Preview of EU LCS Spring Split 2015 playoffs: H2k vs CW

By Anel “Musinlol” Musinovic

EU LCS playoffs begins at 17.00 tonight with H2k facing Copenhagen Wolves which will be followed by Gambit and Unicorns of Love.

H2k Gaming vs Copenhagen Wolves

Odoamne, loulex, Ryu, Hjarnan & KaSing vs Youngbuck, Airwaks, Soren, Freeze & Unlimited

The last time H2k and Copenhagen Wolves faced off in a Bo5, the Wolves sent H2k packing in a clean 3-0 sweep to keep their LCS spot. However since then they've lost their star player, Febiven, to Fnatic and acquired a new fresh support, mid laner and coach in KaSing, Ryu and Prolly. Needless to say, the change has worked amazingly for them. They've looked better and better as a team and the week that they've had is playing into their favor to develop even better strategies, etc.

     Finishing in 3rd with a 12-6 record and looking the stronger of the two, H2k will once again be going in as favorites against the 8-10 Copenhagen Wolves. Hopefully to a different outcome than the last time.

Pick and bans:

H2k:

In pick and bans, H2k should focus on getting a winning match-up for Odoamne. Even though I think Odoamne could go even in a losing match-up against Youngbuck, it could work out well. I explain why in the “Player to Watch” section, so you'll have to wait for a minute to find out. 

If they want to go with a comp where they try to pick winning lanes they could also try to bring out the Nidalee, Rek’Sai or Lee Sin to have even more early game pressure. We know loulex is probably one of the biggest Lee Sin advocates and still prefers him in the changing jungle meta. The pick could work well vs a Kennen - who Copenhagen Wolves have previously played. 

They could also go with a scaling comp with the likes of a Kog’Maw and Lulu in the mid lane but I would like to see an aggressive early game comp because of their superior map play.

If H2k want to play the Sivir that they've brought out eight times, with seven of them being successful, they should try to ban out Freeze's signature Draven who has a good match-up vs Sivir. Even trying to ban out three adc’s could be a good great idea because Freeze hasn't found a single win on other champs besides Graves, Kalista & Draven.

Copenhagen Wolves:

For Copenhagen Wolves, I find it a bit more difficult because there's a lot you want to ban against H2k and the recent Jarvan nerfs might have hit them hard.

Airwaks has had eight games on Jarvan and managed five wins from them, but with the recent nerfs he has been trying out different picks such as Sejuani and Fizz - with the Sejuani being a bit better for the team in my opinion.

Getting the Sejuani pick will be important and if banned it doesn't mean that much because it leaves up other picks for his teammates. It's likely that he's practiced other tank junglers such as Nautilus, Zac & Gragas. Otherwise, he can fall back on more early game pressure junglers in Lee, Rek’Sai & Nidalee. Last time, in the promotion tournament vs H2k, he did play Gragas so he should have that as a pocket pick if needed.

The bans I would go for in Game 1 would be Leblanc, Ahri & Sivir. I’m unsure about the two mid lane bans because I feel like Ryu can shine on other champs as well but is really good on those two specifically. Also they could let the Sivir go through and pick up Draven if open. With those two assassins banned though they could go for their Cassiopeia, they’ve won three out of three games with her.

Player to watch from H2k Gaming: Odoamne

Even though the great addition of KaSing seems to be what has made them a better team I would like to go for Odoamne. Youngbuck has a lot to prove with the pressure he's been getting from the community.
     He leads the team with his shotcalling and is able to do pretty good calls when doing fine himself, but when getting behind I feel like Youngbuck can make Copenhagen Wolves’ shotcalling suffer. Also the extra pressure from community can make him believe that if he doesn't put up a great performance the wolves might be looking for other options. Therefore I would like to see a top lane pick from Odoamne that can bully Youngbuck into mistakes, deaths or just falling behind in experience.

They both have five games on Maokai despite Odoamne having way more success on it with a 100% rate while Youngbuck is sitting on a 20% win rate on him. H2k will know that could be a contested pick and might just give it over to Copenhagen Wolves and pick up the Gnar who they've played in two out of the last four games.

Gnar can be a difficult champ to play because of the rage but can be incredibly strong in teamfights and is a really good lane match-up against Maokai. Odoamne also has a 80% win rate in five games on Gnar so it is likely that he will try to pick that up.

Player to watch from Copenhagen Wolves: Soren

Soren has improved massively this season. He seems way more confident when he plays and it shows in his performance. He's been compared to other great danish midlaners and he will be one of the key players against H2k. He has had a strong Cassiopeia winning all three of his games on her.

If his main champs get target banned I'm guessing he would go for Xerath but it will be interesting to see if he has picked up recent champions such as Diana which could be great in teamfights which the Wolves have been favoring a lot this season.

Predicted score: H2k Gaming 3-1 Copenhagen Wolves

The game will be played April 4th at 11 PM EST & 17:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/riotgames

If you want to contact me or follow me on twitter -> www.twitter.com/musinlol

EU Playoff Preview: Gambit VS Unicorns of Love

by Reece "SabrewoIf" Dos-Santos

For one team, this season has been the height of consistency - never pulling away and always remaining middle of the pack with a 1-1 record against all but two teams. For the other, it was an uphill battle against what looked like another dreary season, but they ended up in their best position since 2013. For both, it was a season of hope after impressive showings at IEM’s San Jose and Cologne respectively.

