That’s it folks! The final teams have been locked in place for the 2014 NA LCS Summer Split! When the dust settled, the teams earning spots in the NA LCS summer split will be LMQ, Evil Genuises, and compLexity.Black! Catch up on missed action, upsets, and more in this week’s recap!
Noteworthy of the Week
Evil Genuises’ Methodical Gameplay
Teamwork is incredibly important in League of Legends, and EG ran a clinic on how to be an LCS level team, putting teamwork at the forefront of their game plan. They grouped when they needed to contest objectives, waited for Krepo to land a stun and catch someone, and weren’t ever greedy to the point where they’d potentially throw (which seems to be a consistent factor for most bottom level LCS teams). They were methodical and on point, making few flashy plays but consistently capitalizing on safe and secure ones. That was all they needed to counter Cloud 9 Tempest, and it worked very well for them. If they can build upon these proven basics, they’ll rise up the ranks and not be in danger of relegation next split!
Top Performers
LMQ’s Vasilii
“Going ham” has been cemented as Vasilii’s motto this week, and we’re not talking honey baked. Sure, he’s a bit inconsistent at times and makes some strange decisions – but this week he was impressively on point. Most notably, his Lucian in the final game against XDG single handedly dominated for his team. With a stellar triple kill and almost no assistance, he didn’t even die once in two out of the three games.
EG’s Krepo
Krepo has always been a solid player, but this week he performed when it really mattered. Catching lone and out of position members of C9T with his stellar bindings, Krepo controlled the flow of the game for EG. They weren’t overly aggressive, but were cold and calculated, hinging consistent performances across the board on Krepo’s precise picks.
coL.Black’s Brokenshard
Brokenshard has been, for lack of a better phrase, the backbone of coL.Black. Controlling the early game, controlling buffs and objectives, and manhandling Coast were just some of the exploits Brokenshard had over the weekend. He’s a stellar jungler and, combined with the raw talent of coL.Black, like pr0lly and ROBERTxLEE, you have a solid LCS team.
Surprise of the Week
compLexity.Black’s Fortitude
Mental resilience was the name of the game in the first part of coL.Black’s gambit for Coast’s LCS position. After a near 60 minute game, coL.Black was down and things looked grim. No nexus turrets, one inhibitor, and a faint glimmer of hope were all they had. One pick and everything flipped upside down, as ROBERTxLEE’s positioning and awareness, along with Zionspartan’s hubris, cost Coast the first game. It’s not easy to keep a level head in such a long game, and it’s incredibly rare for Challenger teams to turn a game that seemed definitively lost.
Disappointment of the Week
XDG’s Preparation
LMQ was heavily favored coming into the promotion matches, and you could tell that the pressure had taken its toll on the lineup of XDG. Their downfall started in pick and ban phase, where they seemed to ban because they didn’t like dealing with a champion, rather than out of a strategic goal – such as aiming for XiaoWeiXiao on his Nidalee and Orianna.
XDG knew going into the games that LMQ was a strong early game oriented team, but did almost nothing to counter it. No new strategy, barely any new champions (Soraka being one of the only “new” picks), and no cohesive plan led to their downfall. Now, if the team sticks around for the NACS, they can fix their pain points and come back in the next split as strong as they were in Season 3.
Looking Ahead
With two fresh teams, LMQ and compLexity.Black, and the returning Evil Geniuses, the summer split is bound for greatness coming into World Championship qualification. Will LMQ rise to the competition of the LCS? Will Evil Geniuses finally overcome their jet lag and show up strong? Will compLexity.Black continue their trend of taking unexpected wins in the LCS? These questions and more will be answered in time, as the LCS takes its All-Star break and looks ever forward to intense and exciting competition to come.
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