Analysis and Opinion

Analyst Challenge – Contesting Rift Herald 4v5, August 24

August 24, 2019 Challenge

This analyst challenge involved reviewing a run of play from 10:00 to 11:05 of game 1 from the 3rd-place match between Counter Logic Gaming and Clutch Gaming.

The Responses

Several good responses came in from pro analysts, coaches, and players.

Weexiao, the Strategic Coach for Diabolus, wrote a thread about why it was necessary for CLG to use Stixxay’s Teleport here.

Lukezy, a professional mid laner who most recently played for eMonkeyz, felt CLG should not have used Stixxay’s TP:

Hermes, a Strategic Coach with extensive LCS experience, shared a longer written response in a Google Doc. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s doomed for CLG. In this situation, ults<numbers and position. Renek/Leona will find the pincer on Gragas/Rakan no matter how CLG enter river. If Aatrox enters first, CG still retain their pincer on Gragas/Rakan, allow Aatrox to overextend and expend minimal resources on him….  Contesting only delays the inevitable, while also giving gold and tempo to CG when CLG gets picked for trying. 

Contesting is not a reasonable option once enemy team, with appropriate comp (not CG’s comp in game 5 vs TL), has positional advantage.

Tim’s Thoughts

My initial reaction was that Stixxay’s TP was wasteful. With PowerOfEvil dead, I felt CLG should accept that Herald was lost, and they should use Stixxay to pressure the bottom tower and at least get some form of trade. Once Cody Sun was able to TP and leave Stixxay behind (with several seconds left on Stixxay’s TP cooldown), it seemed like time for CLG to cut their losses and take a turret plate or two as consolation.

After reading others’ input, I have mixed feelings. I understand why there’s a decent amount of consensus that CLG needed to contest the Herald, because losing it would be so costly. At the same time, I see the TP as very risky, because it could give Clutch a chance to win a 5v4 fight very convincingly, which could put the game out of CLG’s reach entirely. I felt CLG were a little lucky to get away with only one more death, given how sloppy their contest was, so overall the risks may have outweighed the benefits of denying the Herald.

Hermes was correct to point out that as soon as PowerOfEvil died, it was a no-win scenario for CLG. The situation became all about minimizing loss. Scenarios like that are very difficult to prepare for, because it can feel like every decision is the wrong one. But those decisions are arguably some of the most important, since they can be the difference between letting a game snowball out of hand, or hanging to a chance for a comeback.