Tales of the LCS, Issue #9
Giant-Sized Last Issue
Nine weeks of grueling LCS competition has led to this. As it has been all season in Europe, SK Gaming and Fnatic stand above the rest of the pack. On the flip side, some rather large hype trains crashed, leading to a thoroughly disappointing split for some teams.
North America has shifted from nearly two years of Cloud 9 dominance to have Team Solo Mid as kings once more. It was a close scramble for second and third, with three teams trailing TSM, but eventually the dust settled to reveal Cloud 9 one rung below their old rivals.
In our last regular issue of Tales of the LCS, let’s take a look at some of the blockbuster moments that decided the fate of all the competing teams moving into playoffs.
The Shocking Conclusion to the Regular Season!
Three Destinies
Copenhagen Wolves, Team ROCCAT, and Elements — the matches these teams played in week 9 would spell out three distinct fates. One would earn the right to enter the spring playoffs as the 6th seed, one would miss out on playoffs but secure a summer split spot, and one would drop to the Promotion Tournament where the threat of relegation looms.
The Wolves had the luxury of being one game ahead of the other two teams, and though they lost to Giants, they clinched a rather epic win against ROCCAT to close the week even.
While Elements managed a rare dominant win, ROCCAT’s fortunes fizzled after they dropped a game to last place team, MYM. This meant that the team touted as “winning the off season” with the roster swaps would end up having to fight for their LCS spot.
Elements also became the first former LCS championship team to not make a playoff, underlining just how bad the issues in their team have gotten. At the very least, they have a long time to rethink their dynamics before the Summer Split starts.
Elements go from Europe’s champions to not even making this year’s first playoffs.
Though CW managed to limp into the playoffs, the road ahead of them is hard. They not only fight the vastly more consistent H2k, but even if they manage to win that, must stare down the deadly Fnatic squad.
A Bottom of the Barrel Brawl
It’s tough to be defined by loss, but for GIANTS! Gaming and Meet Your Makers, it truly is difficult to overlook their failings. The Giants came out the gates swinging, making Jorge “Werlyb” Casanovas look like a top lane god on Jax. He was, but only on Jax. Once banned, Giants seemed to have no answer to their opponents, with only mid laner Isaac “Pepiinero” Flores putting up any fight in most of their matches.
Meet Your Makers was marred by more than in-game woes. Their management was involved in the #BigSorry scandal that swept the League of Legends community in the wake of Marcin “Selfie” Wolski revealing the shady dealings of MYM’s personnel. With that weight on their shoulders, it’s hard to imagine that the team environment was anything but dismal for the rest of the split.
Kori was caught up in the biggest scandal to hit the League of Legends scene in recent history.
Still, with both teams facing the threat of the dreaded auto-relegation that came with being dead last in the standings, they fought tooth and nail for the chance to keep their LCS dreams alive.
Though MYM’s late support addition, Lewis “Noxiak” Felix, seemed to be turning the team’s fortunes around, complete with surprise wins over Gambit and ROCCAT in recent weeks, the Spanish Armada managed to prevail. It was a neck-and-neck battle, and a genuinely exciting match to watch, but for now, the Giants can still try to retain their LCS spot in the Promotion Tournament.
Down to the Wire
Team Liquid and Cloud 9 had been hyped to the heavens since the start of 2015. Cloud 9’s win at Intel Extreme Masters San Jose looked like a return to form for the two-time NA LCS champs. Liquid on the other hand promised greatness in the form of World Champion player pickup, Chae “Piglet” Gwangjin.
Suffice it to say that both teams severely underdelivered for the better part of the split. Liquid simply couldn’t seem to find the synergy they needed with Piglet, doing much better with a substitute AD carry in Yuri “KEITH” Jew. Cloud 9’s normally superior strategy, bick and ban phase and team fighting seemed lackluster due to a mix of internal issues and other teams also gaining coaches to help with the cerebral aspects of the game.
Team Liquid smiles as they keep their playoff dreams alive.
But right when it mattered, they pulled through. Team Liquid, on the verge of being knocked out of playoffs, managed to absolutely crush Team Dignitas and just barely defeat Team 8 in a drawn out tiebreaker scuffle.
Most every fan and analyst were hoping for Cloud 9’s famed late season surge to kick in, but the season’s up and down trend for the once consistent champions put that possibility in question. Cloud 9’s answer in week 9? Three straight victories.
Their win over Gravity Gaming was expected, but not convincing. Then they faced Team Solo Mid. Against the most dominant NA team in Season 5, and the winners of IEM Season 9, Cloud 9 went above and beyond to put a stain on TSM’s record. They quickly followed that up by dismantling Counter Logic Gaming in a tiebreaker for second place.
A good portion of the criticism C9 received was directed at their mid laner, Hai “Hai” Lam
Let’s repeat that: This has been Cloud 9’s worst split performance so far and they still end in second place. If there were doubters, then they should be silenced now.
