It’s been a little while since we’ve actually had proper LMS matches, but we’re coming off the hot event that is IEM Taipei, where the Yoe Flash Wolves upset the king of the hill TPA. Now we are back, and here I wanted to give a preview of the matches this weekend. It’s a light week with only 4 matches before we go back to having 13 matches a week. But that’s another post all together, ON WITH THE PREVIEW!
Match 1
Logitech Snipers vs. Never Give Up
Although this is a battle of the middle tier teams, this is one of the more important matches for both teams. Logitech Snipers have been looking good in the early game, but have been giving up leads, a win against Never Give Up keeps the Snipers in the conversation with the potential of maybe cracking into the top four teams, and a loss here might be what tips them over the scale into not having a shot, and dashing playoff dreams.
Never Give Up on the other hand have been slowly climbing the standings, and with a win here, they could potentially upset the top 4 teams, by possibly sliding themselves into that number four slot. They have been looking like a team that’s really coming together as of late, and they already have the win against the Snipers when they faced them the first time, so I think both teams will be playing better than normal because they want to try and unseat AHq-Esports.
Advantage Never Give Up
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Match 2
Taipei Assassins vs AHq-Esports
Both these teams are coming out having just competed at IEM Taipei, however with a result that no one expected. Taipei Assassins have looked unshakeable sitting in the top spot, continuing to not even drop a game until they met the Yoe Flash Wolves where they played a close final, narrowly losing 2-3 against the wolves, but a loss is a loss and now we can see that TPA can bleed, you just need to cut hard enough. Now that we are coming back they will be playing against one of the top teams in the League, AHq, and they are looking to still prove they are the top dogs of the region. Although losing wont effect the standings for them at all, a win here shows they are still TPA, but a loss could bring up some questions about where the mind set of this team is after a loss.
AHq on the other hand are poised to make a big power play for the top of the standings. In a way this is a match that effects more than just AHq in the standings. A win here means that for the near future they are safe from both the Snipers and NGU from biting at the heels of 4th place. However this is still against TPA, so a loss here means they will be facing the possibility of being dropped from the top 4 teams.
Advantage Taipei Assassins
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Match 3
Never Give Up vs AHq-Esports
In a way, I think this is going to be the most interesting match to watch, because this might shake up that important fourth place. For me personally, I think the top 3 spots are almost entirely a lock between TPA, Yoe Flash Wolves, and HKES, but AHq has been a very up and down team, and Never Give Up has been looking like a team on the rise.
As stated above, if NGU beats the Snipers, and AHq loses to TPA, then the score going into this game would be AHq with a 5-4, and NGU with 4-4. If NGU does manage to beat AHq then they would be tied and there is the possibility that AHq could be overtaken.
As nice as all this sounds though, AHq is a seasoned team with many of the regions top players, but this is the match that might potentially have the biggest shake up in the roster. However if any of my above predictions are wrong, then this game has much less meaning. Either way it should be a fun match to watch because I think it will be a good way to see just how good NGU is, and if AHq has slipped at all.
Advantage AHq-Esports
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Match 4
Midnight Sun vs Hong Kong Esports
As much as I hate to sound condescending, there isn’t much to say here. Midnight Sun has been a team that has struggled against everyone, including the win they had over Dream or Reality, the team with no wins, and Hong Kong Esports looks like one of the best teams, and one of the most bloodthirsty teams in this league. My prediction is Hong Kong Esports will pick this team apart. I mean yes there is always the room for an upset, HKES can be very cocky and make a bad play, but I think the overall skill level of the team will simply overpower their opponents.
Advantage Hong Kong Esports
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As I said, this is just a bit of a preview, and my predictions for this coming weekend. We are heading into the second round where all the teams will have another chance to play each other again. Although we’ve had a season where teams are only losing to the teams above us, and one team having no one above them, we hopefully might start to see more of a fight coming from the top three teams, and full on war between AHq, NGU, and the Snipers for the fourth spot.
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