The Unicorns of Love stampeded into the European scene with probably the fastest growing fan base ever seen in a recently promoted amateur team. After their victory against TSM in San Jose, Power of Evil left with 10 times the amount of Twitter followers he had entered the tournament with. While the Unicorns haven’t quite pulled off the Cloud 9/Lemondogs effect of entering the scene and winning in their first split, they've put on a hell of show and could easily become one of EU’s best and biggest brands. What’s best about watching the Unicorns is simply how fun and energized they look; the enjoyment they’re getting from their experience is easy to see in their work ethic and reflects in their results. Especially in comparison to teams like Meet Your Makers and Elements who spent a good deal of time in a bubble of despair - a bubble that led to unmotivated and zombie like repetition of basic mistakes, mistrust in calls and underperforming.

Gambit, on the other hand, has been on a recovery mission after being one of EU’s biggest names and slowly falling away into irrelevance. Just as the above mentioned teams, Gambit also started off the season in an already established bubble of despair following a terrible 2014. Although IEM success provided a good recovery point, things still started off badly and looked to be a repeat of past EU LCS results. Needless to say. however, after the benching of NiQ and the picking up Betsy, this is the healthiest Gambit squad we've seen in over a year. Diamond finally seems revived and while not quite at the level he used to display, he’s still showing signs of the same spark before he dulled. For Gambit fans it’s a relief to see a squad that, despite failing to show up at IEM Katowice, looks like it can challenge for top spots and remain stable and healthy.

The Unicorns and Gambit stand 1-1 in their EU LCS series against each other with neither wins really providing a picture of how this match-up might turn out. The first win for the Unicorns being in Week 1 and the first of Gambit’s five game slump. In this match-up, Power Of Evil was allowed to play his signature Syndra and made great use of the soon-to-be-deleted item Deathfire Grasp to seize control and carry his team. In addition, every kill in the game bar one happened on Gambit’s side of the map. The only Unicorn that didn't completely outclass his match-up was Vizicsacsi.

One the flip side, the Unicorns had just gone 2-0 in Week 8 and therefore destiny required them to balance out and go 0-2 in Week 9 where they faced Gambit for a second time. While this match was more contested and actually had map-wide kill distribution, the game fell completely into Gambit’s hands as Power Of Evil’s new tank meta Cho’Gath pick didn't quite work out how it does in solo queue. This, and then the loss to the Giants to end the week, doesn't bode well for the Unicorns coming into playoffs but they aren't a team that has shown any tilting tendencies and I still expect their A game to be on.

For me, the match-up’s to look out for are in the Mid lane and the Jungle. If Power Of Evil and Kikis can pull away from Betsy and Diamond it's more than likely that the Unicorns will be able to trample Gambit. However, if those two lanes don’t go as planned, I worry for the Unicorns’ ability to comeback as I believe Gambit have the raw skill advantage in both the bottom lane and the top lane. But, on a whole team synergy level, the Unicorns are one of, if not the best teams in the EU LCS. They’re a team with full trust and belief in each other, and such a tight level of synergy is arguably the most dangerous element in professional League of Legends gameplay.

Love hurts.

Looking forward to the semi-final place these teams are fighting for, I also think it’s the Unicorns of Love that hold the advantage in a match-up against SK Gaming. The fact that SK are an objective based team and can be easily uprooted and overturned by disruptions to their game flow falls greatly into the Unicorns’ hooves. The fast paced and sometimes spontaneous shifts in game play, often started by Kikis, are a perfect combat strategy to EU’s strongest team. This was proved in Week 6 when the Unicorns handed SK one of their 3 losses in the split.

Gambit on the other hand has trouble making a comeback when teams outmuscle them in the earlier stages. Failure to secure dragons, barons and any more than 5 towers is also a dangerous habit among their losses. SK are the only team to 2-0 Gambit this split and I can’t see that trend changing in the playoffs, SK play Gambit’s game better.

Game prediction: Unicorns of Love 3-1

I believe in dark horses, and horned ones too.

Preview of EU Challenger Series Spring 2015 Playoffs: Origen vs Reason Gaming

By Anel “Musinlol” Musinovic

EU Challenger Series playoffs once again begins at 18.00 tonight and Reason Gaming will need something special & some more to pull out the win vs Origen.

Origen vs Reason Gaming

SoAZ, Amazing, xPeke, Niels & Mithy vs Kubon, Xayoo, TakeFun, Celaver, Libik

Origen are the clear favorites here as the 95-5 fan vote has indicated, and with no disrespect to Reason Gaming, that is probably the right percentage. Reason Gaming joined the playoffs because SK Gaming Prime's Sencux and Wunderwear were unfortunately ineligible to play due to age restrictions under the following rule:

SK choose not to enter the playoffs using subs Phake and Zytan, and they their forfeited their spot over to Reason Gaming.

Origen has only lost to the LowLandLions, but some might argue they were taking it easy and fooling around a bit because they had already secured the first spot. Origen definitely won’t be taking it lightly on their semifinal match vs Reason Gaming, but they may choose to save picks and strats. Standard play should be enough for Origen to beat Reason Gaming.

