NA LCS Week 2, Day 1 Preview

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

The first week of the 2014 NA LCS season left no team undefeated. On the first day, XDG’s questionable decision to move Zuna to the jungle was answered by a 6/0/15 score from the man himself in their match versus Evil Geniuses. After that, Voyboy went ham on Akali, racking up a score of 11/3/11 in Curse’s match against XDG. On the final day of the superweek, an ailing Dignitas shocked everyone by dethroning the kings of North America, Cloud 9.

The second week won’t disappoint. Let’s dive into the upcoming matches on day 1 and take a look at the changes in Patch 4.1 as well certain champion’s availability.

Team Dignitas (2-2) vs XDG (1-3)

Many were quick to write Dignitas off after their lackadaisical performance against Counter Logic Gaming and Team Solo Mid. But, Dignitas picked themselves up and struck back by winning their final two matches against Coast and the formidable Cloud 9. In both of Dignitas wins, the bot lane was on fire. Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana had a combined KDA of 13/0/10 while his Support and former top laner, Alan “KiWiKiD” Nguyen racked up a 3/2/24 score. In their match versus Cloud 9, Scarra pulled out his classic Gragas and dominated the mid lane with a score of 4/0/9.

XDG entered week 1 with heavy criticism. A decision to move Xmithie to AD and Zuna to the jungle after Battle of the Atlantic left XDG fans scratching their head. In their first match, Zuna went wild on Olaf, with a total score of 6/0/15. Despite having a strong start, XDG were unable to capitalize on their momentum and lost their following three games against Cloud 9, Curse and Team Coast. When onGamers asked XDG coach, Ken Buechter about XDG in week 2 ,he seemed optimistic, stating:

“We're continuing to improve and doing much better in scrims. We expect to go 2-0 this week, and more importantly keep improving as the season continues.”

The Bottom Line: If Dignitas smashes the bot lane yet again, the game is in their hands. XDG may have to rely on Zachary “ManCloud” Hoschar in the mid lane as Zuna and Xmithie continue to adjust to their new roles.

Team Coast (2-2) vs Team Curse (2-2) | Head to Head (0-1)

In the first rematch of the season, Coast will be seeking revenge against Team Curse. Coast’s superweek got off to a disappointing start after losing back to back at the hands of Curse and Dignitas. Throughout the entire week, Coast’s bot lane was a non-starter. Apollo “WiZFujiiN” Price’s total score of 5/14/12 made it difficult for Coast to win teamfights in the mid game. In addition, Joshua “NintendudeX” Atkins struggled in the Jungle, posting a score of 1/10/19. In their loss versus Curse, Christian ‘IWillDominate” Rivera was able to create strong early pressure and eventually steal a baron right out of Coast’s hands. Coast will need to have a stronger laning phase in week 2.

The revamped Curse roster got off to an explosive start last week. Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani led the charge with a KDA of 15/5/20 in the team’s first 2 games. Curse’s brilliant use of an unconventional team composition featuring Akali,Pantheon and Karthus led them to victory versus XDG and showcased the teams synergy. In their following match against CLG, Curse had the upper hand after a strong champion select. But, an unlikely blue buff steal from CLG’s Aphromoo stopped Curse in their tracks. Curse seemed out of sorts after their loss to CLG and were unable to win their final match versus Team Solo Mid.

The Bottom Line: Voyboy will look to shut down Danny “Shiphtur” Le and disable Coast’s strongest asset. WiZFujiiN and Miles “Daydreamin” Hoard will need to redeem themselves after a dismal performance in week 1.

Evil Geniuses (1-3) vs Team Dignitas (2-2)

European blood wasn’t able to make a splash in the first week of the NA LCS. Evil Geniuses lack of synergy stuck out like a sore thumb, which could be attributed to the team forming very recently. Champion Select was also questionable for EG, as a lack of tank was a key factor in their first 2 losses. Although Eugene “Pobelter” Park was a star in the Promotion Tournament, his talent failed to shine through in the team’s losses. It may look grim, but EG shines where Dignitas fails: Objective Control. Mitch “Krepo” Voorspoels is renown for his ability to control vision around Baron Nashor and Dragon in both solo queue and tournament play. Objective control could be the edge that the team needs to take down Dignitas. Evil Geniuses will need to work out the kinks that come with a new roster in order to avoid falling further behind the pack.

Dignitas should look to ride the momentum created by their upset victory over Cloud 9. If everything goes according to plan, the team’s bot lane could clinch victory in the first fifteen minutes. There’s no denying that the KiwiPie bot lane is one of the best in North America and could pose a very real problem for the Evil Geniuses. In addition to Alberto “Crumbz” Rengifo outclassing Stephen “Snoopeh” Ellis as a jungler, Dignitas should be able to pick up another win if they can transition into the mid game with a lead. Scarra seemed confident when onGamers asked him about the upcoming week:

"Scrims have been going alright, I feel like we're going to do well."

The Bottom Line: Evil Geniuses will need to stay even throughout the laning phase in order to exploit Dignitas’ poor objective control. If Dignitas can get the KiwiPie bot lane rolling, they may be able to quickly finish out the match.

Team Solo Mid (3-1) vs Counter Logic Gaming (2-2)

With the addition of Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, TSM doesn't look like they will be moving from the top 2 of North America anytime soon. After falling to Cloud 9 in their first match, Bjergsen and crew went on a rampage. Posting a 30/8/16 score throughout all 4 games, former NiP midlaner, Bjergsen, dominated any anyone unlucky enough to come in this path to the nexus. Although fireworks were being set off in the mid lane, WildTurtle and Xpecial shouldn’t be forgotten. A total score of 23/18/65 shows that the bot lane still made a significant impact. Although it may look like TSM has the upper hand, CLG was TSM’s kryptonite during the spring split, TSM lost all 4 matches in the regular season against CLG.

Counter Logic Gaming were happy with a 2-2 result considering Austin “Link” Shin was filling in for Marcel “Dexter” Feldkamp in the jungle while George “HotShotGG” Georgallidis came out of retirement to play in the midlane on a weeks notice. In CLG’s match versus Curse, the team was able to control objectives and synergise as a team extremely well. This is a drastic change from CLG in Season 3, who mainly focused on split pushing and stalling out the game. Question still loom about the return of Dexter in week 2, as no official statement has been made by the organization.

The Bottom Line: Bjergsen should have an easy time facing off against HotShotGG, and could lead his team to victory yet again. CLG will need to have a strong mid game performance, as they will most likely come out of the laning phase behind.

Patch 4.1:

Riot made some interesting changes in an attempt to discourage 2v1 lanes this patch. Take a look:

With these changes, we want to tackle the 2v1 lane swaps that many competitive teams have adopted in order to shut down enemy laners while also taking quick objectives. Initiating a 2v1 lane swap to shut down an opponent should have inherent risks, like leaving your bottom tower vulnerable to early pushes.

Turrets

• Outer turrets no longer gain bonus armor and magic resist for the first eight minutes of the game.

• Top and middle lane outer turrets now have 20 damage reduction from champion basic attacks

It is unclear how these changes will affect pro play so far, and it will be interesting to see the potential effects it has on the game and viewer experience. You can read the full 4.1 patch notes here.

Confirmed in a tweet by Team Coast coach, Alex Penn, Rengar will finally be available in tournament play after months of being disabled. Yauso will be disabled due to a bug.

All the Week 2 action will kick off at 12PM PST / 9 PM CET on lolesports.com

Image Credit: lolesports.com