Millenium: From Worst to Worlds?
Riot·8/6/2014, 6:30:01 PM·0 votes·3,030 views
The 2014 Season has been one of extremes for Millenium. They were far and away the worst team in the European LCS during the Spring Split, but thanks to a 3-2 victory over the Ninjas in Pyjamas during the 2014 Summer Promotion Tournament, they earned another chance to test their mettle in the LCS. The Summer Split has admittedly been up-and-down for Millenium, but the team has been strengthened by their mistakes. They’re looking to take the next step on their road to redemption in a best-of-five series against SK Gaming in the 2014 European Regional Qualifiers.
Nocturne was the focal point of that edge for Kottenx during the Promotion Tournament. The Eternal Nightmare made a pair of victorious appearances against NiP. Kottenx utilized Paranoia, Nocturne’s ultimate ability, as an engage tool, and thanks to a rushed Randuin’s Omen, NiP could not get away. The display of confidence from Kottenx changed what had been a timid, disjointed team into a killing machine. The rest of the team followed him in every time he engaged, and MIL managed to upset the heavily favored Ninjas in Pyjamas thanks to their unified aggressiveness.
The most impressive part of Kerp’s play is that he didn’t have a single type of champion he excelled on. He played Ziggs, an AP mage, so well that it turned into a must-ban against him throughout the first few weeks of the split. Once teams began to ban Ziggs away, he brought out Fizz, an AP assassin, or the resurgent Twisted Fate that were both equally devastating. Even during MIL’s losses throughout the Summer Split, Kerp had solid showings.
The rest of the team’s statistics also show these aggressive tendencies. AD carry Jakub “Creaton” Grzegorzewski had the fourth most kills in the split, and both support Alexander “Jfree” Bergstrom and Kottenx were among the top five in assists over the entire split. While top laner Kevin “kev1n” Rubiszewski did not place as highly in either kills or assists, he is still recognized as one of the best top laners in Europe thanks to his abilities in lane, as well as a knack for making huge plays for his team.
The best-of-five series is a contrast in styles. SK Gaming is known for being weak in the early game, falling behind, but then mounting a comeback through superb strategic decision mistaking near objectives. They are adept at finding a weakness and exploiting it to power their comeback through contesting objectives and rotations.
In contras, Millenium are the aggressor. They love to kill, and that bloodlust has a major impact on everything from how they play, to how they build their team compositions. From a compositional standpoint, Millenium has found success in pick compositions, as well as teamfighting compositions which thrive on the chaos of a big fight to pull out victories. Early on, Kottenx loves to generate pressure all over the map, but this high-risk, high-reward system can lead to kills for his team - or his own death. No matter the outcome of the early pressure game, Millenium consistently looks for fights which has led to audacious 5v5 victories even when MIL is down multiple thousands of gold.
If they make it, though, their style could prove problematic for other parts of the world. Aggression on the order of what Millenium has knocks an opposing team off of their game, and forces them to play at a tempo they might not be comfortable with. Once Millenium has tempo control, their style leads to a snowball that few teams can turn aside.
Millenium’s road to the 2014 World Championship is long, but it begins with a best-of-five series against SK Gaming on Friday August 8th, 2014. No matter the outcome of the series, any game that Millenium plays will be sure to cover the Rift in blood.
Amped up Aggression
The catalyst for Millenium’s change came from a roster swap when the team brought Markus “Kottenx” Tingvall in to replace Alvar “Araneae” Martin in the jungle near the end of the 2014 LCS Spring Split. Kottenx gave Millenium an edge that they had lacked with Araneae and that was on display during the Spring Promotion Tournament.
Nocturne was the focal point of that edge for Kottenx during the Promotion Tournament. The Eternal Nightmare made a pair of victorious appearances against NiP. Kottenx utilized Paranoia, Nocturne’s ultimate ability, as an engage tool, and thanks to a rushed Randuin’s Omen, NiP could not get away. The display of confidence from Kottenx changed what had been a timid, disjointed team into a killing machine. The rest of the team followed him in every time he engaged, and MIL managed to upset the heavily favored Ninjas in Pyjamas thanks to their unified aggressiveness.
Aggression in the LCS
While Millenium had requalified for the LCS, the team still had to shake off the cloying scent of their 9-19 Spring Split. The best way for Millenium to do that was by securing more wins. The team banked on the aggression that they showed in the Promotion Tournament and it translated into a 13-15 record for the Summer Split as well as a No. 5 seed in the Regional Qualifier. Middle laner Adrian “Kerp” Wetekam was notably more aggressive from the start of the split, and that resulted in his having the third most kills overall in the EU LCS Summer Split.
The most impressive part of Kerp’s play is that he didn’t have a single type of champion he excelled on. He played Ziggs, an AP mage, so well that it turned into a must-ban against him throughout the first few weeks of the split. Once teams began to ban Ziggs away, he brought out Fizz, an AP assassin, or the resurgent Twisted Fate that were both equally devastating. Even during MIL’s losses throughout the Summer Split, Kerp had solid showings.
The rest of the team’s statistics also show these aggressive tendencies. AD carry Jakub “Creaton” Grzegorzewski had the fourth most kills in the split, and both support Alexander “Jfree” Bergstrom and Kottenx were among the top five in assists over the entire split. While top laner Kevin “kev1n” Rubiszewski did not place as highly in either kills or assists, he is still recognized as one of the best top laners in Europe thanks to his abilities in lane, as well as a knack for making huge plays for his team.
Aggression In the Regional Qualifiers
Millenium faces SK Gaming in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Friday, August 8th. The two teams split their four regular season games 2-2 with SK taking the fourth match during week 11’s Super Week.
The best-of-five series is a contrast in styles. SK Gaming is known for being weak in the early game, falling behind, but then mounting a comeback through superb strategic decision mistaking near objectives. They are adept at finding a weakness and exploiting it to power their comeback through contesting objectives and rotations.
In contras, Millenium are the aggressor. They love to kill, and that bloodlust has a major impact on everything from how they play, to how they build their team compositions. From a compositional standpoint, Millenium has found success in pick compositions, as well as teamfighting compositions which thrive on the chaos of a big fight to pull out victories. Early on, Kottenx loves to generate pressure all over the map, but this high-risk, high-reward system can lead to kills for his team - or his own death. No matter the outcome of the early pressure game, Millenium consistently looks for fights which has led to audacious 5v5 victories even when MIL is down multiple thousands of gold.
Millenium at the 2014 World Championship?
Millenium has a long way to go to qualify for 2014 World Championship. They must beat SK Gaming to move onto the semifinals, but then they have options. The most straightforward option is to beat Alliance and secure a spot in the finals. Even if Alliance does beat Millenium, they still have a chance to win the 3rd/4th game and lock themselves into Europe’s final 2014 World Championship berth.
If they make it, though, their style could prove problematic for other parts of the world. Aggression on the order of what Millenium has knocks an opposing team off of their game, and forces them to play at a tempo they might not be comfortable with. Once Millenium has tempo control, their style leads to a snowball that few teams can turn aside.
Millenium’s road to the 2014 World Championship is long, but it begins with a best-of-five series against SK Gaming on Friday August 8th, 2014. No matter the outcome of the series, any game that Millenium plays will be sure to cover the Rift in blood.
