Analysis and Opinion, Check the Data

STAT CARD: Faker

Faker stat card

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?

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.

Read at Unikrn →

Analysis and Opinion

H2K: They Do It Their Way

Around the world, league-leading teams like the ROX Tigers in Korea and Immortals in North America tend to play a certain style: hit ‘em early, hit ‘em often, finish ‘em fast. With aggressive Junglers and intense pressure, these teams are earning decisive early leads and then driving them home hard. This is true—in varying degrees—of each league leader in the five major regions, except for one team, a European squad that stands out in some interesting ways.

Through the first five weeks of Spring 2016, H2K is playing the game their own way, marching to the beat of their own drum. Led by their Head Coach, Pr0lly, they play slower, they prioritize things a little differently, and it’s working so far: H2K has an 8-2 record, tied with G2 Esports for first place in the European LCS. But can this style carry them to victory in the fast-approaching playoffs, or have H2K shown flaws that are likely to be exploited?

Let’s break down some of the unique aspects of H2K’s play style, and see what we can learn about Pr0lly’s team.

Continue reading at Unikrn →

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