Best/Worst: Week 1 - That Smeb ult and International Wildcards
The 2016 World Championship kicked off on the right foot, which then missed and smacked all of our shins as upsets and surprises popped up all over.
If you missed any of the action, these are some of the best and worst things to have come from the first weekend. And, also, you should do your best to catch up on the VODs so your friends won’t go, “What! I can’t believe you missed it!” or whatever it is they say in disbelief. I get it, though. Sometimes life comes up. I get it. And I got you. This is what you missed:
Best: This Smeb ult
Or as I prefer to call him -- Lolesports’ Worlds 2016 Top 20 No. 1 ranked player, Smeb. Talk about a shameless Acer-sponsored plug! This 4-man Kennen ultimate secured a comeback win for the ROX Tigers. They trailed significantly throughout the game but managed to hang in there thanks to Lolesports’ Worlds 2016 Top 20 No. 5 ranked player, Peanut (I hope you’re as ready for hyperlinks as I am) stealing Baron. This Smeb ult was the proverbial every-nail-in-the-coffin. It’s an early contender for Play of the Tournament (do we even do this?).
Worst: Europe
Alright, it’s not as bad as 0-10, so at least there’s that.
But it’s still 1-8, so there’s that, too. Some of the losses have been heartbreaking -- see G2 Esports vs. ROX Tigers and Splyce vs. TSM for a couple examples. But their sole win was also a comeback, so maybe it goes both ways. Europe entered this tournament with hopes of redeeming their performance (or lack thereof) from MSI 2016. What’s happened instead is they’re being outclassed when it comes to macro play. They’re being out drafted.
And it sucks to see. It’s a region that has historically done very well on the international stage -- and G2 in particular is a better version of the OG squad that made the Semifinals last year. They’ve got some soul searching to do if they want to flip the narrative next week.
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Best: Cloud9 vs. Flash Wolves
You learn a lot about a person based on whether they liked this game or didn’t like it. In fact, this should be a mandatory question the judge asks before handing you your marriage license. And let me say firmly that I loved this game.
Not because it displayed the kind of League of Legends that got these teams here. And not because it was action packed. But precisely because it was neither of those things. Throughout the game, ultimates were shot and whiffed. The teams slapped wet noodles against each other before returning to the fountain to slap cute little animal band-aids on their wounds. And while it was a massive comeback -- FW had all three of C9’s inhibitors down at one point -- it didn’t, for some reason, feel like a comeback.
Cloud9 was like that Solo Queue Blitzcrank that misses every single hook in the game. He misses them so bad the minions stop attacking him -- they listen to his problems and bake him desserts. You start to wonder if things are going well in his life. And then -- at the last possible moment -- he hooks the enemy carry, and that let’s you ace them right into a win. And just as the Nexus falls, he flashes his level 7 mastery emote. That’s what this game felt like. And I love that Blitzcrank player.
Worst: Aurelion Sol bug
After what we saw it do on the last day -- from Counter Logic Gaming’s Huhi’s brilliant overall play to the giant death star (literally) from FW Maple -- it’s a shame it was disabled on the first couple of days. Unless Bjergsen finds another bug, though, it’ll prove to be a huge pick going into Week 2. Bjergsen pls… (but, also, really -- Rito pls… -- wait, that’s us…)
Best: Albus NoX Luna
ANX finished the first week of Group Stage tied for first (with like ten other teams but whatever)! They matched paiN Gaming’s two wins from last year for most ever for an International Wildcard and we’re only done with half the games. Aside from their play, they gained a lot of fans thanks to their surefire confidence in some candid interviews. And they did it with flair -- in their victory of G2, we saw Brand and Anivia. They gave us the song of ice and fire and forced G2 into the role of the Starks.
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Worst: Pick’em brackets
Look, I get it. There’s a couple of you out there who face-rolled your way to a good bracket so far. The rest of us didn’t expect G2 to go 0-3. But you also probably play a Zoolock deck. What I’m saying is this week threw major stones into most predictions and expectations.
Best: These memes
Meme <- this one
Worst: Korea's reputation
Okay, so, all of the Korean teams are 2-1 and look good. They’re tied with North America for the best cumulative record at Worlds. Their wins have been convincing. They'll probably still come out as favorites. So what’s the caveat?
They’re tied with North America for the best cumulative record at Worlds. This isn’t supposed to happen! Korea looks mortal. And while it might just be false hope for the rest of the world, another slippery week might open the necessary doors for another region to finally claim the Summoner’s Cup. This is like when you finally stand up to the bully for the first time and it turns out they bleed, too. Except, probably, they'll still beat you up after they patch up the wound.
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Best: INTZ e-Sports’ upset over Edward Gaming
This set the tone for the entire weekend. EDG was one of the top three teams at this tournament, and they looked hapless against the Brazilian squad. Lee Sin made his yearly return to prominence in the meta (Rito TM) and dazzled in the hands of Revolta. While China was immediately subjected to flashbacks of last year, it was ITZ who reaped the benefits. It was an inspiring moment for all the regions across the world.
Best/Worst: Every team has a loss
The old saying goes: if there’s one thing better than seeing your team win, it’s seeing everyone else lose. Well, maybe that’s not a saying, but this year it is for me. And it’s really freaking fun as a spectator. Fourteen teams are [2-1] or [1-2]. The groups are about as close as it can possibly get.
Often, we say, “Anything can happen,” when really we mean, “We’re optimistic people.” But this year, at least so far, there hasn’t been a clear cut favorite. And for the first time since this format started (2014), we won’t have a team go undefeated in groups. And that’s a big boon for everybody who just wants to see parity. I’m absolutely pumped to see what happens next week.
