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16 Questions: Week 2 -- Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Riot·10/6/2016, 1:00:02 PM·1 votes·14,821 views

Week 1 of Worlds 2016 may have been the most exciting start to a World Championship to date -- that means Week 2 will feel the pressure to deliver, and we’re bound for even more action: aces, Barons, no-don’t-do-that-Barons, upsets, and most importantly, memes.

If you missed any of it, be sure to check out the best and worst moments from Week 1 here. Ahead of Week 2, I want to take a deep look at the competing teams. When they wake up in the morning -- what do they see in the mirror? What does their reflection start to ask them? No doubt a lot of regret was left on Summoner’s Rift over the first weekend -- from whiffed ults to missed flashes to blowing big gold leads, teams are to sure to have kicked themselves all week. But that’s all in the past -- they need to look forward and see what lies ahead of them or they’re bound to trip over the same kinds of roots and rocks all over again. Adaptation is the key to survival.

And so, I ask: mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the Worldliest of them all?

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Group A

The initial reaction to this group was mostly mockery -- the super-fans of EU and NA both claimed they were lucky to have two wildcard teams in their group. Look now, though, at how that meme has evolved. Group A features a 3-way tie at the top of its standings with the ROX Tigers, Albus NoX Luna, and Counter Logic Gaming taking games off each other at the expense of G2 Esports. This was a group ROX was supposed to storm though, but here they are, muddied up like the rest of the field.

ROX Tigers

This was unanimously billed the top team in the world. They have star players in every single role. But they have looked less like tigers and more like a house cat proud to drop a leaf at your doorstep. They actually lost the early game against all three of their opponents. And if not for a miracle Baron steal from Peanut, they might have finished the week at 1-2.

  • 1. So, are they still the tournament favorite?

G2 Esports

They showed flashes of brilliance against ROX, but in context, that doesn’t say much -- CLG actually won the match against ROX and even ANX gave them a scare. G2 is going to need a lot of skillshots to fall into place to leave this group, but at this point they might just be playing spoiler. This organization is now a combined 2-11 in international play this year.

  • 2. Is this just a case of stage blues and small sample size, or are they an accurate indicator of the EU LCS being, as perceived, weaker this year?

Counter Logic Gaming

CLG over ROX might have been the most expected upset of all time. At this point, CLG fans just ask themselves, “What’s not likely to happen here?” and that’s what’s most likely to happen. CLG could make a magic eight ball that tells you to do the exact opposite of its advice, and it would be heralded as a breakthrough in modern technology. Which makes the answer to this question troubling for fans:

  • 3. Is CLG now favored to make it through this group or not?

Albus NoX Luna

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me -- you can’t get fooled again. Teams should be ready to deal with ANX by Week 2 -- that is the conventional wisdom. The first week is meant to gauge the strength of the other teams. Only a fool brings an army to hunt a rabbit -- so they say. But only a fool mistakes a yeti for a rabbit.

  • 4. Is ANX the famed abominable snowman -- come down from the Russian mountains -- or are they a rabbit whose lucky foot is about to be lost?

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Group B

This group features the defending World Champion, yes. But it also features their kryptonite -- SK Telecom’s wings have been clipped over and over by the Flash Wolves. But they did look dominant in their victories, which is something none of the other teams in this group can claim. In the sloppiness, though, we’ve been provided with a fun group to watch -- this is, perhaps -- the meme-iest of the four Worlds groups.

Flash Wolves

Even Achilles had an... achilles heel. So the legend was born. The Flash Wolves have now won their previous three meetings against SKT. And they held the lead for significant portions of the game in both of their losses. If they can overcome their woes, they stand a strong chance of escaping this group.

  • 5. Do they have a good remedy for in-game tilt?

SK Telecom T1

The unveiling of Ivern is maybe all the more taunting to Bengi, who is renowned for his play on support junglers. He was, after all, the only member of SKT to play alongside Faker for both of their Championship runs. Now, though, this team continues to struggle with its identity from the jungle position -- though, perhaps, this may also be an indicator of their lanes’ inability to adapt and help.

  • 6. Can either Bengi or Blank become the right choice going forward?

I May

They’ve also rotated their substitute in and out. Mid laners Athena and Baeme have both seen playing time so far through the Group Stage, but their only win was unconvincing. Luckily, though, their group is still close. Them climbing out would be surprising at this point, but perhaps they’ve figured out their ideal roster as we head into Week 2.