The Golden Age Loses its Shine
This looked to be the season where Counter Logic Gaming’s long-awaited ‘potential’ would surface. Looking the best they’ve been in years, with no more communication problems or personal issues to plague them, CLG was headed straight to the top.
They delivered one of the most electrifying matches of the year with their first game against rivals Team Solo Mid. They developed a crisp double AD carry lane swap strategy. Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black became the king of pick supports with his Morgana bindings and Blitzcrank hooks finding their mark time and time again. Even Austin “LiNk” Shin looked on point.
All the tools for success were there, but CLG once again tripped when it mattered most. Their huge loss to Team Impulse put them in a tiebreaker scenario with Cloud 9 and when the chips were down, CLG lost in 27 minutes.
CLG’s late season trip ups come back to haunt them yet again as they fall to 3rd place.
Yes, they’re still a good team, and yes there’s no reason for them to be counted out now. But end-of-season downward spirals have happened for the organization before. Fans could be forgiven if they were paranoid at this point.
The Playoff Picture
Now that the regular season of the Spring Split has ended, it’s time for the six teams that made playoffs to earn vital circuit/championship points to build up for Worlds 2015. The playoffs will carry on over the course of three weeks, starting with the quarterfinals this weekend, and then the semis on the next, ending with the grand final in the middle of April.
Here are the four matchups on the horizon for the Western League of Legends scene:
H2k-Gaming vs Copenhagen Wolves 
H2k narrowly missed out on a bye into the semifinals in their week 9 loss to Fnatic, but remain the heavy favorites in this matchup as the number 3 team in Europe.
Though the Wolves were in danger of not making the playoffs, they managed to scrape by with the style they developed around their two main carries, and now look to find enough consistency for a best of 5.
While it may seem like a mismatch completely in favor of H2k, these two teams have been defined as bigger than the sum of their individual parts, but in different ways. It’s H2k’s calm consistent style vs. CW’s volatile swings in the late game. Who will earn the right to face Fnatic in the semis?
Fun Fact: Despite playing only 18 games as opposed to the old LCS format of 28, Copenhagen Wolves have picked up the same amount of wins as last split, meaning their win percentage has actually gone up by 16%!
Gambit Gaming vs Unicorns of Love 
It’s one of the most beloved old school fanbases in European League up against the newest giant hype train to hit the LCS. Though Gambit started the season in a huge slump mirroring their Season 4 fall from grace, they quickly turned the tables and established themselves as a respectable power in Europe.
The Unicorns have been fan favorites since IEM San Jose, where they beat North American poster boys, Team Solo Mid, in spectacular fashion. They’ve shown they can tangle with the best, having split records against 7 of their 9 competitors and being the only team to hold a 2-0 record against Fnatic.
Two formidable teams looking to rise above the middle of the pack. The Unicorns have a wealth of oddball picks to pull out of their bag, but the real question is Gambit’s performance level. Will we see the team that went on a horrible losing streak, or the dominant Gambit that ripped through the middle of spring?
Fun Fact: Gambit Gaming has not placed this high (4th place) in a regular LCS season since the Summer Split of 2013.
Team Impulse vs Gravity Gaming 
Two teams with minimal hype surrounding them at the start of the year have ended the split as respectable teams.
Impulse took time to warm up, owing to their members having to find a communication balance due to differences in native languages. When they did click however, they went on a tear late in the season, dropping only 2 of 9 games in the latter half, and beating the top 3 teams in NA.
Gravity has been consistently inconsistent, but were the first to expose Team Solo Mid’s weaknesses with a surprise mid Urgot pick. Their mix of eclectic mid lane picks as well as stellar play from their support, Michael “Bunny FuFuu” Kurylo, may allow them to pull off some fancy tricks against Impulse this weekend.
Fun Fact: This matchup is likely to rouse memories in Impulse’s Yu “XiaoWeiXiao” Xian and Gravity’s David “Cop” Roberson. XWX is the only remaining member of the team formerly known as LMQ who took down Cop’s old team, Curse, in a nail biter 3:2 series last year’s summer playoffs.
Counter Logic Gaming vs Team Liquid 
Perhaps the most controversial quarterfinal on the table, CLG’s fall at the very end of the season is mirrored by Liquid finally coming together to squeeze into the playoffs.
This may seem like a mismatch, as CLG is still the 3rd place team after all, but their late season jitters may be catching up to them especially after those heartbreaking losses to Team Impulse and Cloud 9.
Should Team Liquid properly train and stay on their game, there’s no reason for them to continue their upward trend and make up for their downward spiral during the regular season.
Fun Fact: Alex “Xpecial” Chu has never lost a playoff series against CLG, be it when he was on TSM or the Curse banner.
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