One step closer: CBLoL 2015 Quarterfinals preview
Riot·3/12/2015, 10:34:05 PM·0 votes·3,862 views
There are three lonely weeks from the end of the regular CBLoL season before it returns, more glorious than ever, for the postseason Quarterfinals on March 21. Fans and pundits alike must find something to do with their newfound free time while teams begin their arduous Playoff preparation in CBLoL’s absence, and what better way to fill the void than speculating about the upcoming playoff matches?
As the far more experienced team, paiN should have the edge in their rematch with Dexterity, regardless of their regular season hiccups. They are a team with multiple carry threats in the aforementioned brTT, top laner Whesley “Leko” Holler, and mid laner Gabriel “Kami” Santos. While paiN is presumably a stronger team for having these options, they have excelled the most when placing the carry burden on brTT, basing their champion select around him. PaiN has also shone brightly while running “protect the AD carry” compositions, relying on brTT to become a late-game monster.
That being said, one can never count out Leko or Kami, particularly the latter who routinely dominates his opposition. Against Dexterity, it would be ideal for them to delay the laning phase, allowing their superior lanes to win while SirT provides both pressure and vision from the jungle.
Dexterity, while a more dynamic team overall, lacks both experience and mechanical skill compared to paiN. They cannot, and should not, be ruled out because of this though. Additionally, they recently announced that their former top laner Rafael “SoulSilver” Lanna would be returning to the team. SoulSilver left following their first week of competition, due to internal disagreements which the team stated have long since been resolved.
Regardless of who is in the top lane, it will be an uphill climb for the underdogs of Dexterity. They will need to rely once again on Piolho’s early pressure and supplement this with superior team coordination. Dexterity is also a fairly flexible team in champion select, and with the return of SoulSilver, his LeBlanc will likely draw one of paiN’s bans.
While it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Dexterity will take a game off of paiN, paiN’s experience should win out.
Their opponents are the infamous CNB e-Sports Club, with an entire new roster for this year’s CBLoL season. Like Black, they have a mixture of fresh and veteran talent, with all but AD carry Rodrigo “Kalec” Rodrigues lacking any professional experience prior to CBLoL 2015.
This sometimes makes their individual players prone to making small positioning errors that more experienced professionals would not make, and CNB can be punished for this in the laning phase. Additionally, while one of the first Brazilian professional players, Kalec had previously been coaching the team, and continues to reacquaint himself with playing the game after time off playing. Often falling 10 to 20 cs behind his lane opponents early, Kalec has come under fire for his mechanics. Coupled with the lack of experience from other individuals on the team, CNB’s flaws are apparent.
But if you thought that having obvious opportunity areas makes CNB weak, guess again.
The team is more than well aware of who they are, and every move they make in game leverages their strengths in comparison. Led by jungler Carlos “Nappon” Rucker, and support Willyan “Wos” Bonpam, CNB’s objective and vision control are fantastic, especially in the early game. By dictating the pace of the game, CNB makes their opponents come to them, choosing the best time and terrain. CNB’s playstyle is precise and proactive, with crisp map movements.
This is aided exponentially by their coach, former INTZ e-Sports jungler Thiago “Djokovic” Maia, who has had near-flawless drafts all season. From the get-go, CNB is a team that places themselves in the most advantageous position to win, as Djokovic consistently organizes compositions that are coordinated and comfortable for his specific players. Not to be outdone, KaBuM! Black coach Ednilson “Jukaah” Vargas, sports a strong draft as well, second only to Djokovic and CNB.
These teams are evenly matched, with both coming into the playoffs knowing their personal playstyles. Whichever team manages to execute their specific strategy better will emerge victorious. CNB will try to keep KaBuM! Black in check using their map control and game tempo, while Black will force favorable fights, relying on their teamfight positioning to carry them through the matchup.
The Quarterfinals begin on March 21, 2015, and will be broadcast in Portuguese on Riot Brazil’s Twitch channel. The winner of paiN Gaming and Dexterity will go on to face INTZ e-Sports Club, while the winner of CNB e-Sports and KaBuM! Black will meet Keyd Stars in the Semifinals. Who do you think is going to win each match? Let us know your thoughts below!
Photos courtesy of MyCNB.
paiN Gaming vs. Dexterity Team
The most surprising upset of the CBLoL round robin came in Week 6, when paiN Gaming lost to Dexterity Team. Relegated in most minds as a bottom-feeder, Dexterity managed to 2-0 a floundering JAYOB squad rife with internal issues in Week 5. Momentum from this victory accompanied the team into Week 6, where they split 1-1 against paiN Gaming, who should have been riding high from their own Week 5 victory against KaBuM! e-Sports Orange. In the upset, paiN looked lost, particularly Thúlio “SirT” Carlos, who was out-jungled by Dexterity’s Alexandre “Piolho” von Flach on Vi. PaiN also used this game to try out the “Ballista” bot lane combination popularized by North America’s Counter Logic Gaming, placing AD carry Felipe “brTT” Gonçalves and support Hugo “Dioud” Padioleau on Kalista and Blitzcrank respectively. The results were less than impressive. They pulled it together for their second match by picking a composition full of paiN comfort picks, but this lack of consistency from paiN is troubling, possibly speaking to a lack of team identity.
