The Road To MSI: Playoff Pictures
So MSI is one of my favorite periods of the competitive League season. I remember the first MSI and actually attending, rooting with a group of AHQ fans, being disappointed in TSM, and so on. The year following, I put interest in to the IWCI and despite the expected outcome, it was an interesting viewing experience all around. Now this year, I have all reasoning to watch as much as I can, both major and minor regions. Odds are I won't, but I'll at least have an idea of what all is going on.
And that's where this post comes to creation. Some regions are about to start playoffs. Other regions have already finished. Even some who aren't even locked in. And for those regions underway or completely done, there's already some shake up in what even I was thinking.
So far, 4 teams are already locked in and will play in Round 1, which is basically the "IWCI" Stage:
RED Canids - CBLOL (BR) - 2nd Seed Reg.Season Defeated PaiN Gaming (3-1) and Keyd Stars (3-0) to qualify I've peeked in on this team from time to time and watched a few VODs. And honestly, if INTZ and Pain had some leverage of respect, then this team shows just as much potential to advance to Round 2 as their previous representatives. Things I have heard however was that the CBLOL was rather top heavy this split. I don't know how much score matters more than that of how the playoffs shaped out. Nonetheless, as always, Brazil is that region to watch when it comes to any international against non-major regions
Virtus Pro - LCL (CIS) - 3rd Seed Reg.Season Defeated M19 (3-2) and Vaevictis eSports (3-2) to qualify The Hard Random Era is finally over, as pre-split favorites M19 fell in the semi finals. Not only that, but the 1st Seed in Vega Squadron also fell in the same round, resulting in a new team being represented to compete for their region; probably the first shocker I had noticed before this weekend decided to add more to it. It's nice to see change, but if international events have told anything to the fans, it's that fresh international talent leave a whole lot of question marks and not a lot of trust in success. On a possible relevant note, there was an Aatrox pick in this finals. It didn't deliver like I had hoped.
Isurus Gaming - CLS (Lat.Am South) - 1st Seed Reg.Season Defeated Furious Gaming (3-0) to qualify Don't let the 1st seed fool you into strength of the team compared to the international setting. ISG is no stranger to international tournaments in the form of IWCI 2016. However they are strangers to actual success at that very tournament. The region's only other representatives in Kaos Latin Gamers have also shown similar failure constantly (and are at the bottom of the region's standings so we'll move on from that topic). They are not favorites as cruel as that sounds.
Rampage - LJL (Japan) - 2nd Seed Reg.Season Defeated Unsold Stuff Gaming (3-2) and Detonation FocusMe (3-0) to qualify Okay, I said Brazil felt top heavy. No. THIS REGION WAS TOP HEAVY! There may be 6 teams, but only 3 are actually contenders (you could look at the regular season score). And this time around, Rampage came out on top for the second split in a row. There's a bit of grievance I have with Japan; how they are capable of looking good but not necessarily pulling the best when it's expected of them. The edge that they will have at least is some international experience.
The remaining 4 teams to play in Round 1 will be decided over the coming weeks. So far:
OPL (Oceania) Finals: Dire Wolves (1st Seed) vs Legacy eSports (2nd Seed) That's right: a split without the Chiefs as the finalists...or winning for that matter. It's almost as much of a miracle as other very specific references I could make in other regions. It could be an Incredible Miracle! (No...). This leaves a good question though: could either of these teams do what Chiefs continued to fail at accomplishing?
TCL (Turkey) Finals: SuperMassive (1st Seed) vs Crew eSports Club (3rd Seed) Well honestly I was expecting Team AURORA to take the title this time around. I have been disappointed by their loss to Crew. We all probably know how this series will end and who will take the title. Watch I'll be wrong again.
LNN (Lat.Am North) Finals: Lyon Gaming (1st Seed) vs Just Toys Havoks (2nd Seed) Once again for who knows how many times now, Lyon is an absolute favorite to take the title and represent internationally once more. Having run over their entire scene and not suffered a single match loss (almost a perfect split - potentially THE perfect split), it's almost as figuratively scripted as the NA LCS. The only possible part that's needed to fit in is failing to meet standards internationally.
GPL (Southeast Asia) Playoffs: 6 Teams All of the GPL begins and ends this week. One team that will bring interest over the rest here is the GPL return of Mineski, competing for another chance to compete on the international stage.
And with all of that out of the way, we now go somewhat silly lightning round over the major regions which we should all really know or will know in due time. Starting.....
LCK (Korea) Playoffs: Final 4 (MVP, KT, SSG, SKT) With MVP's "upset?" win over Afreeca Freecs, they now go into the Mortal Kombat referencing ladder of death, where they will face KT Quan Chi to have the chance to face Shang TSunG to have the chance to face the best in Korea in the form of Shao Khan the Third. I overdid this. Do you think they can even pull that off or is SKT going to win everything in the end?
LMS (Taiwan) Playoffs: Final 4 (M17, JT, AHQ, FW) The regular season has ended and the clear tier ladder remains pretty much the same as past splits. M17 ultimately turned out to be the Dark Horse in the 3 way dance back from IEM Katowice to contest for the title. But it's probably already set to expect a Flash Wolves claim for the title. But in what world do they not take the title? Is it as simple as SKT's chances?
LPL (China)...uh... They're still in the Regular Season...all we actually know as of now is that 5 teams are in Playoffs and only RNG is seeded into a semifinal bye. As messy of a split it's been so far, I can say that it's refreshing to see OMG back in the contention for the title after splits of relegation and survival. The Reverse Exodus was truly a real thing wasn't it?
EU LCS Playoffs: Final 4 (FNC, MSF, G2, UOL) In the end of the day, Group A was the better group after all. But that's now beside the point. Honestly I can't play heads or tails as to who will be the best representative for MSI from this region. G2 and UOL are safe picks obviously. But given G2's trust, UOL's chaos, FNC's regular season, and MSF's recent download that Splyce somehow didn't take advantage of, I just can't pick to support!
NA LCS Playoffs: Final 4 (TSM, FLY, C9, P1) And this one just makes me want to join the hype that could be a different story for once! Chiefs lost! It's possible! Real talk though, kudos to FlyQuest. I was genuinely shocked that CLG literally pulled a Splyce; guess that's something to have in common. And frankly, it's for the best possible closer to the split to have the 4 all around best performing teams throwdown for the title. Can't wait for this weekend where my sleep schedule will be slightly screwed from NA, EU, and LPL content.
Okay okay...I can finally rest. 13 regions covered. All semi-serious. What has surprised you so far and what are you looking forward to in the end of all of this?
