Kassadin Archives • The Game Haus

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 by Michael Lee

Three standout players from Group A of Tyler1 Championship Series

Day 1 of the highly anticipated Tyler1 Championship Series did not disappoint. Group A consisted of eight teams boasting some of League’s most infamous solo queue players. At the end of the day, one team emerged victorious. Fan-favorites, the Stream Dream Team (SDT), rampaged through their bracket. In that blaze of glory, some players stood out above the rest. Here are three players from Day 1 of the TCS that brought the flames.

Dhokla Slices and Dices

Credits: Riot Games

No Clue (NC) opened the tournament with a near perfect victory against Super Nova Esports (SN), dropping only a single tower. Much of the team’s success came on consistent play from top-laner Niship “Dhokla” Doshi. His constant pressure in a side lane really opened up the map for his team. And while his “Maokai” play was definitively solid, Dhokla flipped a switch against R U RDY FOR TRANCE (RDY?). Dhokla blind-picked “Renekton” and dared Skaarlet Kledder to match him.

The match-up was Dhokla‘s “Renekton” against Skaarlet‘s “Sion.” Dhokla abused “Renekton’s” natural lane dominance, forcing multiple early backs from his lane opponent. This early pressure gave the “Renekton” room to earn early split-push priority and a massive 60 CS lead at 20 minutes. Because of this pressure, Dhokla drew heavy jungle attention from RDY?’s NJP. Despite attention from the enemy “Rek’Sai,” Dhokla gave viewers a clutch 1v2 outplay in the bottom lane. After forcing Skaarlet‘s flash, Dhokla had to flash defensively before re-engaging the fight. One versus two, Dhokla managed to secure a kill onto Skaarlet with only a “Black Cleaver” in his inventory. Dhokla remained an unstoppable teamfight menace, mowing down the RDY? team and leading his team to a 24 minute win.

Scarra Unbenches the Kench

Credits: Scarra’s Instagram

Formerly the jungler of Delta Fox (DFX), William “Scarra” Li boasts a 100% win-rate on “Tahm Kench” at the Tyler1 Championship Series. In two of their three matches on the day, Scarra pulled out the River King as his support of choice. Against their first opponents of the day, Gweiss eSports (GWE), Scarra flexed the pick with his top-laner, Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani, on “Karma.” Along with Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana, the SDT bottom lane rendered the opposing AD-carry near useless in teamfights.

But the heat did not stop there. Scarra‘s “Tahm Kench” made a repeat appearance in the quarterfinals match against Team Brickz (TBZ). His aggressive plays, often flashing onto enemy champions to secure a “Devour” earned his team some crucial kills. Scarra‘s synergy with mid-laner Danny “Shiphtur” Le was on full display, when the duo clutched a kill onto W0WFIXZ‘s “Syndra.” When Voyboy dove deep into Team Brickz’s back-line, it was Scarra who saved his teammate with slivers of health to spare.

In their semifinals game against No Clue, Scarra opted into “Sona” as a counter to “Karma.” Unlike his previous performances, Scarra was not as ‘unstoppable’ on the “Sona” pick. Even in SDT’s voice-comms, Scarra expressed some discomfort on the champion. Is Scarra a “Tahm Kench” one-trick now? Will his limited champion pool be SDT’s undoing? All jokes aside, Scarra put up a great show. But, it was his teammate Shiphtur who had arguably the best performance on the day.

Shiphtur’s Kassawin

Credits: Shiphtur’s Instagram

With a massive 13.0 KDA and only a single death in three games, Shiphtur rocked Group A. Despite the memes surrounding the re-branded Delta Fox squad, these boys came to play. In his first game against Gweiss eSports, Shiphtur on “Taliyah” dominated his lane opponent, GL IM ZWAG, earning himself a solo kill under the enemy tower. But the plays did not stop there for the former Dignitas (DIG) mid-laner; Shiphtur‘s use of the “Weaver’s Wall” secured objective after objective for the Stream Dream Team. With Shiphtur‘s push priority in lane, Marcus “Dyrus” Hill invaded the enemy jungle, able to push Shiphtur‘s mid-pressure throughout the entire map.

