The Recap: NA Challenger Series Playoff 3rd Place and Finals
Riot·4/14/2014, 5:44:29 AM·0 votes·1,163 views
After an exciting weekend of action-packed games, we’ve reached the end of one road and the beginning of another for our top challenger teams. The three teams that will be moving on to the final relegation match against LCS teams will be Cloud 9 Tempest, LMQ, and compLexity.Black. They’ll play the bottom two teams (XDG and EG), and a third team that places last in the NA LCS playoffs.
Brokenshard – compLexity.Black
Brokenshard is the hinge on which the entirety of coL.Black swings. When he does well, the entire team is noticeably charged, and, when he does poorly, his team struggles. Over the course of the weekend, Brokenshard consistently performed well and led his team to the third place spot in the relegation tournament. Early game aggression is his forte and he carries his teammates through the laning phase with his nigh-unstoppable Elise and Kha’zix. LCS teams beware; if Brokenshard gets ahead early you are in deep trouble.
Mor – LMQ
It’s extremely difficult to pick out only one player on LMQ that performed the best over the weekend, but this weekend, Mor outshined his fellow teammates. A constant threat on his Thresh and Annie, he single handedly made the entirety of C9T absolutely terrified to engage. His hooks were on point and his Tibbers was an ever-looming threat. While it’s difficult for a support to carry, Mor pushed the limits in his game presence, confidently cementing his status as a key player this week.
Cloud 9 Tempest’s Resilience
It’s always nice to see a team that can keep a cool head when things don’t go in their favor. Though compLexity.Black weren’t pushovers, consistently gaining ground towards the mid game, C9T buckled down and didn’t abandon their composure. Even after brutally losing their second game in the best of three, they brushed off the tilt and brought the wrath of Ziggs and Corki upon coL.Black. It’s especially important to note that both Bischu and Altec have been known to go on tilt incredibly easily, making this accomplishment particularly noteworthy. While their nerves may be momentarily settled, they’ll need to keep it up in the next few weeks to have a serious shot at making it into the LCS.
Even in their games against LMQ, this change was completely noticeable. They did superbly in the first game but were countered the second game. Bouncing back in the following three games, C9T performed formidably, taking LMQ to five exciting and tense games. Whatever C9T is doing, they need to keep it running into the promotion matches. If they fix their jitters and bring up their confidence level, they’ll be a terror in the upcoming promotion matches.
Top Performers of the Week
Cloud 9 Tempest’s Shield/Heal Composition One of the more powerful compositions to emerge in the past couple of weeks, Cloud 9 Tempest employed the powerful shields and heals from Karma, Soraka, and Lulu in order to absolutely decimate team fights later in the game. A wonder to behold when executed properly, this strategy absolutely decimates aggressive teams, making it the perfect counter to LMQ. LMQ couldn’t possibly burst down their opponents as they were consistently being healed and shielded for tremendous amounts. With a little more practice, especially in regards to their early game, C9T can easily master this composition and bring an even bigger fight to LCS teams.Overachievers of the Week
Brokenshard – compLexity.Black
Brokenshard is the hinge on which the entirety of coL.Black swings. When he does well, the entire team is noticeably charged, and, when he does poorly, his team struggles. Over the course of the weekend, Brokenshard consistently performed well and led his team to the third place spot in the relegation tournament. Early game aggression is his forte and he carries his teammates through the laning phase with his nigh-unstoppable Elise and Kha’zix. LCS teams beware; if Brokenshard gets ahead early you are in deep trouble.
Mor – LMQ
It’s extremely difficult to pick out only one player on LMQ that performed the best over the weekend, but this weekend, Mor outshined his fellow teammates. A constant threat on his Thresh and Annie, he single handedly made the entirety of C9T absolutely terrified to engage. His hooks were on point and his Tibbers was an ever-looming threat. While it’s difficult for a support to carry, Mor pushed the limits in his game presence, confidently cementing his status as a key player this week.
Surprise of the Week
Cloud 9 Tempest’s Resilience
It’s always nice to see a team that can keep a cool head when things don’t go in their favor. Though compLexity.Black weren’t pushovers, consistently gaining ground towards the mid game, C9T buckled down and didn’t abandon their composure. Even after brutally losing their second game in the best of three, they brushed off the tilt and brought the wrath of Ziggs and Corki upon coL.Black. It’s especially important to note that both Bischu and Altec have been known to go on tilt incredibly easily, making this accomplishment particularly noteworthy. While their nerves may be momentarily settled, they’ll need to keep it up in the next few weeks to have a serious shot at making it into the LCS.
Even in their games against LMQ, this change was completely noticeable. They did superbly in the first game but were countered the second game. Bouncing back in the following three games, C9T performed formidably, taking LMQ to five exciting and tense games. Whatever C9T is doing, they need to keep it running into the promotion matches. If they fix their jitters and bring up their confidence level, they’ll be a terror in the upcoming promotion matches.
