5 big questions going into the LPL Playoffs
There's no rest for the weary in Chinese League of Legends, especially for LPL teams. With the Regular Season ending on Sunday, August 9, Playoffs begin two days later for the lowest seeded teams, who are required to run a gauntlet before the main Playoff brackets. On the line is a significant number of Circuit Points with a possible ticket to the 2015 World Championship. With that in mind, here are five questions for Chinese teams all looking to win the Summer title and take down 1st place Edward Gaming in the process.
CAN Vici Gaming still out-maneuver opponents?
Rewind a few Weeks back in time and Vici Gaming looked the most lost of all LPL teams. With Masters3 performing better than expectations, and both UP and RNG nipping at their heels, Vici was in danger of dropping out of Playoff contention.
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This was further exacerbated by the fact that Vici's roster was endlessly fluctuating. While Vici was never known for their incredible team coordination in 2015 Spring, they had the combined forces of former Samsung teammates In-kyu "DanDy" Choi in the jungle and Se-hyeong "Mata" Cho on support. Summer season saw DanDy role swap into the top lane. He wasn't a particularly bad top laner, but taking the world-class jungler out of his natural position was a blow to Vici's overall game plan and strategy.
A few weeks after their Demacia Cup forfeit -- Mata had fallen ill with appendicitis -- the seemingly doomed team underwent further roster changes They put Yi-Bo "Peng" Peng in the mid lane and Xiao-Xuan "Xuan" Pi in the AD carry position, desperately hoping to spark something in the team. Surprisingly, it worked. Peng proved an upgrade to former Vici mid laner Bin "Hetong" Wang, and the team looked significantly improved. Following their Week 7 losing streak, Vici didn't drop a set in the last four weeks of 2015 LPL Summer.
Vici thrives on avoiding team fighting and out-maneuvering opponents around the map. When they are allowed to do this, they're second only to LGD in strategy. While their team fight coordination is lacking, they're an interesting team to watch. Vici Gaming should prove to be entertaining at the least, if not poised to make a deep Playoff run, as they're starting in a disadvantageous position: the Second Round of the first Elimination Bracket.
Is LGD Truly the Second Best Team in China?
While this was asked earlier this Split, LGD's fondness for experimenting during the Regular Season often makes it difficult to gauge their true strength. Fortunately, with the new Playoff format punishing teams for finishing lower in the Regular Season standings, LGD changed their tune a bit this Summer.
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Even with their newfound Regular Season energy, rocketing up the standings proved challenging. LGD performed better, but still finished 5th overall. This gives them a bit of leeway, but still places them in a tricky position because of their lower seed. LGD's first match will take place against the winner of the Elimination Gauntlet -- either the aforementioned Vici Gaming, OMG, or Masters3. While they will likely secure a spot in the Semifinals, their 5th place seed will likely cement an LGD vs Edward Gaming matchup, a rematch of the 2015 LPL Spring Finals.
If any team can best Edward Gaming it's LGD. EDG has looked far stronger in recent weeks, but are still not yet at their Mid-Season Invitational form. LGD is a smart team, oozing with top-tier talent at nearly every position along with one of the world's best shot-callers in Bo "Pyl" Chen. The time to strike EDG is now, before they completely regain their prior synergy.
Is Invictus Gaming for real this time?
Invictus Gaming has always been that one troublesome student who, if they only applied themselves, would be the best. To the dismay of their fans, iG has been a constant source of "if only's" over the years with their last World Championship showing in Season 2. There, they exited in the Quarterfinals at the hands of Moscow Five.
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Invictus Gaming now enters the 2015 LPL Summer Playoffs with their highest Regular Season finish ever in an LPL Summer Split: an improbable 3rd place. This nearly guarantees them a spot in the Semifinals, provided that they can knock out either LGD or the winner of the Elimination Gauntlet. Additionally, their 3rd place finish guarantees that -- should they make the final bracket -- they wouldn't face EDG until the Finals, as Snake, LGD, or an Elimination Bracket winner would all have lower seeds.
EDG has seemingly been a thorn in iG's side all season. With renewed motivation following China's 1st place MSI finish, iG top laner Zhi-Hao "Zzitai" Liu peppered his computer screen with motivational notes, and vowed to take down the MSI winners, EDG. Unfortunately, this fell apart when iG faced EDG in Week 3, and iG looked crushed and confused following the 0-2 loss. Invictus Gaming's bye into the Quarterfinals gives them a chance to regroup before facing their most feared adversary once more.
OMG, Are You Okay?
Faced with the daunting Week 11 schedule of LGD, EDG, and QG, OMG dropped all six of their games in the final week of LPL Summer. They fell from 5th down to 7th place, shocking considering that they were in 3rd two weeks ago.
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At Demacia Cup OMG looked to be on the rise; however, they were recently plagued by rumors of internal conflict along with continuous roster moves. Across six games in their final week, OMG fielded two different top laners, two different AD carries, and two different supports, seemingly throwing anything and everything against their opponents, hoping something would stick.
It's not wholly fair to evaluate OMG on their 0-6 Week 11 performance -- they had the toughest possible schedule of all teams -- yet, the team still seems to be grasping at straws when it comes to cohesion and in-game synergy. In a Playoff format unforgiving to lower seeded teams, OMG will need to rediscover their 2014 Season miraculous power of friendship to carry them into the final bracket.
Are Qiao Gu This Season's Snake?
Well, not really.
Qiao Gu have earned the reputation of "this season's Snake" as a somewhat-incendiary moniker that undermines the team's Regular Season accomplishments. While there are easily parallels that can be drawn -- both teams were formerly LSPL teams that placed 2nd overall in the Regular Season standings -- the two teams earned that position in completely different ways.
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Last Split, Snake quickly fell in the Semifinals to LGD, and then lost 3-1 to Invictus Gaming in the 3rd/4th place match. Their gameplan was easily exploitable, and they made few moves over the course of the Spring Split to adapt.
Unlike last season's Snake, who were wholly depending on one protect-the-Kog composition while Joo-hyun "Beast" Kim roamed the jungle with Nunu or Jarvan IV, QG is similarly limited not compositionally but in playstyle. Aware of their weaknesses and exploitable play, QG has spent the latter half of 2015 LPL Summer placing themselves in disadvantageous lane swaps in order to improve.
In securing the 2nd place seed, QG guarantee themselves 100 precious circuit points to keep their Worlds dreams alive. Furthermore, they won't face EDG until the Finals. We'll then see if all of this practice has paid off, or if another former LSPL team will fall due to their lack of adaptability.
The LPL Playoffs begin tonight with OMG facing Masters3 in the Elimination Bracket Stage. With a lot to play for, including the aforementioned precious Circuit Points to secure a Worlds spot, look for an exciting and entertaining series of matches. You can catch all the action right here on Lolesports.
