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NALCS Week 1 Predicitons

At the risk of another team announcing some sort of roster swap I decided to make some predictions. The North American LCS starts this weekend and if you have been paying attention to the meta internationally you know things are sort of crazy. With that in mind, rather than trying to theorycraft how well a professional ADC player can perform on Vladimir, I want to make things a little simpler. I’m going to focus on what we actually know about a team and the factors that will help them against their opponent. Speculation is fun and all but when Taliyah becomes a viable (and heavily banned) jungler it helps to stay a tad reserved when making predictions.

Game 1: 100 Thieves v. Team Liquid

6/16, 5:00pm EST

As is tradition, we get a rematch of the Spring finalists right out of the gate. Neither organization has made a change in their main roster which I think translates to the same results. Questions might get raised around Team Liquid’s Support Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung and his poor performance during the early parts of MSI. That speculation shouldn’t hold much validity as Team Liquid nearly turned around their rough start at the tournament into a Knock-out stage appearance. If things get too dicey, Team Liquid may opt to funnel their resources into Yiliang "Peter" "Doublelift" Peng who outmatches all of 100 Thieves members. The current game state might contain an excess of unusual champions in the bottom lane, but I would still put my money on Doublelift to win any match-up.

Prediction: Team Liquid

Game 2: Team SoloMid v. CLG

6/16, 6:00pm EST

A classic match-up paraded around as a rivalry of equal titans. But if you have any sense, you know that TSM has had the better end of this match-up for a majority of the history of the NALCS. On top of that, TSM had been bootcamping with Weldon Green and the last time that happened TSM went on to tear through the league. The biggest question mark on TSM right now is around their announcement of bringing up Jonathan "Grig" Armao from their academy team to split time with Michael "MikeYeung" Yeung in the jungle position. Whoever ends up taking the jungle position on TSM for this match will probably not make a difference in the final result. Perhaps CLG’s coach Tony "Zikz" Gray has divined immaculate strategies to push CLG’s current line-up to thrive in this diverse meta, but it’s impossible to ignore the history of this match-up.

Prediction: Team SoloMid

Game 3: Clutch Gaming v. Cloud9

6/16, 7:00pm EST

I was having a good deal of trouble trying to decide on a winner for this match, but thankfully Cloud9 announced they were benching Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen, Andy "Smoothie" Ta, and Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi. This immediately puts the ball in Clutch Gaming’s court, as Cloud9’s core members will be getting replaced by Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer, Tristan "Zeyzal" Stidam, and Yuri "Keith" Jew. As inviting as it is to theorize why players are getting benched, I am going to keep this to the point: Cloud9 are not going to be at the top of their game and this win should belong to Clutch.

Prediction: Clutch Gaming

Game 4: FlyQuest v. Echo Fox

6/16, 8:00pm EST

FlyQuest has made a few changes to their line-up. Lucas "Santorin" Tao Kilmer Larsen is coming back to North America to serve as jungler, Jang "Keane" Lae-young is moving into the midlane, and Kevin "KonKwon" Kwon is taking on the support role. Most importantly, Brandon "Saintvicious" DiMarc is joining the fold as a coach. Overall I think FlyQuest has had the best off-season so far and has created a recipe for success. Unfortunately for them, I don’t think those changes will be enough to take Echo Fox down. At the beginning of every split it seems to take a while for most teams to settle back into being on the stage and sort through strategies. Echo Fox on the other hand is known to go full throttle and ignore the passive nature of other teams. So while FlyQuest gets comfortable in the new split, Echo Fox is very likely to run them over.

Prediction: Echo Fox

Game 5: Golden Guardians v. Optic Gaming

6/16, 9:00pm EST

Ending Day 1 with the bottom two teams of the 2018 Spring split standings is almost poetic. Both squads have made changes for the better, but Optic Gaming should have an easier time rolling into a new identity. Terry "Big" Chuong will be joining Optic Gaming in the support position and David "Cop" Roberson is coming on as a coach. Rather than completely change the direction of Optic gaming , these additions can work to refine Optic Gaming into a cleaner team. Golden Guardians on the other hand may need sometime to define themselves without Hai "Hai" Du Lam making the calls. I agree that Son "Mickey" Young-min is a better player, but removing Hai changes the entire structure of how the team functions. A shift that impactful in Golden Guardians makes Optic Gaming favorites this opening weekend.

Prediction: Optic Gaming

Day 2

Game 6: Team SoloMid v. FlyQuest

6/17, 5:00pm EST

Saintvicious might help mastermind a way for FlyQuest to topple the mammoth that TSM is, but that seems unlikely. I truly believe FlyQuest can make a run in play-offs with their line-up but they need time. Maybe the combined efforts of former TSM players Jason "WildTurtle" Tran and Santorin striving for revenge will be enough for a FlyQuest victory, but speculation can go only so far though and FlyQuest has too much on their plate in week 1.

Prediction: Team SoloMid.

Game 7: Team Liquid v. Golden Guardians

6/17, 6:00pm EST

Should be a pretty easy task for Team Liquid to take Golden Guardians down. Even if Team Liquid were to fall to 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians ended up smashing Optic Gaming it wouldn’t be enough to convince me otherwise. A simple glance tells you that Golden Guardians’ players as a whole are several pegs below Team Liquid’s.

Prediction: Team Liquid

Game 8: CLG v. 100 Thieves

6/17, 7:00pm EST

100 THIEVES WILL WIN!!!!.... Phew… that was a close one. CLG almost got me with their friendship. That may have been a little mean, but I do actually think this match could be close. CLG are almost synonymous for their wide variety of strategies that don’t work in what I would consider strict metas. With the way things are going, there might be enough wiggle room for CLG’s more unique game style to work against a 100 Thieves team shown to be reliant on play-making in the past. Combating that though is 100 Thieves’ head coach Neil "pr0lly" Hammad, who has proven he can also tango when it comes to theorycrafting. If that isn’t enough to convince you, Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black has done a good job of outdoing his former team and will likely take them down once more.

Prediction: 100Thieves

Game 9: Clutch Gaming v. Echo Fox

6/17, 8:00pm EST

A rematch of the 3rd place Spring split series that should have the same outsome. As mentioned earlier Echo Fox is relentlessly vicious and are not likely to wait around for their enemy. In the Spring split, Clutch Gaming always did a fantastic job of mitigating their loses to eventually turn the tables into a victory. This passive play style was easily mapped out and routed by Echo Fox in their last match up though and I find it hard to believe that Clutch Gaming can increase their defenses enough to take the match this time around.

