North American Challenger Series 2: The Final Fight
Riot·3/29/2014, 7:09:58 PM·0 votes·827 views
As dynamic as it always has been, the second split of the North American Challenger Series has seen tons of fresh faces as well as veterans. We’ve seen everything from hyper aggressive early game compositions to turtle until late game turnarounds, and it’s been incredible watching the teams grow and evolve. Without further adieu, here’s our preview of the finale of the North American Challenger Series!
The Third Place Grudge Match
The Third Place Grudge Match
vVv Gaming vs. Curse Academy
Both teams in the third place match have had a pretty decent run so far in both the NA CS and NACL which was occurring at the same time.
vVv Gaming (9-13 in NACL) has had a pretty tumultuous run though, ranging from huge upsets against teams like compLexity.Black and Team 8 to losses that should never have happened. The team has a ton of potential, but they don’t execute fights as well as they should. Whether it’s communication or a lack of synergy, they haven’t fully been able to reach the top-tier status that their team should be at. With all the talent they have packed away, they’ll either go down in a blaze of glory or prove they have what it takes to knock an LCS team out.
Curse Academy (14-8 in NACL) has grown and evolved incredibly over the past two series. Going from mediocre to one of the three top teams in a matter of weeks can be accredited in part to Zekent’s arrival within the team. Bringing that knowledge and experience to the team helped them grow immensely and their strategies have evolved as well. They’re one of the top teams in the NA CS, and one of the few who can bring a decent fight to the reigning champs LMQ. They still have hiccups and kinks to work out like most challenger teams, but they’re definitely on the rise and a team to watch out for!
The Top Dogs
LMQ vs. Cloud 9 Tempest
There isn’t much more we can say about LMQ. They’re just the greatest team in the Challenger Series at the moment by a fairly wide margin. They dominated their closest competition (Team 8) in NACL this week after toppling them with a 3:1 best of five. They’re in top form, but they have had some hiccups. They’re not entirely infallible but it’ll take Cloud 9 Tempest playing their heart out combined with a bit of luck to topple the monster that is LMQ.
It’s even too difficult to single out a player as being exceptional on LMQ, they’re ALL insanely skilled and mechanically sound. They’ve already secured first place regardless of the outcome of the game, so if you are the LCS team being relegated against LMQ, you need to fear for your career.
Cloud 9 Tempest has a tough road ahead of them. They’ve been one of the favorites in the NA CS, but they are just not living up to their potential. With a bye in the last round, we haven’t seen a lot of play in the series from them, but it’s impossible that they’ve worked out all the kinks in such a short amount of time. Two of the biggest pain points are champion pools and communication errors. Players like Yazuki are even limited to single champions, like Shyvana. There’s still a possibility of an upset, but it honestly looks grim for Cloud 9 Tempest right now.
Be sure to check out the finale of the NA CS this weekend on March 28th and 29th. The relegation matches will be held in between the All Star Break! Stay tuned to Lolesports for an announcement of the dates and teams participating!
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Both teams in the third place match have had a pretty decent run so far in both the NA CS and NACL which was occurring at the same time.
vVv Gaming (9-13 in NACL) has had a pretty tumultuous run though, ranging from huge upsets against teams like compLexity.Black and Team 8 to losses that should never have happened. The team has a ton of potential, but they don’t execute fights as well as they should. Whether it’s communication or a lack of synergy, they haven’t fully been able to reach the top-tier status that their team should be at. With all the talent they have packed away, they’ll either go down in a blaze of glory or prove they have what it takes to knock an LCS team out.
Curse Academy (14-8 in NACL) has grown and evolved incredibly over the past two series. Going from mediocre to one of the three top teams in a matter of weeks can be accredited in part to Zekent’s arrival within the team. Bringing that knowledge and experience to the team helped them grow immensely and their strategies have evolved as well. They’re one of the top teams in the NA CS, and one of the few who can bring a decent fight to the reigning champs LMQ. They still have hiccups and kinks to work out like most challenger teams, but they’re definitely on the rise and a team to watch out for!
The Top Dogs
LMQ vs. Cloud 9 Tempest
There isn’t much more we can say about LMQ. They’re just the greatest team in the Challenger Series at the moment by a fairly wide margin. They dominated their closest competition (Team 8) in NACL this week after toppling them with a 3:1 best of five. They’re in top form, but they have had some hiccups. They’re not entirely infallible but it’ll take Cloud 9 Tempest playing their heart out combined with a bit of luck to topple the monster that is LMQ.
It’s even too difficult to single out a player as being exceptional on LMQ, they’re ALL insanely skilled and mechanically sound. They’ve already secured first place regardless of the outcome of the game, so if you are the LCS team being relegated against LMQ, you need to fear for your career.
Cloud 9 Tempest has a tough road ahead of them. They’ve been one of the favorites in the NA CS, but they are just not living up to their potential. With a bye in the last round, we haven’t seen a lot of play in the series from them, but it’s impossible that they’ve worked out all the kinks in such a short amount of time. Two of the biggest pain points are champion pools and communication errors. Players like Yazuki are even limited to single champions, like Shyvana. There’s still a possibility of an upset, but it honestly looks grim for Cloud 9 Tempest right now.
Be sure to check out the finale of the NA CS this weekend on March 28th and 29th. The relegation matches will be held in between the All Star Break! Stay tuned to Lolesports for an announcement of the dates and teams participating!
so that LMQ will win