The Breakdown – Team SoloMid vs Cloud 9

With both teams going into the match already 2-0 during the final Super Week, whichever team won the final head-to-head between Team SoloMid and Cloud 9 would have a big claim to the No. 1 position. C9 was already leading the matchup record 2-1 and it was up to TSM to prove they were capable of tying the score when it really mattered. In addition to the No. 1 spot, the winning team would be placed on the opposite side of the bracket as the No. 3 team, Counter Logic Gaming. With so much on the line, C9 didn’t back down from the challenge.

Assembling the team

Bans & Picks

• TSM bans: Lee Sin, LeBlanc, Kha’Zix
• C9 bans: Trundle, Thresh, Lulu
• TSM picks: Lucian, Shyvana Karma, Elise Gragas
• C9 picks: Renekton Evelynn, Morgana Corki, Soraka

Bans from TSM and C9 were not all targeted at one particular player but more focused on removal champions with a high impact on the game. TSM eliminated two junglers from Meteos’ pool of champions while C9 removed champions from three different positions. With so many priority targets open, first round picks were fairly standard. C9 looked to have plans to pick Renekton early if he was available, explaining their removal of Trundle during the ban phase. As a result, TSM pitted Dyrus’ Shyvana against Balls. While Sneaky made the interesting decision of choosing Corki to possibly lane against Lucian, the biggest surprise of champion select came from C9’s last pick, locking in Soraka to face off against Bjergsen’s Gragas. The final composition for TSM revealed a team with high mobility. Karma provided team move speed while Shyvana could reach C9’s backline with Dragon’s Descent. Picks could be initiated with Elise’s Cocoon and Gragas had more than ample magic damage burst. C9’s team showed to focus more on the early game. Both Renekton and Soraka are notoriously strong in lane and C9 depended on both solo lanes to win early lest they get outscaled late game by Shyvana and Gragas, respectively.

Lane bullies 101

With the opportunity of Balls’ Renekton laning against Shyvana and Hai counter-picking Soraka into Gragas, the prime objective of C9 was very clear: win out early game in multiple lanes and go into the midgame with a stronger team presence. C9’s top and mid lanes had superior wave clear, even at level 1. Cull of the Meek provided Balls a means to push the lane right at the first wave and the situation only exacerbated once Renekton skilled Slice & Dice. Likewise in mid lane, Starcall could hit all six minions with a single cast and Hai pushed the lane progressively faster with each additional level of Starcall. TSM already on the backfoot By the time the solo lanes hit level 6, C9 was ahead in CS in both lanes. With the first step of their plans in motion, C9 turned to taking control of TheOddOne’s jungle. Balls constantly pushing the top lane into the turret kept Dyrus stuck in his lane, even forcing Dyrus to expend his first Teleport to return back to lane. Meanwhile with Bjergsen stuck at his own turret, this provided Hai the few extra seconds he needed to get into TSM’s jungle first in case Meteos invaded. C9 with full vision inside TSM’s red side jungle Meteos stealing red as a result of Bjergsen picking up their own blue On top of the invasive vision coverage C9 place in TSM territory, C9 counteracted TSM’s attempts to vie control back of their own jungle. With Hai getting his Sweeping Lens at 4 minutes and LemonNation buying his at 9 minutes, C9 had not only obtained vision control of the enemy jungle but they had the means to successfully contest wards by removing TSM’s. A teamfight at TSM’s blue buff exemplified C9’s lead in the game. Although TheOddOne made the first aggressive play by landing his Cocoon and dealing tons of damage, Balls and Meteos fell back until Hai joined the fray and suddenly it was TSM who was retreating. TSM challenged C9’s vision control with a Vision Ward, anticipated C9’s movement as soon as their Ancient Golem respawned, and it still wasn’t enough to fend off C9’s pressure in the jungle. A blue steal and more After taking out top outer turret first, followed by bot outer, the C9 train charged down midlane and took out the final outer turret with little resistance. With TSM out of sync on how to deal with the turret power play, C9 swung back down to bot lane and pushed down the inner turret after melting TSM’s creep wave with Soraka’s Starcall and Corki’s Phosphorous Bomb with Gatling Gun. These minions didn’t even stand a chance A final demonstration of C9’s superiority at this point came when they had to fend off all five TSM players from taking down the mid outer turret. C9 shrugs off 4v5 Even with Hai mobilizing from bot back to mid lane, TSM was forced to retreat after Balls activated Dominus and dove into the team while Meteos flanked with Agony’s Embrace and slowed multiple players from a full retreat. At this point, the game was all but over with Cloud 9 sealing TSM’s fate after a methodical early game approach and execution.

More than just a support

A key component to Cloud 9’s strategy this match, Soraka could very well become Hai’s signature going into the playoffs. But to understand Hai’s success with the champion, we should look at how he built and how he utilized her throughout teamfights. By maxing Starcall first, Soraka not only has a way to push her lane but also a very devastating non-targeted AoE in teamfights. The biggest impact Starcall has in a teamfight however is not the damage but the magic resistance reduction that can be stacked up to ten times. The longer teamfights last, the harder those stars will fall on enemy champions. Hai opted to max Astral Blessing second, a heal and armor buff that would help offset Bjergsen’s poke and burst with barrels. Infuse would remain a one point wonder, a skill useful as a poke before level 6 but ultimately used as utility for its silence. Hai shooting first blood While Soraka is extremely mana intensive, especially when using Starcall as soon as the spell is off cooldown, Hai’s build of two Doran’s Rings followed by a Chalice of Harmony offset most mana issues he had during the early game. From mid to late game, a combination of continual blue buff donations from Meteos and Athene’s Unholy Grail meant Hai could continue to spam Starcall without any problems. During a midgame turret dive in bot lane, Hai’s flank maneuver allowed him the timing he needed to maximize his magic resist shred against TSM players under their turret. Also with Barrier and bonus armor from Astral Blessing, Hai provided cover for Sneaky by taking five turret shots without dying. The innate survivability of Soraka gave C9 the means to execute an extended turret dive and come out ahead. Lastly, the core item of Rylai’s Crystal Scepter following Athene’s Unholy Grail should not be overlooked. The item provides health and ability power but additionally it turns Starcall into an AoE slow. TSM making a slow and icy retreat While TSM is the aggressor in this teamfight by jumping on top of Hai, when TSM realized they couldn’t take down Hai, the slow from Rylai’s Crystal Scepter prevented TSM a smooth disengage. This ultimately bought Balls enough time to join the skirmish while Meteos continued interfering with TSM’s safe passage back to their base.

Wrapping up the match

Key moments for each team Cloud 9 Meteos’ jungle presence With a little support from his team, Meteos control of TheOddOne’s buffs was exceptional this game. From anticipating when Bjergsen would go for his blue buff to counterganking, Meteos continued to be at the right place at the right time. Cloud 9’s mid game Banking off of their strong lanes in the early game, C9 made zero hesitation to push TSM into a corner by taking away vision in their jungle and systemically demolishing turrets. Team SoloMid Execution mistakes Missing Explosive Casks and ill-attempted picks on Hai, TSM was consistently on the losing end of trades due to poor execution. (Counter)ganking the wrong lane? Ganking a Soraka in the short, mid lane is questionable given her ability to heal and provided bonus armor. With both top and mid pushing all early game, ganking for Dyrus may have been a better option in retrospect. Hai with Barrier and a healing ability made him a less favorable target for ganks. In addition, Hai had continual jungle support from Meteos. Jack is a freelance writer for Riot Games and he wants to know who you think will win the NA LCS playoffs and why? You can tweet him your thoughts @NeoIllusions

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