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10 thoughts going into Spring Week 7
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"The right idea" is the LCS' version of "here for the right reasons." It doesn't say anything specific or meaningful about how a team is playing, just broadly projects an intent onto a team. "They had the right idea, but—"
I myself have said it several times. Let it be known that I will also call myself out for being vague.
What's important is what comes after the "but." What teams are presumably working on in order to improve. Can we actually see demonstrable improvement in games, especially with playoffs looming on the horizon?
Let's get it.
**1. Cloud9 11-2 (8-game win streak)**
Last week, I joked about how we put so much emphasis on two top teams meeting each other in a SINGLE GAME and having that outcome automatically decide who is better by making the paragraphs almost identical save a few name swaps.
This week, I'm here to say that the best team in the LCS right now is Cloud9, but not only because of their game against Team Liquid. It's because they're on an eight-game win streak, their other game win this week was significantly more convincing than TL's, and no one can stand up to Park "Summit" Woo-tae (save EG Impact apparently).
Oh, and they're also the first team to have qualified for the 2022 LCS Spring Playoffs, so congratulations are in order.
Returning to Summit, this was one of his more impressive weeks with the team because his in-game prowess didn't only come from putting his laning opponent in the metaphorical dumpster. Instead, it was his increased coordination with the rest of the team, when to start or follow up on fights, and generally his mid game showcasing that he's not simply just "a good laner" that made him the player of the week.
**2. Team Liquid 10-3 (1-game loss streak)**
Despite their loss to Cloud9, Team Liquid are still one of the best teams in the league. It's Cloud9, then Team Liquid, then a bit of a gap before a group of teams all jockeying for their playoff positions. I'd also say that Team Liquid still have the strongest understanding of how to actually leverage side lane pressure and set up a split push on the map (the caveat being that, like most LCS teams in most things, they're far better at doing this from ahead than behind).
This loss surely stings, especially the manner in which it happened — through mid and late game mistakes in their neutral objective teamfight setups and a few rare but obvious blunders like top laner Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau getting caught out. What was more interesting to me was to think about their first match of the week, against Evil Geniuses, where a botched 2v2 from EG's bot lane allowed Steven "Hans sama" Liv and Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in to get significantly far ahead early in the game which paid off even as they struggled to close due to a lack of engage in their composition among other things. Placing both games side-by-side, they give a clearer picture of TL's weaknesses.
**3. 100 Thieves 8-5 (3-game win streak)**
Coming off of the team that still probably has the best understanding of side lane pressure in the league (Team Liquid) we now have 100 Thieves, who love to just shove everything down mid lane as five as often as possible. Golden Guardians let them play this way after getting a massive early gold lead and having stronger side lane pressure, and 100 Thieves won that game because of it. Their win against FlyQuest was much more convincing for a few reasons, the largest being mid laner Felix "Abbedagge" Braun's Vex counterpick into Ahri. Even in a few of 100 Thieves' wins, Abbedagge has seemed a bit off compared to his performance last year, and it was nice to see him pop off again. Last week I talked about how support Choi "Huhi" Jae-hyun had talked about Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho's Tryndamere as a focal point in their drafts — a constant around which they could play. Against FlyQuest, Ssumday performed well on his Aatrox, but it was the entire team that looked more coordinated as a unit for whatever reason. Hopefully they can continue this going forward, and re-establish themselves as a team to watch out for.
**4. Dignitas QNTMPAY 7-6 (2-game win streak)**
Just when people were about to write off Dignitas completely as a team that couldn't play without Jarvan IV, Caitlyn, and Lux in order to win, they rip off two wins, including one where they…played all three champions and looked like they were going to lose for a bit.
Jokes aside, Dignitas are actually much more than one composition that includes the trio of Jarvan IV, Caitlyn, and Lux. In fact, J4 was up against Immortals and DIG jungler Kim "River" Dong-woo played Volibear instead. If you think about the early-game impact that Volibear can have on his lanes, it fits their playstyle. Dignitas have recognized that their bot lane duo of Toàn "Neo" Trần and Vincent "Biofrost" Wang can be teamfight monsters and have played around their pushing power in a 2v2. I like this. I think it's a smart way to play, especially with the players they have. If Aaron "FakeGod" Lee can perform well on something like his Gnar and mid laner Ersin "Blue" Gören continues to roam and join up with River for early skirmishes, this team knows exactly how they want to play, and that's something that's actually ahead of other LCS teams right now.
**5. FlyQuest 7-6 (2-game loss streak)**
This past week was another tough week for FlyQuest who not only went 0-2 on the week but had to play online in both matches due to COVID quarantines. In their first match, they were outdone by a surprisingly coordinated CLG, who played the Kai'sa/Nautilus counter into FlyQuest's Zeri along with Twisted Fate for added playmaking. In their next match, they had the misfortune of playing a ramped-up 100 Thieves who had one of their most cohesive games this split behind Abbedagge's aforementioned Vex counterpick.