When these two faced each other previously, Origen 2-0’d them even though one of the games was fairly close. This routing wasn't unexpected because of Origen's higher level of experience and just a higher level of player for player.

Pick and Bans:

As stated above, I don’t expect anything fancy from Origen. For Reason Gaming, on the other hand, I would love to see a pocket pick like Zyra for Libik or anything else we don’t often see to potentially surprise their opponents. Also they could try and go for the old LowLandLions winning recipe of banning out 3 mid laners to try to minimize xPeke’s impact on the game and pick a jungler like Nidalee or Rek’sai who Xayoo seems to prefer - to try to snowball the lanes out of control.

Origen has more experienced players and I think they will come out ahead right from the start in picks and bans, especially if they get their Kog'maw comp, which Reason should fear for good reason.

Player to watch from Origen: xPeke

Who else could it be than our beloved xPeke. xPeke is a versatile midlaner who knows how to carry but also knows how to allow his team to carry. He's got a strong champion pool, and while he tends to favor flashy assassins, Ahri always seems to find a way to charm her way in on him. He can also bring out the likes of Lissandra, Ezreal, Xerath and Lulu (even though recent nerfs to Lissandra has made her see less play.) Knowing xPeke from previous seasons, he has made his efforts to pick up Viktor & Diana which he might pull out vs Reason.

Player to watch from Reason Gaming: Xayoo

I didn’t pick Xayoo because I think he's a better player than the rest in any way, but because he often buys sightstones. They will have to try to snowball lanes as said previously and utilize the vision they have to make aggressive plays and win from there. He will also be the person who has to snowball the lanes otherwise I see no other outcome than a 2-0.

Predicted score: Origen 2-0 Reason Gaming

The game will be played April 1st at 12 PM EST & 18:00 CEST

If you want to contact me or follow me on twitter -> www.twitter.com/musinlol

Week 10 LPL Preview

by Michael "Tribble" Godani

We are two weeks away from knowing which teams are going to the playoffs. Which teams aside from EDG, OMG and Snake will have a chance to grab the Spring Split Championship and a ticket for MSI? Who will have to play in the relegation tournament? How is the “tank” meta going to affect our league? The majority of these questions shall be answered after the upcoming 24 games this week, so let’s have a look.

Current LPL Standings:

Friday, 3rd of April

OMG vs Energy Pacemaker

Two teams who have nothing more to gain. After OMG's first set loss against Invictus Gaming in Week 9, they might be seeking some form of revenge for their fans, but they've already secured their spot in the playoffs. Energy Pacemaker, on the other hand, will probably be going into the relegation tournament at the end of this month. With that being said, both teams might be trying out some new picks while keeping in mind that OMG will want to hold on to that second spot in the standings.

King vs LGD Gaming

The week of truth for the players and staff of Team King, who are playing three extremely tough matches this weekend of which LGD is their first opponent. Both teams are here to win and splitting the set is not going to help any of them. Also for these teams the new patch might either be a problem or a huge benefit, who knows. LGD is confident of their playoff spot, the only question is where they will end up this split in the standings and for King, every game is a final. Both King and LGD have not been living up to their expectations, although LGD seems to be playing a bit more consistently. This should be a great game to watch with two teams who love teamfights and still have something to fight for. 

Star Horn Royal Club vs Vici Gaming

SHRC has been suffering all season. Having played seven weeks without their star ADC Namei, they now have to continue the rest of the season without InSec. He was diagnosed with a tibial fracture and requires surgery. The management of SHRC has not estimated a date of return yet. They want InSec back only when he is fully recovered and in good shape. Until then, they'll have to do with another substitute to finish of this season. 

Vici Gaming, the team who is currently holding the 4th place spot in the LPL, will be SHRC's first opponent. Vici amazed friends and foe with their performances in their last few sets, demonstrating beautiful objective control and rotations followed up by perfectly executed teamfights/skirmishes. While EDG has been looking extremely good with their new players, Vici Gaming seems to have also sorted out their issues and seem renewed. Vici is also pretty much ensured of playoff contention while for SHRC, this game is one of the four finals that are remaining for them. Will SHRC's broken formation hold up against this renewed Vici Gaming? Can Namei pull his team through or will Mata and his companions throw more salt in SHRC's open wounds? 

Edward Gaming vs Team World Elite

Both Team WE and Invictus Gaming had to bow down to the most powerful and dominating League of Legends team in the world that goes by the name of Edward Gaming. Two best of 5 sets got decided in 6 games by this indestructible formation of greatness. After winning the Demacia cup last weekend without dropping a single game, with Deft dying only twice in the finals and Clearlove being undefeated in the cup as well as in the LPL with his Lee Sin, they seem unstoppable. There is so much to say about this team, but to sum it up, you might call them SSW v2.0.

Then there is Team World Elite. Dropping to QG in the Demacia cup with EDG waiting for them wasn't a good showing. Their new formation is working better than their old one, but is it good enough to take a game off EDG to keep the playoff hopes alive? I personally don’t think so, yet you should never underestimate Spirit, who, along with Clearlove, might be the most interesting match-up to keep track of during this set. The two best junglers in the world are facing each other.

