In League of Legends, winning teams share many core characteristics, from their individual skills levels to their ability to function as a team. But one attribute that drives some teams ahead of others is their ability to recognize the best win conditions in the current balance environment and shape their play to achieve those conditions. This is measurably true for the start of the 2017 spring split: the biggest overachievers right now, teams like FlyQuest, Echo Fox, and the Misfits, are doing the best job of distributing carry responsibilities across their jungle, mid lane, and top lane roles. Continue reading Effective resource allocation: how FLY, FOX, MSF, and others are solving the spring 2017 meta
EU LCS One-Sentence Power Rankings, Week 3
The first round robin within each group is over, and cross-group play looms. The next four weeks will tell us a lot about where teams stand in the overall hierarchy of the EU LCS. Going in, G2 Esports and the Unicorns of Love have the most to live up to, with matching 4-0 series records. Preseason contenders like H2K, Splyce, and the Misfits are entering an important proving ground as they try to keep pace with the leaders. Others like Fnatic and Vitality are struggling to perform as well as their level of talent implies they should be.
Here are my EU LCS power rankings at the one-third mark of the spring split. Continue reading EU LCS One-Sentence Power Rankings, Week 3
Homegrown junglers are taking over the NA LCS
Step aside, EU mids: there’s a new regional talent pool taking over.
Young North American junglers have been romping their way through the NA LCS so far this split. Contractz and Akaadian have had very impressive starts to their rookie campaigns, and sophomores Moon and Inori are really coming into their own. In fact, these four players hold the first four spots on the jungler KDA rankings, an impressive feat given they’ve been playing against veterans like Reignover, Lira, Chaser, and Svenskeren.
Here are the core stat lines of NA’s young jungle talent. (See the NA LCS player stats page for more.) Continue reading Homegrown junglers are taking over the NA LCS