NA LCS Summer Playoffs: Quarterfinal Reflections
The 2017 NA LCS Summer Playoff Quarterfinals are in the rear-view mirror. Team Dignitas and Counter Logic Gaming will advance to the Semifinals. Cloud 9 and Team EnVyUs won’t.
Going into the first slate of postseason games, each of the four quarterfinalists had something to prove. Fresh off a Classico defeat, Counter Logic Gaming hoped to rebound against Team EnVyUs and claim desperately needed Championship Points. They did just enough to outmaneuver a revitalized Envy, for whom simply making playoffs can be counted as a success. Despite playing with house money, Envy were valiant in defeat and looked the better side for much of the series, finally capitulating in a close Game 5.
Team Dignitas lit up the second half of NA LCS with a high-octane style that secured wins over Immortals, TSM and CLG, but it was Cloud 9—the only team to beat them twice this split—who met Dig in Quarterfinals. C9 entered playoffs on a six-match win streak and looked absolutely lethal, yet Dignitas was unfazed, repeatedly twisted the knife to eliminate C9 from the playoffs in four games.
CLG and Dignitas punched their tickets to Boston with Quarterfinal wins, but will either make the Finals? Dignitas face Team SoloMid, a team they beat twice during Summer Split by significant margins, but these are the defending champs we’re talking about. CLG will resume their rivalry with Immortals and Xmithie, having already lost the five-game season series 4-1. Is CLG a bigger underdog than Dignitas?
Storylines abound as postseason play resumes this weekend, but before we get there, let’s pause for some Quarterfinals reflections.
Is Shrimp the MVP for Dignitas Right Now?
Quick: Who was the MVP for Team Dignitas against Cloud 9? Was it Altec and Adrian, the incredible duo that embarrassed Sneaky and Smoothie in the bot lane? Was it Ssumday, their 1st NA LCS All-Pro top laner? Or was it Keane, who held his own in the mid lane against Jensen, the presumptive MVP of Summer Split?
My answer? None of the above. While Dignitas benefited from strong performances across their lineup, Shrimp’s play in the jungle was the catalyst that propelled them to victory. Set up by a pair of double kills after losing his Flash near the start of the Game 1, Shrimp’s 4-4-14 opening statement set the tone for Dignitas. He pressured lanes, secured objectives, and kept Contractz and Jensen from snowballing mid. Pools of internet ink have been spilled praising Altec and Adrian, but don’t forget Shrimp’s ganks bot that either relieved lane pressure or closed the vice.
For more evidence, consult Game 3, aka the Nocturne Game. Instead of flexing Jarvan IV to the jungle (a champion Shrimp had already proven capable on in Game 1) or picking a more conventional/comfort jungler (Rek’Sai, Lee Sin, Nunu), Dignitas reached deep into the pocket and produced Nocturne. With Shrimp on an unfamiliar champ that has poor pathing and clear speed, plus Shrimp’s decision to try a tanky Cinderhulk build over Nocturne’s preferred Warrior/Lethality path, Dignitas fell apart within the first few minutes. Contractz casually invaded Blue, chunked Shrimp down, placed a ward and retreated, then immediately returned to Shrimp as he cleared Gromp for First Blood.
Without a solid performance from their jungler, Dignitas were at sea. They lost Rift Herald, Baron, took no drakes and only destroyed a single turret. Shrimp got back on the Nunu train for Game 4, helping draw the early game even before stalling out the game to get Altec online. He won’t get the headlines for this series, but without a competent jungler like Shrimp, the Dignitas’ aggressive teamplay just doesn’t work.
The High-Tempo Objective Control Suits Dignitas
Summer Split was a roller coaster of styles for Team Dignitas. What began as weekly Ssumday carry sessions on top lane bruisers like Fiora quickly devolved into lengthy, unproductive slogs once teams began limiting his snowball. Ssumday transitioned from carries to tanks, and games that once were decided by the mid game because exercises in late game split-pushing futility. Ssumday needed to split bot, but he also needed to be in every fight for Dig to win them.
