NA LCS Week 2 Preview

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The second week of the LCS will be when teams start to correct mistakes from the previous weeks and begin pulling ahead. This will help showcase those that will be in the top three towards the end of the split - the teams that can continuously improve week by week. If the line-ups fail to adapt, they will simply get rolled over by the stacked talent in North America.

LMQ (4-0)

Week 1 was all about LMQ doing better than expected. Many predicted a top 4 finish for this team, not a perfect superweek. In other words, we knew LMQ was going to be damn good, but not *this* good. XiaoWeiXiao inserted himself directly in the conversation for best mid in North America, even earning this week’s MVP award. Now, LMQ will face a revamped Dignitas and a struggling Cloud9. If they can place themselves at the top yet again with a 6-0 record, it may be time to start seriously fearing LMQ.

Dignitas (3-1)

An upgrade to Dignitas’s solo lanes made a massive impact in week 1. In the mid lane, Shiphtur proved that he wasn’t just a great player on Coast, but he’s actually a top mid laner in North America. He put up an impressive 21.50 KDA, with 2nd place trailing behind at 9.80. He didn’t just win his lanes, he demolished them. Now that Dignitas have fixed their major problem in recent months, weak solo lanes, they can start working towards a potential top 4 finish.

TSM (3-1)

Team SoloMid’s roster changes also worked out in their favour. Gleeb transitioned into a professional support role quite well, showing that he’s not too far off from Xpecial. He won’t be able to match Xpecial’s level by the end of the season, but he can keep up with other experienced duos in the botlane. In the jungle, Amazing looked like he’d been on the team for months. His individual skill and teamwork set him apart from TheOddOne and he has already proved himself as a great pickup. This week TSM will face CLG and Dignitas, matches that they will need to win in order to prove their worthiness in the top three.

Cloud9 (2-2)

Due to medical issues causing an absence from the team during the off season, Cloud9’s team captain, Hai, struggled in week 1. When the team’s primary shotcaller struggles, the whole team struggles. Combine that with Hai playing too greedy and continuously losing his lane and you’ve got a bad result. Keep in mind, before this week, Cloud9 had only lost 7 regular season games ever. Losing two games in one week is very unlike Cloud9, but the sky isn’t falling. Cloud9’s North American dominance has no reason to end here, they just need to work out the kinks to get back into top tier shape yet again.

CLG (2-2)

It’s clear that CLG still has a lot of work to do with their new top laner. Questionable shot calling combined with weak individual play caused CLG to drop 2 games to LMQ and Cloud 9. It should be taken into consideration that those are some top North American teams but even in the games CLG won, their overall team play seemed weaker. This season will depend completely on how quickly the team can assimilate Seraph to a point where he can communicate effectively with the rest of the team. If Seraph’s english skills don’t increase exponentially in the coming weeks, CLG could have a rough split.

Curse (1-3)

Even with a tough week 1 schedule, it’s clear that Curse has made solid improvements from the previous split. Coming into the week, many teams remarked on Curse’s impressive scrim performances, which unfortunately didn’t translate into the LCS. As a whole, it seems like Curse’s macro strategy and individual play has improved. However, it’s not cohesive enough to the point where they can successfully take demanding leads and finish games. With the increased level of skill from almost every team, Curse still has a lot of work ahead of them.

compLexity (1-3)

A freak win over Cloud9 may have given compLexity fans a bit too much hope. They still have a long way to go to put themselves in a position to avoid relegation. This week will be even more difficult, with mancloud as a sub in the midlane. With compLexity’s best player MIA in week 2, this team’s real weaknesses will shine through. Their only hope for a win this week is against a 0-4 Evil Geniuses, but even that seems far fetched.

Evil Geniuses (0-4)

It’s looking rough for the Evil Geniuses. As a team each member seems to be on the wrong page. Man for man, each player is in the bottom three for their respective role. After replacing the AD Krepo has laned with for 3 years, it’s unknown how long it will take to adapt any sort of synergy with Altec. It’s hard to see what EG can really do in order to move forward versus complexity and Curse this week.

Image Credit: Riot Games