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Worlds: Group B Preview and Predictions

Group B looks exciting, but can Fnatic, IG, and ahq continue their impressive streaks through a metagame upheaval and some weaker playoff performances?

(Photo courtesy of lolesports.com)

Group B – The West’s Last Great Hope

Group B looks to provide some of the strongest and most exciting action in the group stages, where the European juggernauts Fnatic hope to punch their ticket to the playoff rounds against the likes of Chinese powerhouse Invictus Gaming, who finished the regular season rather unimpressively but powered their way to a spot at the highest stage in the LPL playoffs, as well as the strongest Taiwanese export in years in the form of ahq eSports club. Rounding out the group is Cloud 9, who made it to the tournament through one of the most unlikely gauntlet runs, looking to throw a wrench into the works and potentially upset some higher class teams.

 

The Teams

(Photo courtesy of esportspedia.com)

Fnatic (FNC)

 

Roster:

 

Easily the team with the most momentum coming into Group B, Fnatic completely ran the table during the 2015 Summer EU LCS split. Going undefeated until the playoffs, they battled through early adversity against Origen in the finals before managing to secure first place and the auto-qualification. Moreover, they proved at the Mid-Season Invitational that they can take the likes of SKT to a 5th game, simultaneously showing weakness in the Korean titans while proving that, though young, they had the mental fortitude to push anyone to their limits.

Player to watch:

As of this writing, Fnatic own the top four spots of all westerners bootcamping in Korea on the KR ladder, with Febiven and Rekkles being the only two westerners to reach the challenger tier in their short time in international territory. However, Huni’s performance during the playoffs showed an uncommon weakness top lane for Fnatic, with perhaps Huni being uncomfortable in the top lane meta at the time. With the “Juggernaut” changes coming to the professional scene for worlds, a new group of top laners enter the fray for Huni to master, and it could very much be up to him to have several strong games on the likes of Garen, Darius, and Fiora for Fnatic to secure their progress to the knockout rounds.

(Photo courtesy of esportspedia.com)

Invictus Gaming (IG)

 

Roster:

  • Coach: Won “Mafa” Sang-yeon
  • Top: Zhi-Hao “Zzitai” Liu
  • Jungle: Byung-kwon “KaKAO” Lee
  • Mid: Eui-jin “RooKie” Song
  • ADC: Yan “Kid” Ge
  • Support: Hong-Jun “Kitties” Liu

 

A slow season for Invictus Gaming was righted towards the end of the split, with a 5th place finish before a strong playoff performance accelerated them toward Worlds. They look to wrangle their momentum into a strong group stage performance, though they often showed strong dichotomy in their performances. IG have the potential and the talent to take the entire group, and potentially more. However, at their worst they could struggle with the weakest teams in the tournament. Teams like ahq and Cloud 9 don’t look too keen on allowing weak play to go unpunished.

Player to watch:

As the most entertaining jungler in League of Legends eSports' history, KaKAO’s performance will likely determine the success or failure of IG. His KDA in the games that IG won during the LPL playoffs, particularly his assists, were noticeably high. And while that’s to be expected, it’s up to KaKAO to help kick start some of IG’s weaker lanes as they go up against the best of the best.

(Photo courtesy of esportspedia.com)

ahq eSports club (ahq)

Roster:

  • Coach: Chen “Backstairs” Yan-fu
  • Top: Chen “Ziv” Yi
  • Jungle: Xue “Mountain” Zhao-Hong
  • Mid: Liu “westdoor” Shue-Wei
  • ADC: Chou “AN” Chun-An
  • Support: Kang “Albis” Chia-Wei

 

Ahq come into Group B as the strongest Taiwan/LMS team to reach Worlds since Taipei Assassins took home the trophy in Season 2. Changing from a pure mid-lane carry team into a team fight-centric club, ahq hope to use their impeccable coordination against their opponents. Hoping to fight early and often, ahq love to bring the global group compositions to table. However, they live and die by the sword, and have proven that their one-track minds can cause issues with various aspects of game control, such as vision and wave management. With an identical roster to the one who put up surprising results at MSI, ahq completely shred teams in the LMS Summer split. ahq hope their particular brand of controlled chaos is able to shake up Fnatic, IG, Cloud 9, and potentially the rest of the tournament.

Player to watch:

Westdoor and AN tend to play champions that obviously favor team fights, but Westdoor’s Twisted Fate and his Fizz are some of the more terrorizing matchups the other midlaners in Group B will have to endure. In a group full of fantastic midlane players, Westdoor’s early game success can help throttle ahq into their favorite stage of the game as quickly as possible, while hoping to keep the likes of Febiven, RooKie, and Incarnati0n away from power spikes as long as possible.

 

(Photo courtesy of lolesports.com)

Cloud9 (C9)

Roster:

 

Reaching the World Championship in the most unlikely fashion, Cloud 9 reverse swept 2 gauntlet opponents before thoroughly outplaying Team Liquid. It was a move which owner Charlie Lipsie foresaw as he pre-purchased tickets to Korea for the team the night before. Immediately flying out to Korea, Cloud 9 has been bootcamping in Korea since the day after their final victory in the North American gauntlet. However, the ability to retain composure in best-of-5 matches, a stark contrast to the one and done regular season matches that occur in the LCS, shows that they might not be completely outclassed at the event. Unfortunately, the group stages are also one game ordeals. Therefore, Cloud 9 have a tough mountain to scale if they’re to make it to the knockout stages.

Player to watch:

While Sneaky and Incarnati0n have been steadily chipping away at the Korean ladder, both are currently seated as Masters. We all know that solo queue doesn’t matter (thanks, Jatt!) and the success of Cloud 9 has hinged on midlane-turned-jungler Hai since his exit from retirement several months ago. Hai’s performance in the NA gauntlet were indicative of his team’s performance. When he struggled, so did Cloud 9. But when he thrived, Cloud 9 looked unbeatable. Hai’s shotcalling is obviously impressive, one of the best that the North American pro scene has ever seen, but his performance to back up his shotcalls are where Cloud 9 rest their hopes.

Predictions:

  1. Fnatic (5-1)
  2. ahq (4-2)
  3. IG (3-3)
  4. Cloud 9 (1-5)

 

Group B promises fireworks, as even the weakest link could trip up any of the teams above them when on form. IG and C9 are basically two different versions of the same famous tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Two different teams when at their best and worst, I don’t see either remaining consistent enough in the staggered group stages to draw an impressive effort. Meanwhile, Fnatic and ahq will need to have adjusted to the drastic meta change immediately prior to worlds if they hope to do well. Yet, they’ve both shown resilience to change over the past calendar year and will likely be the two to make it out alive.

The Fnatic and ahq matches will be the most pivotal, as Fnatic could easily succumb to the early aggressive pressure that ahq looks to apply in all of their games. However, Fnatic’s strategic thinking can be the deathknell for the single-minded ahq. IG could come out swinging with their crisp imperative decisions and stong laning phases which will certainly decide their fate in groups. Alongside, Cloud 9 look to just capitalize on their good fortune in making it to Worlds by maybe learning some things, getting their new midlaner some international experience, and potentially popping off against one of the superior teams.

 

(Frontpage photo courtesy of esports.inquirer.net)

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