With
LCS starting this weekend it's time for my predictions for the split for both
NA and EU. I didn't follow the challenger scene nearly as much as I did for
previous splits but I'll still give you my thoughts for this season. These
predictions are made in the style of power rankings. I'm not going to predict
records like I did for LoL Champions Korea but this is what I expect to be your
END OF SEASON rankings.
#10 - Team 8
Starting Roster: CaliTrlolz, Porpoise, Slooshi, Maplestreet,
Dodo8
There's
a chance that I'm not giving enough credit to roster continuity here seeing as
Team 8 have been together in the challenger scene for quite some time now but
that fact is that the level of skills here is just not up to par with the rest
of the LCS. The only player really worthy of the higher level is top laner
CaliTrlolz who is going to thrive in the current meta game where the top lane
is vibrant and full of potential champion selections. They might have been good
enough to get into LCS but they're not ready to compete yet.
#9 Gravity (former Curse Academy)
Starting Roster: Hauntzer, Saintvicious, Keane, Cop,
BunnyFuFu
Once
again, continuity can be very valuable but there is a reason Curse Academy was
a challenger team for well over a year. I think they're the superior of the two
mainstays from the challenger scene in NA. Keane can be an absolute beast and
while old man Saintvicious might not be what he used to be, he is the emotional
leader this team needs to cause some upsets. Gravity and Team 8 will likely
both end up back in challenger at seasons end.
#8 Dignitas
Starting Roster: Gamsu, Crumbzz, Shiphtur, CoreJJ, KiwiKid
I can
respect the loyalty that Dignitas has to its players but do they honestly
expect people to believe that there wasn't a better option than Kiwikid?
Especially with QTpie leaving it would've been a great time to just bring in a
new bot lane all together. Anyway, I digress. The problem I see with this team
is that they didn't fix any of their problems during the off season and
downgraded at two positions. CoreJJ may end up better than QTpie but he's got
to prove it to me first. He also has the language barrier/moving to NA issues
to deal with. It's possible that he has stronger game sense and could be more
coachable though so perhaps that was part of their considerations. Gamsu I've
heard good things about from higher level players but he's not Zion. To me the
bigger issue is that star player Shiphtur does not play well when behind and I
just can't see this team having many early and mid game leads. Unless their new
coaching staff figures out something that nobody else does this could be the
end of Dignitas as we know it.
#7 Impulse (former LMQ)
Starting Roster: Impact, Rush, XaioWeiXaio, Apollo, Adrian
If the
language barrier can be overcome then this roster has the potential to finish
significantly higher than this ranking but I'm speculating that that will not
be the case. As great a coach as Fly can be they just don't have the time
together as a team before the split starts to make a massive impact (heh!) in this
split. We all know XaioWeiXaio is a beast but this just seems likea cobbled
together bunch. Apollo and Adrian from NA solo queue, Impact after being cut
from SK Telecom, and Rush who I know next to nothing about. This ranking is
almost entirely respect for XWX to carry and for some younger, fresh talent and
good coaching to come on stronger towards the end of the season even if they
start rough.
#6 Team Coast
Starting Roster: Cris, Impaler, Jesiz, Mash (dontmashme),
Sheep
A lot
of veterans here and while not all of them have played at the highest levels,
they've all been in the scene for quite some time. It will be interesting to
see how Jesiz makes the transition to NA and a new team but I really liked his
performance on SK last year and his ability to play safely will allow Impaler
and Cris to play aggressively which is what they are best at. Experience is the
primary advantage this team will have as long as they have some sort of
synergy.
#5 Winterfox (former Evil Geniuses)
Starting Roster: Avalon, Helios, Pobelter, Altec, Imagine
Altec
was by far the most underrated player in both NA and EU LCS last year posting
absolutely unbelievable numbers on a losing team that was going through roster
changes. He was the best in the league in average KDA in wins, least percentage
of team's deaths, least deaths per minute, 2nd in percentage of team's kills,
3rd in kills per game, 2nd in minion kills per minute, and 4th in overall KDA
last split. He's an animal that's just waiting to be unleashed on the rest of
the league if a good roster can be assembled around him. But it's not just
Altec I'm hyped about. Pobelter's journey to the upper echelon of Korean solo
queue during the offseason was well documented and full of highlights against
the best Korean professionals. At one point he was rank 30 with a 71% winrate.
While solo queue rating doesn't always translate to great pro play, it is
certainly a representation of how the individual player is doing currently. I'm
not sure any of the other NA mid laners outside of Bjergsen and maybe XWX could
do something like this and it's enough to earn a lot of my respect. I don't
know a lot about imports Avalon and Imagine but I can say that the language
barrier won't be as big an issue for this team with Helios there to smooth out
the transition. Speaking of Helios, his experience, game knowledge, and
aggressive play this past year could prove beneficial for emerging young stars
Altec and Pobelter. Part of me wants to make a bolder prediction here and put
Winterfox in the top 2 or 3 but I'm going to reserve that after seeing a season
of play but they are, in my opinion, the highest upside team in NA LCS.
