NA LCS Week 9 Preview
Riot·3/21/2014, 10:23:12 PM·0 votes·551 views
We've only got 3 weeks left in the Spring Split, and every team is getting prepared for the last push. There are looking at three tiers: Team SoloMid/Cloud 9, Counter Logic Gaming, and everybody else. At this point, Cloud 9 or TSM could lose all of their games and make the playoffs, but they have their eyes set on the No. 1 spot and All-Star 2014. All CLG has to do is not fall apart, in order to hold their playoff spot.
So that only leaves the race to avoid relegation; each of those teams has to fight for every win they can get.
First, Cop has been one of the most consistent NA Marksmen, with a 6.32 KDA ratio, behind only Sneaky and Wild Turtle, and owns the top CS, averaging 311 per game – nearly 30 more than the league average of 285. Imaqtpie has shown glimmers of greatness on Jinx (5-2), but remains 4-9 on every other ADC. He'll have to play at his best to keep Cop from serving as the bedrock of Curse's team.
Second, the laners for both teams have been hit-or-miss. It'll be on IwillDominate and Crumbzz to make plays or pick up the pieces.
It's hard to boil it down to just this game. Team Coast and Evil Geniuses are only one game apart, but that one game is the difference between relegation and a shot in the playoffs. They both play CLG and C9 this week, so if Coast manages to pick up a win in this game, it will help them secure the playoff spot. They're currently 0-3 against CLG, so look to see them come out hungry to avoid the clean sweep. For that to happen, Shiphtur is going to have to win mid, and Zion Spartan snowballing top wouldn't hurt.
XDG has to be hoping that Team Coast falters, because their only hope to avoid relegation is to pass both of Coast and Evil Geniuses. From here on out, they can't really afford to lose to any team that isn't Cloud 9 or TSM, and this is their first chance to prove themselves. It won't be an easy matchup, but XDG is running out of chances.
XDG stands for ex duris gloria, Latin for “glory out of hardship”. For XDG to live up to their name, Xmithie -- one of the top NA junglers last season – will need to play up to his potential. If he gets going, then Mancloud gets going, and their team gets a shot at their old glory. Otherwise, it's just more hardship.
For more information on the 2014 spring split, including schedules, team rosters, and brackets, check out lolesports.com. Be sure to tune into the stream on March 22nd at 12:00PM PDT for the start of Week 9 of the NA LCS.
Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman is a League of Legends mathcrafter turned esports journalist who spends his spare time staring at mountains of League of Legends data. Follow him @GentlemanGustaf on Twitter.
Team Curse vs Team Dignitas
When: Saturday, 3/22, 1:00 p.m. PST/22:00 CET This match might just be a preview of the playoffs. If Dignitas wins this game, they have a 2 game cushion against Curse. But if they lose, they enter the last 7 games of the season – one against each team – exactly even with Curse, but with a 0-3 head-to-head record for tiebreaking purposes. Two matchups will be especially important here.
First, Cop has been one of the most consistent NA Marksmen, with a 6.32 KDA ratio, behind only Sneaky and Wild Turtle, and owns the top CS, averaging 311 per game – nearly 30 more than the league average of 285. Imaqtpie has shown glimmers of greatness on Jinx (5-2), but remains 4-9 on every other ADC. He'll have to play at his best to keep Cop from serving as the bedrock of Curse's team.
Second, the laners for both teams have been hit-or-miss. It'll be on IwillDominate and Crumbzz to make plays or pick up the pieces.
Team Coast vs Team Counter Logic Gaming
When: Sunday, 3/23, 1:00 p.m. PST/22:00 CET
It's hard to boil it down to just this game. Team Coast and Evil Geniuses are only one game apart, but that one game is the difference between relegation and a shot in the playoffs. They both play CLG and C9 this week, so if Coast manages to pick up a win in this game, it will help them secure the playoff spot. They're currently 0-3 against CLG, so look to see them come out hungry to avoid the clean sweep. For that to happen, Shiphtur is going to have to win mid, and Zion Spartan snowballing top wouldn't hurt.
XDG Gaming vs Team Curse
When: Sunday, 3/23, 2:00 p.m. PST/22:00 CET
XDG has to be hoping that Team Coast falters, because their only hope to avoid relegation is to pass both of Coast and Evil Geniuses. From here on out, they can't really afford to lose to any team that isn't Cloud 9 or TSM, and this is their first chance to prove themselves. It won't be an easy matchup, but XDG is running out of chances.
XDG stands for ex duris gloria, Latin for “glory out of hardship”. For XDG to live up to their name, Xmithie -- one of the top NA junglers last season – will need to play up to his potential. If he gets going, then Mancloud gets going, and their team gets a shot at their old glory. Otherwise, it's just more hardship.
For more information on the 2014 spring split, including schedules, team rosters, and brackets, check out lolesports.com. Be sure to tune into the stream on March 22nd at 12:00PM PDT for the start of Week 9 of the NA LCS.
Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman is a League of Legends mathcrafter turned esports journalist who spends his spare time staring at mountains of League of Legends data. Follow him @GentlemanGustaf on Twitter.