As the far more experienced team, paiN should have the edge in their rematch with Dexterity, regardless of their regular season hiccups. They are a team with multiple carry threats in the aforementioned brTT, top laner Whesley “Leko” Holler, and mid laner Gabriel “Kami” Santos. While paiN is presumably a stronger team for having these options, they have excelled the most when placing the carry burden on brTT, basing their champion select around him. PaiN has also shone brightly while running “protect the AD carry” compositions, relying on brTT to become a late-game monster.
That being said, one can never count out Leko or Kami, particularly the latter who routinely dominates his opposition. Against Dexterity, it would be ideal for them to delay the laning phase, allowing their superior lanes to win while SirT provides both pressure and vision from the jungle.
Dexterity, while a more dynamic team overall, lacks both experience and mechanical skill compared to paiN. They cannot, and should not, be ruled out because of this though. Additionally, they recently announced that their former top laner Rafael “SoulSilver” Lanna would be returning to the team. SoulSilver left following their first week of competition, due to internal disagreements which the team stated have long since been resolved.
Regardless of who is in the top lane, it will be an uphill climb for the underdogs of Dexterity. They will need to rely once again on Piolho’s early pressure and supplement this with superior team coordination. Dexterity is also a fairly flexible team in champion select, and with the return of SoulSilver, his LeBlanc will likely draw one of paiN’s bans.
While it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Dexterity will take a game off of paiN, paiN’s experience should win out.
CNB e-Sports Club versus KaBuM! e-Sports Black
Eeking into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth with a tiebreaker victory over sister team KaBuM! e-Sports Orange, KaBuM! e-Sports Black enters the Quarterfinals with a fair amount of momentum. KaBuM! Black is a scrappy team that loves to teamfight, excelling in both small early skirmishes and 5 vs 5 engages. When they choose their terrain wisely, they are nearly impossible to beat in a fight. Led by the stellar positioning of AD carry Pedro “Matsukaze” Gama, Black ensures that their primary damage dealers are set up for success through chained crowd control provided by veteran support Martin “Espeon” Gonçalves and mid laner Bruno “Goku” Miyaguchi. The former often roams, providing additional presence to jungler Daniel “Danagorn” Drummond, and the latter has shown timely usage of his necessary abilities, especially on Lissandra. While KaBuM! Black looks like one of the best teams in Brazil when they are on, they frequently find themselves off, and split the majority of their regular season sets. This indicates a lack of experience as well as an inability to play from behind, should their early game plans not pan out.
Their opponents are the infamous CNB e-Sports Club, with an entire new roster for this year’s CBLoL season. Like Black, they have a mixture of fresh and veteran talent, with all but AD carry Rodrigo “Kalec” Rodrigues lacking any professional experience prior to CBLoL 2015.
This sometimes makes their individual players prone to making small positioning errors that more experienced professionals would not make, and CNB can be punished for this in the laning phase. Additionally, while one of the first Brazilian professional players, Kalec had previously been coaching the team, and continues to reacquaint himself with playing the game after time off playing. Often falling 10 to 20 cs behind his lane opponents early, Kalec has come under fire for his mechanics. Coupled with the lack of experience from other individuals on the team, CNB’s flaws are apparent.
But if you thought that having obvious opportunity areas makes CNB weak, guess again.
The team is more than well aware of who they are, and every move they make in game leverages their strengths in comparison. Led by jungler Carlos “Nappon” Rucker, and support Willyan “Wos” Bonpam, CNB’s objective and vision control are fantastic, especially in the early game. By dictating the pace of the game, CNB makes their opponents come to them, choosing the best time and terrain. CNB’s playstyle is precise and proactive, with crisp map movements.
This is aided exponentially by their coach, former INTZ e-Sports jungler Thiago “Djokovic” Maia, who has had near-flawless drafts all season. From the get-go, CNB is a team that places themselves in the most advantageous position to win, as Djokovic consistently organizes compositions that are coordinated and comfortable for his specific players. Not to be outdone, KaBuM! Black coach Ednilson “Jukaah” Vargas, sports a strong draft as well, second only to Djokovic and CNB.
These teams are evenly matched, with both coming into the playoffs knowing their personal playstyles. Whichever team manages to execute their specific strategy better will emerge victorious. CNB will try to keep KaBuM! Black in check using their map control and game tempo, while Black will force favorable fights, relying on their teamfight positioning to carry them through the matchup.
The Quarterfinals begin on March 21, 2015, and will be broadcast in Portuguese on Riot Brazil’s Twitch channel. The winner of paiN Gaming and Dexterity will go on to face INTZ e-Sports Club, while the winner of CNB e-Sports and KaBuM! Black will meet Keyd Stars in the Semifinals. Who do you think is going to win each match? Let us know your thoughts below!
Photos courtesy of MyCNB.