Will Spirit do the impossible and lead his team to victory? Or will EDG continue their rampage and endeavor to out-style their opponents as they did last weekend and in all weeks prior?

Friday’s Matches:

OMG vs Energy Pacemaker
King vs LGD Gaming
Star Horn Royal Club vs Vici Gaming
Edward Gaming vs Team World Elite

Saturday, 4th of April

Star Horn Royal Club vs Energy Pacemaker

EP has basically no chance to obtain a playoff spot this split and will have to focus on the relegation tournament at the end of the month. SHRC, on the other hand, are still in the running for a spot and their game against EP could bring them three points. Keep in mind that SHRC is the one team that EP managed to defeat this split, though with Namei on the roster of SHRC, it should be doable to grab all the points here. As a matter of fact, if SHRC does not take the full win this set, it’s pretty much over as far as their playoff contention is concerned. First up for SHRC is Vici Gaming, which seems tough, but let’s hope that the substitute jungler for SHRC can make his mark at least in this game if he doesn't already do that in the VG set.

Snake vs Gamtee

Both teams are more likely to be trying out champions/formations and perhaps new tactics. Snake is guaranteed of their playoff spot, while Gamtee is most likely to be facing LSPL teams in their relegation tournament. Snake who has been experimenting with a few new setups and tactics, might have to switch up their game again in this new patch. Likewise for Gamtee. The strange fact about Gamtee is that their individual players are not as bad as their current standing is showing, but they are simply splitting too many sets. This would be another set which would probably be a split. 

Invictus Gaming vs Master3

We have discussed M3 before this split. Their botlane is really improving lately and Dade seems to be feeling more comfortable as the season is coming to an end.  M3 has really improved a lot and perhaps with gaining a few more points, starting today against IG, they can secure their playoff spot.

Invictus Gaming is going into this match after suffering a 3-0 fatality from EDG. It is no disgrace to bow to the ranks of the current top team in the LPL but perhaps it did leave its mark on the players. IG has improved considerably lately and Rookie has stepped up his game. He managed to kill Pawn multiple times this weekend in lane. 

Overall this should be a very exiting match to watch between two teams who still got all to play for. 

Team World Elite vs King

The week of truth for Spirit and his IEM heroes. This week will give them (and us) a lot of clarity on their current status. Both King and TWE are in need of three points this set to either secure or have hopes for the playoffs. Team World Elite struggled early in the season but has improved since IEM. King, on the other hand, is just one of those teams as we discussed earlier that is comparable to LGD. Inconsistent results, yet they managed to take a game off EDG and OMG with strong and dominating play. If we will see both teams on top of their game, it will most probably be a tie, then again, who knows. 

Saturday’s games:

Star Horn Royal Club vs Energy Pacemaker
Snake vs Gamtee
Master3 vs Invictus Gaming
Team World Elite vs King


Sunday, 5th of April

Master3 vs Snake

One of those games where a split is the most imaginable outcome looking at the standings of both teams. Snake might want to go for that second spot but shouldn't risk all that much with the possibility that Vici Gaming might knock them out of third. Ella and Beast are the key factors in this game on the side of Snake, where Candy and Lovecd are the ones who have been stepping up their game on the side of M3. A very interesting match in terms of strength, M3 has been growing stronger while Snake has seemed to be getting less dominant this split.

Team World Elite vs Energy Pacemaker

For the biggest E-sports organisation of China, this game against Energy Pacemaker has got the same tag on it as SHRC vs EP, “must win”. Must win to stay alive in terms of making the playoffs, for TWE this game is just as important as the one against King. Where King is facing off difficult opponents, this might be the easiest out of all teams for TWE to pick up three points against. Spirit should and must be able to carry his team in this set and lead them towards those 3 points of victory while Energy Pacemaker wants to make sure that they will leave this split leaving a good impression.

Invictus Gaming vs King

A final for King, while Invictus Gaming is also looking for a victory but with less pressure. King has two teams behind them that want to make sure that they won’t make playoffs, and they're playing against a team that recently lost to EDG but showed signs of strength, suggesting it would be really hard for them to take down. King has been spoken about a lot this split and their standings at this point might actually reflect the way that they play. They win some, they lose some, and they share the 7th place spot. Invictus Gaming is in the same predicament as King but with a lot more quality, that’s why they are higher on the ladder. Definitely a game where the teamfight seeking mentality from King will have to face the skirmish potential and strength from Rookie and Kakao.

Vici Gaming vs LGD Gaming

“We want to attend the MSI as the #1 representative of China.” That’s what LGD Gaming wants and on top of that, getting to Worlds is their top priority this season. Vici Gaming is their next opponent, with Vici having stepped up their game and looking fantastic lately. LGD can now show if they can live up to their own and their fans expectations.

Can IMP finally show that he is still the ADC that he claims to be and carry his team to victory as he did at SSW? He surely has the support to do so. Perhaps the revived botlane of Vici Gaming is too strong, as Vasilii and Mata seem to have finally learned to work properly together? How will Dandy disturb Acorn during his laning phase or deal with TBQ? Will the Dandy/Mata roams be successfull or interrupted? Will Acorn make his presence known in the botlane with one of his fantastic teleport plays, or will We1less go off as one of the top midlaners as many claim that he is?

