The first two days are in, and we’ve more or less expected the results, with the exception of two teams who severely disappointed fans this time around. One thing our analysts noticed was the overwhelming importance on the control mage meta which seemed to be prioritized by every team so far. Moreover, the key to success also seemed to rely on a few key picks in the draft.
Team Liquid has shown flashes of brilliance early in the tournament with the squad giving Dignitas a beating that only lasted 25 minutes. Bjergsen played a clean Orianna while Hans Sama put his Jinx mechanics on full display as they easily dismantled the game through good macro movements on the map. Even in their loss against EG, Liquid always seemed to understand map trades for most of the game. Our analysts are worried that Bwipo hasn’t fully acclimated to the top lane in quite the same fashion as Bjergsen has, which may cause some issues down the line against better opponents. However, they remain a strong team in contention for the trophy.
CLG looked miles better than we expected from them, especially this early in the season. The bot lane of Luger and Poome looked solid in terms of the eye-test, and the team plays a strong aggressive style we haven’t seen from a CLG roster in a long while. Having seen them play, we believe CLG is a top team in the bottom half of the LCS; they’re decisive and play team fights well for a newly formed team.
Prediction: While CLG did play well against DIG, EG was able to run them over through sheer mechanical differences in their next game. This CLG squad still needs improvement before it can battle with the best, making TL the favorites to win this match. TL is by far a perfect team, but their laners are more than good enough to accumulate an early lead through their laning prowess, and we think their macro is one of the best in the LCS.