Clg vs Imt

woodvsmurph·Aug 27, 2017·1 votes·597 views

Wow - who would have predicted a 3-0 win by IMT? Who would have predicted that without even a shred of doubt? Definitely not me. I know clg looked shaky in their quarter finals, but then you also have the potential for all of imt's early playoff exits hanging over their heads too. Clg looked really good in a few moments within the series, but overall, imt just had a new level of confidence and kept their heads level and focused on the bigger objective.

So, I think my favorite thing in this series which I try to copy in solo queue (gold mechanics and gold teammates who scoff at making "pro decisions and shotcalling at this elo? lol") is the macro play. Multiple fights you would see Oleh or Xmithie or Flame go back in with next to no health after their team had already won the fight. But unlike many solo queue games, they had good reason. They weren't merely overextending to chase one more kill; they were going for THE kill. The one that would ensure their team aced clg at the cost of only Oleh's life. The one that would give them a 3v1 advantage to push down a tower or do a baron after the fight and do so uncontested. Even at the pro level so often teams either don't commit to chasing and securing that extra advantage (at the cost of 1 teammate's life) that let's them push the extra objective. Or they overcommit for that last kill... trading 2 back or failing to get an objective off the back of a won teamfight. Imt didn't fall into that trap this seriese. And they looked so good because of it.

And did you guys notice the casters talk about Xmithie? How he taught/explained the logic behind WHY each step was done to Oleh for various plays? So often people in solo queue do this or that play, buy this or that item, and never truly understand the purpose for what they are doing. Or they see someone deviate from "THE BUILD"... as if there's only one optimal build for a champion in every scenario. And then someone who's never played said champion roasts a player who mains that champ because their build isn't "THE BUILD" - never considering the different build might actually be better for the given scenario or that the champ is being played for a different role. Anyways, I just thought it was really cool to learn just how much detail Xmithie looks at the game with.

I know many people want Oleh to win mvp or Bjerg or Jensen, but I truly think Xmithie deserves it. He made so much impact on Imt when he joined the team and much of it isn't visible in stats, his kda, or the traditional sense. He gave POB confidence and got him to play much more calculatedly aggressive. Instead of playing uncalculatedly agro or overly passive/scared to punish enemy mistakes. It seems like Flame stepped up his game even though Xmithie helps him out less than most of the others, and you still do get a game every so often where they just duo smash toplane and carry the game from there. Botlane - Xmithie clearly helped Oleh understand the thought process behind making plays and all the setup that goes into them better than he already understood. And they have also shown growth from spring to summer. And Xmithie himself has played better - probably in part due to a largely tank jungle meta, but also because his team is playing around him. They have his back and don't force him to suicide to save them from overextending in a 1v1 or 2v2. They don't let the enemy go unpunished and unannounced 3v1 invade his jungle repeatedly. If you look at what the team would be without one player on the roster to decide mvp, Xmithie competes with or beats any of them. And yet this team is entirely a TEAM. It's not one person doing it all. It's 5 players working as one. Isn't that Clg's calling card by the way? So as of semi-finals summer 2017, we can say Imt out-Clg'd Clg?...

Here's wishing the best to IMT in the finals and hopefully at worlds too. And Clg too. Too much respect for Huhi and his solid play and odd but much larger effective champion pool to not want them going to worlds as well.

Also, maybe a solo queue player or two will truly grasp the meaning of this series and take it to heart. Leveling up your game and winning doesn't always mean better team comp or better mechanics than your opponent. You can win by out-thinking them too. Smart engages, smart re-engages/chasing to secure extra kill(s), smart decisions not to chase or overreach, etc. Just because you aren't lcs doesn't mean you can't do these decisions too. If it's a good decision, it doesn't matter if you are bronze, gold, or plat or anywhere in between; good decision-making and shotcalling can make the difference in the game and is nothing to make fun of.

