LoL Ties on LoL: 40 Thoughts #1

LoL Ties on LoL
40 Thoughts #1 – 2015 Offseason for the LCS 

Hi all, it’s the Chief Knot-Head of the LoL Ties team here. As explained on twitter I wanted to write something while on breaks etc but there’s nothing going on as far as ties are concerned right now, and it’s hard to get into the groove of a longform piece during a break anyway. So I decided to flagrantly thieve the great hockey writer Elliotte Friedman’s “30 thoughts” concept and do a piece with 40 thoughts on LoL within it.

The 40 thoughts will be a collection of thoughts that I personally (as the chief) or the team have discussed as we talk about league, primarily league esports. These won’t all be about a particular league – and nor will it all be about the west. It just happens to be so for the first time. For this first time I’ll be listing one question or thought that is cause for hope, and one that is cause for concern for each of the NA and EU LCS teams *. So let’s get started

NA

CLG

1: All reports suggest that they are returning Aphromoo, who, when you scan the names of who is confirmed to play on rosters is still a top 2 support in the region.
2: There are still question marks at the carry roles. If Zion stays as seems likely, that’s a nod in their favour.

TSM

3: Good lord, this team on paper.
4: The new head coach has made it his calling card to stamp out egos on this roster. Is he pushing fertilizer uphill trying to do so with this roster?

Team Liquid

5: Made their roster decisions early, which gives their team plenty of time to build and gel, which seemed to be something they were behind the 8-ball on all season.
6: Was Peter scapegoated? How much of the P/B issues sat solely with him, and how much with their other staff?

Dignitas

7: Brokenshard, Razleplasm and Innerflame have produced results at the Challenger Scene level. LCS is not the same as CS, but they have achieved before.
8: If the rumoured roster is confirmed, those who are staying from season 5 will need to prove a lot of public doubters wrong. Mind you, that can be such a satisfying thing to accomplish.

Cloud 9

9: From an outside perspective, C9 still has the best top-level (management/executive) staff in the region. When/If I grow up I want to be Jack.
10: The carries are sound but there are going to be questions to be answered about the other 3 roles. Season 5 C9 never seemed to have great performances out of more than 3 roles at a time.

Immortals

11: Welp, they have options a-plenty.
12: They seem to be import-dependent. Can they build a competitive enough roster out of the scraps of Free Agency?

NRG

13: Strong roster on paper. GBM HYPE!
14: The controversy as to whether or not they’re allowed to field this roster has the potential to disrupt or distract from their preseason preparation. Hope this doesn’t happen.

Renegades

15: The ghost of LCS past (Crumbz and Alex Ich) combines with the new blood to make an exciting team. They’ll be fun to watch.
16: With a League-celebrity owner and Remilia breaking new ground, off-season distractions will follow this team. It sucks that their attention (at the beginning at least) won’t be on their play but I fear it’s unavoidable. I genuinely hope they make it about their play quickly.

* We limited the thoughts to those orgs that have confirmed spots for next season. As the GV and TiP slots are currently for sale, we’ll devote their thoughts to the NA scene as a whole.

17: EU reacted to the disappointment of Season 4 Worlds with this year’s showing. Was this Worlds the kick in the backside NA needed to smarten up?
18: The consistent orgs produced domestic results in Season 5 – see Cloud 9, CLG and TSM. If other orgs can stick it out, they’ll be in a position to succeed. Stability seems to breed success in this region.
19: What will the summer split be like after relegations? Will the HTC Ascension tournament shake itself out into a challenger scene that will produce something worthy?
20: Can competitive talent be cultivated out of this Solo Q environment?  It seems that those within high elo SoloQ and those looking for it are unhappy with the opportunities. Does the environment need to change, or the attitude toward it, or both?

EU

Fnatic

21: Simply still the best until proven otherwise.
22: Worlds is the first time this squad has underachieved to their expectations. Their ability to rebound from that will be tested, and they’ve lost a key piece of their infrastructure

Origen

23: The bot lane are shining lights of the league.
24: We’re reluctant to put anything here because if Amazing catches wind of it we’re all donezo. But for how much longer can they sandpaper over Soaz producing a rotten egg of a result once in every 4-5 games?

H2K

25: Odoamne and Ryu are both really good players that can be built around
26: Is the brand damaged from the Svenskeren leaks? Can they complete a similarly performing team with what’s left in EU Free Agency?

Unicorns of Love

27: If the roster rumours are confirmed, the carry roles will be occupied with players who have been considered “also-rans” to success stories. They’ll have a chip on their shoulders to prove themselves in their own right.
28: How many times can they go back to Gilius and have him be not the droids they’re looking for? At least once more, apparently.

Roccat

29: Tantalizing us with the lure of one of the strongest on-paper rosters in EU history 🙂
30: Still only tantalizing us with the lure of one of the strongest on-paper rosters in EU history 🙁

Giants Gaming

31: Pepiinero is a beast. Was spring a fluke/stage jitters?
32: Was summer a fluke? Adryh, if he returns, tends to struggle whenever he doesn’t have 3 kills before 10 minutes.

Elements

33: Perhaps a(nother) new chapter is what the team needs? Will Froggen ever capture the team-wide magic again?
34: The whole of this team just never quite manages to be as strong as the sum of its parts

Gamers2

35: Team looked dynamite at times during the Challenger Series
36: Dynamite can sometimes blow up in your face. Questions relating to infrastructure will need to be answered, and having staff concerns is a no-fly zone in EU.

Gambit

37: Shaunz, like Kayle, can do it. Unless “it” is “wear a tie”. (We had to get one in there 😉 )
38: Roster relies on stability to perform. Who even is the roster?!

Follow Esports

39: A team who all speak the same language natively is great, and doesn’t seem super common in the multicultural EU.
40: Can Trashy shake off a rough split at NME where off-rift distractions seemed to dog the team throughout the split?

That’s all for our first 40 thoughts. We hope you’ve enjoyed the first LoL Ties on LoL. Until next time, happy tying, godbless and always mind your KDS.

– The Chief Knot-Head
For the LoL Ties Team