10 thoughts going into Semifinals
And when the dust settled, SKT rose -- year after year this has been the takeaway. The Quarterfinals saw two Game 5s, some classic Fnatic shenanigans, and the final Pool 1 team -- Longzhu Gaming -- fall. We are now left with dream Semifinal matchups for China and South Korea.
Misfit to be KingRumors of EU’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Misfits Gaming pulled out all the stops in their attempt to stop the SKT train. In particular, MSF support IgNar showed off Blitzcrank, Leona, Alistar, and Thresh to disrupt the Ardent Censer meta. It even forced SKT to respond with a Tahm Kench pick. This series showed the world that you don’t have to follow the meta to find success. But it also served as a reminder that SKT is on their quest for a third straight World Championship. Faker dominated the series in a way few other mid laners have been able to replicate this Worlds. There are two ways of looking at the SKT vs. MSF series. The first is that SKT is showing vulnerabilities for once -- we’ve seen a clear blueprint for at least beating them in the early game. That MSF almost toppled them could be a sign of hope. The second way of looking at this, though, is that if a punch that strong and that innovative still couldn’t beat SKT, then what could?
Headlines SKT have killed over the yearsFit to be King: Misfits slay SK telecom T1 EDG stuns SKT with a near perfect game KT Rolster’s super team proves to be too much for Faker and SKT Best of Five: G2’s MSI win gives Europe first international title since S1 Samsung Galaxy completes reverse sweep over SK telecom T1 PraY and GorillA finally topple Faker as ROX advances The Clappening: Jensen delivers on his hype Uzi and Royal cement China as the best region in the world
Is there a consensus second greatest player of all time?Here’s a thought experiment: who’s the second greatest player of all time? Depending on the metric, there are a lot of possible answers. Uzi, Bang, Wolf, Bengi, PraY, GorillA, Dade, Ambition, Mata, Clearlove7, Bjergsen, sOAZ, WeiXiao, and so on and so forth. To me, probably, it is Uzi, but the case against him is strong -- he can’t even win domestically. The rest of the list you can talk about their inconsistency or their failures on an international stage. And the SKT guys live in Faker’s shadow. That’s what’s astounding about this. Faker is the clearcut GOAT and stands head and shoulders above everyone else. We saw his dominance on display again as he willed SKT past a tenacious Misfits. You could narrow it down to roles and still there would no consensus outside of Faker. There are no false gods. There is only Faker.
U-Z-IUzi had a game with 19 kills on Kog’Maw against Fnatic. It was RNG’s only loss in that series. For years now, people have said Uzi may be the most mechanically talented player in the world. Moreso than Faker or Deft or your friendly neighborhood instalock Riven top solo queuer. But year after year, he’s still never been able to win anything -- internationally or domestically. RNG have generated a lot of buzz so far, but after a less-than-convincing win over FNC, will they be able to step up to the plate against SKT during the Semifinals? If Uzi can return to the Finals again, he may ironically cement himself in 2nd place -- as the 2nd greatest player in League of Legends history. It is, I think, a 2nd place that’s not so bad.
The Samsung DynastyIf Samsung Galaxy can reach the Worlds Finals again, it’ll be their third in four years. And as it stands, they are the heavy favorite over Team WE thanks to their trouncing of Longzhu Gaming. But as we saw from the Group Stage to the Quarterfinals, a week is more than enough time for a team to implement change. SSG advanced largely thanks to Crown’s shift in style towards enabling his side laners. And with Ambition in the lineup, SSG’s communication and coordination allowed them to easily close out the series over LZ. It is the exact same roster that pushed SKT to a Game 5 last year -- can they take that next step?
The Tragedy of GorillA and PraY: Act IIIMercutio was the coolest character in Romeo and Juliet. He died early (spoilers!!). Likewise, PraY and GorillA are two of the coolest players you’d ever meet. They have a great backstory. They’re loyal. And…. they’re out early. This year, GorillA told me he thought of PraY as his older brother and hoped they’d remain friends well beyond League of Legends. Suffice to say, them being knocked out makes me very sad. But also suffice to say, it’s not exactly surprising at this point -- they’ve entered Worlds as the #1 seed from Korea two years in a row now, and both times they’ve been eliminated before the Finals. Their legacy is that they are and have been really good. But as I mentioned, there are a lot of Mercutios on that boat.
Ban… Singed?Cloud9 pulled out new picks including Aurelion Sol and Singed against Team WE. Aurelion Sol netted them a massive early game advantage before they threw it away. Then C9 inexplicably never returned to the Star Forger. The Singed helped them secure two wins before finding himself on the ban list. Turns out “don’t chase the Singed” is applicable even in pro play. WE persevered, though, thanks to the strength of their mid and late game team fighting. The American dream is once again dead.
A Viewer’s Guide to the Pick/Ban phase1. Complain about Ryze picks until Faker does well on it, then complain about something else. 2. Demand off-meta picks, but be angry if they don't work. 3. Something something ban Janna and Galio. 4. Uzi picks Vayne = cheer. Anyone else picks Vayne = cry. 5. Rub your chin and say, “Interesting,” for every odd pick to impress your friends.
Rest of the WestOn the one hand, MSF and C9 both had respectable showings in pushing SKT and WE to 5 games respectively. On the other hand, if a 2-3 near-win (in the Quarterfinals) is cause for celebration, then perhaps your region has a lot to work on. The off-season is now here for them and 2018 will be a banner year in many ways for both the EU and NA LCS. I hope teams will take what MSF and C9 showed in the Quarterfinals to heart and develop their own play styles this year. I hope G2 and TSM are actually challenged. I hope one day Western fans will find themselves in the reverse position -- upset that their team could only win 3-2.
Main victory condition for the remaining teamsRNG – Give Uzi gold and then die for Uzi in team fights and then start Uzi chants while you wait to respawn. SKT – Faker shows up the stadium. WE – Don’t actually roll over and die in the lane phase. SSG – Help Crown help you.
Every time SKT plays a match now, it has a chance at becoming the greatest match in League of Legends history. Their last three Best of 5s at Worlds (including last year) – between MSF, SSG, and ROX – all went the distance. But each time, SKT prevailed in the deciding match. I don’t know if historic is the right word -- SKT could lose here and then go on to win the next five years, for example, but I think it’d be historic at least for the team that does beat them. This year, RNG looks like they could be that team. Remove the name plates and SKT looks vulnerable. Sloppy, even. But you can’t just remove the names. Once the game starts, you’ll be staring straight down the barrel that is SK telecom T1. SKT seemed to make adjustments to help remedy their early game woes, and Huni is one of the few players to find success on split pushing champions. Ultimately, though, Faker still has been their catalyst – he’s been unmovable in the mid lane. Xiaohu may not die to him, but that’s not enough. RNG will need to snowball their bot lane to allow them to rotate into mid early to disrupt Faker if they want to win. Luckily, Bang and Wolf have not looked good – they appear ripe for Uzi’s picking. Come late game, the clashes between Faker and Uzi will be a wondrous sight to behold. These are two of the best team fighting squads in the world – RNG bulldozes forward as SKT kites backwards. All the pieces are in place for a colossal clash. The winner advances to the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.
Kien Lam is a content producer for Lolesports. You can find more awful great jokes and commentary on his Twitter @meanmisterkien.
