LMQ: The Eight-Month Gambit
Riot·8/21/2014, 12:58:47 AM·1 votes·14,475 views
The story is ancient, but the setting is constantly changing. A team, risking everything, puts it all on the line for a shot at victory. If the plot sounds familiar, that’s because it is—no less than every single sporting movie from the 1990’s featured the same exact tale, from The Mighty Ducks to The Little Giants to Heavyweights. In the real world, however, fairytale endings don’t always exist. Just ask Quantic, who moved to North America last year for an LCS shot. Despite shining brightly in the Challenger circuit, their unfortunate loss sent them packing back to Korea, and complete team disbandment soon followed.
When Chinese team Royal Club Tian Ci - now known as LMQ - announced a similar plan, it was met with more than simple skepticism. Hadn’t they just watched Quantic fail? Why would they risk such a major investment on a move to a region where success would be far from guaranteed?
Rather than flopping, however, LMQ rose to the occasion, and as we now know, has put together one of the best rookie seasons in LCS history. Amongst other teams performing in their prime—the best that North America has to offer—LMQ managed to find success where many others had failed. This isn’t a 1990’s fairytale ending, but it sure as hell feels like one.
LMQ was initially known as Royal Club Tian Ci, B-team to the same Royal Club that took second place at last year’s World Championships. On the back of Tian Ci’s mediocre finishes in 2013, the team got a fresh start with a new sponsor, iBUYPOWER. Rebranding themselves as LMQ, they announced ambitious plans to move to North America and compete for a spot in the LCS.
Almost exactly one month later, on January 18, LMQ made their professional debut in the North American Challenger Series. It was an explosive start. Rumors of the team’s power proved to be an understatement - they won every single game.
In fact, it would take until March for a team to take a match point from LMQ. Their biggest rival turned out to be Cloud9’s Tempest, who took them to the final game in both the Challenger Series #2 finals and the Challenger Series Playoff finals. Close games weren’t enough to stop the Chinese powerhouse, and LMQ entered the LCS Summer Promotions as the team to avoid at all costs.
Spring’s last-place finisher, XDG, had the unfortunate luck of being matched against LMQ in the Promotions. The games weren’t even close. XDG only managed eight kills in the three games they had against LMQ, while LMQ ended with 42. That kind of victory did more than just guarantee them an LCS slot—it threw down a gauntlet that put everyone else in the LCS on watch.
Finally in the LCS, LMQ put their skills to the test. Despite a brilliant 4-0 start, a 0-2 followup paved the way to an up-and-down season that saw LMQ near the top, but never fully breaking away from the pack. The hot-and-cold behavior was echoed in the players themselves.
Mid laner XiaoWeiXiao, for example, began the season by earning Week 1 MVP with an 8.8 KDA over the four games. The following week, he only managed a 2.5. Then in Week 3, he blasted off with an outstanding 29.0 KDA in Week 3, then came crashing back down with a paltry 1.2. XiaoWeiXiao was clearly capable of carry his team to victory with overwhelming plays, but he also had clear weak moments. This trend within LMQ limited the team from really establishing themselves as the top team.
Luckily, between the five of them, they never completely threw away a week after their pair of defeats in Week 2. With other teams rising and falling, LMQ stepped up and slowly proved that they weren’t in the LCS from any fluke—LMQ was the real deal, and they were there to stay. Marksman Vasilii and top laner Ackerman, in particular, began showing flashes of brilliance equally as bright as their mid laner’s. It became clear as the end of the season loomed that this was a team with more than just the LCS in mind. With Worlds looming, LMQ began to execute the final step to their ambitious plot.
In Week 8, LMQ turned it up a notch. For four straight weeks, they had managed just a 50 percent win rate, staying tied at the top of the league, but climbing no further. With Team Solomid and Cloud9 beginning to show signs of revival, it became a now-or-never situation for the Chinese newcomers.
With five consecutive wins starting in Week 8, LMQ finally managed to create some space from the rest of the competition. The only team that would catch up to them was Cloud9, on the back of their own impressive winning streak.
LMQ is now poised to continue their run through the Regional Playoffs into Worlds. Armed with a bye, they are closer than ever to achieving their goals. Their eight-month gambit has finally paid off in full. With each week revealing an increasing consistency on their roster, they’re going into the Fall in the best shape they’ve ever shown.
Not So Humble Beginnings
LMQ was initially known as Royal Club Tian Ci, B-team to the same Royal Club that took second place at last year’s World Championships. On the back of Tian Ci’s mediocre finishes in 2013, the team got a fresh start with a new sponsor, iBUYPOWER. Rebranding themselves as LMQ, they announced ambitious plans to move to North America and compete for a spot in the LCS.
Almost exactly one month later, on January 18, LMQ made their professional debut in the North American Challenger Series. It was an explosive start. Rumors of the team’s power proved to be an understatement - they won every single game.
In fact, it would take until March for a team to take a match point from LMQ. Their biggest rival turned out to be Cloud9’s Tempest, who took them to the final game in both the Challenger Series #2 finals and the Challenger Series Playoff finals. Close games weren’t enough to stop the Chinese powerhouse, and LMQ entered the LCS Summer Promotions as the team to avoid at all costs.
Spring’s last-place finisher, XDG, had the unfortunate luck of being matched against LMQ in the Promotions. The games weren’t even close. XDG only managed eight kills in the three games they had against LMQ, while LMQ ended with 42. That kind of victory did more than just guarantee them an LCS slot—it threw down a gauntlet that put everyone else in the LCS on watch.
Hot and Cold
Finally in the LCS, LMQ put their skills to the test. Despite a brilliant 4-0 start, a 0-2 followup paved the way to an up-and-down season that saw LMQ near the top, but never fully breaking away from the pack. The hot-and-cold behavior was echoed in the players themselves.
Mid laner XiaoWeiXiao, for example, began the season by earning Week 1 MVP with an 8.8 KDA over the four games. The following week, he only managed a 2.5. Then in Week 3, he blasted off with an outstanding 29.0 KDA in Week 3, then came crashing back down with a paltry 1.2. XiaoWeiXiao was clearly capable of carry his team to victory with overwhelming plays, but he also had clear weak moments. This trend within LMQ limited the team from really establishing themselves as the top team.
Luckily, between the five of them, they never completely threw away a week after their pair of defeats in Week 2. With other teams rising and falling, LMQ stepped up and slowly proved that they weren’t in the LCS from any fluke—LMQ was the real deal, and they were there to stay. Marksman Vasilii and top laner Ackerman, in particular, began showing flashes of brilliance equally as bright as their mid laner’s. It became clear as the end of the season loomed that this was a team with more than just the LCS in mind. With Worlds looming, LMQ began to execute the final step to their ambitious plot.
Final Countdown
In Week 8, LMQ turned it up a notch. For four straight weeks, they had managed just a 50 percent win rate, staying tied at the top of the league, but climbing no further. With Team Solomid and Cloud9 beginning to show signs of revival, it became a now-or-never situation for the Chinese newcomers.
With five consecutive wins starting in Week 8, LMQ finally managed to create some space from the rest of the competition. The only team that would catch up to them was Cloud9, on the back of their own impressive winning streak.
LMQ is now poised to continue their run through the Regional Playoffs into Worlds. Armed with a bye, they are closer than ever to achieving their goals. Their eight-month gambit has finally paid off in full. With each week revealing an increasing consistency on their roster, they’re going into the Fall in the best shape they’ve ever shown.