Prediction: Echo Fox

Game 10: Cloud9 v. Optic Gaming

6/17, 9:00pm EST

Cloud9 will take this…. Is what I had written as a placeholder until benchgate happened. I can’t make the same clean call against Cloud9 like I did with their match against Clutch, but I think Cloud9 will take another loss. Optic Gaming has a wonderful chance to secure a victory unless Cloud9 backtracks hard on their roster decision.

Prediction: Optic Gaming

#NACLS #Cloud9 #CLG #TSM #GoldenGuardians #TeamLiquid #100Thieves #OpticGaming #ClutchGaming #FlyQuest #EchoFox #lolesports

More EU imports on the way?

Earlier today, an article dropped announcing “Team SoloMid will acquire G2 Esports players Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez and Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen”. Without an official statement from Team SoloMid speculation is of course running rampant.

If this news is accurate the question, “Are more to follow?” should be posed.

Although the EU LCS announced they would remove “mid-year promotion/relegation in 2018” and transition into “a partnership system in 2019”, that leaves a split of uncertainty. As it stands the predicted career of a professional player is still relatively short. It is hard to blame any number of top rated players from the EU LCS looking to NA to fill their wallets. Zven and Mithy are arguably the best bottom lane duo in the West and can essentially write their own check. While NA is no stranger to imports from EU, one would have to think this is the start of an exodus of sorts.

While an argument may be made against a mass exodus due to Riot’s residency rules we should consider the “Academy League”. Currently, teams are restricted to having only two non-resident players on their team, until one of those said players becomes a resident. With a great deal of speculation and very few details regarding the challenger series esque league the floor opens up to more possible imports. If teams are allowed to field two additional “non-resident” players on their “Academy teams” and swap between their main lineup, things will likely get crazy come free-agency for EU players.

The biggest thing against this possibility though is that Riot probably doesn’t want their other leagues outside of NA LCS getting gutted. If teams were allowed to bring on two more imports that could be a total of 40 non-resident players leaving their native leagues. While not all of those would come from the EU LCS, it is hard to deny the benefits of grabbing other english speaking players.

Most of the things said here will most likely become moot as player contracts end in a few days. We will undoubtedly be getting slammed with roster swap news and enlightened with details of the “Academy League” to clear up misconceptions of the NA LCS in 2018. Whatever franchising brings it should come at no surprise we will see more big name players from EU flock to NA.

Why Team Liquid Is not going to make playoffs and why it could get worse.

We are heading into the halfway point of the split and Team Liquid attempting to triage their team with new hires. It is not uncommon for organizations to make hires in the middle of the season when things are looking bleak. The grasp of relegation is becoming all too real and Team Liquid will most likely be trying everything to avoid the unfavorable format of relegations. Although additions to the squad may result in some sort of improvement, I think it is quite unlikely we see Team Liquid walk away with an admirable performance this split. More so, I am willing to say things could easily result in their appearance in the promotion tournament. The amalgamation of issues Team Liquid has to break through to even reach past the middle of the pack seems far too daunting of a task. This may seem too brash considering there are plenty of games to be played this split, but when you break things down Team Liquids future looks bleak.

So let’s look at it from the start.

Before the start of the Spring split Team Liquid made a number of promising moves. Team Liquid was now backed by powerful investors allotting them a number of resources and was able to nail down the heavily prized Reignover to the roster. This promising new beginning to the organization’s League of Legends team was then enough to convince Piglet to return to the starting line-up. Matt would of course be brought back on as Piglet’s duo partner due to their past success together. Lourlo returned based on his untapped potential and the final piece to the squad was Goldenglue who had received the title of “Scrim Faker”.

Team Liquids intentions of how this team would play out appeared to be rather straight forward. Reignover would secure advantages early to provide the necessary tools Piglet needed to come online while everyone else stayed afloat. Admittedly, not a terrible plan considering Piglet’s proven ability to carry games nearly to the point of going 1v9.

Furthermore we learned this roster would be bolstered by an impressive supporting staff mentioned by Steve “LiQuiD112”Arhancet in an interview during week 1 of the Spring NALCS.

“We invested heavily this year. We have a head coach, a strategic coach. We have a head analyst. We have two full time remote analysts and in addition to that we have an in house chef. We have a sports psychologist and their all on site making sure that this team, kind of adapts to that new meta, that we’re going to stay on top”

It sounded like Team Liquid had their act together, but fast forward and now TL is standing at a 2-6 record. This amazing staff seems to have been unable to shore up its players lackluster performances;

· Lourlo is still far from living up to his supposed untapped potential.

· Goldenglue has been such a disappointment this split that the only way I fathom the title of “scrim Faker” is that Faker must historically perform horrendously in scrims.

· Reignover has been improving week to week, but is a far cry from his performances last split.

· Piglet has had numerous positional mistakes and made it clear utility carries are not his forte.

· Matt’s impact in game feels nonexistent,

Player performance is one thing, but having to cater to the current meta doesn’t do Team Liquid any favors. Team Liquid just happened to make their master plan of playing through Piglet at one of the worst times. The strongest champions within the AD role offer little on the side of hard carrying a game. Perhaps a pivotal Enchanted Crystal Arrow creates the game winning pick, but this doesn’t represent the type of play Piglet is known for. For crying out loud the guy has a Vayne skin.

The era of aggressive carry junglers is making things difficult for Reignover as well. Again, although he has been showing improvements this is not his meta. Reignover is known for his control style jungling and ability to keep his enemy in check. The guy doesn’t even play Lee Sin, of course he is going to be overshadowed by the slew of aggressive junglers competing in the NALCS right now.

Someone may throw out the argument that a potential meta shift could bring about the change Team Liquid needs, but I would say the odds are against them.

The last major patch we saw hit during a competitive split involved the elimination of the lane swap. The fortification changes on turrets left a few lane-swap proficient squads out to dry as they were forced to reconstruct everything they had worked on for an entire split. Some teams who had looked like potential threats in playoffs fell disastrously hard trying to adapt to the unfamiliar game state. The usual, “they needed to adapt” phrase tagged along with a team’s failures were gradually overpowered by discussions of overworked players. A public feud broke out for about a week before discussions were swept away behind a curtain to hash out negotiations.