A lot of FlyQuest's wins have come off of the back of their mid/jungle duo of Loïc "toucouille" Dubois and Brandon Joel "Josedeodo" Villegas performing well, along with some clutch mid-to-late game teamfighting. I still think they have waffled around finding an identity beyond the teamfighting team with good coordination in fights, but that's not a bad place to start if you communicate well as a five-man unit and are able to capitalize on opponents' mistakes without making too many of your own. It's the latter that FlyQuest have struggled with. They're definitely better than we thought they were in Lock In and before the season started, but they need more work to be considered a top team.
**6. Evil Geniuses 6-7 (1-game win streak)**
In every league there's a team that guards the line between being considered a "good" team in the court of public opinion and a "bad" team in the eyes of that same court. This year, that guard is Evil Geniuses, who have struggled against the best teams in the league, but have generally beaten the opponents that they're "supposed to beat" save that loss to CLG.
As for the team itself, while everyone is talking about EG's drafts (negative way), I want to point out that they were picking Kai'Sa/Nautilus into Zeri before it was cool. (And probably wanted to pick Tristana in that draft, another counter that had been workshopped by some LPL and Academy teams). It wasn't the new AP build made famous by Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok playing it in the mid lane, but the thought was there. That being said, EG have had some "interesting" (said like Joshua "Jatt" Leesman in a cast) drafts that deserve criticism. All that aside, I also don't think that these drafts are the main reason why EG have lost some of the games that they have.
**7. CLG 5-8 (2-game win streak)**
There is a lot to like about the way CLG played in both of their matches this past week. In their first game, Cristian "Palafox" Palafox piloted Twisted Fate again, which is something that CLG have found a lot of success with in the past. Some fun additions to this were Thomas "Jenkins" Tran's Kled counterpick, and the Kai'Sa/Nautilus bot lane rising in popularity with Kai'sa's Luden's build for Fatih "Luger" Güven and Philippe "Poome" Lavoie-Giguere. In fact, CLG played this bot lane in both of their match victories, adjusting mid/jungle around it.
What was most impressive to me is how CLG actually held back and waited for better opportunities in some of their plays. For a specific example, look no further than their bot-lane dive/TF ultimate combination against FlyQuest, where they look for it once, back off once they get spotted out by FLY, and then revisit it with TF ulting in at a better time a few seconds later. CLG's downfall in games has been their over-eagerness to force plays early when they could have timed it just a bit better for stronger execution. It was really great to see this from CLG this past week.
**8. Golden Guardians 5-8 (4-game loss streak)**
While CLG have leapfrogged up the standings, Golden Guardians seem to be in freefall. Their loss to 100 Thieves in particular was a difficult watch. I could bring up the Reddit comment that turned into a Twitter clip put together by LEC video producer Shakarez about how they completely abandoned their side lane pressure for 5v5 teamfighting (just like 100 Thieves wanted) but you've probably already seen it. And if you haven't, all you need to know is that Golden Guardians opted into teamfighting when they shouldn't have, and didn't collect or control their side lane minion waves.
It's heartbreaking to watch from a team that, until this past week, had always shown something in their games that was an obvious visible improvement from a mistake they had made in games prior or the previous week.
**9. Immortals Progressive 4-9 (5-game loss streak)**
While Cloud9 currently have the largest win streak in the LCS at eight games, their opponents this past Saturday, Immortals currently have the largest loss streak at five. Yes, they've had to face the two best teams in the league (Cloud9 and Team Liquid) during this stretch, but there are games where they were certainly in winning positions and were unable to capitalize on them. Top laner Mohamed "Revenge" Kaddoura still has his moments — his Irelia against Dignitas almost made it feel like Immortals could come back from that game — but the team isn't coordinating well enough around the map to leverage any split push pressure he could generate. It's difficult to think that a team with the talent Immortals has wouldn't make playoffs, and they certainly still can, especially with the massive standings swings that super week can provide in the final week of the regular season. Yet, in a group of teams that are all trying to position for one of what is likely four remaining playoff spots, Immortals' recent performances are tough to bet on.
**10. TSM 2-11 (2-game loss streak)**
Oof. What is there to say about how TSM are continuing to languish at the bottom of the standings? I don't want to blame any of the players considering that, from the outside at least, this situation seems rough for all individuals involved at this point, regardless of the starting lineup. They nearly had the Dignitas game in hand until that bot lane fight and the team continues to make mistakes and force plays during crucial situations.
I do want to give a shout-out to Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon, who not only came on to discuss some of TSM's misplays fresh after a loss, but gave clear, well-thought-out answers to Hai "Hai" Lam's questions. His appearance also outlines why the situation at TSM is so sad. We know that these players can be very thoughtful and have previously achieved amazing things.
