The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

OPL Finals Preview: Legacy vs The Chiefs

Women are comparatively rare in esports. (Chiefs eSports)
Roar Pro
10th August, 2016
0

The OPL Finals are coming up and we’re left with two titans duelling it out on the Oceanic League of Legends mountain. Legacy and the Chiefs, two old foes clash in Oceania’s eSports equivalent of El Classico.

The 2015 Split 2 OPL grand final last year was between the same two teams. Played at the Big Top at Luna Park, the Chiefs defeated Legacy 3-1 in front of a packed house.

While the Chiefs won the Split 1 playoffs against Legacy, it was a bit rough. In the end, they prevailed, taking the series 3-2.

We’ve seen this match-up over and over again, and it never gets old. This time around, the Chiefs had a bit of a weaker second split, finishing third. Last split they finished second.

Legacy have been slowly catching up to their rivals. They’ve finished number one in the regular season in both split one and two this year. They’ve also started taking games off the Chiefs. Legacy defeated the Chiefs in week 6, going 2-1. In last year’s grand final, they won one game in the best of five. In the final last split, they went down after winning two games in the best of five.

Why Legacy will win:
Legacy are the team to beat. Despite losses to Avant Garde (Week 4) and the Dire Wolves (Week 10), they redeemed themselves, defeating the Dire Wolves in the tiebreakers and sweeping Avant Garde 3-0 in the semi-finals.

Legacy have built a team that have a great understanding of how each player plays. They have carries in every position that can take control of the game.

Chiefs have a brand new bot lane after trading Raydere, arguably one of the best players in Oceania. Raes from the second-placed Dire Wolves takes his spot as the AD Carry. It’s not sure whether CHF Raes and CHF EGym have synergised to the level that the Chiefs want them to, and if they haven’t, it could be their downfall as Legacy can pick on this.

Advertisement

Legacy are a strong, well-rounded team, with strong mechanical and map play. This could be just what they need to overcome the finals hoodoo. They’ve moved into the Legacy Gaming House, and have had multiple splits to grow as a team, strengthening their synergy and overall play.

Why the Chiefs will win:
The Chiefs have, in a way, relinquished their ‘undisputed’ Oceanic champion title. While they’ve been losing games, it’s not because of their dropping performance, it’s because the quality of competition in the region has become fierce.

The Chiefs traded out their legendary AD Carry Raydere to the second placed Dire Wolves before the playoffs. And here’s why I think they could take it. The Chiefs have had the same, stable roster since the beginning, with the exception of EGym (who had arrived from Legacy, while the former Chiefs support Rosey moved on). With this change, Raes, the new Chiefs AD Carry, could have a quality that makes him a better asset to the team.

The Chiefs have also finally moved into a gaming house, which can only strengthen them as a team. This is a huge investment, and for a strong team like the Chiefs, can only make them better and better.

The Chiefs are one of the best teams at gaining and extending their lead. They only need a small slip-up by Legacy to take hold of the game and play their advantage.

Prediction: Legacy can finally break the finals hoodoo against the Chiefs. Legacy will take the finals 3-1, with ChuChuZ as the series MVP.

close