Perhaps the most interesting match of this weekend, served to us as the last game of the week!


Sunday’s games:

Master3 vs Snake
Team World Elite vs Energy Pacemaker
Invictus Gaming vs King
Vici Gaming vs LGD Gaming


Top 3 Players to Watch:


1. Team World Elite’s Spirit – EDG, King, EP. Spirit has to wait with taking off his carry pants. These three games are perhaps the most important games for TWE this split. If they could manage to pick up 6-7 points then I would say that the management would be really pleased. Spirit is capable of carrying, can he do this again?

2. Star Horn Royal Club’s Namei - InSec is out, Namei is in. Namei has won 3 LPL splits and is now the one and only, the chosen one, to keep SHRC in the LPL and perhaps even make the playoffs. If ever there was a time to prove himself once again, it is now!

3. Snake’s Beast - Beast has been one of the most important players on Snake this split, together with Ella. Now with the patch going over into 5.5, we should be very curious to see how the new meta junglers are going to affect his playstyle and the playstyle of Snake.


The games are live on the following streams at 6AM CEST:

http://www.twitch.tv/riotgames2

http://star.longzhu.tv/lpl

Preview of EU Challenger Series Spring 2015 Playoffs: Gamers2 vs Old LowLandLions

By Anel “Musinlol” Musinovic

EU Challenger Series playoffs begins at 18.00 tonight and will be a match that before the season would heavily have been predicted in favor for Gamers2. Since then the old LowLandLions have improved and are ready to give us a great match.

Gamers2 vs The old LowlandLions

SmittyJ, Gillius, Eika, Jebus & Hiiva vs Morsù, Kirei, CozQ, Vizility & Hybrid

As you can see the fan vote is close to 50-50 even though I would put it slightly into Gamers2 favor there is a chance for the old LowlandLions. Gamers2 I would put in the favorable seat despite a lower seed than LowLandLions who get to decide which side they would like to play on twice. Gamers2 are obviously living in Ocelote’s gaming house which is a massive advantage in terms of bonding, team synergy and practice. Gamers2 also has a 2-0 winning record vs the old LowLandLions.¨

The biggest mismatch is found in the botlane or the jungle where the toplane and midlane is more even. Jebus has previously been 9-1 and 10-1 vs LowLandLions.

The winner will be going up against the winner of Origen vs Reason Gaming, which most likely will be Origen. Origen will most likely be grabbing that auto-promotion spot and therefore the most likely thing will be that the winner of this match will be facing Giants in the relegation match.

Pick and bans:

In the picks and bans Gamers2 previously have shown willingness to target Morsu which lead him on to the likes of Wukong and Gnar which in both instances lead to Gamers2 victories. Morsù has played Jax twice, Irelia three times, Fizz twice, Wukong, Fiora & Gnar all once.
    Interestingly enough he hasn’t found wins on any of the champs he has only played once therefore i believe it would be good to try to ban out Morsù and pick away one of his champions in at least on of the series. SmittyJ has previously himself pulled out Jax & Fizz vs Morsù as well so he could be trying to get his hands on that and very well could be contested picks.

The negative side of banning out Morsu is obviously it that it leaves champions open for the other players which is only a concern with CozQ who has picked up Ahri 5 times out of the 10 games in the split.

On the other hand for LowlandLions i think they could have a toplane pick up their sleeve and they should be trying to focus on getting good matchups for their solo lanes and snowballing from there. They should also not try to tunnel too hard on Ahri, and be careful of picking Xearth into Ahri if it gets picked away. They played Xearth in their two latest matches vs Origen with one of them resulting in handing Origen their only loss.

Player to watch from Gamers2: SmittyJ

My reasoning behind my choice of SmittyJ is that he is a good toplaner that i would rate on level with Soaz, and it will be important that he keep Morsu down, who is known for putting his team on his back mostly by split pushing.

He has previously played on SK Prime with Kikis & Fox who are currently in the LCS, so he will be trying to join his old friends very soon.

     This season SmittyJ has played 7 different champs, so he champloo is in a health spot and should be able to hold his own in the toplane vs Morsù.

Player to watch from the old LowLandLions: CozQ

It was between Morsù and CozQ, but with me already addressing Morsu under the SmittyJ part and in the start, i decided to go with CozQ. CozQ & Morsu will be the force that will be trying to carry the team to victory despite hard circumstances. They are good individual players but don’t seem to have enough quality around them to go through to the finals. CozQ has recently picked up Xearth most notably in their win vs Origen.

He has previously played Ahri 5 times, and has also played Cassio, Leblanc and Lissandra once. If Gamers2 would try to ban him out in one of the series, it would most likely be Ahri, Xearth & Leblanc because they are the 3 most contested picks and force him onto a less comfortable pick, but it is unlikely because it would leave up all Morsù’s strong picks.

Predicted score: Gamers2 2 - 1 old LowlandLions

The game will be played March 31st at 12 PM EST & 18:00 CEST

In the whole article i have adressed Morsù, Kirei, CozQ, Vizility & Hybrid as “The old LowLandLions because of their recent departure from LowLandLions.  

