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What a weekend in the semifinals! In Europe, fourth place Origen beat out second place H2k in a long run series, while G2 Esports (first) showed their strength and prowess in taking down Fnatic (sixth). Across the Atlantic we saw the opposite story.
Team Liquid (fourth) and Counter Logic Gaming (second) battled through a full five games, with the final fight and game being won by an incredible double teleport play from Counter Logic Gaming, before Immortals (first) were shown to be anything but that as Team SoloMid (sixth) systemically brought them to their knees.
Matches this weekend will determine the final seeding of LCS teams. Top teams will be awarded championship points which later this year will help decide who will represent their regions at worlds, and the winners this weekend will be invited to the Mid-Season Invitational in a few weeks’ time.
H2k versus Fnatic
The European match-up for third place will show us something never before seen in League of Legends: a Fnatic squad not playing the finals. This should encourage them – players and coaching staff alike – to play with everything they have for the third place match.
Their opponent, H2k, showed last weekend though that aside from being well prepared for their games, they simply have a good feel for the game.
Long games are not something that teams prepare well for, and with the longest average games in the playoffs across both LCS regions, H2k have shown that they know how to handle unfamiliar situations and can adapt through a best of five series, despite their eventual loss.
H2k put up a solid fight this week; they took their long games and made them into a long series. Their loss came down mostly to lacklustre team fighting, which is incredibly important in the current meta – several series have been won and lost out of them.
H2k otherwise are looking strong – game three against Origen was near perfect. They can win this series if they have spent the week between working on their team fights.
Fnatic were shown up in their series against G2. In stark comparison to their quarter-final match, they were taken down 3-1; they were able to keep things relatively even in the early to mid-game, but in each of their losses it took one lost team fight for G2 to take the series.
Unlike H2k though, it wasn’t just the team fights that lost them their series – there were small mistakes here and there through the games that brought their games down, and they didn’t adapt their picks and bans particularly well between games. Fnatic need to pick themselves up and play smart this series, and like H2k, they need to practise their team fights.
Neither of these teams has played perfectly in the lead up to this final weekend. Fnatic have improved significantly since their sixth place regular season finish, but still have a way to go. H2k by comparison seem to have a lot of the micro-strategy sorted out, needing mostly to improve single points of their games in order to not throw.
Prediction: H2k 3-2 Fnatic
Team Liquid versus Immortals
How the mighty fall. In their series against Team SoloMid this week, Immortals just looked bad. Whether through a lack of preparation or through simple disrespect, they let Team SoloMid run away with the series, making a number of poor choices – the most memorable being those in picks and bans.
Team Liquid conversely looked incredibly strong against Counter Logic Gaming despite the loss, and should be coming into this match-up feeling confident.
While it’s clear the cause of Immortals’ loss last week – poor picks and bad decisions in game one, then a tilted team in the rest of the series – the ultimate cause of these problems is hard to know.
A number of commentators have put this down to Huni simply not being able to play tank champions in the top lane, but we’re talking about a player who has run two regular seasons with a combined win/loss of 35-1, and whose team made it to the Worlds semifinal last year.
At least some of their loss was due to pure hubris – the triple-AD team composition in game one was just not a good choice in the current meta past twenty minutes, which indicates they didn’t play any scrims that went for longer than that.
If it were truly the case that the supportive roles can’t play tanks, it would be a serious problem for the team, however I believe (and certainly hope) that the team were simply poorly prepared for the games; if they can reassess the meta and come up with an appropriate game plan, they should be safe to execute that and take third place for the split.
Team Liquid were drastically different to Immortals last weekend. Liquid were well prepared and played an admirable five-game series. Though they struggled to close out games (which allowed for the Counter Logic Gaming double teleport play in the first place), they played solid games overall.
The three rookies again played incredibly well under pressure, and in particular Matt’s Bard set up some excellent plays. Unfortunately, much of whether Liquid will succeed is going to be dependent on which version of Immortals show up – if Immortals are actually prepared for this series, it could get ugly.
If they remain underprepared however, or if they genuinely can’t handle a tank meta, then Liquid just need to practise as they have been and to give it everything they can, and they should be able to walk away with third place.
