This week competitive League of Legends returned to all major competition regions worldwide after a week long hiatus in some regions for the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice tournament.
With just one week remaining in the League Championship Series (LCS) and slightly more in China and Korea’s top leagues, the competition in League is even more fierce. Playoff spots and even careers are on the line as teams battle to avoid relegation and to grasp the ever elusive league title that could carry them to the world stage.
Beatrice Yuen
Team SoloMid may have won at IEM, but they returned to America with a loss to Gravity Gaming. This week’s big risers were LCS newcomers Gravity and Team 8, who both own two matches to reach 9-7 in the standings, tied for the final two playoff spots. The pair will face off on the final day of the season next week in a game that likely determines their playoff fate.
In Europe, Meet Your Makers continues to claw their way out of the bottom of the barrel, now tied with Giants Gaming in their bid to avoid auto-relegation. The addition of “NoXiaK” at support, who posted a 12.5 KDA this week with 92.6 percent kill participation, has taken the team to another level. The bottom of the standings is also slated for an epic final showdown. After two losses, Copenhagen Wolves is just one game ahead of ROCCAT and Elements, with one playoff spot and one relegation spot to split among them.
Much like SK Gaming, GE Tigers returned from Katowice to their home turf with a win, washing away the bitter taste of a poor international performance by decimating fellow IEM attendee CJ Entus. SK Telecom T1 clinched a spot in the playoffs with a win over Incredible Miracle. CJ Entus and Jin Air Green Wings will likely follow, as NaJin e-Mfire has a tougher schedule to close out the season.
In China, Edward Gaming continues to make their case as the best team in the world. No one has touched them all season long, and this week they took care of business by winning all three series 2-0. Granted, those games weren’t against teams at the top of the table. But consider this: No other team, not even OMG, has 2-0’d more series than they’ve tied at 1-1 in the League of Legends Pro League. Edward Gaming’s 14-3-1 record, with a 31-5 map count, is domination. But there are a few teams making strides. Vici Gaming pulled off an impressive upset win over Snake, in part thanks to top laner Wang “Carry” Zu-Jing playing true to his namesake. He posted 10 kills in the second match on Fizz, with a 13.5 KDA for the series.
Just one week remains in the LCS regular season in North America and Europe, with three weeks left in Korea and two in China. The regular season is quickly coming to a close, but that means we’re racing ever closer to the playoffs, where every region will crown a champion to send to the Midseason Invitational in May.