ROCCAT Possible Roster Changes Incoming

By Anel “Musinlol ” Musinovic

Whatever genie the unsigned Polish team, Kiedys Mialem Team, uncorked from a bottle in the Spring of 2014 has long since packed his bags. Roccat has had a massively disappointing season, finishing in the danger zone right behind Copenhagen Wolves & Elements, and it's possible they will be forced to consider some roster swaps. 

Roccat came into the 2015 Spring Split with high expectations despite a less than successful run at IEM Cologne. Having acquired former Lemondogs' star midlaner, Nukeduck, and the previous split’s best rookie, Woolite, Roccat's roster looked impressive. Pressure mounted on the team, and they were predicted to have a Top 3 finish, but that was not to be. Despite their best efforts, they ended up 8th, barely holding on above Giants & MYM. Their dismal showing has brought out a great deal of speculation that Roccat might be looking for replacements for Overpow and Woolite.

Ducky has publicly said the following, which could be adding to the rumor that Roccat are looking for fresh blood for either one or multiple positions. He himself has also been criticized. 

Also nuke has expressed his opinion about roster swaps when asked:

Overpow’s Spot in Danger?

Overpow was hyped by the team (and other pros) for his outstanding Teleportplays'. He also had an odd champion pool which was predicted to work great, but has since fallen flat. It's possible he's looking at other options with his recent name change from ROCCAT Overpow to “heszke w meszke.”

Possible Contenders for ROCCAT's toplane

Beansu:

The 17-year-old toplaner who referred to himself as “mini-wickd” is one of the contenders for Overpow's toplane spot. He has previously played on teams such as Reason Gaming, SK Gaming Prime, and Gamers2, who failed to qualify for this split through the expansion tournament. Since then, he has seemingly only played soloq, even though he recently started playing ranked 5’s with the Mousesports' botlane, Xioh and Dan. He would most likely take the chance if he got called up by Roccat,  despite his newly formed ranked 5’s team.

Jwaow:

The toplaner, Jwaow just recently got relegated with MYM and the team might not be staying together for the Challenger Series with the backlash they got from the community for the Kor1 incident. Jwaow was previously known as a carry-style toplaner and was picked up by Gamers2 when Ocelote was playing, but with that team not making it after multiple attempts, the Swedish international replaced Mimer in MYM. MYM was already in a bad state and was predicted to take the auto-relegation spot. Despite fine attempts to not make that happen, they lost the tiebreaker to Giants. Jwaow was especially looking good on Maokai, which is quite a contested champion at the moment, and he can pull out other carry-style champions which might be what Roccat is looking for.

Zorozero:

The most unlikely contender is Zorozero, who has recently started playing again and is currently in Challenger with over 500 lp. Zorozero might be looking to play again and with Roccat’s recent troubles they might be looking to pick up the former toplane star of Europe. Zoro has previously played with Nukeduck in Lemondogs, and I don’t think that Nukeduck would mind playing with his old buddy again. 

Woolite’s Stay in Roccat also Might be Coming to an end

Woolite was another player that was expected to do well, and coming in as Rookie-of-the-Split from the last split, he looked so promising. He's been too aggressive though, and outright stupid in some games (like the recent game where he threw the game by himself.) Roccat might be looking for a new ADC for themselves, despite it being less likely than the Overpow move.

Possible Contenders for ROCCAT's ADC Position

MrRallez:

Rallez, just like Jwaow, was recently relegated with MYM and will possibly be looking for a new team. The once hyped Danish international might be looking to find himself a new spot in the LCS. Rallez struggled with synergy after the departure of Migxa. He can’t be excused this time as he would have VandeR as a support if he joins Roccat. So this time it would be make it or break it for Rallez.

Tabzz:

Tabzz just recently got back on Elements as a sub, but might take the opportunity if he got to play with his former teammate Nukeduck. When he was playing for Elements, he was surely a Top 2 ADC, and Roccat might be looking to try to pick him up.


If you have any questions or wants to folllow me my twitter is -> https://twitter.com/Musinlol

“We'd Like to Represent China as their #1 Team in the MSI” : An Interview with LGD Gaming

Early in 2012, the Dota-based Chinese E-sports organization, LGD, created a League of Legends team. Since then a lot has changed for both the team and the organization, but even with a roster loaded with Korean superstars, finding a winning combination has been tricky. 

by Michael "Tribble" Godani

Like most new teams, LGD didn't start in the LPL. They had to battle through many promotional tournaments to access the top competition of China, finally gaining entry to the 2014 Spring LPL after defeating Vici Gaming 2-1 in the 2013 TGA Winter Grand Prix. From that point, they held their own, staying in the middle of an eight team pack and making a fair run for the play-offs. Unfortunately, the team broke up on the last day of the Spring Split, but their fans were left with a good impression of their ability to handle the toughest the LPL had to offer. Since then, the team has been evolving.

LGD's current captain, support-player Chen “Pyl” Bo, joined the team in September 2012 after leaving Noah’s Ark, another LoL organization which is now disbanded. Zhu “TBQ” Yong-Quan joined the team just prior to their initial 2013 promotion series, and midlaner Wei “We1less” Lian was obtained from Vici Gaming in May of 2014. We1less is famous for having a very wide champion pool and, according to some, he is one of the Top 3 midlane talents in China, displaying great improvements in map awareness, warding and individual skill.