  • 7. Is the Greek goddess of war truly on their side or is it merely a namesake?

Cloud9

This is one of the more perplexing two win teams from Week 1. On the one hand, a lot of people expected them to get out of group -- or, at least, they were seen as the most dangerous team from Pool 3. On the other, we watched them flounder around in a nearly 70 minute game against FW. But on the other-other hand, they won that one despite being down three inhibitors.

  • 8. Is this the birth of Cloud Logic Gaming?

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Group C

This was pegged as the weakest group going into Worlds -- Edward Gaming was supposed to steam through this group like a Bronze to Challenger smurf stream. But they got KabuM’d on Day 1 by Brazil’s INTZ e-Sports -- that wasn’t supposed to happen! Going into this Worlds, China was already a little apprehensive because of what happened last year, but it was hard to not be excited about EDG. They’d just completed an undefeated split in the LPL. But here we are -- another group where every team has at least one win.

Edward Gaming

So maybe China was just shaking off some Worlds jitters. INTZ suffered two fairly one-sided losses after dropping EDG to their knees. Maybe they used up their spirit bomb too quickly. Maybe it’s like when Krillin managed to cut off Freiza’s tail. EDG has bounced back, though. While the wins weren’t one-sided stomps, they still showed EDG in control. Ramping up to form is a good place to be right now.

  • 9. Can top laner Mouse avoid the cheese, or will EDG be trapped by the same shortcomings of Week 1?

ahq e-Sports Club

Their rotational door in the mid lane is another point of focus for the World Championship. Maybe letting Chawy start a game was just giving him a bone, but it’s something they’ll need to settle on going forward. This was a relatively good group for them to draw into, and they currently hold the edge in the matchup that matters the most -- against H2K.

  • 10. Will they be able to utilize Chawy’s strengths to secure a trip to the round of eight?

H2K

It’s been a mostly solid outing from FORG1VEN, but the team’s showing as a whole has not been of Championship caliber. After helping H2K secure their spot at Worlds, he’ll have another chance to show off his prowess against EDG’s bot lane. But too much focus there, and they’ll falter in the matchups against ahq and INTZ that will likely determine the group.

  • 11. Can they rebound and be Europe’s redeeming point at this year’s Worlds?

INTZ e-Sports

Their fairy tale start came to an abrupt ending -- such is the nature of the Group Stage. While their win against EDG is still one of the biggest upset in League of Legends history, that hardly matters at this point. Sure, these games are remembered and talked about, but not for the reason pros aspire towards. If they want to be more than an aberration, then they’ll need to find the same magic from Day 1.

  • 12. Is that magic well dry, though?

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Group D

D stands for death with Halloween right around the corner. The top of this group features a rock-paper-scissors deadlock, but if the combatants focus too much on the standoff, then they’ll miss the deadly snake coiling around their feet. Splyce will try to play spoiler this week, and they might prove to be the difference maker as Group D will inevitably be forced to send a capable team home a little early.

TSM

The bright side to their first week was that in their win over Samsung Galaxy, they looked like a championship contender. The downside is the other two games were super sloppy -- they’re just as likely to be 3-0 as they are to be 1-2 at this point. But at 2-1, that’s not a bad first week for them. If Bjergsen can get over his illness and find another Aurelion Sol bug, then things could pan out very well for them.

  • 13. Jokes aside, can they consistently play like they did against SSG?

Royal Never Give Up

This is a team that can snap your head off, but it might also miss and snap its own head off -- which is physically super freaking difficult to do. But they’ve certainly got the mechanics to pull it off. They feature a wide array of talent, but there are moments where it seems they still haven’t quite clicked as a team. In the laning phase, though, Mata and Uzi look absolutely dominant and are the main reason they managed to defeat TSM.

  • 14. Can they get over their shortcomings in teamplay and summon Exodia?

Samsung Galaxy

SSG even being at Worlds was a disappointment for a lot of LCK fans -- many thought KT Rolster deserved the trip and would have rounded out a dominant Korean triumvirate. But what we’re seeing so far is SSG hold their own in a tough group and the other two Korean teams faltering despite being favorites. ROX and SKT are mostly proven entities -- we know what to expect from them. But SSG can still develop into something entirely new at this World Championship -- especially behind mid laner Crown. This is what makes them particularly compelling.

