Does anyone else feel like MSI this year is/was just kind of lackluster?
I can't put my finger on it but it just felt kind of "meh" as compared to last year or 2015. It might just be me tho...
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lack luster? We had a 5 way tie between all the teams at on point, where even the wild card region looked like a definite contender. what more could you have wanted? We were literally getting 7 full on team fights that would ace entire teams. while i do agree 2015 MSi was probabbly the best out of all of them, 2017 was defiantly a good one. if anything 2016 was the most boring MSI ever.
Personally I believe that just like the game itself, pro play has become a lot more predictable. Individual skill is becoming less relevant as players are not able to express their talent through a varied number of champions, instead having to stick to the verifiable winning champs of the meta. Failing to do so leads to a loss more often than not.
Meanwhile, games have only gotten shorter and shorter, with fewer close matches than ever. You can turn on a game and know who will win by 10 minutes more than ever now.
BTW, OMG v FNC is still the best league of legends I've ever seen. And I was there live in person to witness it. What a day! What a day that was.
With NA eliminated it does annoy me to some degree, but I will still watch the rest of MSI mainly because I do think Flash Wolves will beat SKT 3-1 and G2 will beat Team WE 3-2, as well as watching the ( best? 4 regions ?) play and be contenders at Worlds 2017. SO if I was on TSM I would most likely be glued to the screen and take notes on SKT-FW-WE-G2.
Had a feel to it that I can't describe but once I do try to explain it gets obvious as to why I personally liked the 2016 MSI over the 2017 MSI to some degree.
NA actually did something for once, LCK didn't look great compared to later on in the Playoffs; so the factor of them possibly being eliminated by RNG who beat them 2-0 I think in the RR was exciting.
Other than those few reasons the 2017 MSI was interesting in more ways maybe not as many + compared - in some people but it had it's moments.
NA - Other than D-Lift and Turtle this was 80% the Worlds team from 2016 and it was still bad, but it wasn't just THE TEAM within the game, TSM's drafts were still compete garbage.
INT- Welcome International "Wild-Card" teams, 2016 Albus Nox Luna may have had the whine pop and the confetti fall, but Gigabyte Marines were much more impressive in my opinion. I honestly think we will see the Gigabyte Marines again at Worlds 2017. As well as I love the naem Gigabyte Marines - I think of Doom the game whenever I see their name.
LMS - People can say whatever they want "oh, LMS is a weak region" and while I do think the LMS is weak to some degree myself; the Flash Wolves aren't. MMD has really improved to the point where I see him killing Huni 2-3 times solo style in the Playoffs, and Karsa/Maple are the best JNG-MID due in my mind and has been for some time now.
So over all while the 2017 MSI wasn't as good as the 2016 for obvious reasons but to me personally, however I think the 2017 Worlds will be so much more competitive as well as the Summer Splits for all regions. So just hand on cause I'm sure we're in for a wild time!
It was lackluster because Korea is so far ahead that none of the other matches really mattered. We all know that it's going to be SKT vs WE for the finals... and SKT is going to win.
The only really entertaining parts of this tournament were that final game between WE and SKT... and GAM being on par with EU/LMS/NA teams.
Personally i feel that this year's MSI has been quite good.
Only thing that makes me sad is that so many teams seemed kinda at a loss about what to do in game. G2, TSM, FW and even WE have been under performing in my opinion. However that is not a problem of the tournament setup itself.
Obviously a NA LCS fan, lol.
Nothing wrong with having an unsettling feeling. But realize along with what PhantomGG has already stated: the event is not over yet! Given how insanely close the competition was for the Main Event spoke wonders to how exciting it was. It was usually only unappealing to those who invested into a cause which wasn't the case (team, outcome, etc). Looking back to 2015, where there was a single round robin and the winners weren't even put through the full 10 games to win the tournament; but that's one side of the bracket. Again though, playoffs haven't happened yet. And even if the playoffs wind up being a bunch of 3-0 blowouts, it won't completely bury what surprises MSI already had even back to the Play In stages.
I would guess a couple reasons; I also feel like this year is less interesting than last. Here's what bugging me this year
- NA bias, now that TSM is (perhaps predictably) out
- SKT is being dominant again, compared to last year when they stumbled in the RR, or 2015 when they lost to EDG
- CLG is a total wildcard; you never know what will happen. Every game they play is an adventure. They might just make it to the finals. TSM's predictable international struggles are meme-worthy in comparison
- TSM, WE, and 2017!G2 are far less aggressive, brawling teams than CLG, RNG, and 2016!G2
- A (for me) mid afternoon game is less exciting than one at midnight.
Those are my thoughts, anyway. Maybe it was just as exciting while the games are happening, but I've lost interest without the NA rep playing, and that might be shadowing the rest of the games.
I'm sure plenty of people disagree with me, especially European fans who are happy to see G2 NOT become like TSM, relatively speaking.
Edit: I am, however, quite excited for the FW vs. SKT semifinals match. For the past couple years, FW has been the alleged kryptonite to SKT (4-2 vs SKT at MSI 2016, Worlds 2016, and MSI 2017 combined), but they've never played a Bo5 to prove it, only in relatively meaningless group stage games. Some people were saying that FW would have beaten SKT, where CLG lost in the MSI finals