Long story short: Big changes make people unhappy.

What I would gather from this event is that Riot is by no means eager to create another swell of public outcry. If significant changes to the game are slated, they will most likely be done at less fragile times and completed outside the scope of competitive play. This being the case I think we should expect to see game altering patches appear sometime between the end of the Spring split, and start of the Summer split. Heck, we have essentially had this trend running since last year and perhaps even longer. In 2016 we had the Mid-Season Mage update and this year everyone is already frantically talking about the Mid-Season Tank update.

Perhaps I have convinced you to think of Team Liquids chances of getting to playoffs as unobtainable, but we are not quite done. I actually think things will get worse.So far I have been reasoning out why Team Liquid is not going to be able to climb the competitive ladder this split. What I haven’t mentioned is why I think they should be expecting to fight their way out of relegations. But before we talk about Team Liquid I want to give a brief history lesson of Echo Fox’s existence in the NALCS. Don’t worry, let me explain.

Echo Fox’s first year in the LCS was far from stellar. Going from 7th place in the spring split to fall even harder to 10th in the summer split created abysmal expectations for the team. During the break, the organization cleaned up their roster and dedicated a considerable number of resources to their League of Legends team. The inevitable downfall of Echo Fox actually looked like a foregone conclusion when it was revealed they had been unable to find scrim partners. Despite this hardship, Echo Fox have demonstrated improvement week to week and have just taken off a dominating win against TSM.

What I am trying to get at here is that I think it could very well take Team Liquid up to a year to create something that can even produce results. The reason being is that TL needs to learn how to spend money. No, you did not read that incorrectly I do mean money. Of course Team Liquid is an older organization, but their vast access to resources is new. This happened to several teams last year as big investors were entering the scene and throwing money at teams. Echo Fox, alongside Immortals and now deceased NRG were the most notable. Echo Fox took that first year to create an identity and hash out an infrastructure. Even Immortals with their immensely impressive regular seasons could not make it to worlds and many argue this was due to a lack of infrastructure.

Assuming it could take Team Liquid up to a year to create a convincing frame for the squad to exist is not good. Relegation is a very real possibility and I do not think Team Liquid can just skate by. In a way Team Liquid is in a race against the clock. If TL were to fall to the promotion matches they could potentially get kicked out by another financially backed team that knows better and prepared to dismantle them.

In the end there is a good deal of variables at work. The teams intended structure, the meta, and even Team Liquid’s infrastructure should be considered and weighed when considering their possible future. From my perspective I just see a number of these things causing the end of Team Liquid. But hey, I could be entirely off by the end of the split. Team Liquid may just end up claiming their “forever fourth” title once more.

#NALCS

Echo Fox: Adversity for One, Growth for NALCS

In a recent interview by Yahoo Esports, Froggen revealed Echo Fox has been having difficulty finding scrimming partners. Speculation abounds, but until clear cut evidence comes out team owners will most likely keep their dealing’s under the table. Echo Fox has now put into a position where they are forced to find their own methods of improving outside the traditional NALCS scrimming. Although deemed with a massive disadvantage, I believe Echo Fox are in a position to help the NALCS improve immensely.

Hearing of Echo Fox’s predicament you would think their season was already over. After an abysmal week1 performance echoing the team’s past problems and absent midgame their fate seemed clear. However, week2 came along and Echo Fox actually looked…well…good. Echo Fox demonstrated massive improvements in many areas and beat heavily favored FlyQuest. We eventually learned that Echo Fox had been scrimming their challenger team Delta Fox.

It is pretty common knowledge the main practice method of organizations is holding scrims against one another. Scrimming another LCS team offers a number benefits. You have the ability to measure up to the best talent in the region and better simulate stage conditions without the cost of blemishes to your record. These sort of out-of-house scrims have become a staple within the competitive League of Legends community. It is extremely understandable why this is the go to option over exploring deviating options. Not even most traditional sport teams have the luxury of facing off against each other throughout the week leading up to a big game. But what traditional sports teams do have are practice teams, something that in essence Echo Fox has in Delta Fox.

In-house vs. Out-of-house Scrims

Before you roll your eyes and comment, ”they are still just scrimming” let me explain what is different. I do not have an inside eye, but if I had to guess out-of-house scrims go something like this;

A scrim gets scheduled. Your day revolves around that scrim time. If something comes up and you cannot make it. You are not getting scheduled again. If you do not play strictly the meta. You lose a scrim partner. If you do not act as a significant challenge. Have fun scrimming with another team.

Probably an exaggeration, but I think there could be some truth to this.

So while other teams are restricted by maintaining scrimming relationships, Echo Fox can do whatever they want in their in-house scrims. If Echo Fox want to work on their mid-game team fighting they can start a match against Delta Fox, scale, and then fight in a specific spot on the map. Echo Fox can keep doing this over and over again under different conditions until everyone on the team understand what they need to do. If Echo Fox had an out-of-house scrim it seems unreasonable to believe their future opponents would be so keen on that kind of practice.

Secrets, Secrets

Beyond just developing strategies in game, the Echo Fox household has the ability to keep their strategies secret. As if Echo Fox throwing Camille in the support position to topple the famed notebook of LemonNation wasn’t enough evidence to support this. Echo Fox can try unconventional champion picks without running the risk getting caught spamming in solo queue or revealing it in an out-of-house scrim.

If you are scrimming out-of-house, good luck keeping a secret strategy for long. If something ends up working, your scrim partner just learned something new and it will surely trickle out to other teams. Every team has intentions of winning and if you give everyone access to your game winning strategy they are going to use it.

Not the Pioneers

This isn’t the first time an organization has had a challenger team to practice with and by no means is it the first time someone suggested practice squads should be established. What is important right now is that Echo Fox has to practice like this to survive. Echo Fox has already had to claw their way back into the LCS after falling to relegation and by no means do they want to return.

If Echo Fox does improve they very well could end up grabbing some out-of-house scrims, but with that kind of success I would expect them to hold onto what they have learned. In that case, perhaps we will see other organizations make permanent additions to their line up through practice squads.

At the end of the day I do not expect Echo Fox to crush everyone in their wake, but finally bring light to other methods of practice. As esports and League of Legends as a whole grows it is likely that we will see the addition of more traditional sport rolls within organizations. Although this could be the natural progression, I believe Echo Fox could make it happen faster.

