LPL Week 4 Recap
Riot·7/7/2014, 10:25:58 PM·0 votes·819 views
The LPL has proven itself to be closer than ever this split. Despite OMG sitting at the top of the regular season standings with a comfortable 14 points, three teams have set up shop in second place: World Elite, Edward Gaming, and StarHorn Royal Club. This week showed just how evenly matched all these teams are.
OMG played two sets this week, and they were the only two sets that didn’t draw across the league, as they crushed both SHRC and WE.A in a convincing fashion. Meanwhile, SHRC and iG both managed to take Edward Gaming and World Elite down a peg. At the bottom of the ladder, YG finally found success by splitting even against LGD Gaming and WE.A, while WE.A’s new Korean additions looked like short-term downgrades.
With Cool’s immaculate Twisted Fate performance against StarHorn Royal Club, it was hard not to put him on our list for the third week in a row. With his whiffed Orianna Shockwaves against World Elite Academy, however, it was clear that other members of the team had a more solid performance this week. In particular, Gogoing has flown under the radar a little, as the team has set him on support-oriented top laners. Yet his impressively high kill participation and constant ability to draw members of the opposition to the top lane this week proves he’s still one of China’s crown jewels in his role. Gogoing’s pressure gives his team the freedom to make plays, and when Cool faltered in OMG’s last game this week, Gogoing’s Kayle play proved a still-potent carry force.
Cloud
OMG’s new support player has received a hefty amount of criticism from us this split, and he seemed to represent the perfect example of a solo queue star flopping on the professional stage. This week, however, Cloud showed marked improvements, and his Nami play caught our eye in the final game. A good Nami player is a rare find on an LPL team, and Cloud’s tidal waves were essential in bringing WE.A too their knees. Earlier, Cloud’s Thresh play turned heads against SHRC and helped secure OMG’s climb to the top.
DianGun
It may come as a surprise that newcomers Young Glory had the second most wins this week, having found even sets against both World Elite Academy and LGD Gaming, mostly on the back of DianGun’s excellent Yasuo play. In both games against LGD Gaming, the Unforgiven fell into DianGun’s hands, and in both games, YG found an impressive advantage. DianGun managed to find solo kills against We1less’ Diana - a champion typically considered a Yasuo counter. Don’t expect DianGun’s favorite swordsman to get past the ban phase any time soon.
After defeating Young Glory in G League finals last winter and dropping them handily in LSPL Spring mainly on the strength of their bottom lane, World Elite Academy were the favorites to emerge from last place this week. WE.A failed to live up to their potential, however, as they split their matchup against YG, and then watched them have two strong games against LGD. Whether it’s the loss of their former captain for Yuzhe or the language barriers that come with new Korean players, they struggled mightily this week.
Whatever’s eating WE.A, YG is reaping the reward, and they’ve edged into a well-deserved seventh place for the time being.
