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Do or Die for Cloud 9

TurnDaBeatAround·7/20/2017, 4:30:54 PM·6 votes·674 views

Simply put, Cloud 9 has the easiest schedule of the top teams heading into the final three weeks. If there was a time for this team to tighten its gameplay and tighten its roster, its now. Here is the remainder of their schedule:

vs. Phoenix 1 vs. Dignitas vs. Team Liquid vs. RetirementFlyQuest vs. Team Envy vs. Echo Fox Combined Record: 27-45

If Cloud 9 goes at least 5-1, they finish the split at 12-6 or 11-7 which was good for a #3 seed last split. If they come away with a 3-seed after the performances we saw this past week, that would be impressive given the hole they have dug themselves into. Depending on how the rest of the split plays out, a C9-DIG quarterfinal round favors C9 heavily, and then they are probably looking at semis against CLG. A road and path exist, but plenty of split can shift this projection around.

I have hammered on this theme week in and out with substantial criticism, but my two basic stances have not changed.

  1. Team consistency starts with solidifying Top lane. Impact needs to be the permanent second chair, supporting Ray and perhaps coaching Ray in how to play early game more successfully, but Ray needs to be "the guy" in top lane. This is the only way you can free Contractz up to truly jungle, which is the only way Bot lane can pressure with jungle pressure parity.

  2. Reapered needs to work harder and get over himself. The melodramatic video shot a few weeks ago of him lamenting Impact's performance left a very bitter taste in my mouth - it was attention drawing and unprofessional to the rest of the team. He needs to shelve his emotions and coach this team the way it needs to be coached to deliver results, or he needs to not be coaching. If this team someone manages a lower than 4th place finish this split, he needs to be fired.

As always, I appreciate the feedback and comments on here. Please consider following my Support stream www.twitch.tv/TurnDaBeatAround for a positive, energetic, and fun time together on the Rift!

13 Comments

BigBellBrute7/21/2017, 4:15:02 AM2 votes

{quoted}

Simply put, Cloud 9 has the easiest schedule of the top teams heading into the final three weeks. If there was a time for this team to tighten its gameplay and tighten its roster, its now. Here is the remainder of their schedule:

vs. Phoenix 1 vs. Dignitas vs. Team Liquid vs. RetirementFlyQuest vs. Team Envy vs. Echo Fox Combined Record: 27-45

If Cloud 9 goes at least 5-1, they finish the split at 12-6 or 11-7 which was good for a #3 seed last split. If they come away with a 3-seed after the performances we saw this past week, that would be impressive given the hole they have dug themselves into. Depending on how the rest of the split plays out, a C9-DIG quarterfinal round favors C9 heavily, and then they are probably looking at semis against CLG. A road and path exist, but plenty of split can shift this projection around.

I have hammered on this theme week in and out with substantial criticism, but my two basic stances have not changed.

  1. Team consistency starts with solidifying Top lane. Impact needs to be the permanent second chair, supporting Ray and perhaps coaching Ray in how to play early game more successfully, but Ray needs to be "the guy" in top lane. This is the only way you can free Contractz up to truly jungle, which is the only way Bot lane can pressure with jungle pressure parity.

  2. Reapered needs to work harder and get over himself. The melodramatic video shot a few weeks ago of him lamenting Impact's performance left a very bitter taste in my mouth - it was attention drawing and unprofessional to the rest of the team. He needs to shelve his emotions and coach this team the way it needs to be coached to deliver results, or he needs to not be coaching. If this team someone manages a lower than 4th place finish this split, he needs to be fired.

As always, I appreciate the feedback and comments on here. Please consider following my Support stream www.twitch.tv/TurnDaBeatAround for a positive, energetic, and fun time together on the Rift!

The problem is they are three games back of the top 3. But that may not be enough. IMT is 2-0 vs C9. They win the tie breaker. CLG is also 2-0 against c9 so they win that tie breaker. TSM went 1-1 vs C9 but the next tie breaker after that is record of total games (as opposed to matches) and TSM currently leads. So they're likely to get a Tie breaker vs C9 too. So in effect, to get third, C9 is going to have to gain 4 games on one of those teams with 6 to play. And they don't play any of them so they can't hand them a loss themselves. You suggested 5-1. Well that means someone is going to have to go 1-5.

CLG has 4 games left against the same teams on C9's schedule, P1, Dig, NV, and Fox. The two harder games are IMT and TSM.
IMT has 5 games left against those teams. Flyquest, Dig, Liquid, P1, and NV. The remaining more difficult game is against CLG TSM also have 5 games against those teams. Flyquest, Dig, Fox, P1, and NV. The remaining more difficult game is against CLG

NV and Dig have hard schedules left and are both only one game ahead of C9. Those are the two it is very realistic to catch. There is a chance to catch one of the top 3, but they're going to have to falter.

III BAKURYU III 7/21/2017, 9:44:17 AM1 votes

" Has some real soul searching to do" -TurnDaBeatAround - Indeed

In the LCS I always forgive a team that were at the top for so many splits to have a down split somewhere to reload, regroup and to get their act together. We see this multiple times in if you don't mind me saying but in other traditional sports(NFL/NBA).

If you look at C9 since joining the LCS have somewhat been on a downward spiral for the most...... most part nothing 1st to 10th or anything but 2013 sum/2014 spr they were the best team; won back to back championships, 2014 Summer they were the best team and almost won yet again in which I would be calling them the " Los Angeles Cloud 9 if they did in fact won triple LCS Championships.
2015 made it to another NA LCS Finals, lost again but still had the summer to potentially win again. Since 2015 Spring while C9 still made the Playoffs, Worlds etc in other splits the downward spiral really hit home after that split.

