NA LCS Semifinal Reflections
The matchups for Boston are set.
With their one-sided series wins last weekend, Immortals and Team SoloMid will meet in the finals to crown a champion for 2017 NA LCS Summer Split. For TSM, it will be a record-setting tenth straight finals appearance, dating back to the league’s inception in 2013. The favorites will meet Immortals, a finals first-timer despite two impeccable splits in 2016. Both teams have qualified for Worlds, the only question remaining being who will earn the #1 NA seed. Expect an absolute show at the TD Garden this Sunday afternoon filled with pocket picks and cheese comps waiting to be released.
All eyes will be drawn to the final between Immortals and TSM, but don’t forget about the Battle for 3rd Place on Saturday. While the old money v. new money finals has regional pride and a trophy on the line, its Worlds implications are largely set. Not so for the 3rd Place series, as Counter Logic Gaming and Team Dignitas will compete to receive a bye into the regional semifinals. The loser will face FlyQuest in the first leg of the gauntlet next week.
Before we settle into what should be an exciting weekend of League of Legends, let’s reflect on the semifinals that set the stage.
Immortals’ Immaculate Macro Play Decided the Series
What separated Immortals from Counter Logic Gaming last Saturday wasn’t individual play. Sure, Olleh always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, but the same could be said of Aphromoo in Game 1. Huhi averaged 1130 (!) damage per minute to Pobelter’s 691, Stixxay’s CS per minute and DPM (9.0 and 725) were nearly identical to Cody Sun’s (9.0 and 795), but none of it mattered. OmarGod struggled in the matchup against Xmithie, but it’s hard to claim that CLG’s failure to advance rests entirely on his underperforming shoulders. So why the clean sweep by Immortals?
There’s an argument to be made that the talent levels of CLG and Immortals are relatively even, but at a macro level, the two teams are headed in different directions. Immortal’s incredible teamplay allows them to control the map in ways most North American teams can’t, creating macro advantages that decide games independently from team fights. Immortals always seem to be trading up in objectives, or making plays on one side of the map that directly influence the other side.
Consider the way CLG lost their bot inhibitor to minions in Games 1 and 2. It was a conscious choice by Immortals to play around top side in the mid game, taking advantage of CLG’s eagerness to fight and thereby drawing attention away from their slow push bot. CLG could only watch as minions broke their inhibitor turret as they fruitlessly attempted to control Baron and/or recoup their lost early game with one massive fight.
The best professional teams force their opponents into lose-lose situations. Stop the fed split pusher or contest Baron? Take a bad fight around drake or surrender a third infernal? Repeatedly force a 5v5 to keep the game close or spend valuable time pushing back lanes? There are no good answers here; the aim is to avoid the question entirely. Immortals never gave CLG that chance, out-rotating and out-farming them at every juncture to create a lead that could survive mixed team fight results.
Superior macro from Immortals won them the series, and bodes well for Worlds, a competition that rewards teams over collections of individuals.
Cody Sun Didn’t Wilt in His Playoff Debut
OmarGod and Nisqy weren’t the only playoff debutantes this postseason. Cody Sun, whose rookie split this spring was marred by a 7th place finish by Immortals, took the playoff stage for the first time Saturday. Across three games, Immortals’ ADC finished 16-6-23 (6.5 KDA, 65% KP), drafting Kog’Maw in each victory.
Immortals haven’t shown much emphasis on Kog’Maw before this series, drafting the Mouth of the Abyss only five times during Summer Split. Cody was 3-2 on the champion before Saturday’s games, playing it for the first time on stage since Week 6 vs. Cloud 9. Back then, Immortals used it as a direct counter to the same Xayah/Rakan bot lane they saw three times against CLG last weekend, preferring this long-range artillery champion as an answer to Xayah’s rising priority in North America.
Xayah and Rakan strike an imposing figure in the bot lane, two early game bullies that can initiate and trade from long distance. Immortals chose not to respond with Jhin, Cody’s most played champion this Summer. It’s a pick Immortals have so much confidence with that they once drafted a four-tank lineup to surround Cody with (against CLG, no less). But Jhin has fallen out of the meta due to Kog’Maw’s better late game scaling and relative mobility when compared to the Virtuoso. Plus, the Lethality buffs haven’t had the game-breaking impact many expected them to have (especially since Duskblade was de-powered), making Jhin an lessor late game team fighter to a 100% crit carry.
But regardless of counter pick status, Cody still had to perform on Kog’Maw. He didn’t disappoint, shaking off an uneven Game 1 with an excellent Game 2 (10-1-8, 72% KP). I liked the adaptation in Cody’s build between the first two games, favoring Wit’s End over Essence Reaver to better exploit the passive on Guinsoo’s Rageblade. Game 3 was a stomp, but all Cody needed to do was back up his playmaking veterans, riding with Olleh’s Tahm Kench directly into the backline after Flame and Pobelter smashed the front.
