Tag Archives: Karsa

Analysis and Opinion

Game Changers: The Keys To Winning

This article has been prepared by John “TheEsportsPlug” George, an esports daily fantasy player, bettor, and former professional poker player.

During this period before the World Championships begin, a lot of people will be doing a list of the best players to attend the tournament. You’ll see top 10 lists, top 20 lists, and even top 50 lists all putting in a thought on the best players at the event. Normally I’d do the same, but I’ve decided to try something just a little different this year. Rather than trying to figure out the 20 best players, I’ve fashioned a list of the twenty biggest game-changers.

What I mean by “game-changer” is a player who can single-handedly lift their team to the next level. They may not be the best players in the world, or even the best players on their team, but these are the players that will have to elevate to the next level if championship dreams are going to become a reality for their squads. These players can make or break a matchup, and if any of these players’ teams wins Worlds I’m going to bet that these are the guys who made the difference. The guys who changed the game.

#20 Levi (GAM Esports)

Continue reading Game Changers: The Keys To Winning →

Check the Data

MSI Early-Game Warding

Supports and junglers are the players tasked with contributing most to the vision game. In the first 15 minutes of games, some players at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational have taken up that role with more gusto than others.

The tables below count the average number of wards placed by the supports and junglers at MSI in the first 15 minutes of group stage games.

MSI Wards Placed by 15 Mins

Royal Never Give Up’s star, Mata, stands head and shoulders above the crowd, placing the most pre-15-minute wards of any player.

Surprisingly, a jungler took second spot: SK Telecom T1’s Blank has earned quick access to his Tracker’s Knife, it seems, lighting up the map with an average of 6.6 green wards in the first 15 minutes and buying plenty of pink wards to go with them.

Counter Logic Gaming’s Aphromoo and the Flash Wolves’ Karsa have both fallen off the pace for their positions. Aphromoo, on average, has placed only 73% as many wards as Mata in the first 15 minutes. Karsa’s early-game ward output has been just 67% of Blank’s.

For more player vision stats, check out the MSI 2016 Player Stats page, where you can see average wards per minute (WPM) and average wards cleared per minute (WCPM) for all players.

Analysis and Opinion

Early-Game Kings: Summer’s Most Impactful Jungle Players

The early game is the Jungler’s playground. Roaming through the fog of war, the Jungler stalks their prey, attacking both the witless monsters of the Rift and a far more dangerous target: live opponents.

In Summer 2015, some Junglers had more early-game impact than others. Players like Rush, Shook, Chaser, and Karsa rolled out gank after gank, leading the charge over the first 15 minutes. But how did their early-game results compare to the other players in their leagues? Who were the strongest (and weakest) early-game Junglers across all regions?

The charts below show the early-game influence and play styles of all Junglers who played at least 10 games during the Summer regular season in the NA LCS, EU LCS, LMS, and LCK. The LPL unfortunately does not make their data available.

Continue reading at Unikrn →

For complete data on all players included in these charts, head to the companion page.