Hai leaves and gets replaced by Jensen, Meteos is replaced by Hai, Hai is replaced by Rush to be the support, he gets replaced by Bunny, he gets replaced by Smoothie, Impact replaces Balls, the Ray situation. At times they look like Team Liquid, again C9 > TL with talent but it's not something that will win you a championship.

It just feels like C9 are winning with talent and talent alone these days compared to the other teams like the Team Liquids', the Echo Foxs' etc of the world or even the ol' C9 days, and not so much with team cohesion and team chemistry honestly.

Kinda off subject but adds points to this "chemistry" or at least between a coach and a player; I saw an interview where Jensen was asked if he knew more about League of Legends than coach Reapered and Jensen said " Yes" now if I can find that video I will surly post it, now maybe Jensen thought "game wise" and not strategy or understanding from a more harder region(LCK) type of mind but I thought that was very self-centered of Jensen, who has even stated that he's a "team player" and he positions himself better than any other mid-laner in which has really nothing to do with leadership - helps with YOU and the argument that you're better than Bjergsen but losing to Bjergsen/TSM for 3 encounters in a row 2 Finals and 1 first round encounters - 1 was honestly Rush's fault but the other 2 series he had poor positioning honestly in the other 2 series loses. So that argument is clearly 1-0 Bjergsen. The next is Reapered who has played on pro teams, he knows how to play against/with a much harder and more strategic minded players/coaches. Played on the B team SKT, played with now SSG Ambition, Flame and Lustboy. I'm pretty sure Jensen that Reapered knows more about League than you do; currently because Jensen still has time to grow as a player and mature as one too.

III BAKURYU III 7/20/2017, 11:47:49 PM1 votes

What video are you talking about with Reapered/Impact ? I agree with pretty much everything you said and your points, C9 they do, they need to establish who's the Batman/Robin in top lane first( I don't mind subbing out players for rest etc, but when a coach doesn't know who's the star/starter after multiple subbing outs - it becomes a problem.
If a player is messing up - you sub them out for 1-2 games, after that time you sub them back into the lineup and in this case Impact( a player that carried C9 through the regular split/playoffs/Worlds groups/QT, if they keep messing up you gotta keep with them around 80-90% of the games. If a coach keeps subbing out a player from a known rotation it hurts everyone and C9 are realizing what 1 sub can do to chemistry. If that player keeps on the decline - the following off-season you release that certain player - plain but simple.

Everyone on C9 needs to pretty much step up, in 5 games last week Smoothie had 8 kills and Sneaky had 11 in a 0-2 week, Jensen was fine as far as on "paper" but in game sucked, I don't care if a player gets 100 kills and 0 deaths but still loses - they still LOST. I don't care if Jensen thinks he's the best mid in NA(Bjergsen) he's constantly around that 3-5th in % dmg among mid-laners and same goes for DPM among them too. More so for the other C9 members to carry the load and start producing.
Sneaky has been in the LCS for 9 splits now and his lane phase is still mediocre, very rare do I see him actually win lane, he's consistent but just not in the lane phase/ it's the carry meta now and his overall "support/adc/poke" is really limiting his talent, he needs to either watch videos, be more aggressive or C9 just needs to have a lane swap considering if most of the C9 lanes can't really win their lanes, what's the point in doing standard lanes........... 500 gold for first tower - WHO CARES at this point C9 are 6-6 and have losing lanes if not all losing lanes because again, Jensen is great but he's kinda become like Froggen where people realize outside of lane phase he does nothing.

With Jensen being the new Froggen it seems, Cloud 9 actually looks like what EF were in the past. They get early objectives 1st-2nd in dragons and first tower within 15 mins but seem to not know what to do after, add that to their mediocre lane phase at times and you have a team that "could" be bounced either out of Playoffs or not even make it to Playoffs.

  • Great post BTW !
xJLx MCHammer7/21/2017, 9:20:03 PM1 votes

They will race behind TSM, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join TSM and X in the representing NA. In time, they will do better than any other NA team.

warpenguin5557/21/2017, 9:45:44 PM1 votes

I'm really hating the drafts from C9 in alot of games. Some reason they keep doing it even though it's not working. Don't give Impact Rumble and enough with Xayah-Rakan it's not working. C9's priority picks are almost all Most of their games feel like "Can Jensen and Smoothie win the game before Contractz and Sneaky get picked". Ray/Impact are really not doing anything either. Most games it looks like it didn't even matter which one you put in because neither of them are doing anything useful. I agree that they need to pick 1 and stick with them.

The worst part about the C9 right now is you can tell pretty early on in the game if they're going to win or not. As a C9 fan that fucking sucks.

Yfrappefort7/22/2017, 12:38:12 AM1 votes

They just won 2-1 VS P1. Kayn getting picked by Contractz in game 1-3 had a huge influence.

Game 2 they got outdrafted by the new patch. Picking Jhin into 3 tanks was really a poor choice.

ChompyWulf7/21/2017, 1:40:51 PM1 votes

I suspect that between the combination of Dig, NV, and Echo Fox C9 will lose two matches, end with a 10-8 record, and will have to be saved by fate for Dig & NV to lose hard and give them a chance for playoffs.

While top lane has been a more obvious problem, I think the worse shortcomings are from the jungler and especially mid.