Cody will face a sterner test bot against Doublelift and Biofrost on Sunday, and with TSM drafting Kog’Maw three times during the second semifinal, expect it to be a very contested pick. Whose Maw will reign supreme?
What’s Next for Counter Logic Gaming?
Counter Logic Gaming had their moments against Immortals, but they were few and far between. Huhi was his usual steady-yet-unpredictable self in the mid lane, providing massive damage no matter what champion he was given (three different champions total: Viktor, Vel’Koz and Corki). His forceful hand in fights deserved a better result.
It was exciting to see Aphromoo back on Rakan again after introducing the champion to NA LCS in the early weeks of summer; he kept CLG within striking distance in Game 1 with timely Rakambo initiations. But as Immortals saw more of the strategy, the less impact Aphro had, and CLG’s chances soured with his diminished influence. Stixxay did what he could on Xayah—who he hadn’t played since Week 3 when everyone was experimenting with the Vastayan Duo—but it was interesting watching her ride up CLG’s ADC tier list when both Ashe and Caitlyn were available. I suppose if CLG’s priority was to put Aphro on Rakan, they might as well play Xayah too for the extra Battle Dance range.
But the bottom line was that CLG couldn’t match Immortal’s teamplay, and in no matchup was the discrepancy starker than OmarGod versus Xmithie. The rookie jungler was played off the map in Game 2, finishing 0-8-9 and was routinely caught out by Xmithie and Olleh during well-coordinated invades. He was unable to pressure lanes or secure objectives all series; CLG lost the drake battle 8-4 and did not take a single Baron to Immortal’s six.
But to lay the sweep solely at Omar’s door would be disingenuous, a knee-jerk reaction from fans looking for an easy scapegoat. Omar actually had an excellent start to Game 3, ganking each lane once in the first few minutes and getting kills in the solo lanes, including First Blood on Flame (credit went to Darshan). Sure, it was Omar who sat on a brush ward that tipped Immortals off to a gank mid that they eventually turned into three kills, but the pieces were there for CLG to put together. They just didn’t have enough time to integrate Omar seamlessly enough to contend for a title. CLG knew better than anyone the weaknesses of their young jungler and chose to start him anyway rather than keep Dardoch around through playoffs. Is OmarGod’s limited champion pool a problem? Absolutely, but it wasn’t news to CLG. If a carpenter builds a chair with only two legs, do you blame the chair for collapsing or the carpenter?
To beat Team Dignitas in the 3rd place match, CLG will need to step up across the board to compensate for OmarGod’s shortcomings. Xayah and Rakan didn’t look so bad as to not warrant more attention after a week of practice, but Dignitas banned Rakan against TSM in every semifinal game, so I’m not sure Aphro will be allowed a repeat performance. The best chance CLG have at securing a bye into the regional semifinals is to play around their solo lanes, especially Darshan, who had a mediocre series against Flame and now has Ssumday to deal with. CLG beat Dignitas the last time they met in Summer Split, but it will take a significant improvement from the way they played against Immortals to repeat the result.
TSM’s Preparation Showed
Team SoloMid’s plan for their semifinal with Team Dignitas was on full display as early as the Game 1 draft: Shut down Keane. They banned a total of three mid laners, including Keane’s Cassiopeia, forcing a Taliyah pick for which they had prepared a Kassadin counter. To his credit, Keane played Bjergsen even in the early game, until Bjergsen began to snowball off a triple kill during the game’s first 5v5. From there the counter was in full effect; Bjergsen finished 5-2-7 with 100% KP and split pushed his way to victory. TSM never let Keane have Cassiopeia, banning her outright or picking her themselves in every game.
It was a smart strategy for TSM, exploiting the inherent advantage between a decent mid laner and the best player in the league. Seems like a no-brainer, and it paid off. Keane finished 13-9-17 (3.3 KDA, 8.8 CSM, 645 DPM, 77% KP) to Bjergsen’s 18-8-30 (6.0 KDA, 9.1 CSM, 500 DPM, 79% KP), but the preparation TSM put into this series went beyond exploiting favorable matchups.
The bigger strategical adjustment TSM made was to force Dignitas out of their preferred high-tempo pace. Dignitas wanted to play fast, force fights, and get an early lead with which to control objectives. It’s unsurprising that Dignitas won the only game in which they secured a Baron (Game 3). Instead, TSM slowed the pace and relied on their excellent late game scaling/fighting to decide games. That Game 1’s First Blood took 19 minutes was a harbinger of things to come.
