu is unavailable, Karma becomes the next best utility support. Her Mantra-Inspire shields and speeds up the entire team, which provides some the most potent engage and disengage a support champion can offer. Karma’s Mantra-Inner Flame offers strong poke in lane, which is why many players choose Thunderlord’s Decree as their keystone mastery.
All of the remaining support players have 60% or higher win rates with Karma. While it has not been as common this Spring, Karma can also flex into mid lane. Xiye, for example, has won 100% of LPL game using mid Karma (6 games).
While these may have been the most prominent picks in the first stage of MSI, plenty of champions were played. Unique picks such as Sona, Blitzcrank and Darius left their mark on the Rift. Tahm Kench was played in the top lane. Hopefully, there will be more variation as other teams enter the competition. Nonetheless, look to these last seven teams to show how high the ceilings are on these champions, and why they may currently be so popular internationally.
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A phenomenal grand final at CWL Dallas was the latest matchup in Call of Duty’s newest rivalry. The match was almost an exact replica of CWL Atlanta’s grand final, except that this time OpTic Gaming,instead of eUnited, won out on last map after going to a second series.
The tournament was OpTic’s second win of the year, making them the only team with two major LAN wins under their belt.
OpTic breezed through pool play, going 12-1 in map count. The journey became more difficult in the championship bracket, where both Luminosity and Splyce took OpTic to game five. Their toughest opponent, however, was eUnited, who took them to two game fives after extending the series by winning the first one. Both teams, hungry for their second LAN win, put on a show that attracted over 100k viewers to MLG.tv.
CWL Dallas was stacked, with top teams from every region in attendance. Two European teams, Splyce and Red Reserve, even managed to place in the top six. Before this year, North American teams dominated the competition through and through. Now, more Europeans are seeing the light of Championship Sunday.
OpTic is a team that is no stranger to Championship Sunday. Since Advanced Warfare, they have been at the top of the podium more than any other team in Call of Duty, and all without making roster changes.
Along the way, rivals have risen to meet them, only to fall off. FaZe, who have stuck together just as long as OpTic, were a fierce rival in Advanced Warfare and look to be this year as well. They have only placed below 3rd once so far. On Black Ops III, Rise Nation was seemingly the only team that could stop OpTic. However, their roster this year has had varied performances.
eUnited Rises to the Occasion
With their current roster, eUnited appears to be the only team capable of hanging with OpTic through Championship Sunday. The grind wears teams down, and only those with the experience and skill to make it through reach the grand final. Twice now, eUnited have outlasted everyone else to meet OpTic in the grand final of a CWL event. Twice now, they have kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
Atlanta was where eUnited proved everyone wrong. They were “jetpackers” and “online warriors,” and that was the reason, supposedly, they started the tournament with a high seed. It was then that eUnited showed their worth, as they ran through the teams in their pool and won over several tough opponents on their way to the grand final. There, they met OpTic, who worked their way through the loser’s bracket after losing to Team EnVyUs earlier on. In that grand final, OpTic looked unbeatable. They were on fire, from their loser’s bracket run onward, and eUnited looked to be just hanging on. But despite the 3-0 thrashing they suffered in the first series, eUnited was able to bounce back and take the championship. It was a first for all members of the team.
eUnited’s roster doesn’t consist of superstars, or at least, they aren’t superstars yet. Team captain Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer is flanked by three players that few had heard of before this year: Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, and Pierce “Gunless” Hillman. In fact, Arcitys and Prestinni, who happen to be twin brothers, only turned 18 two months before last year’s Call of Duty Championship. They quit their regular jobs to pursue a career in Call of Duty, and it’s paying off.
After Dallas, OpTic’s Damon “Karma” Barlow was impressed. “I wasn’t a believer [two] months ago but that showed how good [eUnited was],” he said.
eUnited is well aware of the rivalry they’ve gotten themselves into, and it reaches further than Call of Duty. Just this week, eUnited faced OpTic in the Gears of War Fight Night.
“Hey@OpTicGaming. We will get a Halo team if you get a League of Legends team. Then we can have a real rivalry. Deal?” eUnited joked on Twitter.
The rivalry between OpTic and eUnited was born in Atlanta but grew up in Dallas. So far, it’s created some of the most exciting Call of Duty in recent memory,and we hope to see more of it next month in Columbus when the Global Pro League begins.
Image: eUnited Twitter.
Josh Billy is a long time Call of Duty fan. You can email him at joshuatbilly@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter.
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A Meta Establisher is someone who plays a champion and other people for whatever reason, follow the lead of the Meta Establisher and play the champions that the meta Establisher is playing. Below are a few reasons why Faker has been an incredible Meta Establisher in the midlane throughout his career.
Faker has long been considered one the the best League of Legends player of all time. Although his statistics on every category are beyond impressive, one aspect of his game that should not be overlooked is the respect other players have for him. Faker has established the meta in the mid lane almost since he came into the scene, some of it has to do with his ability to quickly figure out what champions are overpowered after a patch is introduced, but the respect other players have for him, also contributes to his Meta Establisher history.
Xerath:
Faker introduced Xerath into the scene worsening the wave-clear meta where Xerath and Ziggs were prioritized. Throughout the next few months Xerath was the top pick/banned champion across all regions and was introduced by Faker.
Ryze:
Faker introduced Ryze into season 5 Worlds. It was not until the tournament was over that other teams realized that the champion was overpowered, yet Faker figured it out before the tournament started and continued to use it even in the finals against Koo Tigers.
Karma:
Faker introduced Karma into the scene. The champion was used in the midland for a short time, yet other regions(notably NA) picked it up. Faker only played Karma once, funnily enough lost that game. However, Karma was a contested pick in NA, exacerbating the situation due to the fact that Bjergsen got a pentakill on her.
Faker played his first competitive game of season 6 with Corki. Although he has not played any other games with the champion, Corki has become a priority pick in NA, and has seen some play in other regions.
Viktor:
The champion that was more established by one player in my opinion was Viktor in season 5. Faker prioritized this champion picking it into anything last season. This is something very uncharacteristic of Faker since his incredibly big champion pool, means that he typically does not highly prioritize a single champion. However, his undefeated record on the champion, making it one of the champions that he is undefeated on having played the most games on(used to be LeBlanc, but he lost with her at MSI). The interesting part is that every region prioritized Viktor as well last season when the midlane meta was composed of :Cassiopia, Azir and Viktor. Yet, LMS region and NA had negative win rates on the champion despite prioritizing it. NA had more than ten games played on Viktor and continued to first pick/ban just because Faker had tremendous success on the champion.
LeBlanc:
Arguably Faker’s most successful champion is LeBlanc, one of the champions that requires mastery in order to play at the competitive level. Last season before MSI, around spring time, every team banned LeBlanc against SKT. Yet, anyone else who attempted to play the champion, was not nearly as impressive as Faker was. No other player was feared for his LeBlanc, yet teams had to ban it against SKT and it took the most anti-LeBlanc team composition to finally defeat Faker on that champion. Although very few players followed Faker’s lead around this time, and even fewer had success on her, LeBlanc deserves an honorable mention because Faker was the only one that figured out how to effectively use her. The champion was later nerfed and it can be said it was a target nerf towards Faker as he alone made the champion look overpowered.
Honorable mentions:
There are many more examples like mid Riven, Zed, Ahri and Ezreal that Faker has in some way or another influenced the meta with. They deserve an honorable mention, but they were either not introduced by Faker, or other players did not follow Faker and played the champion enough.
