This Week in League - July 15, 2014
Riot·7/16/2014, 2:32:20 AM·0 votes·546 views
This week in League of Legends is chock full of marquee matchups all over the world. In Korea’s OGN Champions Summer tournament, the KT Rolster Arrows look to continue their march after an impressive group stage performance. Similarly, southeast Asia’s GPL playoffs are kicking off with the Taipei Assassins eyeing their third consecutive title. In North America and Europe, the playoffs loom large and LCS teams are in an all-out war over playoff position. In China’s LPL, each team begins another rotation through their opponents ahead of their playoffs.
NA LCS
Schedule Games begin at 12:00pm PDT Saturday and Sunday. Click here for a detailed schedule of games. Games to Watch Team SoloMid vs LMQ - Saturday, July 19th - 2:00 pm PDT / 11:00 pm CEST The LCS’s old guard, Team SoloMid, look to take down the No. 1 LMQ in a match with playoff implications. LMQ vs Counter Logic Gaming - Sunday, July 20th - 2:00 pm PDT / 11:00 CEST The two teams deadlocked at the top of the NA LCS battle it out. LMQ leads the series 2-1, but will need another win to gain some distance on the rest of the field. Stories Around the League Five teams within two games of first - There’s a battle of EU LCS proportions at the top of the NA LCS standings, a trend that has kept up for several weeks. An 0-2 week from LMQ or CLG would drop them from first to fifth. Conversely, should Cloud9 and or Team Dignitas come up with a pair of wins in week 9, they’ll be perilously close to top of the league. CompLexity on the Way Up - CompLexity looks to be rapidly improving behind Kez and their star Westrice, and recently won the longest LCS game of all time. Can they keep up the pace?
EU LCS
Schedule Games begin at 8:00am PDT Thursday and Friday. Click here for a detailed schedule of games Games to Watch SK Gaming vs Millenium - Thursday, July 17th - 12:00 pm PDT / 9:00 pm CEST A faltering SK Gaming looks to get back on track against a streaky Millenium team. Supa Hot Crew vs Alliance - Friday, July 18th - 11:00 am PDT / 8:00 pm CEST Alliance has lost its last four games to drop the team from dominating to scrapping for first. They’ll battle a Supa Hot squad looking to get into that same first place scrap. Stories Around the League Streaks and Slumps - Fnatic, Supa Hot Crew and Roccat are all trending upwards, while Alliance and SK Gaming seem to have forgotten how to win. Can Alliance and SK turn it around? Araneae: A new chapter - Fnatic has won six games in a row, and shaken up the EU LCS standings. New coach/analyst Araneae has come in and helped the team pull off their streak. Read how he transformed his team and his career.
Korea’s OGN Champions Summer
Schedule Games begin at 3:00am PDT Wednesday and Friday. Click here for a detailed schedule of games. Games to Watch KT Rolster Arrows vs NaJin White Shield - Wednesday, July 16th - 3:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm CEST Fresh off a dominating run through Group D, the KT Rolster Arrows look to take out the OGN Champions Spring finalist, NaJin White Shield, in a best-of-five NaJin Black Sword vs SK Telecom T1 S - Friday, July 18th - 3:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm CEST SK Telecom T1 S’s current roster make their playoff debut against surprising No. 1 seed and “Kings of NLB" NaJin Black Sword. Stories Around the League Korea dominates the top of power rankings - Korean teams dominate the Lolesports power rankings with 8 of the top 10. The pair of matches this week feature No. 12 (SK Telecom T1 S) taking on No. 6 (NaJin Black Sword) as well as No. 4 (KT Rolster Arrows) battling No. 5 (NaJin White Shield). Selling the farm: Xenics Storm - Xenics Storm has been one of the largest talent factories in Korea. Take a look at their history, and how far former Xenics Storm players are spread throughout other OGN teams.
China’s LPL
Schedule Games begin at 1:00am PDT Friday and Saturday. Click here for a detailed schedule of games. Games to Watch OMG vs Edward Gaming - Friday, July 18th - 4:00 am PDT / 1:00 pm CEST The two teams at the top of the LPL lock horns for their second series. They split their first series 1-1 over a month ago. LGD Gaming vs Star Horn Royal Club - Saturday, July 19th - 1:00 am PDT / 10:00 am CEST Following a pair of series sweeps to Team WE and Edward Gaming, LGD Gaming looks to get back to winning by playing a Star Horn Royal Club team that they split with in Week 1. Stories Around the League Three-way fight for first - OMG holds a slim edge over both Edward Gaming and Team WE in the fight for first place in the LPL. With OMG matching up against Edward Gaming this coming week, changes could be coming at the top. The jungle crossover - The influx of Korean talent, particularly in the jungle position, to the LPL has evolved the scene. Who came over, and how have they affected their new teams?