The team's line-up worked decently for the LPL's 2014 Summer Split, and LGD managed to qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they got 3-0’d by both SHRC (the 2014 Worlds finalists) and EDG, who were superior that split. While they didn't qualify for Worlds through the regional finals either, they were at least showing signs of growth and they felt very positive for the future.

Then late in 2014, LGD made a few huge announcements. Korean players Choi “Acorn” Cheon-ju, Lee “Flame”Ho-Jong and World Champion Gu “Imp” Seung-bin would be joining the ranks. They are names well-known to the American LCS fans, along with the powerhouse teams they come from: Samsung Blue, CJ Entus and Samsung White respectively. But can they help bring LGD their first LPL title?

(*LGD is currently sitting in the fifth place spot in the LPL. This interview was done after Week 8 while LGD was still in the fourth place spot.)

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We first spoke with team manager, Pan "Ruru" Jie.

Last split, you guys didn’t manage to get passed OMG to qualify for Worlds. This year the critics have you as a Top 2 LPL team. How much pressure are you feeling to perform at that level and make it to Worlds?

- Yes, everyone from the players to the management have higher expectations for this year. Making it to the Season 5 World Championships is our main goal. After having acquired so many talented Korean players, having such great expectations from their team is not weird in any sense. Not only does the management think that LGD should have a big impact on the international scene, but also the journalists that follow the Chinese scene agree with this thought.

Acorn, Flame and Imp joined the ranks of LGD, so that is also a reason for the critics to expect more of your team this year. What do you expect from your staff and players?

- The Korean players brought with them a very hardworking attitude, and despite (Imp) having won Worlds before, it’s very rare to find players in China capable of working as hard as the Koreans.

How do you think you can come up with the most suitable line-up for the team? Do you feel that the frequent roster changes are helping the players, or creating unnecessary burdens?

- Honestly, changing the line-up affects not just the swapped players but also the rest of the team. Different players have different playstyles, and the other teammates have to adapt to the new players’ playstyles.

Teams with both Chinese and Korean players usually have some communication issues, as the team manager how did you try to solve this? How did the Chinese players face this problem?

- We tried having the Korean players learn Mandarin, and taught the Chinese players some English. (Actually the Chinese players know some Korean, and will use Korean to make calls such as when to group. 

Next we spoke with team coach, Luo "BSYY" Sheng.

Most of the time, seeing LGD play is a joy for every League of Legends fan, but still we see some games that are being lost due to a lack of concentration perhaps? How do you see that for yourself?

- Every player takes competition seriously and focuses during the match, this is the basis of being a pro gamer and the attitude pros have to have. When the team loses a game it’s because they’re still going through the phase of learning how to adapt to each other, and they haven’t overcome this yet.

What is the main reason to let Acorn start the first game instead of Flame?

- I think that Acorn has slightly better synergy with the rest of the team and is a bit more stable, and I feel that this gives the team a better chance of winning the first game.

Is it hard to have to deal with the dilemma of having two toplaners who are close together in terms of skill or is it merely a luxury issue?

- It makes it more difficult to choose, both players are exceedingly talented.

What do you think is the strength and weakness of LGD at this point in the season?

- The team is good at teamfighting, but vision control in the early game as well as gank sense and pathing needs to be improved upon.

The playoffs are arriving in just a few weeks. What are the goals for LGD regarding those playoffs?

- To be 1st in Playoffs of course, and to be able to represent China as their number 1 team in the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) :)

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BSYY's statement on wanting to attend MSI as the #1 team in China shows just how serious LGD is taking their chances on the upcoming playoffs. Personally, I think that LGD will manage at least the semi-finals this split, but from there on it will be extremely hard since they will be facing teams such as OMG and EDG.    

(From left to right: Imp, TBQ, Pyl, Flame, We1less, Acorn)

For those who follow The True LOL Show, you know that Acorn is one of the few Korean players who is actually quite happy to be playing in China right now. We also had some questions for him lined up:

It's been a few months now that you've been in China. How difficult has it been adapting to the playstyle?

- I think that it’s the same as it used to be, there hasn’t been much change. I think I fit in well with the rest of the team.

Is it difficult to have to compete with a player such as Flame for the toplane spot?

- I just want to practice hard and have a good attitude about everything. Who starts for the team isn't something that I can decide.

How do you think that you personally can influence the inconsistent results of LGD?

- I think that the team will improve tremendously once we solve the communication issues we currently have between team members.

Do you feel that the way the team is rostered now suits you? Is there anything you’d like to change about that?

- I think that the current way of fielding who’s playing better at the time is a good way to go about it.

Acorn has to compete with Flame, who seems to be playing a bit less (whereas at the start of the split both players would play one game each series). Flame, who came over from CJ Entus, has to work with being a substitute in the current LGD team. His thoughts on the current situation and his goals:

You made the step towards China, but instead of being a starter you often come in at the second game, were you aware of the current situation that you are in?

- Yes, I knew about it beforehand.