Photo Credit: Riot esports

No time for dreams: NALCS Gauntlet Preview

The final representative from the NALCS for worlds will be decided in the course of three days via the gauntlet. On day Team Liquid and Team Envy face off to start the tournament, day 2 the victor heads on to try and takedown Cloud9, and on day three the final survivor take on the Immortals. Teams will undoubtedly be putting everything on the line during this grueling path to achieve the dream of showcasing themselves on the world stage.

Dreams aside, let’s get real here. If we are all going to be honest with ourselves, everyone expects Cloud9 to be the team taking the stage against Immortals on Monday. The odds are stacked against Team Envy and Team Liquid in substantial ways. In this preview we will breakdown where these teams stand and where they are likely to find themselves leading up to the final day of the gauntlet.

Team Liquid

The news of Dardoch departing Team Liquid right before the gauntlet came as a pretty big surprise. This move seemed to symbolize the departure of any chances the team had for making it to worlds. It was no secret Team Liquid’s success this split was significantly dependent on Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett in the jungle. Tasked with filling the void in the jungle will be Team Liquid’s sub-mid laner Arcsecond. If that wasn’t enough, Fabbbyyy has also left the team and will be replaced by Jynthe in the ADC role. The instability of this roster makes it hard to believe this line-up would become a cohesive unit in time for the gauntlet.

Team Envy

It is very likely Team Envy can make it past the first round of the gauntlet against a defunct Team Liquid line-up. It is far less likely Team Envy will make it past against their next opponent, Cloud 9. This prediction comes rather plainly as the team has yet to take a series victory against Cloud 9. Team Envy boasts their ability to flex champions across the pick and ban phase, but this really isn’t enough against a team with all-around better laners. We already saw Team Envy dig themselves into a hole in the quarterfinals in game 4 against Cloud9 where Jensen went huge on Leblanc with 20 kills. Whether Team Envy has improved or not they cannot stand up to the current state of Cloud9, their trip through the gauntlet ends Sunday.

Cloud 9

Coach Reapered has done wonders for Cloud9 who demonstrated gradual improvements week to week throughout the summer split. This progress will have to continue as the team heads into the gauntlet and back to the stage. Although a good deal of hype surrounded Cloud 9 as they headed into the summer split finals, they fell flat against TSM. TSM should be given a majority of the credit for Cloud9’s loss, but Cloud9 appeared to slowly fall due to their own in game frustrations.

As for the gauntlet past iterations of Cloud9 have demonstrated their ability to slug it out in back to back series. With some members still standing from their last gauntlet run, the possibility of making worlds seems very obtainable. The rematch against Immortals holds hope of victory after already grinding out a win against them in the semifinals.

The biggest thing Cloud9 needs to do is just not tilt. Meteos seemed to be the biggest perpetrator of this when he frantically chased for kills in game 3 against TSM in what was a poor attempt of bring back Zac. If Cloud9 want to takedown Immortals once again they will need to shake off their jitters from finals and continue their trend of progress.

Immortals

Another disappointing semifinals appearance will be burning away at Immortals as they wait for their opponent on Monday. They have the shortest road to worlds with only one best of 5 series to fight, but a rematch against Cloud9 will be difficult.

Immortals will have the luxury of a longer preparation time, but this could lead to complacency which appears to be a reoccurring problem for the squad. In their semifinal match against Cloud9, Immortals pick and ban phase raised questions as champions such as Gnar and Ekko were ignored and the team overall seemed unfocused. In what seemed to be a repeat of history from last split, Immortals got serious and were able to claim third place for the summer split. Funny enough in the matches against CLG, Immortals actually drafted the likes of Gnar and Ekko.

Immortals are going to need every one of its members to step up if they plan of beating Cloud9. They can no longer settle and slip into a sullen state of, “We will just win.” Huni needs to play for the team and continue playing champions such as Ekko and Gnar. Reignover is going to need to be bold in his map movements, Pobelter has to perform as the solid mid laner we have come to know, and Wildturtle and Adrian need to win lane.

Monday

The Immortals v. Cloud9 match-up is going to be close. The notion of hopes and dreams has some longevity in this discussion. Both of these teams have showed their highs and lows from one game to the next. Predictions for this series shouldn’t go beyond expecting this; all five games will be played.

CEO v. Owners: A battle beyond the Rift

The drama this week in the world of competitive esports didn’t come from the usual trash talk or banned player. Instead it emerged from the sticky subject of unsuspected patch changes which eventually turned into a conversation of the sustainability of the esport itself. Just in case you missed anything let us go through a brief rundown of what happened.

Within approximately 48 hours, tensions between the upper brass of Riot games and NALCS team owners peaked after theScore esports posted an interview with Andy “Reginald” Dinh owner of Team SoloMid.

Regi stresses the effects of patch changes on the competitive scene and its participants. The frequency of patch changes forces players to dedicate a substantial amount of time to understand the game state. This is tied in with the threat of relegations, prompting team owners to spend more money for resources in order to secure their investment without necessarily getting a return. These points of conflict create a scenario for burnout to occur at a rapid pace among both players and investors. Regi closes the interview discussing his hopes for better returns and support from Riot games which has otherwise not increased within the past few years.

A few hours later, as the interview made its way up on Reddit, a comment from co-CEO Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill lit a fire.

Thanks to a screenshot we were able to catch the evolution of Marc’s post as he continued to edit his response. Tone can be difficult to convey through most writing mediums, but Marc’s remark had a litany of red flags. Regi would need to take a breather before jumping back into the fray.

After taking a night to clear his thoughts on the subject Regi took his stand against accusations thrown at him by Marc.

Regi gave a brief history of the shifting landscape of the League of Legends competitive scene and how Team SoloMid was able to stand on uneven territory. The “millions”, as suggested by Marc’s original post, that Regi makes from League of Legends has had less to do with the funding from Riot and more of what Regi has done to secure funding for his team. This was created out of necessity due to Riot’s practices and the lack of “sponsorship revenue, streaming revenue or even give a percentage to the World Champions for their team skins.” The regulations Riot has set up have created walls preventing the growth of the esport as investors stand on the sidelines.

At this point in the brawl a majority of the community had identified Riot’s co-CEO as being exceptionally out of touch from the current condition of the esport.

Marc eventually returned to the battlegrounds and seemed to be raising a white flag. Marc admitted to his own misgivings about the situation as a whole and went on to promote the hopes he has for League of Legends as an esport.

