Tag Archives: Golden Guardians

Analysis and Opinion

TSM vs. Golden Guardians, Summer Playoffs Preview

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With TSM’s 2-0 advantage in the season series and plenty of recent momentum, including a win over Cloud9 in week 8, Bjergsen et al. should be confident coming into this Quarterfinal. But the Golden Guardians have been consistently slept on all year and have routinely performed above expectations, earning their own win over Cloud9 earlier in the same week and ending the season with the second-best EGR and GPR in the LCS.

If the Golden Guardians can make the series all about the early game, they have a great shot to advance. But if TSM can weather the storm and find ways to scale, their superior mid/late play should see them move on.

TSM Key Player and Path to Victory

For most of the season, Bjergsen played a half-step down from MVP level. Continue reading TSM vs. Golden Guardians, Summer Playoffs Preview →

Analysis and Opinion

LCS 2020 Summer Preseason Power Rankings

The LCS 2020 Summer Split kicks off this Friday, and we’ve seen quite a few changes to the rosters. Aside from Cloud9‘s solid hold on the LCS’s top spot, the balance of power around the league was pretty precarious in Spring, and the movement of players like Doublelift, Dardoch, and Damonte could introduce a lot more volatility, making it hard to predict who might emerge to take a shot at C9 come playoffs.

I foresee a lot of movement from a few mid-tier teams, and a holding pattern from others, which should allow for some leapfrogging and hopefully a tighter pack of contenders looking to dethrone C9.

The following power rankings are my attempt to sort through the rosters and gauge each team’s strength, and where I think they’ll finish by the end of the split. Along the way, I’ll make notes of what I had predicted for Spring, and what actually happened, to provide some context for what I’m thinking now.

Edit: I don’t normally edit this type of analysis after it’s posted, but the Immortals announced an unexpected starting roster on June 10 and I felt compelled to revise accordingly.

Continue reading LCS 2020 Summer Preseason Power Rankings →

Analysis and Opinion

LCS 2020 Post-Free Agency Power Rankings – 10 to 6

Tim Sevenhuysen is the founder of OraclesElixir.com and Head of Esports Data Science for Esports One. He led Shadow.gg from 2017-19 and was Statistical Consultant for Fnatic in 2015.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: LoL offseason!

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I love following along with offseason news, reacting to Wolf Bombs and armchair-analysting teams’ roster moves. So let’s get things started by ruthlessly judging the hard work of all the LCS management teams with an early power ranking of the 2020 rosters!

In this post, I’ll share my thoughts on the “bottom 5” teams of the LCS, as I see them. Later this week, I’ll post my order and reasoning for the “top 5”.

Bear in mind that, with a month and a half still to go before the 2020 season actually kicks off, we have plenty of time to gather more impressions, watch more video, and refine our opinions. By the time week 1 arrives, I might be ready to move some teams up or down in these power rankings. But for now, here’s where my analysis has landed.

10. Golden Guardians

Roster: Hauntzer, Closer, Goldenglue, FBI, Keith

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I’m going to be honest: I don’t understand why the Golden Guardians traded for Goldenglue and made him their starter when they could be using Damonte or Pobelter or giving a shot to a player with a less-explored ceiling, like Yusui or Ablazeolive.

Continue reading LCS 2020 Post-Free Agency Power Rankings – 10 to 6 →