  • 15. Is that “something entirely new” an entity that is capable of prevailing in this group?

Splyce

It’s been a rough trip to Worlds for Splyce so far, but at least they aren’t Europe’s only sore spot -- though I’m not sure that’s much solace. Not too many people expected them to escape this group to begin with, but their play in their final game against TSM was at least inspiring. It should provide them with enough of a confidence boost to make some disruptive waves in Week 2.

  • 16. Who are they most likely to sink their fangs into?

Think you have the answers to these questions? Let us know in the comments below! And be sure to tune in as the action resumes at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium at 4:00 pm PT today. A big difference is that this week, each group has been designated its own day so that tiebreakers may be played immediately after the conclusion of the group. Group A kicks us off, followed by C tomorrow, D on Saturday, and finally Group B on Sunday.

23 Comments

Fear Turkey10/6/2016, 3:34:38 PM4 votes

I think both G2 and H2K have the power to make comebacks in their groups. Im not sure that G2 can beat CLG for the second spot but they have the strength to get at least 3rd. H2K for sure has the strength to bring EU to the Quarter Finals. They are just gonna have to play off of Westdoor's small champion pool and win their bot lane when they play against AHQ, I dont think INTZ poses a threat to their chances beyond Yang and Revolta taking over again.

As for the Korean teams I think that ROX and SKT are clearly worlds favorites this year and are for sure getting out of groups. SSG however are much less likely; although, they have shown promise I'm not sure they are strong enough to overcome the powerhouses that are RNG and TSM (but as a CLG fan I understand that literally anything is possible). Splyce apears to be not-so-good coming through week 1, but they aren't talentless and they have a chance! If they really shape up they could take games off of TSM and RNG alike!

As for the Chinese teams I think it gets a bit more diverse. RNG I think has a lot of promise and could definitely become the strongest team out of China, their laners are all brutal but especially Looper and Mata (something to watch). For some reason EDG has been weird, we all know that they are strong enough to get out of groups and they are strong enough to make it to semi's (at least), but with Clearlove under performing (or maybe everyone else has improved a lot?) they are possibly going to drop into the second spot. I may is about as good as they were predicted, I think they show promise in the Chinese series but I dont see them making it out of groups unless they pull up some major upsets.

NA Looks pretty weird this season with the inconsistent CLG playstyle and the sickness of Bjerg. TSM came in the strongest they EVER have and played a really close game against RNG, they lost but they were also getting wrecked by mata on the Alistar (it is worth noting that Svenskeren is a freaking Lee Sin GOD right now). They preformed decisive wins against the two remaining teams in their group (Samsung and Splyce). Cloud 9 have proved that they are strong enough to come out as first. Some changes have t be made though, no more Lee Sin Meteos, no more self destructing Jensen (counter-picking himself) from there I think they will find much more success. CLG are freaken ridiculous. Their loss to ANX was dumb. They played worse than poorly and definitely need to make sure that NEVER happens again, if they do then they can make it out of groups.

Flash Wolves play extremely scared, enough to the point where they let C9 win. Honestly FW should've won that before the 60 minute mark, and most definitely could have. No more playing fear! They have the skill to beat top-tier teams like SKT they just need to be pro-active! AHQ is neck and neck with EUs H2K and stands the best chance at dropping games in week two which could prove fatal to their worlds adventure. They need to get westdoor clicking again and they need to do it fast, or do a longer term swap with Chawy while he takes a breather.

INTZ, Brazilian wildcard, insanity. They pulled the wildest upset ever by taking down EDG! Then again they also lost the rest of their games in week one. Maybe they can wip out some nonsense and have Revolta carry them to Quarter Finals. Honestly though I have decided that expectations involving INTZ are useless and that my pick-ems are trash anyways so who knows how things are going to go! Albus Nox is crazy. They are absolutely the best Wildcard team I've ever seen, and honestly they have a great chance for getting out of groups. This Russian team is out for blood and if G2 doesn't shape up it most definitely could happen! (sorry for the lack of detail towards the end. Ive been typing this between games so this has been like a 3 hour comment xD)

Hadriel10/6/2016, 3:09:33 PM3 votes

What a shoddy article. Was there actually any insight or did you use up all your brain power on crafting this many senseless "jokes" and cringey pop culture references?

