Now that week 1 of the group stage is gone we take a look back at the matches that were played and see how that bodes for the future of the tournament.
Every single group has played at least 1 match, including every Western team. So how did the games go?
Unsurprisingly EnVyUs won their match against MVP Infinity but the match did not go as expected. MVP Infinity made EnVyUs work hard for their win and for a time it looked like nV might not even win the match. A lot of this can be attributed to Taimou having visa issues and the team not being able to scrim and live together. This was the first time that they had truly played side by side since MLG Vegas nearly 2 months ago; and the rust showed. The team wasn’t as coordinated as they usually are, but you could see things started to click for them as the match continued.
nV did not look like the team that won the championship last year, but then again they also struggled earlier on in that season so that doesn't mean much. They just need more practice together.
The 2nd match was LuxuryWatch Blue vs Misfits. This was a very interesting match as it was the first real chance for Misfits to show off their new roster with a good amount of practice under their belt. They did play in one tournament (IEM Gyeonggi) since the 3-way trade but it didn’t go well. However, they have had quite a bit of time to work together now and so many saw this as their first real chance to prove themselves.
With that said, they did not look like the Misfits of last year.
They ended up losing to LW Blue 3-1. LW Blue simply outplayed them at every turn. Throughout the games you kept seeing moments of brilliance from Misfits, glimpses of what could be, but they were not enough to build a victory on. Misfits will only get better as the season continues, and Korea is the best place to make these leaps of teamwork. If they manage to get better fast enough then they should have a solid chance at making it out of their group.
Today we saw Cloud9 vs Conbox Spirit where Cloud9 walked away with a 3-1 victory. Throughout the match you could see moments where Cloud9 seemed to fall apart and then their individual skill would wrest victory from the jaws of defeat; but, those moments were few and far between. It appeared as though the introduction of Gods to the roster didn’t reduce the chemistry and co-ordination of Cloud9. They look cool and composed, never tilting or making pressure-driven plays. Conbox Spirit also performed admirably but they simply couldn’t match the skill and co-ordination that Cloud9 displayed. Despite some stellar plays such as a reflected Graviton Surge leading to a near team wipe, Conbox was outmatched going up against Cloud9.
Fnatic vs Kongdoo Panthera was expected to a be a close matchup with neither team having the true edge. But this wasn't the case in practice. Kongdoo showed that they deserved their win with convincing play that seemed to take Fnatic by surprise. Things like having Rascal play Pharah and just dominating on both Ilios and Eichenwalde, pushed Kongdoo to a convincing 3-0 victory.
So far the East vs West competition is at a draw, East- 2, West- 2.
What can we infer for the rest of the tournament?
It appears that the Western teams have to iron out a few wrinkles because the only one that performed as expected was Cloud9 and that wasn’t against the hardest opponent in their group either. We will have to wait to see how Cloud9 handles someone a little more of their caliber. Fnatic and Misfits both have some work to do if they want to stay competitive in this tournament. Luckily this was just the first week of a long tournament so they have time to practice and come back to show that they deserve their invites.
The Asian teams came out swinging. Every single western team lost their first game against their opponent. It appears that the West needed some time to adapt to their Korean opponents; with some adapting in time and others adapting too late, or not adapting at all. Adaptation will be the key to winning this tournament; especially with a new patch almost guaranteed to come out during this tournament. That will throw a wrench into teams like Kongdoo Panthera who had EVERMORE dominate on his Roadhog making their victory even easier. What happens when the new Roadhog hook comes out and he can no longer get the same kind of picks that he has been? And what about Dva? Will Mickie be able to transition to other heroes? Will anyone incorporate the new Sombra into their strategies?
With such a long season it is important to think about the future and how your team is going to adapt throughout the season. Best positioned to adapt well would be Cloud9, Misfits and Lunatic Hai.
Cloud9 positioned themselves well right before the tournament with the acquisition of Gods who is a great DPS and has a decent hero pool. This means that if we switch off of the tank meta in the middle of the tournament they are well positioned to take advantage of lower health pools and have more DPS running around. Other teams such as Conbox Spirit may be able to take advantage of the chaos that always follows a patch and get performances that they may otherwise not be able to manage.
Adaptation is key.
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