Analysis and Opinion

NIGHT VISION: Group Stage, Day 2

Night Vision is your nightly recap of the 2020 League of Legends World Championships.

Look below for Recaps, Takeaways, and my pick for which player had a Night to Remember.

Recaps

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MCX vs. TL: MCX win
MCX Ornn Volibear Syndra Ezreal Karma
TL Mordekaiser Graves Orianna Caitlyn Lux

Gemini ganks mid+top for kills. TL don’t sync pushes with early objectives, no early lead, fail their win condition. MCX attack TL’s lack of prio and engage with good map pressure.

G2 vs. SN: G2 win
G2 Volibear Graves Twisted Fate Ezreal Bard
SN Renekton Lee Sin Syndra Ashe Nautilus

Angel SofM pressure helps SN play from ahead most of the game. SN team fighting earns ocean soul. Mikyx crucial Bard stun on Angel earns G2 Elder. SN hold nexus; G2 hold nexus. What a game!

RGE vs. DWG: DWG win
RGE Gangplank Hecarim Syndra Kalista Taric
DWG Lulu Graves Sylas Ashe Pantheon

DWG win every lane, controlling the game heavily, mostly through top side. RGE a few bright points for kills, but DWG’s lead is never in doubt.
PSG vs. JDG: JDG win
PSG Ornn Graves Syndra Jhin Bard
JDG Sett Sylas Ekko Ashe Pantheon

LvMao runs all over the game. Kanavi ganks almost as much as LvMao. Yagao mobile out of lane. PSG so scared they retreat from a 3v2 in the dragon pit.

GEN vs. TSM: GEN win
GEN Volibear Lillia Sett Ezreal Karma
TSM Renekton Nidalee Zilean Senna Rakan

Bdd lane kingdoms Bjergsen; Rascal > Broken Blade despite Spica FB gank. TSM find some kills; GEN hard win the map. GEN punish every TSM wave push with engages, find Baron and end.

LGD vs. FNC: LGD win
LGD Ornn Kindred Ekko Miss Fortune Nautilus
FNC Sett Graves Syndra Jhin Thresh

FNC play through top; LGD stacking drakes. Several tense team fights, FNC denying soul. Then Bwipo Sett ults to deny Langx Ornn ult; xiye flanks FNC back line; LGD ace, soul, end.

Takeaways

  • We knew DWG could crush opponents with pace and aggression, but today we saw them starve out RGE slowly with map control, dragon stacking, and a fairly conservative approach (other than a couple of over-eager BeryL plays). For most of the game, DWG were actually down by a kill or two. But of course, we all know that kill counts are irrelevant (and should not be central on the scoreboard); gold and dragons are what matter. DWG played a beautiful macro game, and that is a big data point in favour of their ability to go deep in this tournament.
  • North America might be in big trouble. TL tried to play a comp designed to win the bot lane and snowball through objective control, but they failed to execute their lanes, died to ganks, and didn’t sync their wave states and jungler movement to meet those win conditions. TSM were just outclassed. Bjergsen couldn’t play his lane well enough into Bdd and GenG got to control the entire map and punish every one of TSM’s proactive plays through sheer tempo difference. It’s still early, and we might see some better looks, but even with my expectations being fairly low for NA at Worlds this was a disappointing day.

Night to Remember

The Pantheon game we got to see from LvMao was truly impressive. It’s wild to see a Support have that much presence on the map, rivaling his Jungler’s influence and snowballing with kills and assists. I thought Beryl was the definitive support Pantheon. Maybe we’ll get to see the two of them battle it out back and forth over the course of the tournament.