In case you missed the matches over the weekend, here's a little guide to help you catch up!
Week One of the North American League Championship Series surely did not disappoint. We expected that the 2016 Spring Split will be completely different compared to the 2015 Summer Split due to the many roster changes that occurred throughout the offseason and for now it still holds true. For those of you who missed the debut of the new season, here’s a little guide to help you get the gist of what occurred over the weekend.
Game Changing Plays
NRG vs DIG:
With NRG eSports not having their complete roster on Day One, many expected them to not do so well. They faced off against Team Dignitas, where DIG seemed more likely to win due to the fact that they had their complete roster and more time to play as a team due to IEM Cologne. Things were looking good for DIG up until a fight after securing dragon occurred, diminishing the lead DIG once held. Top Laner Lennart “SmittyJ” Warkus’ Malphite ult onto enemy ADC Johnny “Altec” Ru may seem like a good idea, but Changseok “GBM” Lee’s stun as Viktor changed the fight as NRG were able to feed Altec a triple kill and pushed mid. DIG continued to make mistakes as they attempt to take down baron three times, only to have the first one stopped due to Alan “KiWiKiD” Nguyen getting executed and the second and third stolen by GBM.
TL vs REN
It wasn’t just DIG who had trouble securing baron. During the Renegades vs Team Liquid match, REN were able to dominate early game. After taking down baron, the team went overly aggressive and aimed for just getting kills rather than pushing down the mid lane and ending the game. They ended up feeding enemy ADC GwangJin “Piglet” Chae, enabling him to purchase items that would help increase their team’s chances on winning. The game kept going back and forth, with both teams making mistakes. It was up until the point where TL attempted to baron, but Jungler Alberto “Crumbzz” Rengifo was able to steal it, ensuring REN’s first victory in the LCS.
TSM vs TL
During Day 2 of the NA LCS, both Team SoloMid and Team Liquid look to go 1-1 in the standings after both teams lost to their opponents during Day 1. All looked well for the TL squad as they were able to secure dominance throughout the early game. Most team fights went in favor of TL, up until a fight in the mid lane went wrong. Having a tanky front line, it was hard for TL to shred TSM’s health bars, causing the fight to be prolonged. TL started to lose their members to TSM, and instead of trying to run back to base, TL’s mid laner JaeHun “FeniX” Kim flash ulted as Orianna towards the TSM team. Although he was able to deal a great amount of damage, he was unable to secure any kills and instantly died alongside his team as TSM were able to ace them. Because the death timers were so long at that point in the game, TSM were able to push down mid and take the nexus.
Standings
Both Immortals and NRG were the only two teams to secure 1st place after Week One. IMT also made LCS history when they were able to defeat Team Impulse in 18:15 – now known as the fastest winning time for an LCS match. Below these two teams are Team SoloMid, Counter Logic Gaming, Renegades, Echo Fox, Cloud 9, and Team Dignitas, who all went 1-1 over the weekend. Sadly, team Liquid and Team Impulse reside at the bottom of the standings – a place where both teams are not used to being.
Conclusion:
Because it’s only the beginning, we should expect more surprises to come our way. Everything is not set in stone, so where the teams are placed now in the standings will most likely change by next week. By them, teams will most likely have full access to their starting roster and be able to practice more as a completed line-up.