Two weeks of trying and failing to make carry Ssumday work led to the introduction of Altec and Adrian, a dynamic bot lane that balanced Dignitas across the map, opening the high-tempo objective control style that has earned them a spot in the Semifinals. Suddenly, Dignitas were the aggressors, invading with Nunu, Jarvan or even Graves for a time, pushing for early drakes and towers, eventually setting up a climactic Baron fight that often ended the game. Their Week 7 demolition of Semifinal opponent Team SoloMid is Exhibit A: Win bot lane, get First Turret, rotate and win fights, set up Baron vision, get a pick, immediately take Baron, then end the game off the power play push.
Dignitas have picked up wins over TSM, Immortals, CLG and now Cloud 9 using this bullying style. Its success hinges on choices made in the early game, using Shrimp to pressure an advantageous lane and snowballing from there, never relenting. To execute at this tempo requires superb teamplay, with threats at every position. Not everyone can do it; for the first half of Summer Split, Dig couldn’t either. Watching Dignitas punch above their weight in such dominant fashion is exciting to watch, raising the legitimate prospect of TSM missing the Finals for the first time in NA LCS history.
Can Cloud 9 Bounce Back?
It took only four games for Cloud 9’s triumphant end of Summer Split to completely unravel. Game 1 ended once Shrimp killed Contractz and Impact top in a fight reminiscent of Dignitas’ own feeding against Immortals back in Week 4. Cloud 9 had opportunities to turn both of their first two loses around with massive team fight victories in the late game, but couldn’t capitalize off them. Game 4 was a nightmare; when Sneaky’s outstanding play on Tristana and a 10k lead at 35 minutes with three inhibitors down isn’t enough, I’m not sure what could be. Had Dignitas not thrown the Game 3 draft with a bonkers Nocturne pick, this series would have been a sweep.
The knock against C9 all season was that in order for them to win, Jensen had to hard carry. He was virtuosic to end Summer Split, but against Dignitas Jensen was placed on Cassiopeia, a champion chosen less for his excellence on it and more to deny it from Keane. In five Summer games on the champion, Jensen earned four of his wins against non-playoff teams. His fifth game was a loss to TSM. Taliyah was on the table; was the mana nerf that significant to discount his 7-0-8 performance on her the last time C9 played Dignitas? Why not prioritize LeBlanc when it was left unbanned, or ban Cassiopeia and take Syndra within the first two picks if available?
C9 needed mid lane to go well if they wanted to stay competitive with Dignitas, but they focused bot lane—a lane they weren’t going to win—above the lane they had to have. Compounding that issue was Jensen’s poor positioning in team fights, frequently getting caught ahead of his frontline and killed at the start. Jensen died four times in Game 1; he died five times combined over the previous two weeks. To be fair, the mid meta is in flux with changes to several popular mages in 7.16, so we don’t know who exactly the pros value anymore. The tier list is being revised on stage, but it doesn’t excuse C9 from not playing around Jensen, nor his own misplays once it became clear C9 trusted him to win regardless of the matchup.
Speaking of champion pools, Cloud 9’s inability to incorporate Maokai allowed Ssumday to heavily influence all three Dignitas wins with the Twisted Treant. That the staff knew enough to deny Keane his Cassiopeia but allowed Ssumday access to one of his most played champions was a troubling oversight. Impact frequently bested Ssumday’s Maokai in CS, but a Maokai top is meant to win the game, not the lane.
Cloud 9 will now face the uncertainty of the Regional Gauntlet in order to qualify for Worlds. Their 90 Championship Points won’t be enough to earn North America’s second seed. LCS rules stipulate that, in the event of a tie, the team that earned more CP in Summer wins, meaning that the Summer Playoff Runner Up is guaranteed to supersede them. Hopefully they’ll take advantage of this unexpected time off and bounce back; nothing less is expected from a team with their talent and experience.
Envy Glorious in Defeat
After weeks of punching bag duty at the expense of top teams, Team EnVyUs proved to all doubters that they belonged in the postseason.
This series wasn’t supposed to be close, especially when you consider how badly Counter Logic Gaming beat Envy the last time they met in Week 8. Back then, Lira couldn’t get any purchase across the map, and Seraph barely showed up. Both games were decided well before their eventual sub-31-minute endpoints, and CLG barely broke a sweat.
A different Envy showed up in the Quarterfinals. They were prepared, confident, and were the better team for the majority of their 185-minute bout with CLG. From objective control to clean execution of the 1-3-1 down the stretch, Envy played with the veteran swagger CLG were supposed to possess. During their wins in Games 2 and 3, Envy secured nine drakes to CLG’s zero, taking one Baron each time and breaking the Nexus with it.