LuluTong10/7/2016, 12:26:16 PM2 votes

I truly enjoy your writing Mr. Kien Lam, Keep it up!

Reaxetion10/6/2016, 6:31:24 PM2 votes

(1) No, there is no true favorite at this point. ROX and TSM are probably the top two favorites. I don't know who will win, but RNG will get second this tournament. (2) Accurate indicator. With most of their talent coming to NA, EU has been crippled. I do believe that next year will show some GREAT improvements for them. (3) Yes - therefore the might not make it out. Sadly. (4) Abominable rabbit, just like 90% of the teams at worlds. They look to be on equal playing as everyone else. They aren't a super power, but you better have your Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch ready. (5) I doubt it. FW have been choking a lot on the international stage. Having months of practice can iron out Mechanics and Teamwork, but not choke. See IMT for reference. (6) Yes to both. SKT has strength in the fact that neither is good to go. Give both of them that motivation to improve. Will they be Championship Tier junglers? No. But I believe both of them can round out what SKT needs if they work for it. (7) Namesake. The Greek goddess of war is insulted by a virtual game where gladiators fight (NOT to the death) to PREVENT WAR. (8) I hope not. We have one CLG, isn't that enough? (9) Of course not to both those questions. Cheese is delicious! But EDG now knows about the trap the cheese is a part of. Now its their turn to create an equally complex device to extract said cheese. (Jerry has his work cut out for him) (10) Yes and No, see answer to question 6. Utilize both stars and your odds improve. Focus one, get hated out with counter play. (11) I hope so. I am an NA fan, but I don't wish any region the pain of week two that we suffered last year. (12) Most likely. Magic isn't real. Its all wires and mirrors. While INTZ win was not smoke and mirrors, and well deserved for playing right, that just means teams are more likely to respect them. Respect is not a good thing to have when teams outclass you in a majority of categories. (13) No, but they don't have to. The teams are closer this year than ever, if they can just play slightly better then their average play for the other two games, then they will go far. (14) Yes. Exodia is easy when cards like Jar of Greed aren't banned. These guys are gonna get second place this year loosing only to a Platinum Angel that prevents them from winning, even with Exodia. If Kien can intertwine Yugioh into league then I am allowed to add in Magic the Gathering. Deal with it. (15) Yes. They could win worlds if they were to become butterflies. But so could every other team here. They probably wont though and will be stuck in a cocoon, unable to fight. (16) SSG. A cocoon may be making a great change, but it can't fight back.

bochick10/6/2016, 1:38:47 PM1 votes

The I May questions got me a bit confused. Are you referring to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, or am I missing something?

Machancy10/9/2016, 4:29:03 PM1 votes

I couldn't believe Albus actually made it out of group stage. I don't know what happened to CLG and G2, they may be at the top in the region but at Worlds they are nothing so Albus really deserved it. For group B I still believe SKT will make it but it's really hard to tell whether C9 or Flash Wolves will get out of group. Flash Wolves are looking a lot better than C9, not just because they defeated SKT but they are really clever at picks and bans.

Leon Etoile10/6/2016, 5:52:52 PM1 votes

lol what a joke when they were talking about Rox. Kuro isn't a star and considered a weakness for them. Kuro isn't a top talent in Kuro or this tourney.

ROX Tigers

This was unanimously billed the top team in the world. They have star players in every single role.

PellevalVo10/6/2016, 7:48:32 PM1 votes

Group A: ROX and CLG make it out of groups, G2 pulls at least 1 win out of their hats Group B: SKT and C9 make it out of groups, Flashwolves throws another game and I May don't play well Group C: EDG for sure, but I don't know if H2K or AHQ can take second, they both have the capability, INTZ will continue to play poorly Group D: RNG will top TSM to get to quarters, Splyce won't pick up a win, SSG will play well, but lose in key areas to the top two teams.

My prediction for Finals: C9 vs ROX

Jangbolsal10/7/2016, 8:29:19 AM1 votes

ROX, SKT, EDG, RNG, TSM. Looks like the current top five teams in this season's worlds. I would include C9 as well if they played well against SKT and crushed flash wolves, but they got crushed by SKT and almost lost to flash wolves.