This felt like a nice heartwarming end to what erupted into a fierce battle across the internet. Everything seemed to have come to a close until Regi responded one final time in the public eye.

We do not have much to go off of after this cryptic message, but one thing for sure is the battle is not over. The email feels more like the collective of NALCS team owners have sent Marc his terms of surrender. Whatever changes come, they will now be brawled out in a fight club of sorts.

Alright, so everyone is on the same page it seems and everyone can move forward to making the League Championship Series the best it can be.

#lol esports #lolesports NALCS

Playoff Patch Dynamics: Quarterfinals

With the first round of NA and EU LCS playoffs behind us we caught a glimpse of what the changes to turret fortifications brought to the competitive scene. With such a massive patch, teams sitting in their hyperbolic time chambers are undoubtedly eager to pick apart any strategies their future opponents demonstrated this past weekend. Although the return of standard lanes has been a forgone conclusion we have already seen some variation in map rotations. As teams scramble to find the meta in their own fortress, we can also take part in deciphering where the tournaments are headed. First, however, we must pull together the initial expectations the turret changes many thought would bring. Then we can discuss the deeper implications of the patch as teams play around with their newly imposed rules and either dawdled in their assumptions or think outside the box.

At the dawn of the patch it was fair speculation that eyes would be on complete control of the bottom side of the map. Bottom lane turrets no longer carrying damage reduction and other lanes increasing their fortifications indicated an emphasis on the duo lane. This suggested a classic 5-man party in the bottom lane and when teleport wasn’t up, the proverbial top island would appear once more.

So far the quarterfinals showed Unicorns of Love and Counter Logic Gaming fighting against early assumptions and proved to be the most innovative, specifically after the game timer hits five minutes. Once the clock hits five minutes every turret is more than fair game to be taken down when the fortification buffs fade. Both of these teams took advantage of this is similar methods.

In game 1 of Unicorns of Love v. Giants Gaming, Unicorns of Love demonstrated a pretty simple map movement abusing their opponent’s clear lack of preparation. Veritas and Hylissang pushed out bottom lane, returned to base, went top alongside Vizicsacsi and Move, killed Smittyj, and then took the turret. The movement was very straight forward and Giants Gaming had no answer.

The next day in NA, Counter Logic Gaming essentially used the same strategy in game 1 against Team Liquid. Aphromoo and Stixxay were forced out of lane by Matt and Fabbbyyy and instead of returning to lane they made their way toward the top side of the map. When CLG assembled top side, the five minute marker had passed and they were able to bully TL away from the turret securing the first turret blood gold. TL on the other hand scrambled to create a counter offensive but ended up losing experience and gold from their lanes.

Team Liquid attempted their own lane swap a little past five minutes in game 3 against Counter Logic Gaming, but with rather abysmal results. Counter Logic Gaming was able to easily read the play Team Liquid had been trying to set up and were able to waste a good deal of Team Liquid’s time. The fact Team Liquid attempted the same play is quite strange considering they did not make the initial preparations against CLG in game 1 to stop it. The outcome of this specific case suggests we will likely not see this play all too often. This was made clearer by H2K’s bottom lane mirroring movement against Fnatic’s when they attempted a lane swap in game 1 of their series.

Some of you may have noticed I referred to game 3 of CLG v. TL where Team Liquid ended up winning. Their preparation for early game map movement was a bust, but this game highlighted another dimension of the game state as a result of standard lanes. Outside of the effects of potential lane swaps at five minutes, junglers now have more time to farm early. Junglers are no longer dictated by immediate lane swapping protocol. They can have more time to pick up camps translating into faster power spikes. Junglers have always been a substantial factor in gaining early game leads, but now have even more resources to affect the game. Although in game 3 of CLG v. TL Dardoch spent a majority of his time welling up a lead on the bottom side of the map we should not avoid the topic of top lane.

By now it is not a mystery that the importance of top lane is paramount because of fortification changes. If you can amass a significant lead for the top laner in early parts of the game, it opens up teams for map movements and the coveted first blood turret gold. In some ways this creates a game of cat and mouse for junglers as they determine the best gank paths and method for helping secure the first turret of the game.

As of right now it appears some of the most important movements of the game happen right around the five minute marker. Junglers will be tested on how they can best set up their team in these initial moments as teams search for the smallest timing opportunities to strike their opponents. Standard lanes may become a main stay for now, but better teams will always find ways to change the game. As playoffs continue we will most definitely see dynamic shifts leading up to the finals.

#lolesports #LCS

Series Rundown: CLG v. Team Liquid

The Counter Logic Gaming versus Team Liquid match was one of the high notes to week 8 of the NALCS Summer split. The ending of the series was nearly a foregone conclusion in favor of Team Liquid, but one poor fight and CLG was able to pull out an ace to close the game for a victory. As the weekend came to a close, both of these teams were locked in for playoffs which brings up an interesting question, “If CLG and Team Liquid meet in playoffs who is going to win?”. Answering this question becomes difficult with an impending patch that could shift the meta in a significant way. Beyond this however, we can explore and pick out the strengths and weaknesses each team has become associated with this split. A simple rundown of this series specifically can be used as a tool to highlight defining points of each team to help us answer the question above.

CLG

Counter Logic Gaming is doing an admirable job to hold onto their underdog persona. There is no doubt CLG has made major improvements since the beginning of the spring split, but the same problems keep surfacing. For a team that prides itself on communication and team work, individual uncalculated aggression puts the team in bad positions frequently.

In game 1 it looked like Xmithie, alongside Aphromoo and Stixxay, were undoubtedly going to lock down first blood. Instead, Huhi seemed to completely ignore his lane opponent FeniX and handover firstblood. Rather than try and takeback mid lane pressure, CLG put efforts toward getting Stixxay further ahead on Ashe. CLG’s attempts to use an immobile carry to get them through the earlier parts of the game were ill willed against an Irelia that could easily jump to the back line.

The game 1 loss of the series was apparently enough to slap CLG back into the reality of the meta for game 2. CLG was able to successfully take control of the game by giving Huhi the counter pick and enough focus to shine. The biggest problem from CLG this game was Darshan who had a solo death in the top lane against Lourlo. If Darshan is willing to take an arguably losing match-up for Huhi’s sake he needs to give his laning opponents far more space and respect. There have been quite a few cases this split of Darshan staying far too long after the rest of the team has disengaged or pushed up without vision. Darshan may be a martyr in champion select, but his map movements leave his team out to dry.

