The most anticipated match of NA LCS week 2 is TSM vs Dignitas, taking place tonight. TSM need to regain some of their confidence after a disheartening 0-2 loss to Cloud9, while Dignitas have been exceeding expectations so far and can prove themselves as a top contender if they beat TSM.
Here are three keys to the series for each team.
Team SoloMid
Push the pace early.
Chaser has always played a slower, more methodical game out of the jungle, picking and choosing his moments with care. Svenskeren is at his best when he’s moving more quickly and pressuring the enemy’s jungle, ideally with Bjergsen available for backup. A faster pace could help keep Chaser off balance.
Get WildTurtle more involved.
TSM’s AD carry has the lowest kill participation on the team (59.5%) and has yet to be involved in a First Blood kill, but he’s actually been winning his lane, slashing +100/+3.6 GD/CSD@10. WildTurtle can be explosive when he’s given the chance, but TSM have been leaving him and Biofrost to their own devices most of the time. I want to see TSM give some more resources to their bottom lane to help WildTurtle break out.
Give Bjergsen counterpicks.
TSM are really going to struggle if they don’t make good use of their strongest player. We know Bjergsen can carry in the late game on scaling champions if the team lasts long enough to get there. (Just look at game 1 against the Immortals.) But TSM’s struggles so far have been losing too hard too early: they have the league’s worst GD@15, at -1,571. TSM should help Bjergsen get the upper hand by saving their mid lane pick for later in the draft and choosing a winning matchup against Keane.
Dignitas
Spill first blood.
In week 1, Dignitas earned First Blood in five of their six games. Chaser and Keane were each involved in four of those five kills. Mid and bot are both good targets: Keane could use the help against Bjergsen, though WildTurtle may be a slightly easier target to hit.
Ride Ssumday hard.
When you’ve just imported one of the very best top laners in the entire world, and when his first week in North America has gone this well, you’d better appreciate what you have. Ssumday’s impeccable team fighting and Teleports haven’t slipped at all. Whether Dignitas put Ssumday on a playmaking tank or another carry like Fiora, the rest of the team needs to be ready to take advantage of his strength.
Keep killing wards.
Dignitas are averaging a 23.9% invisible ward clear rate, which is good because TSM are leading the league in wards per minute. The more vision Dignitas can clear, the more risks Svenskeren and Biofrost will need to take when roaming and invading to refresh that vision. With players like Chaser and Keane ready to jump on enemy mistakes, and Ssumday available with his strong Teleports, vision denial could create some key opportunities for Dignitas to take control of the series.
Photo courtesy of flickr.com/lolesports