Game 2 against Team Brickz was more of the same story. Rather than banning Shiphtur‘s “Taliyah,” TBZ let the pick go through and paid the price. Shiphtur forced his opponent, Scouting Grounds candidate “W0WFIXZ,” to stay chained to the mid-outer tower. While his opponent perpetually farmed, Shiphtur earned multiple kills using “Weaver’s Wall” to deliver himself onto the enemy “Gangplank” and to cut off the escape for the opposing bottom lane.

In the semifinal game, No Clue finally banned Shiphtur‘s “Taliyah,” hoping to force him onto a less comfortable pick. But Shiphtur had other plans in mind. After locking in “Kassadin” to face off against Peridot‘s “Malzahar,” Shiphtur entered the game in full carry mode. Patiently, Shiphtur and his teammates scaled into the late game, taking advantages when possible. Often, Shiphtur found himself matching Dhokla‘s “Ornn” in a split push. His pressure bottom lane earned his team two towers and a level 16 “Kassadin.” Shiphtur was unstoppable. All his team had to do was kite out teamfights while Shiphtur chased down and culled any remaining stragglers.

Honorable Mentions

Credits: Tyler1 Championship Series

Voyboy‘s “Vladimir” was fantastic to watch. On the day, Voyboy opted into mage top-laners, a style that has recently fallen out of favor. His “Vladimir” became monstrous in late teamfights. The kid took on Team Brickz’s entire back line while his team mowed down the tanks. The crucial seconds that he bought in those late-game fights earned his team huge advantages that won them the game.
Faith in Myself‘s “Bard” game against Team FWII was absolutely disgusting. His roaming opened room for his AD-carry, Value, to earn solo-experience while he snowballed advantages for his mid-lane. Clutch “Cosmic Bindings” and “Tempered Fates” won his team multiple teamfights throughout the game against FWII. Faith buried the enemy “Malzahar” who ended the game 0/7/3. This was one merciless “Bard” and the playmaking from Faith was hype to watch.
W0WFIXZ‘s “Viktor” in Team Brickz’s game against DreamerZ Challenger showed why the man is going to the 2017 Scouting Grounds. After the enemy “Orianna” used “Shockwave” to catch the “Viktor” unaware, W0WFIXZ proceeded to solo kill his lane opponent under tower. For the rest of the game, W0WFIXZ‘s “Viktor” unloaded on the DreamerZ squad. Teamfights were downright unfair as the “Chaos Storm” shredded through DreamerZ health bars. Although his team fell today, it will be exciting to see W0WFIXZ at this year’s Scouting Grounds event.

Featured Image: LoL Esports Flickr

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June 29, 2017 by Rodger Caudill

Patch 7.13 solo lane tier list

With Patch 7.13 upon us, it’s time to take a look at how the changes impacted solo queue picks. In the following tier list, the top three champions in each role, alongside an honorable mention or two if applicable will be assessed. The following picks are based upon item, champion and other meta changes. It is worth noting that this tier list is primarily for solo queue ranked environments and not competitive play. Most of the champions mentioned are strong as a result to changes in patches prior to 7.13, however, there have been some minor changes.

Top Lane

Changes to the top lane this patch are a result of the nerfs to Doran’s Shield and Doran’s Ring in patch 7.12. The Doran’s Shield price was increased by 50 gold preventing a second potion buy during early laning phase, while the Doran’s Ring’s mana reaping passive was made unique, nerfing champions who benefited from early Doran’s Ring stacking to compensate for their mana problems.

Exclusive to patch 7.13, Galio was nerfed and Gnar was buffed. While Gnar is definitely in a viable spot, there are still better picks than our prehistoric yordle. Currently, there are a lot of viable top laners, so not all will be mentioned. The following list includes a few champions you should add to your pool if you are a top lane main.

Pantheon has a dominant early game that can be used to snowball allied lanes. Take TP and as soon as you hit level six roam to bot lane for an easily snowballed game. Courtesy of leagueoflegends.com

Pantheon– Slamming down onto the Rift, Pantheon’s armor shredding build is as strong as ever. While this early game champion falls off late game, his new build path (Youmuu’s, Black Cleaver, Guardian Angel) allows him to chase down squishies even after a poorly placed ultimate.