The only true redeemable thing CLG demonstrated in game 3 is their team fighting prowess. The way they handled the final fight mirrored CLG’s play from MSI. They would allow the opposing team to make a poor engage and then act upon it. Other than that this game was riddled with strange positioning by CLG members allowing for Team Liquid to amass a significant lead. This game was arguably CLG’s worst performance from the series.

Team Liquid

This series tells us Team Liquid is doing quite well with its new identity. The absence of Piglet from the bottom lane has offered a bit of clarity and opened up resources for other members. Dardoch has been the biggest factor in resource distribution and has been the notable force in securing Team Liquid’s early game leads. Lourlo has also been stepping up considerably and showing he can be relied on. However, even though Team Liquid led early with gold in every match they were not able to close out the series due to reoccurring issues.

Game 1 for Team Liquid was pretty straight forward for them and they transitioned well with an early game lead into a victory. It was not until game 2 a consistent problem cropped up within the squad, Fabbbyyy’s performance on high damage ADCs. As mentioned earlier the absence of Piglet has done great things for Team Liquid and Fabbbyyy has demonstrated a propensity for utility ADCs. Fabbbyyy’s performance outside utility ADCs has unfortunately been quite poor. When Fabbbyyy gets put onto high damage ADC, such as Lucian, Team Liquid seems to ignore they are no longer playing with the former world champion Piglet. Team Liquid as a whole needs to figure out how they want to utilize Fabbbyyy in the ADC role and how many resources they want to put toward him.

Beyond the ADC role in game 2, a questionable Taliyah pick ended up hurting Team Liquid quite a bit. Fenix performed well on the champion mechanically, but used Taliyah in a one dimensional way by not considering the actions of their opponents. The Taliyah ultimate would either get used without follow up, or put CLG into an advantageous scenario for their team fighting champions.

As for game 3, Team Liquid needs to work on calling their fights. Liquid could have easily pulled back from the fight around Elder Dragon and repositioned into an advantageous scenario. Instead, the thought of a sure victory put them in the perfect position to get cut down by a late game Sivir. The Sivir, alongside Viktor, posed another significant threat to Team Liquid’s play. The wave clear these champions provided gave CLG the ability to stretch the game out to make the gold differential matter far less as they stacked up items for late game.

My Answer?

Team Liquid

It shouldn’t be too surprising Team Liquid takes the potential match up. Game 3 did come down to a single team fight and in the grand scheme of things that is too much to depend on. CLG’s play fluctuates too drastically from game to game and they constantly seem to forget the importance of playing through their mid lane in this meta. CLG does excel in team fights but if the other team is substantially ahead and doesn’t let CLG fight they will most likely fall short in playoffs. Team Liquid on the other hand has demonstrated some adaptability alongside roster swaps this split. If they can learn to pick their fights here and there they should be able to close out their next meeting.

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CLG: Spongebob Driving Blindfolded or the Karate Kid?

CLG winning the NALCS spring split and making an appearance at the MSI finals, gave little reason to think these champions would stutter in the summer split. However, with a 3-5 record CLG is much lower in the standings than many expected. Currently a good deal of criticism is being thrown toward CLG and people are trying to figure out where they actually stand as a team. As I thought of the team’s development I started to think about two characters in very different situation, Spongebob and Daniel the Karate Kid. These comparisons may seem a little out there, but let me explain.

In the 1984 Karate Kid (nobody got time for the 2010 remake), our main protagonist Daniel is getting bullied and is taught karate in an unexpected way. He repeats various chores around his teacher Miyagi’s house in a very specific manner. Once Daniel is able to recall the movements in a natural fashion or by muscle memory he goes on to develop more fighting skills. He eventually enters a tournament and against many odds ends up winning.

Spoilers and short synopsis aside, CLG shares a few similarities with this story. After some surprising roster swaps CLG entered the spring split as underdogs and many doubted they could make another successful run to the top. With this new lineup CLG was going to once again reshape the way their team played. They had done this previously when they decided to adopt new strategies and that they would no longer solely feed resources into their ADC Doublelift. Regardless of the challenges ahead of them the team buckled down and played the game their way. CLG would be forging their own level 1 strategies, out rotating, and performing a 1-3-1 to stomp out their opponents. Their way of play led them once again to a NALCS split victory and a running at MSI to brag about. CLG moved beyond old habits and trained to create a new identity. But the identity they have created for themselves seems to have created a blindfold of sorts.

In the episode “Mrs. Puff, You’re Fired”, Spongebob gets a new driving teacher named Sergeant Roderick. Sergeant Roderick has a peculiar teaching method; he believes you should be able to drive the training course blindfolded. Well before you get to drive you must learn to crawl, walk, and run the training course blindfolded. Eventually Spongebob masters the course blindfolded, but unfortunately that is the only thing he masters. Spongebob fails his driving test once more when he is asked to drive the course without the blindfold.

This episode of popped up in my head because CLG are still trying to play the game the way they did it in the spring split. Against teams in the lower half of the standing the 1-3-1 has worked quite well and when they are grouped as a team they perform quite well. Against the upper half of the standings CLG seem constantly lost. CLG’s players have been getting caught out frequently while the rest of the team is not pressuring the map elsewhere. They still try to forge some semblance of split pushing, but continue to falter and appear to have breaks in communication. With a large emphasis of importance on the mid lane this split people have blamed Huhi for CLG’s downfall, but the rest of the team has not helped him in many ways. Without their blindfold, CLG seems frantic in their attempts of winning games. While they try to stick to their own methods CLG’s opponents stack up more advantages by means of Rift Harold and dragon control.

I will not deny that CLG has improved since the start of the split, but as we enter the second half of the split playoffs become a concern. This is not an unbelievable set of circumstances as we have seen TSM make it to playoffs in 6th place last split. CLG is going to need to make a stronger case for itself and demonstrate a propensity to change in the face a drastic meta shifts. If CLG can successfully drive without a blindfold to playoffs they may be able to crane kick their way to victory.