10 Comments

GeminiRuneAug 27, 20171 votes

I'll commend you for the well thought analysis on the series. I was personally trying to pick apart the match myself. Honestly, a 3-0 was possible given the momentum CLG had going into the match along with the regular season standings between the two teams. But I really did see it more in the light of IMT was just outright better in their team cohesion; understandable given CLG's recent changes. Most fans will see the loss as a finger pointing, "who's not pulling weight" situation. The common target being Omargod and his limited stage time for a rookie in playoffs compared to like playoff rookie in Cody Sun. Time and adaptation are two heavily impacting situations that resulted in CLG's struggle. But it's not necessarily the worst thing among summer playoffs. Teams like UOL, J-Team, SSG, WE and OMG; each of them had swinging momentum lingering into playoffs and tripped at the stretch that mattered the most. In fact, JT is out of Worlds contention already with their loss to Hong Kong Attitude! Teams do struggle but I do think while CLG is in a diamond rough's chance of reaching Worlds, they should not let the series or criticism burden them.

Flip the coin to IMT. I am in a mode where I can honestly expect them winning the split if they keep this form up. From IEM Gyeonggi to now, this is a completely different team. I remember saying back then that the team had promise but just not in the Spring Split. Gave them more time and a player trade and all of a sudden they rise to the occasion. Flame's steadiness, Xmithie's choice of itemization, Pob's potential to carry, Cody's opt in to fight, and Olleh just being that damn annoying roaming support you would never expect somewhere else that isn't bot lane. Solo Q games cannot imitate half of that kind of stuff and actually understand how it serves as beneficial.

Tunneling in on Xmithie though, who definitely caught my attention with a Stoneborn Ardent combo from the jungle. I like when players adapt in a different way that satisfy the rest of their team. It's something I tend to practice in ARAM games frequently; my team is consisting of 4 efficient carries - let me add some utility and be a body block so we're not 5 glass cannons. One of my most prominent examples is running Tank Eve with Stoneborn combined with Rylais and other shielding tools. When it comes to SR, I will change my strategy when it matters as JG, Bot, and Support. It's like I never lock my Runes and Masteries and with it my choice of itemization. It always changes on how the direction of the game goes. And that's what I feel Xmithie did loosely; he had an idea before the game and it just felt capable of pulling off. In regular play that can be a tilter, but why are you focusing on others so sharply if it's not something like 5 tears and mobis?

Just my thoughts on the series. Here's to a good closeout to playoffs cause this Summer's already been exciting around the world so far.

ChompyWulfAug 27, 20171 votes

Credit to Omargod, in Game 3 he stepped up and set his team up with great plays to secure kills for them. Likewise, Aphromoo was pretty solid in playmaking, but nearly every time Olleh was waiting to counter it and prevent easy plays. The way I see it, Darshan, Huhi, and Stixxay were never up to the task of beating their IMT counterpart and the carries were shackles on the CLG play makers.

BigBellBruteAug 27, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Credit to Omargod, in Game 3 he stepped up and set his team up with great plays to secure kills for them. Likewise, Aphromoo was pretty solid in playmaking, but nearly every time Olleh was waiting to counter it and prevent easy plays. The way I see it, Darshan, Huhi, and Stixxay were never up to the task of beating their IMT counterpart and the carries were shackles on the CLG play makers.

I really didn't like CLG's drafting. First game Xayah and Rakan. IMt takes Kog Ali. Ok that did fine but Kog was able to scale up, Pobelter went off with the snake and you lose.

Second game. Xayah and Rakan again. Well ok. you lost but the duo did pretty well in the first game so I'm not a fan of it but I can see why they might take it again. IMT again takes Ali Kog. This time Cody dumpsters you and Pobelter again on the snake goes off again.

Third game what do you do? PICK SOMETHING ELSE!!! But no. Xayah and Rakan again. This time they banned out Ali in second ban. But Olleh just plays kench and has em covered again.

