Altec and Gravity bring down CLG with killer comp
Counter Logic Gaming may have gotten the best of Gravity in Week 3, but not this weekend. We caught up with Gravity's AD carry Johnny "Altec" Ru to get the low-down on his team's dominant win against CLG.
Straight away, Altec concedes the game was not won due a flawless laning phase. "Doublelift and Aphromoo were playing really, really well. They're not afraid of anything," he says of CLG's bottom lane duo. "In LCS, a lot of players tend to play passively, but Doublelift and Aphromoo don't. So they can always come up with a lead or have an advantage in a 2v2. Personally, they played it really well and I was behind."
Instead, Altec said the secret to victory was in waiting for Gravity's beefy front line to scale up. CLG opted for a protect-the-Jinx composition, and even though they were able to get an early lead, it was only a matter of time before Gravity's unique team comp found some advantages. "If Sivir is behind it's okay, if the other laners are ahead. Because in team fights, Sivir just needs to be able to use her ultimate and poke," he says. "We had tanks with Orianna. So if the tanks got to Jinx, [CLG] would instantly lose, and that's exactly what we did," Altec says.
The AD carry explains how in practice this week, Gravity were surprised at the strength of Nautilus tops and Shen supports, and they thought they could make it work. "The Nautilus itself is super tanky. The damage is there, and you have engage," says Altec, also mentioning the insane map pressure Michael "Bunny FuFuu" Kurylo could bring on Shen once he got his ultimate. "With Shen and Nautilus, we have two front lines, and then you can pick any other champions. So as long as we had those two picks, we felt like we were going to do really well."
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He also says Gravity didn't expect to pick Orianna, but jungler Min-su "Move" Kang said it was their best option -- and they trusted him. In the end it worked out, as the clockwork ballerina further helped Gravity dance around Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng and the rest of CLG.
Winning big on Gravity
For Altec and Gravity, beating CLG was important. "It's definitely a big win because the last time we played them, we lost two minutes into the game because we screwed up," he says. The Playoffs implications are also important, and he's happy that another team near the top of the standings didn't take Gravity down 2-0.
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He also seems pleased with Gravity in general. "When I got relegated, I was really confident I could make it back. And luckily, Gravity picked me up, so I was really happy for that," he says, explaining how his respect for coach David "Cop" Roberson was one of the initial reasons he was interested in the team. He mentions how Cop gives him advice after matches, and because he admired Cop back when he playing, it makes it easier to listen to him. "I think right now, I'm like a better version of him. I think I at least play consistent, and I can also make plays as well."
He continues, "Here, everyone contributes and then we're super chill and relaxed. Overall, it's really fun for me!"
Today Gravity face Team SoloMid, who also got the best of them in Week 4. Will Gravity be able to pull off another upset? Let us know what you think, and tune in to Lolesports to find out what happens.
Leah Jackson is a web content editor at Lolesports. She loves Gnar! Feel free to follow her on Twitter @Leahbjackson.