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#lolesports NALCS

Team Envy Analysis

Before the start of the summer split it seemed reasonable Team Envy was going to have a difficult start with a number of factors working against them. The unexpected forced sale of Renegades and purchase by Team EnvyUs created a good deal of pressure on the new owner to scramble through a nearly empty well of available talent. Once the full roster was formed the new squad had a considerably lower amount of time to simply gain a sense of synergy. Yes, the team has the advantage that Seraph, Hakuho, and Ninja played together on Renegades but two new members, Proxin and LOD, can create complications. This is in contrast to several other teams who were boot camping in Korea. Despite these challenges they currently stand at the top of the standings alongside TSM in which neither team has dropped a series. But can Team Envy actually stay there?

Team Envy has done a fantastic job entering into the new series system of the NALCS, but has yet to face a legitimate threat. NRG is still hashing out how they want their team to function, Liquid is sputtering along due to preseason team issues, and Pheonix1 is already trying to resurrect a dying bird. For Team Envy’s schedule thus far, Apex Gaming was the biggest wall to hurdle. However, where Team Envy was able to find their ground in a 2-1 series win, TSM went 2-0 in their smashing defeat of Apex Gaming. The way these series played out could already be a clear indicator where Team Envy will lay in the future rankings but let’s look a little closer.

From what I have observed Team Envy appears to be pretty sloppy pre-twenty minutes into the game. This should not come at any real surprise though as they are collectively a newer team. They most likely lack the communication to set up aggressive plays in the earlier stages of the game in smaller units of the team. Their lack of focus on early game advantages speaks to their average game time of about thirty-nine minutes. This is in contrast to their 4-0 sister, TSM, who has the current lowest average game time just under thirty-five minutes.

The way Team Envy makes up for a drop-off in early game pressure is by focusing on dragon control. Stacking dragon buffs is a pretty beneficial decision for any team, but Team Envy appears to treat it as a rather big win condition leading the league with highest average dragons in a game. The reason they most likely do this is because of its simplicity for the team. As mentioned earlier I believe Team Envy’s early game suffers from the newness of the complete roster. You can overcome this by honing in on certain points of the game such as dragon control. It has been pretty well established Seraph has a very good sense of teleport use. Gaining control of the dragon pit through vision set up a positive scenario Team Envy cannot overlook. If a team reacts to Team Envy’s dragon control they can collapse and win a fight through positioning. If Team Envy’s opponent does nothing, then they get a free dragon.

This is by no means to say this is Team Envy’s only dimension of play, but it is something they do better than many other teams. This strategy however will most likely not work on your TSMs who generally have a very aggressive pre-twenty minute game. While Team Envy is setting up a scenario for victory against their opponent around dragon, a higher level team will ignore the ploy and seek other advantages to close out the game.

What Team Envy has done so far this season has been very impressive. They have simplified aspects of the game to better favor their current team’s state. Team Envy already appears far ahead of teams trying to figure out ways to better cope with meta shifts and communication errors. Heading into week 3 of the NALCS will be Team Envy’s biggest test as they face an Immortals eager to take a win off anyone after a series loss to TSM. Based off of what was discussed earlier I would imagine Immortals to make this a convincing win against a slower moving Team Envy.

#lol esports #league of legends

Way too Early NALCS Rankings:Week 1

This rankings list is highly opinionated and makes a good deal of assumptions. If you agree or disagree please feel free to throw around some arguments.

1.Team SoloMid

Team SoloMid look like they are picking up right where they left off in the spring split finals in terms of performance. Communication errors no longer seem to be an issue within the team even with the inclusion of their new support Biofrost. The team that struggled so heavily with their “super” squad in the spring split may have a legitimate claim to that name now. With a team that only seems to get better they will most likely dominate the league.

2.IMT

Only one of two teams that did not make a change to their main roster for this split seems to be in the same place it was, at the top. They continue to significantly overpower their opponents in lane and in team fights. There really isn’t much more to say about this team but they will have to take the second fiddle to TSM for now. Immortals 0-3 loss to TSM in the spring playoffs shocked many and questioned if the team was beginning to fall apart. This was not the case after they quickly regrouped and shut out Liquid for 3rd place.

For now we will have to assume a new and stronger looking TSM has Immortals number and is ready to strike them down once again. However with the meta shifting toward carry top laners we may see the complete dominance of Huni reign over TSM with the rest of Immortals out for blood heading into their game against TSM this weekend.

3.CLG

Before everyone loses it about how high CLG is on the list, just have faith for the golden age team. The squad has done a lot in the past month to credit them with this ranking which is probably the reason they dropped their first two series of the game. A majority of the teams in the league had close to a month to prepare versus roughly the two weeks the CLG had to vacation and prepare. While TSM focused on dismantling CLG, CLG was looking to try and beat SKT.

However, the biggest argument against CLG is the continued success of Royal Never Give UP and SKTelecolm T1. Neither of these teams has dropped a series in their region. Another concern is CLG’s midlaner Huhi who has had questionable play performance and decision making as of recent.

Is this actually a problem for CLG though? They are no stranger to constant criticism of their players and do not give up on them no matter what the public says. The CLG organization believes in their players and the system they have. The North American heroes of MSI will most likely be back in form this coming week of LCS.

4. Apex

The only team to break into the LCS through the challenger series for this split has made a convincing debut. Although Apex was victorious against CLG, I could not put them any higher on this list. I stand by the idea that CLG were simply stumbling back into the season after an exhausting MSI run and Apex needs a few more games to prove themselves. With their showing so far, the team composed of 9 old timers and an entirely new face, Ray, are going to be a team to watch out for.

Under coach Brandon "Saintvicious" DiMarco this team has a comfortable source to rely on for strategies and changing metas. The team’s new top laner Ray, appears to be a very skilled player and hailing from EDG as a former substitute gives greater claim to this thought. It should be very exciting to see how he squares off against his top lane adversaries, but communication with the rest of the team may be an issue. Throughout Ray’s first showing in the NALCS, it looked as though he was far too aggressive or just not on the same page as his team. This could be a result of a language barrier or just lack of time with the team. In the end though, if things do go awry for Ray in the top lane Apex always has Cris to fall back on.

5. C9

This could very well be the first successful line up of cloud9 that does not include Hai. There is no doubt Hai is a world class shot caller but Cloud9’s dependence on him had become more of a crutch. Heading in under their new coach Reapered, the new Cloud9 lineup looks quite threatening. Their first two series of the split have shown moments of greatness in shot calling and decision making, but also shown moments of great Rek’Sai ulti memes. The players this team is running, alongside a former EDG has given good reason to think this team has a very high ceiling.