Heimerdinger– The Donger is back, and with a new glass cannon build to boot. To raise your donger correctly, build standard APC items: Morello, Hourglass/Veil (matchup dependent), Liandry’s/Rylai’s. Heimer excels in pushing waves and surviving ganks. This is made all the better with his new movement speed passive and increased utility on his grenades. Heimerdinger is borderline overpowered currently, so jump on the donger wagon to raise your LP.

With a buff to the length of his ultimate as well as an increase in base health, an already strong Maokai is now even stronger. Courtesy of leagueoflegends.com

Maokai– Already at a relatively high win rate in Patch 7.12, Maokai has just gotten stronger. The premier tank has benefited from a buff in base health at level one and an extension to the range of his ultimate. In addition to this some of his itemization was buffed. Abyssal Mask now gives Maokai some much-needed mana, while Adaptive Helm grants an additional 50 health for free. Expect to see Maokai coming back to the pro play and therefore solo queue this patch.

Honorable Mentions:

Swain– While the Doran’s Ring nerf hurts Swain, he still has a lot of great matchups in the top lane. While less popular than other top laners, Swain is the go to top laner if your team lacks magic damage.

Kled– Greatly benefiting from itemization paths established in earlier patches, it still feels like the duo came out yesterday. With Guardian Angel becoming a core item on AD bruisers, Kled can rejoice for its synergy with Skarl. This slippery warmonger is stronger than ever and is finally seeing play in the competitive scene as well.

Mid Lane

The mid lane tier list is primarily a result of changes made in 7.11 to items like Banshee’s Veil. Due to the nature of this powerful item, AOE mages are stronger than ever. Even in the LCS, it seems as though mid laners with incredible late game scaling are priority picks.

Froggen’s guide to match-ups in League of Legends. Courtesy of u/Gudin

Anivia– The bird has been one of the most consistent mid lane picks due to her ability to stall out the game like a Ziggs on steroids. Safe and reliable wave clear, paired with constant AOE damage makes the bird the number one Solo Queue mid laner. Take fights into the Jungle, and Anivia has the ability to create unavoidable zones of high damage and CC.

Kassadin– Giving players a Season Two flashback, Kassadin is making a return into the solo queue realm. As a late game hyper carry, Kassadin’s Realm Warping Lich Bane procs carry unavoidable single target burst. With the cooldown of his ultimate being so short at level 16, Kassadin not only has reliable damage, but also a way to safely escape enemy retaliation. With mid lane being so jungle dependent right now, Kassadin’s post-six laning phase is also ridiculously safe.

Vladimir– If Anivia and Kassadin had a baby, it would be Vladimir. Vladimir is as safe as Kassadin in his resistance to ganks, delivers huge AOEs like Anivia and scales just as well the two of them. Hextech Protobelt is a must on Vladimir and enables his burst through the ability to re-position aggressively and throw in extra damage. Paired with Stormraider’s Surge, Vladimir can have surprisingly high mobility while also bringing consistent damage and tankiness to the middle lane.

Honorable Mentions:

Malzahar– With a low pick rate and an incredibly high win rate, Malzahar is back to form. Malzahar’s simple, dump my spells on your face, playstyle was given a buff this last patch as using Quicksilver Sash no longer ends his ultimate, but instead turns it into a leash like ability (think Karma W). Malzahar is freelo right now. Just do yourself a favor and take Deathfire Touch over Thunderlord’s.

Aurelion Sol splash art. Courtesy of u/Fidel420Castro

Aurelion Sol– Huhi is still a strong champion, and greatly benefits from the new Banshee’s Veil. With the exception of the Banshee’s Veil, the star dragon’s core build has not changed much: Rylai’s, Liandry’s and Hextech GLP. If you are interested in picking up this champion, take a look at how CLG’s mid laner plays it.

That’s it for solo lanes, stay tuned for both bottom laners and jungle tier lists soon.

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Featured image courtesy of leagueoflegends.com

MSI Semifinals 2017: Team WE v. G2 Esports

May 19, 2017 by Thomas Baker

MSI: Team WE vs. G2 Esports Preview

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.

Player/Champion Statistics: Oracle’s Elixir

All Images: LoL Esports Photos

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