Apollo and Hakuho had a fantastic series, outplaying Sitxxay and Aphromoo in lane in every game. Thresh or Nautilus; it didn’t matter for Hakuho, just get the man a hook. Wasn’t Aphro supposed to be the playmaker? In the jungle, Lira did what he couldn’t in previous meetings: stay aggressive and make OmarGod look like the rookie he is. As for Envy’s own rookie, Nisqy deftly switched gears from his own preferred carry mids like Corki or Cassiopeia to Galio, a supportive mid he had not played on stage during Summer Split. Even Seraph had a moment of redemption, splitting so hard on a fed Trundle in Game 3 that he single-handedly broke bot lane inhibitor while Darshan’s Maokai could only defend with love taps.
After impressive wins in Games 2 and 3, Game 4 was Envy’s for 25 minutes, up 6.3k gold, five kills and two drakes to the good. But in attempting to take their third drake, Envy mispositioned around the pit and were successfully flanked by Darshan’s Gnar, a massive loss that cost them the drake, the initiative, map control and eventually the series.
Envy would have been a spicy side at Regionals, but their 10th place finish in Spring Split eliminates them from Worlds consideration. Now comes the long off-season and time to look back with pride on their Summer growth. GG WP Envy, and see you in 2018.
CLG’s Solo Laners Were the Difference
After three games of subpar League of Legends, it became clear that CLG—down 2-1 to Envy—could no longer attempt to win through bot lane or their jungle. OmarGod was getting out-rotated, Hakuho was landing hook after hook, and Stixxay wasn’t getting the space he needed to snowball. Omar couldn’t influence a lane, and the constant pressure bot lane prevented CLG from controlling drake or releasing Aphromoo to make plays roaming.
Backs against the wall, CLG turned Game 4 over to their solo laners. Darshan was lights out in Game 4, finishing 7-0-7 and dealing twice as much damage as Seraph’s Cho’Gath. His flank on the Envy back line at the drake pit triggered the subsequent 17-2 kill run CLG went on to end the game. Huhi, who had been eating 3-4 bans a draft, outplayed Nisqy’s Galio in a matchup designed to disadvantage him, finishing 2-1-15 and securing kill after kill.
Given a chance to heal the wound caused by his abysmal Game 5 against FlyQuest in Spring Quarterfinals, Darshan didn’t shrink from the challenge, again championing Camille in a Quarterfinals Game 5. This time, his split pushing didn’t throw the game, solo killing Seraph’s Gnar twice and granting Stixxay the space to carry CLG to victory. Huhi’s Corki stood up to a surprise Kog’Maw mid counterpick by Nisqy, and CLG advanced by virtue of the experience and skill of their solo laners.
Trouble Going Forward for CLG
If CLG struggled to defeat Envy, how are they going to hang with Immortals? What lanes can they reasonably expect to win? What deficiencies can they hope to exploit? Immortals lost the top seed to TSM due to an inferior game record, but no team looked more cohesive or complete heading into the postseason.
It’s clear that Aphromoo and OmarGod will have to improve in order for CLG to contest objectives and help Sitxxay scale into the late game. From missed skillshots to unproductive rotations, Aphromoo and OmarGod had a series to forget. OmarGod will be tested by Xmithie, who not only has the experience to exploit a rookie jungler, but the inside knowledge of his former team to anticipate their tendencies. Aphromoo cannot afford a repeat of his ineffective performance against Envy when Olleh is such a monster across the map.
Due to the inexperience of their jungler, CLG is forced to first pick OmarGod’s champion so their rookie has some comfort to rely on. Not only does this limit CLG’s drafting strategy, but if Immortals ban out Gragas, and Zac continues his slow slide out of the meta, what champion will OmarGod turn to? He’s 6-1 on Gragas and 2-5 on everyone else. Omar’s inexperience and narrow champion pool is a huge issue for CLG going forward, and something they can’t quickly correct.
CLG couldn’t defeat Immortals in the regular season, and now NA LCS Coach of the Split Ssong has five games of 7.16 tape available to break down. Unless I’m very much mistaken, CLG will need to win Regionals to qualify for Worlds.