In various sports there are always players who feel that having someone vie for their position will help to unleash their own potential, and help them improve. Do you feel that this logic is applicable to you?

- I’ve competed with someone for the same position before in the past, and I feel that it does make me work harder to up my own game.

When you were in Korea you very regrettably never won OGN Champions, how much do you want to win LPL right now?

-  I will work very hard to take the LPL crown. Besides winning LPL, I also really want to improve my own skills

Do you think that you will have a definite spot on the team in the future? Or is it still too early to discuss this?

-  Right now the most important thing is to raise my own skills, and then think about other matters.

We arrived now at one of the players who have been in LGD for quite a while, TBQ (or Quan as most call him). His thoughts on team synergy and the current jungle:

The new jungle has lowered Lee Sin a bit on the priority list for junglers and yet he is still a top pick for you. How do you explain that?

- We don’t prioritize picking Lee Sin. We pick him if the team composition needs him, but I also have confidence that I can win matches on Lee Sin..

You are still a very young player but already with quite some experience, how has the addition of the new players affected your playstyle?

- Having new, strong players join the team definitely fires us up to play better. My playstyle depends on the  patch as well as the playstyles of the other players as a team.

In China they tend to wait a long time before they jump into the next patch. Can you say that with all the changes to the jungle this is a good or a bad thing for you?

- There’s good and bad, but it’s ok as long as you can adapt to the patch. I play on the Korean server to get used to playing on new patches before they’re rolled out in LPL competitions.

One of the unwritten rules in any sports is that in order to improve your team's results. you have to improve your own qualities. What is a point that you would really love to improve?

- Team, mid/jungle as well as support synergy. I also need to work on my champion pool.

Next we spoke to We1less, who, while perhaps is not the most talkative person on the team, is still one of the most talented!

Great quadra kill on the Diana in your second game against Snake last weekend, do the buffs that Diana has been given really make her a top pick for competitive play?

-  She was always a priority pick.

I see a lot of teams simply giving Snake’s Baka his Xerath, the only champion he plays now. Also you guys gave him the Xerath in Game 2. Is that because you prioritize other bans or perhaps it slipped through, or is it more that you know exactly how to deal with him?

- All the team members thought that Xerath was still ok to deal with, and not as important to ban out as the other 3 champions.

Playoffs are on the way and we can almost surely say that LGD is going to qualify for that. Until that time, how do you individually think you can lift your team up just a bit more?

- The team members are all working hard together, and I have to become stronger too!

How do you explain the great games you guys play? Really, some games make me doubt if EDG is really the current #1 in China and then you follow it up with a game where it just doesn't seem to work out all too well?

- Our team synergy still isn’t quite there yet.

Imp, one of the most dominating ADC’s in LoL history had the chance to pick out any team he wanted and he chose to join the ranks of LGD because he insisted on playing with Pyl. Let’s see how he has been doing until now in China.

Many people consider you to be the world’s best ADC, especially after your stellar performance to win S4 Worlds and your 2 pentakills during the competition. How has the new season and change in environment affected you (or changed your champion picks)?

- I haven’t changed much, I still feel like the same Imp.

Witnessing the old Imp’s godlike play around the map during teamfights and small skirmishes was always a treat. Is there any reason for you to have lost this “explosiveness” lately?

- My old teammates could create better opportunities, so…

You’re now 4th in the LPL and people have fairly high expectations for LGD for the upcoming playoffs. How is the team intending to face up to this pressure?

-  We will work hard to improve team synergy and communication, and achieve better results.

Some players in the West don’t quite feel as if China is the next strongest region after Korea, what are your personal thoughts on this?

- I think that there isn’t much difference between the regions’ leagues. We’ll see how everyone performs when they meet in competition.

Last but not least the team captain, Pyl, had time to answer a few questions including about his best “friend”.

China has a lot of great support players of which you are one, but you have a World Champion as ADC by your side. Does this give you a big advantage when laning or when you decide to roam with TBQ?

- Yes, Imp is very strong in lane and can frequently 1v2, which lets me roam comfortably with the jungler.

You have a very large champion pool, you are 3/3 with Nami this season, how much of an advantage does having a large champion pool give to you and your team?

- I can compliment my ADC better, as well as try out more new team compositions.

Bard has just been released and I personally love the champion and his kit. How do you think that Bard will do in the competitive scene and will you be playing him soon enough?

- Just looking at his kit he seems pretty strong. Bard isn’t live on the Chinese server yet but I will definitely analyse him closely and play him a lot.

Some days ago on Twitter we saw your cat holding a lollipop, did he eat that lollipop?

- Haha, he likes eating mice more.

Doubi, Pyl’s cat

I want to thank the entire team from LGD Gaming that made these short interviews possible. Also thanks to Jenny Lee @ivorybells and one other anonymous person who translated my questions to Chinese and the answers back to English.

LGD Gaming has a few more games left this split before the playoffs start, you can support them by watching the streams when they play and following them on twitter and facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/lgdgaming

http://www.twitter.com/lgdgaming

Remaining games for LGD in the spring split 2014:

April 3rd - King

April 6th - Vici Gaming

April 10th - Gamtee

April 11th - OMG

April 12th - Invictus Gaming