#4 Counter Logic Gaming
Starting Roster: ZionSpartan, Xmithie, Link, Doublelift,
Aphromoo
It
carries some weight with me to see the seasoned, unexcitable veteran Doublelift
completely hyped for this season. I'm not sure why he's so amped. Maybe it's
the addition of Scarra to the coaching staff or a carry oriented top laner in
Zion (top 2 top laners in NA?) to pull attention away from him but something is
going on here. The big questions with CLG are whether or not Xmithie can re-acclimate
himself to the pro game and whether Link can develope any sort of consistency
at all. Maybe a change of pace in the jungle could fix both of these problems,
especially with the changes to the game as a whole, new faces will benefit
greatly by coming into the scene now and not later. A combination of playmakers
in Doublelift and ZionSpartan and veteran presence will leave CLG in a familiar
place somewhere in the upper half of the NA LCS.
#3 Team Liquid (former Curse Gaming)
Starting Roster: Quas, IWillDominate, Fenix, Piglet, Xpecial
There'
s a lot of hype surrounding this team. Team Liquids' first foray into League of
Legends after shunning it for so long, the acquisition of globally popular and
former world champion Piglet, the retirement of Voyboy, etc. It's really easy
to overrate a team like this but I also think that people are either in one
camp or the other. The believers and the non-believers. I for one am closer to
believing than not but I'm going to temper my expectations a bit. If we break
this team down the biggest weakness is IWillDominate who has been a veteran
player for a number of years and while rarely exciting, has been effective for
most of his time as a professional player. The next biggest weakness, at least
in my opinion, is the potential psychological problems Piglet might have in
getting used to the United States. It's been well reported that he went through
a sort of depression, has been to Korea a number of times, and has voiced his
feelings on stream. I for one think that he'll be a lot more comfortable once
the LCS season starts and he starts whooping on the majority of the ADCs in NA.
Is Piglet the best ADC in NA? No. Just because he's Korean and a former world
champ doesn't mean that. He was cut because he performed poorly for almost an entire
year on SK Telecom (also roster rule...) and there are a number of ADCs in NA
that I feel are on a similar level such as Doublelift, Altec, and Sneaky. In my
opinion, the main reason Team Liquid will be successful is that they will no
longer be limited by Voyboy's shallow champion pool and narrow playstyle. Quas
has been an underrated commodity, the addition of Piglet is a massive upgrade
over Cop, Xpecial is still the best support in NA. All of these things add up
to a solid team for me. As long as Fenix and IWD don't absolutely suck then I
just can't see this team finishing any lower than top 3. Upgrades all around,
early roster changes, and solid individual players in four out of five
positions give Team Liquid great odds to do well. They also have the upside to
come out the gates on fire and surprise a lot of teams. I could see this team
winning this split if Piglet and Fenix pan out but I'll keep them at #3 for
now.
#2 Team Solo Mid
Starting Roster: Dyrus, Santorin, Bjergsen, WildTurtle,
Lustboy
Many of
you know that I'm sort of a TSM hater so consider that when I make them my #2
for the Spring split. It's easy for a hater to forget that TSM got to worlds
last year with a roster that underwent a late season roster change and with a
jungler that could essentially play two champions (albeit well). My gut tells
me that this will finally be the downtrend for Dyrus. I can't see him staying
at that high of a level for much longer. It's nothing against him but time
wears on you. The good thing, is that Bjergsen, Lustboy, and WildTurtle are all
playing at an extremely high level and I feel that the addition of Santorin
will benefit this team much more than losing Amazing hurt them. Amazing is the
better player but only on Lee Sin and Elise. His narrow champion pool was what
lost them matches in worlds and prevented them from pushing on to that next
level internationally (also they had to face Samsung White...). With more
versatility, and a fresh start in the form of the new jungle changers, I think
the addition of Santorin will provide much more beneficial for TSM as an
organization. This team was already towards the top, and they even defeated
Cloud 9 in the Summer split. I think they made an overall upgrade and thus,
deserve this #2 spot.
#1 Cloud 9
Starting Roster: Balls, Meteos, Hai, Sneaky, LemonNation
Cloud 9
are simply the best team in the West. They've made no roster moves which gives
them a level of competitive continuity unrivaled in the NA LCS. They team fight
well, they play well from behind and when ahead. Strategically they're creative
and efficient always finding interesting solutions to problems that are
presented to them. They're well coached, organized, and humble. But what Cloud
9 does best is win. Sneaky has elevated his play from role player to playmaker
in the past year and with the new jungle changes and robust top lane meta-game,
Meteos and Balls are going to run wild on the rest of the LCS. Hai's champion
pool is in a good spot at least right now and with the full offseason to get
himself back on track and add some new tricks, I see him performing better than
he did towards the end of last year. Cloud 9 always seem to know the most
effective and efficient ways to play the game and adapt very well patch to
patch. With the new changes and continuity from top to bottom as both a team
and organization, I fully expect Cloud 9 to come out of the gate fast and not
let their foot off the gas.
Prop Bets and Individual Awards:
League MVP - Meteos
Rookie of the Year - Keane
Biggest Disappointment - Impact (obviously will have unrealistic expectations on him)
Biggest Surprise - Altec (shouldn't be a surprise but will be)
Best in Role:
- Top: Balls (or Quas)
- Jungle: Meteos
- Mid: Bjergsen (Pobelter and XWX are a close)
- ADC: Sneaky (Doublelift and Altec close)
- Support: Xpecial (Aphromoo, Lustboy, and Lemon also close)
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