Dignitas should have seen the writing on the wall, and to their credit doubled-down on early game objective control with a Nunu pick in Game 2, but again TSM were ready. They’d seen Shrimp’s Nunu before (and for that matter, Contractz’s Nunu weeks ago in a frustratingloss) and punished it early and often. Shrimp was denied access to the TSM jungle, and his forays into the drake pit were well timed with TSM counter wards. With zero farm or lane pressure, Shrimp (like Keane) was boxed into predicable play and TSM punished it accordingly.
Game 4 was a masterstroke by TSM, who had planned for Ssumday’s Maokai as rigorously as they had everything else. Into a lane in which Ssumday routinely got out-CS’d, TSM slotted in the lumbering Cho’Gath, a borderline liability in the early game that easily gets shut down with a modicum of pressure. But TSM knew that Dignitas draw Ssumday out of lane for assistance bot in the early game, letting Hauntzer quietly farm into an unstoppable juggernaut as Feast stacked. By the time it was time for Dignitas to fight, they couldn’t find an opening against a Cho’Gath the size of a drake.
Superstars Matter
Preparedness and coordination played huge roles in TSM’s victory over Dignitas, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t compliment the exceptional play of Bjergsen and Doublelift. Two of the best laners in North America—and certainly the best in their position—these two superstars raise TSM’s ceiling with their reliability and experience.
Bjergsen is the best mid laner in the West, full stop. Yes, Jensen had the better statistical split and will likely win MVP because of it, but the best player in the league plays mid for TSM. Bjergsen drafted Kassadin once this split, a shaky closeout game against Echo Fox back in Week 4. Did that stop TSM from plotting a strategy around his ability to play the champion? No. A player you can essentially plug into lane and expect him to win no matter the matchup changes the complexion of your team and what strategies become viable. How many mid laners in the world can do that? How many mid laners could make a random Xerath draft look halfway decent? Bjergsen is a rare superstar across all sports, egoless and excellent, willing to sacrifice for the team yet dominant no matter the role.
In the bot lane, Doublelift is miles ahead of his fellow ADCs, a marksman so good that TSM dumped WildTurtle—who had just led them to a title and solid in his own right—at the first sign of a reunion. His positioning while maintaining high damage is incredible and something few other North American carries can replicate. The gulf between Doublelift and Altec, probably his closest competition at ADC in North America, was stunning. He and Biofrost stomped the bot lane, always finishing ahead in CS@15 and revealing a Kog’Maw he hadn’t played all split to great effect. Someone had been scrimmaging Immortals…
Teams, not individuals, win championships in League of Legends. Counter Logic Gaming is a great example of an unbalanced roster failing to succeed, unable to overcome its weakest link. But the assurance of having the superior player, a superstar, on your side makes the game easier. It makes you harder to plan against, to ban out, to surprise. Sometimes having more superstars than the other team makes the difference, whether it’s winning a lane you can’t afford to lose or single-handedly turning an even team fight into a victory. Superstars matter, and TSM have two.
What’s Next for Team Dignitas?
Team Dignitas shouldn’t be too disappointed with their semifinal loss to TSM.
Sure, they could have advanced to the first TSM-less NA LCS finals in the history of the league, but ultimately Dignitas were the inferior team on the day. They got outmaneuvered in the draft, couldn’t pressure TSM into mistakes and didn’t execute their pocket Nunu strategy very well. For a team that relies on Baron control to win (an ironic 180 degree turn from their old reputation), Dignitas repeatedly made mistakes around the pit, never generating a large enough advantage to wrest vision control from TSM.
For example, in Game 1, Dignitas had a golden opportunity to secure first Baron after a kill on Bjergsen near the pit. Everyone was relatively healthy and Svenskeren was in full retreat. In games past—and against TSM in Week 7—this Bjergsen pickoff would have resulted in a decisive Baron call, successful secure and a push that would crack open TSM's base. Instead, Dignitas chased down Sven for no reward, started Baron but found themselves too low to take it, then had to abandon the objective once the rest of TSM came to contest it. By then Bjergsen had respawned and Dig had recalled, leaving TSM to take Baron and begin a snowball that never slowed.
Everything was a little off for Dignitas, but that can happen when you’re playing a team as composed as TSM. It was only when Dig tripled-down on the early game with an Elise/Thresh/Taliyah/Jarvan pick composition that they found any joy, finally creating the propulsive early game necessary for their kind of victory. For Dignitas to overcome Counter Logic Gaming in the 3rd Place match, they’ll need more of that early game explosiveness, as well as a return to form from Altec and Adrian. Oh, and Dig: If you’re going to end up picking Xayah, maybe don’t ban Rakan first phase? Thanks, and good luck.