6. Echo Fox

Although this team has improved vastly in champion pools and individual player mechanics it still seems to lack a consistent voice for making calls. As of now this team sits comfortably in the middle of the league and will be most likely find itself compared to Cloud 9 and Team EnVyUs. Echo Fox should be more than happy if they can make the cut to playoffs from 6th place, Knowing TSM made a run to finals last split from this position. Froggen should be overjoyed after seeing 7th place for three consecutive splits.

7. Team Envyus

The former Renegades squad is an exciting team to watch with a good deal of potential. Seraph seems to finally have a decent chance to demonstrate the skills he has refined while carrying games in the NACS. Team EnVyUs does not rise any higher on this list because we do not have that much to go off of just yet. The teams they have faced so far have been rather unstable and the full line up is still new. The good news is the veteran EnVyUs organization has the ability to provide the team with a number of resources to help them climb through the ranks.

8.Liquid

Some may find having Team Liquid in relegation territory to be harsh, but movements within the team brings up questions. The dependence on Dardoch for the team’s success became apparent when he was put in game 2 against TSM. Even if Dardoch’s behavior has improved this move makes the coaching staff of Team Liquid look weak. It feels as though the issues from Korea will emerge again and could cause significant damage to the team’s success.

On a not so speculative notion, Team Liquid still seems lost in later parts of the game. They are unfamiliar with the best ways to close out a game or take advantage of their leads. Team Liquid always has to rely on Piglet or Dardoch to get a big enough lead early in the game to crush their opponent’s. There are a number of teams that do not have nearly as many issues as Team Liquid. The running joke of forever 4th could be a thing of the past as Team Liquid falls to the bottom of the league.

9. NRG

There is a reason I did not even mention NRG when I was discussing Apex’s debut games. NRG’s opening week series have been quite disappointing for a team expected to challenge the league’s best. The full roster had even more time than Envyus to come together and figure out the direction of the team. Instead NRG’s play seems excessively stagnant and geared towards not losing which is a recipe for disaster. With such a terrible start compared to teams above them on this list it doesn’t seem like they can escape the clutches of relegation matches. If anything Kiwikid may be able to reclaim his crown as a Relegation King.

10. Pheonix1

Emerging from the ashes of TIP, this bird will most likely burn up again. Pheonix1 unfortunately suffered the worst transition in the off season. TIP, like Renegades, were forced to sell their spot. Unlike Renegades however, this team fell to a rookie organization. Although the new line of management is eager about helping their players to succeed, a majority of this team’s players is very familiar with the bottom half of the NALCS placements. The team could very well pull out individual game victories but will most likely not pick up a series win.

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#lolesport #lol esports #NALCSS

NALCS Impacting the International Meta

There is good reason to celebrate the success of CLG at MSI. NALCS fans finally have a credible claim to their region becoming a prominent force in the competitive landscape of League of Legends. For the longest time the North American League of Legends Championship Series has been on the bad side of a joke. People more than expect the representative of the NALCS to repeat their regions past failures at international tournaments. The events that unfolded in Shanghai at MSI changed this train of thought due to some of the champion picks CLG brought with them from the NALCS. The tournament’s participants all had to react or get knocked out because of the strong resurgence of long range supports and their influence on the meta .

Leading up to MSI long range supports had been highly criticized by regions outside and inside of the NALCS. For much of the NALCS spring split Adrian “Adrian” Ma of Immortals had almost exclusively been using long range supports, namely the champions Soraka and Janna. Gradually other North American supports started picking up these champions and across the NALCS 2016 spring playoffs Soraka specifically made a total of 15 appearances within the total 23 matches. This is in contrast to the LCK where Soraka did not appear a single time across the 13 games played within their playoffs. Over the 41 games played at MSI, Soraka appeared a surprisingly 21 times. Taking a step deeper, in the finals Soraka appeared in every pick and ban phase of the total 11 games played.

The prevalence of Soraka in picks and bans has definitely been identified but should not be considered the sole indicator of a significant meta change within the tournament. If we look across all of the games played at MSI we see a definite transition of importance from melee to long range supports. Of the 107 support champions seen throughout picks and bans during the group stage, 41 long range supports and 66 melee supports were used(Thresh, Poppy, and Trundle were considered melee supports). This means over 60% of the support champions selected during the group stage were melee supports. Moving to the knock-out stage where teams have had time to determine the meta within the tournament we see these numbers shift. Within the pick and ban phase of the knock-out stage a total of 41 supports are seen, 15 melee supports and 28 long range supports. This dropped melee supports to 37% in visibility within picks and bans during the knockout stage at MSI.

Some may argue the transition to the increased use of long range supports within the tournament was inevitable without the push from CLG. This does not stand as an accurate argument because of access to other popular support champions. During the finals of MSI the importance of Alistar was echoed throughout the ban phase which prevented him from ever reaching Summoner’s Rift. Bard, arguably one of the most popular long range supports before the start of MSI, was seeing his fair share of bans as well. Braum was available a considerable amount of time, but saw little success as expressed by RNG’s series loss to SKT in the semifinals. It would have been far more believable to expect Thresh, Morgana, and Tahm Kench to see more play time as the three champions mentioned just above were met with contention in picks and bans. However SKT, the victor of MSI and member of the meta- defining LCK, clearly acknowledged the success of the long range supports CLG were playing. SKT’s support Jae-wan “Wolf” Lee ended up only playing Karma, Soraka, and Nami within the finals of MSI entirely overlooking the popular played supports mentioned earlier.

The impact CLG’s picks and bans had against its global MSI competitors, redefined strategies of a tournament. The NALCS champions took their influences and implemented them while fighting back massive criticism of their region. Thanks to the success of CLG at MSI, the NALCS can make the case to be a significant actor in meta development across different regions for the first time in years.

This is not to say NALCS is “closing the gap” with the LCK overlords of League of Legends. The thing to be happy about is the NALCS is now impacting the meta of competitive league in way that other regions have to take notice. At the moment, CLG seems to be the only team with a strong enough foundation to take on the worlds current heavy hitters from the LP and more so the LCK. Further down the line TSM this past split was rife with communication issues and Immortals “just didn’t have a read on the meta”. As a whole, the NALCS has a considerable way to go before it should be considered a competitor for the crown of a League of Legends Championship. CLG has simply made the case that the NALCS is establishing itself as an influential force in competitive League of Legends.

#lol esports #riot games

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