When you've picked something and you've lost twice, it's safe to assume the other team has that covered and to try something else. I know they banned out Ali, but if they have that duo covered with an Ali and you have to let Kench through in order to ban out ali uh you're stymied. Morg was let through too. But IMt chose Kench. He pretty much just eats and stops those Rakan initiations cold. That flash into the knock up and then eating Pobelter was brilliant. HAHA. It better be on the penta this week.

woodvsmurphAug 29, 20171 votes

Yeah in my opinion, xayah and rakan aren't really top tier until late game. Rakan can make some nice roams and engages for the team if they have followup hard cc, but xayah really needs several items to compete with the top tier adc's in terms of dps. And this is the problem.

woodvsmurphAug 29, 20171 votes

As for continuing to play the same botlane, this is one of the reasons I don't consider Aphro the best support in NA even before this season. He gets it in his mind he can play anything he wants and make it work because he's Aphromoo. Sometimes he does create a new meta, and sometimes he's just stubborn and playing what he wants and not what the team needs. I don't know if staying on same botlane was his call in this case, but it has been before. Like when his team just needed a tank and he'd play janna cuz he thought shield supports were op or vice versa. Sure the champ might be op on that patch, but if you just need someone to lock down the enemy team for your 4 squishy carries, you need an engage tank support - not a janna - no matter how op she is. Saw this stuff last season and it just tilted me. Then again in spring split we saw stuff like that or just poor decision making and Xmithie would have to go and save them at cost of his life. Then he'd get 3 man jumped in his jungle with no warning and no backup. And it was all blamed on Xmithie - they'd claim he couldn't play a carry jungler. Lol. If you have to suicide to save bot multiple times and get half your jungle stolen while team never has your back, you can't play a carry jungler true - but it has nothing to do with your skill. Obviously that's not what happened every game in spring, but it definitely did happen several times. Anyway, I'm running down a rabbit hole, so I'm going to stop typing.

woodvsmurphAug 29, 20171 votes

I still have 100% faith clg can run the gauntlet if they play their best. Dig, C9, Fly should not be a problem. And it was a team effort for the series - not any one player ruining it completely for clg.

Game 1, clg kept taking fights instead of stalling and trading objectives until their carries could power up and jax could split push to victory.

Game 2 we see how sej is just a better jungler due to the cc she has. Too easy to combine her cc abilities for how impactful they are compared to other junglers.

Game 3 imt had the better tank killers as well as their tanks having more of a threat to the enemy backline. And like BigBellBrute said, Olleh just kept saving them at next-to-dead hp.

ChompyWulfAug 29, 20171 votes

I think the major challenge in front of CLG is DIG, and vice versa. C9 and FLY each are a mess. The danger is that CLG's bot duo is looking shaky while the DIG duo has been hearing up.

Miror BAug 30, 20171 votes

While I'd normally agree, you kinda have to think that C9 is going to be going into this gauntlet massively prepared. I can see a C9/CLG series going to the max number of games with C9 potentially getting a 3-0 or 3-1 if all of the laners play at their fullest as 2016 impact was equal to if not > than 2017 darshan, contractz faaar > omar, jensen faaaar > huhi, and sneaks/smoothie > stixx/aphroblack.

ChompyWulfAug 30, 20171 votes

Except Impact hasn't looked to be anywhere near that level all split. I doubt it magically appears in the Qualifier, Sneaky and Smoothie might click, or at least will out perform CLG if they repeat the stupid buttfukkery of taking the same duo EVERY MATCH. If not, it will be close.

I expect C9 wins from mid and Contractz dragging S&S to a lead in bot. Darshan and Omar will make Impact miserable, but that won't be enough in the late game.

woodvsmurphAug 31, 20171 votes

Yeah they should be the only real threat; however, I wouldn't be surprised if c9 marshalls the troops and looks a lot better for the gauntlet. As for clg's bot lane looking shaky, I think it's more their draft. Xayah and Rakan aren't going to bully most bot lanes and only really come online at 4+ items. Which means other carries and leads in other lanes can just win the game before those 2 can make the same impact as their opponent bot lane and carry the game. Sure they have good damage to squishies and are fairly safe, but Xayah isn't killing tanks the way a kog or twitch can without 4 items. And if your frontline dies first, it doesn't matter that you are a safer adc - you can't contest the objective. Moral of the story - don't pick xayah rakan duo bot unless the enemy also has an adc that struggles to kill enemy tanks early/mid game.