Since the International Esports Tournament, Edward Gaming has been shrugging off the manacle of indecision and looking proactively for wins in the early game. This week, however, EDG shrank back onto old crutches, relying too heavily on Baron, despite giving up their focus on vision control. Clearlove also failed to be much of a force, and EDG had to fumble to try to close in both of their games against StarHorn Royal Club. Whether this is a minor setback or a sign of imminent unraveling appears unclear, but it leaves EDG in a three-way tie for second place with teams that have looked much less purposeful throughout the rest of the split.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
World Elite vs Invictus Gaming - Game 1 After Invictus Gaming’s questionable performance last week, few expected them to escape this set with a win. Early on in the game, their chances didn’t look any better. Conan’s established roaming style proved effective in cleaning up early kills, and iG fell behind. World Elite’s Baron fixation proved their undoing, as iG’s Cataclysm-Shockwave combination found them some regroup kills in the pit. From there, careful execution of iG’s composition and the devastating power of Kid’s hyper-carry Kog’Maw saw them turn the tides and find the first win of the set. StarHorn Royal Club vs Edward Gaming - Game 2 The rumor is that EDG’s morale was suffering going into their games against SHRC this week. Though it’s difficult to imagine why with how well they’ve performed earlier in the split, it’s hard to shake the sensation that something was off. All of EDG’s improvements to early game strategy seemed to evaporate in the first game against SHRC, and they reverted to cautiousness with a propensity to stall and turn late game fights. While they regrouped in the second game, a poor Baron attempt gave SHRC an inch during a phase of the game where EDG normally excels. From there, SHRC stayed relevant and took advantage of a blind spot on EDG’s map to rush their dilapidated base and take the game. LGD Gaming vs Young Glory 1 Sure, we could break down Young Glory's match against LGD, but high-level play is not why this game is worth digging into - this one was just plain fun to watch. Young Glory vs LGD Gaming had all the elements of a good underdog story as YG found small advantages and a dominating near 9000 gold lead as the two teams headed into the late game. They didn’t take 17’s Lulu into account in their battle plan, however. Thanks to several perfectly timed Wild Growths, LGD was able to turn around YG’s teamfight initiations and swing the match in their direction. With the audience on their feet, LGD brought YG to their knees in one of the most exciting matches of the LPL so far.TOP PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK
Gogoing
With Cool’s immaculate Twisted Fate performance against StarHorn Royal Club, it was hard not to put him on our list for the third week in a row. With his whiffed Orianna Shockwaves against World Elite Academy, however, it was clear that other members of the team had a more solid performance this week. In particular, Gogoing has flown under the radar a little, as the team has set him on support-oriented top laners. Yet his impressively high kill participation and constant ability to draw members of the opposition to the top lane this week proves he’s still one of China’s crown jewels in his role. Gogoing’s pressure gives his team the freedom to make plays, and when Cool faltered in OMG’s last game this week, Gogoing’s Kayle play proved a still-potent carry force.
Cloud
OMG’s new support player has received a hefty amount of criticism from us this split, and he seemed to represent the perfect example of a solo queue star flopping on the professional stage. This week, however, Cloud showed marked improvements, and his Nami play caught our eye in the final game. A good Nami player is a rare find on an LPL team, and Cloud’s tidal waves were essential in bringing WE.A too their knees. Earlier, Cloud’s Thresh play turned heads against SHRC and helped secure OMG’s climb to the top.
DianGun
It may come as a surprise that newcomers Young Glory had the second most wins this week, having found even sets against both World Elite Academy and LGD Gaming, mostly on the back of DianGun’s excellent Yasuo play. In both games against LGD Gaming, the Unforgiven fell into DianGun’s hands, and in both games, YG found an impressive advantage. DianGun managed to find solo kills against We1less’ Diana - a champion typically considered a Yasuo counter. Don’t expect DianGun’s favorite swordsman to get past the ban phase any time soon.
SURPRISE OF THE WEEK
Young Glory shakes off last place
After defeating Young Glory in G League finals last winter and dropping them handily in LSPL Spring mainly on the strength of their bottom lane, World Elite Academy were the favorites to emerge from last place this week. WE.A failed to live up to their potential, however, as they split their matchup against YG, and then watched them have two strong games against LGD. Whether it’s the loss of their former captain for Yuzhe or the language barriers that come with new Korean players, they struggled mightily this week.
Whatever’s eating WE.A, YG is reaping the reward, and they’ve edged into a well-deserved seventh place for the time being.
DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK
Edward Gaming takes a step back
Since the International Esports Tournament, Edward Gaming has been shrugging off the manacle of indecision and looking proactively for wins in the early game. This week, however, EDG shrank back onto old crutches, relying too heavily on Baron, despite giving up their focus on vision control. Clearlove also failed to be much of a force, and EDG had to fumble to try to close in both of their games against StarHorn Royal Club. Whether this is a minor setback or a sign of imminent unraveling appears unclear, but it leaves EDG in a three-way tie for second place with teams that have looked much less purposeful throughout the rest of the split.