You don’t become one of the most renowned top laners in the world by being a one trick pony. While Huni is clearly more comfortable on carry champions, now that the team has (or at least, should have) a firmer grasp on the meta, they are in a much better position to take the series.
Team Liquid’s best bet is to hope that Immortals have still not got that grasp, and use Doublelifts “win one game then tilt them” strategy to pull out wins.
Prediction: Immortals 3-0 Team Liquid
G2 Esports versus Origen
This is going to be such an exciting match. Though their bottom lines were very different last weekend, both teams have shown that they are incredibly strong, and are more than worthy of their spots in this weeks’ finals.
In the semi-finals, G2 played heavily lane-focused team compositions, particularly in their botlane. I raised above that H2k have the longest game time in the playoffs; G2 have the shortest average game time at a bit over 31 minutes. This is a full 11 minutes shorter than H2k, which shows that they have been able to use their team compositions to get a lead, hold onto that lead, and close out their games.
Kikis in particular played fantastically, and the meta really suits the whole team. G2 mostly need to pick early-mid game champions and play to their strengths, but also to be mentally prepared for Origen to cheese or switch mid-way through the series.
Origen have looked similarly strong, but they have experience on their side. Even prior to the team’s entry to the LCS, the roster had extensive LCS and international experience, with several team member going to Worlds during their career.
Zven has been at the top of his game over the last two weeks, with an excellent 7.8 KDA – over two full points more than the best of G2. PowerOfEvil has improved so much over the playoffs, it makes far less difference whether he or xPeke play mid – to take the finals and receive the invitation to MSI, Kikis needs to continue to play his strong tank champions, and Zven needs to carry.
G2 ultimately have a very strong early game, with Origen edging out slightly ahead as the games go later. Accordingly, each team needs to play to this – G2 need to be prepared to seize control and to focus on not throwing, while Origen will probably need to pick champions that scale into the mid game, not give up early advantages, and to be prepared to fight as a group. This is going to be one to watch.
Prediction: Origen 3-2 G2 Esports
Team SoloMid versus Counter Logic Gaming
In a tale as old as time itself, these two veteran teams of the North American LCS will fight again for the championship points and tickets to MSI. It’s such a fitting game to finish the split on, but the question for fans everywhere is whether key players from each side will show up, and who will be going to China.
Team SoloMid showed many weaknesses during the regular season, but have played spectacularly in the playoffs so far. Svenskeren and Hauntzer in particular have truly stepped up – it can’t be overstated how well Svenskeren has played in the playoffs, taking twelve buffs from Immortals in their three games.
The “super team” are finally looking super, and are in a good position to take the split title back from last year’s winners. Doublelift and Bjergsen are already reliable players; if Svenskeren and Hauntzer can stay focussed and dominate their opponents again, they should be the team to represent North America at MSI.
Counter Logic Gaming have such a strong split, winning the first round bye into playoffs. The match against Team Liquid was close – even in the games they lost their play was top form. Aphromoo is a fantastic support and shotcaller, and his voice will be incredibly useful in games against his old lane opponent, Doublelift.
I don’t want to focus on just one play, but the decisive call from Darshan to make the double teleport play at the end of game five ultimately won them the series – they were already ahead, and probably about to win, but it was this play that clinched the victory. While they are unlikely to get away with that again (though they could definitely try), it is indicative of how this team can play outside of the box, and how useful that secondary shotcalling can be.
Counter Logic Gaming needs to play with the ability and confidence they did last week, and to not let Team SoloMid’s carries run away with the game – if they can do that, they can take the series.
This game is going to be a battle of titans, and both teams have a good shot at this split’s title, so long as they are prepared for their opponents. This rematch of last year’s final will hinge whether Counter Logic Gaming can keep Team SoloMid’s carries down, or if Bjergsen and Doublelift are supported into running away with the game.
Prediction: Team SoloMid 3-2 Counter Logic Gaming
Last week’s games were all incredibly exciting to watch, and this weekend is promising to be no different. The teams in the finals in particular have shown themselves to be incredibly dominant in the last few weeks, and we can be sure to get some excellent games as teams fight for the title, points, and MSI invitation that is on the line.