Category Archives: Analysis and Opinion

TSM at IEM: Looking Back; Looking Forward

March 2, 2016 Tim Sevenhuysen

One year ago, Team SoloMid lifted the IEM Katowice trophy, conquering Team WE in the Finals to claim their first international crown since 2012, in the days of the limited-field IGN ProLeague. They were on top of the world, if only for a little while. This year they’re pursuing a repeat, but aside from their team name, their Danish Mid laner, and the underdog mentality they’ll be nursing, the circumstances are very different.

Going into the 2015 IEM World Championship, TSM had an 11-3 domestic record, good for 1^st place. They had just wrapped up an easy 2-0 week against Winterfox and Team 8, two lower-tier teams who would go on to finish 8^th and 7^th, respectively, while TSM would take the regular season title. Things were going fairly well for TSM, and they were carrying some momentum as they prepared for the tournament.

This year, TSM is arriving in Katowice with an 8-6 domestic record, three wins shy of their 2015 pace. They’re treading water in the standings, sitting just 4^th in North America, and battling with the demons of their own inconsistency: with a 1-3 record in the last four games, and a crushing defeat at the hands of Team Liquid on Sunday lingering in their minds, TSM is certainly not carrying positive momentum into Poland.

This isn’t the stiffest field IEM could have assembled—teams like the ROX Tigers, Immortals, and G2 Esports have been left at home because of IEM’s qualifiers + invites approach—but it isn’t exactly a soft field, either. TSM’s path through Group A features ESC Ever, Royal Never Give Up, and Origen, with SK Telecom T1, CLG, the Qiao Gu Reapers, and Fnatic vying to emerge from Group B. TSM are certainly not among the favorites—Unikrn has given them 15:1 odds, third-worst for the event—but every attending team features its own set of question marks.

Can Team SoloMid repeat their 2015 accomplishment and claim back-to-back IEM World Championship titles? It won’t be easy.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

TSM had an offseason to remember, constructing one of the stronger super teams North America has seen—on paper. The reality has been nowhere close to the hype, with the star-studded roster stumbling and clearly failing to find synergy. They aren’t in danger of falling out of the playoff picture, but TSM has actually looked worse than their 8-6 win/loss record might suggest. According to gold spent percentage difference (GSPD), TSM’s +0.6% has them ranked a spot worse, at 5^th. Compare that to the league-leading +12.6% GSPD they were enjoying at this time last year.

There have been some positives, of course…

Read at Unikrn →

Analysis and Opinion, Check the Data

STAT CARD: Faker

February 24, 2016 Tim Sevenhuysen

Faker has been the consensus best player in the world for years, and he’s continuing to lead the way for his team, SK Telecom T1, in the 2016 season. This year he’s playing with co-star MaRin, who left after their World Championship victory to play in China’s LPL with LGD Gaming.

In MaRin’s absence, and with stalwart Jungler Bengi struggling to find his place in the carry-jungler meta, Faker has been relied on more heavily to directly carry games. It’s been easier for opponents to predict Faker’s role in SKT’s game plans as a result, and limit the success of some of his early laning and mid-game playmaking. Faker has the second-highest death share of LCK Mid laners, as a result.

That hasn’t stopped Faker from keeping up his high-pressure play style, though, and he’s been topping the damage and gold charts while staying top-3 in farming numbers. If Faker can get a little bit more playmaking support from his teammates, so that he doesn’t have to carry so much of the load himself, SKT should keep challenging near the top of the LCK standings.

Find more LCK player stats on the 2016 Spring Regular Season page.

Legend:
DPM: Average damage to champions per minute.
DMG%: Average share of team’s damage to champions.
EGPM: Average earned gold per minute.
GOLD%: Average share of team’s earned gold.
CSD@10: Average creep score (minion+monster kills) difference at 10 minutes.
CS per Minute: Average creep score (minion+monster kills) per minute.

Photo courtesy of lolesports.com.

Analysis and Opinion

Froggen’s Echo: Is Rick Fox’s Team Playoff-Bound?

February 24, 2016 Tim Sevenhuysen

Froggen + 4.

That was the general impression of the Echo Fox lineup when it was announced in January. With Challenger Series players Hard and Big at Jungle and Support, journeyman Keith at AD Carry, and kfo coming into the Top lane from Korean solo queue, Froggen’s new teammates didn’t inspire an abundance of confidence. Maybe Froggen could carry his underwhelming team to a handful of wins. Maybe this squad could surprise us and earn a little bit of respect. But even that was in doubt.

It’s not a maybe anymore: Echo Fox have made a loud and clear statement that they belong in the playoff conversation.

So let’s discuss.

After a reasonable 1-1 record in their first week, Echo Fox’s prospects started tumbling like oil prices, as three of their players were locked out by work visa issues. With Froggen, kfo, and Hard benched, Echo Fox forfeited a game to NRG, then stumbled through five sequential losses, finding themselves in last place with a 1-7 record. Hard’s return partway through that run didn’t make a noticeable difference, but finally the news came that Froggen and kfo would be available for week 5.

What a change that made.