C9 Top Lane Turbulence

TurnDaBeatAround·Jul 10, 2017·5 votes·837 views

After watching Reapered's short-throated explanation of his feelings on Impact and how he is managing the top lane situation, it was incredibly evident that Reapered is avoiding making a choice, and that avoidance is costing this team matches. He intimated in the interview that he has emotional ties to Impact, that it's been tough on him to see Impact struggle, and that this is the lowest point in Impact's career. However, he stressed that there's only "upward to go."

Except that's a false premise. Impact can continue to struggle. Or just keep playing worse. The assumption that things will just "improve because they have to" is hurting this team.

They have a top-laner in Ray, who needs the opportunity to fully develop and own the role of C9 top-laner. He needs to be getting all the repetitions, and this team needs to commit to its roster for multiple splits so it can develop the type of synergy that is forming on CLG. Ray is in fact a good top-laner, but you cannot expect consistent performance from him when he has to look over his shoulder game in and game out, where losing one game may cost him his seat for two. They are WAY WAY WAY more talented than their record shows, but the inconsistency and lack of execution and discipline comes straight from the top - coaching. Contractz hovering top lane right now is a complete waste - he should be more focused on building advantages in mid so Sneaky/Smoothie can do their job, not babysitting an inconsistent lane that, even when its winning, costs more to achieve that than it gains for team positioning.

Let's put it this way - either C9 commits to Ray, rallies around him, builds him up, and stops flirting with Impact, or Reapered may face a sickle of his own at the end of this split.

10 Comments

warpenguin555Jul 10, 20172 votes

Neither one of them is consistent right now. Reapered can't make a good call right now because they are both kinda sucking

ChompyWulfJul 12, 20172 votes

Going to echo others comments. Ray has had good games and bad games. Impact has had good games and bad games. So who to start? The veteran player with a world championship who is having some of his worst play in years, or the inconsistent newer player who nobody knows what his upper limit is, and if he is even capable of consistently high level play? It's not as simple as you claim. Furthermore, not just their top laners, but Contractz and their bot duo had rocky starts to the split as well.

TurnDaBeatAroundJul 13, 20171 votes

I did not claim it was simple. But I do claim and stand by that decisiveness IS simple - it's a value and a principle of leadership. As General Patton once said "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite time in the future." My thesis is that the position of indecisiveness is miring this team's performance; the panacea to this is a clear decision. They brought Ray on for a reason, and so either they need to commit to that decision, or they need to commit to Impact. I think capturing Impact's potential is akin to catching a falling knife, hence my position on a plan of action.

People on a team need, and I mean NEED the confidence of the other member's of that team to do their best work. That situation is not one that inspires that confidence - all parties involved, from Impact and Ray to the other team members, deserve more respect than this situation allows. And again, I am going back to Reapered on this as being chiefly responsible for this mess - he needs to show decisive leadership or he might as well hang up his coaching career. 6-4 and 3-3 with this caliber of talent is not an acceptable level of performance.

ChompyWulfJul 13, 20171 votes

Planning for war and deciding on one player position is not really the same, especially when both players have been given opportunities and neither has played well enough to expel any doubt and take sole claim. In a way, because both have played and had good and bad games, it keeps opponents a bit off balance than if they commit to just one.

The question and struggles of top lane should not so vastly impact the team, but they have allowed it to. Sneaky and Smoothie have had some ugly games. Contractz was pretty shaky. Only Jensen was shining and he wasn't leaving lane. The problem isn't one players performance, especially given that Top Lane is usually an island of solo play to prep for later teamfights. The problem has been an uncharacteristic lack of teamwork from the parts of C9 that should be able to work together and carry leads into mid and late game when neither Impact or Ray must have godly games for their team to take a win.

MrHaZeYoJul 10, 20171 votes

I mean Impact wasn't great last Summer split then turned it on in the play-offs.

RaiyzaJul 10, 20171 votes

It's funny how Impact carried C9 last year and now he barely plays.

III BAKURYU III Jul 10, 20171 votes

Kinda agree with Warpenguin555, both Impact and Ray are to quote " Kinda sucking" it's true. At the start of the split Ray started and I was asking myself "why" especially starting off against CLG and TSM in week 1, the next thing was what was Impact doing in Korea when LCS started? C9 can't make a confident decision for who to start Impact or Ray because both have given same amount of consistent or lack of consistency in their games.
Ray has a very "Huni" style to him, he can carry harder if ahead more so than Impact but Impact is more solid and people/fans/players etc know what they will get from Impact once he's ahead.... a more balanced player than Ray who's more 100% offense - 0 defense, while Impact is more 60-40 in those categories. As for Reapered and C9's ability to let him go, I personally think it would be a bad decision on their part if they do, C9 with Reapered have felt better not since C9's 2014 splits have they actually felt and looked as good as they have been since.

xJLx MCHammerJul 10, 20171 votes

Ray is bad too Impact is still better. His shotcalling is fine

It just seem it's not his meta

TurnDaBeatAroundJul 11, 20171 votes

We can go back and forth on Ray vs Impact, but is there agreement that the "split time" is hurting Cloud 9's ability for everyone else to play consistently?