Tag Archives: Treatz

Analysis and Opinion

TSM vs. Golden Guardians, Summer Playoffs Preview

Patreon subscribers had access to this post early.

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

Academy Standouts: 2020 Summer Week 5

Academy Standouts highlights the players who performed best in the most recent week of NA Academy play. I’ll discuss a few of the most noteworthy players, then list some other strong performers below.

Yusui, Mid, Team Liquid

TL Yusui 2020 Split 1.pngWe’re back with my pick for the best currently available Academy Mid, Yusui, who once again managed to look good despite his team being inconsistent around him. He carried on Irelia in a win over CLG Academy, then had a really solid Orianna game despite a loss to GG Academy.

Yusui Stats, 2020 Summer Week 5

  KDA KP GXD10 DPM CS%P15
W5 4.7 66.7% +1,095 271 31.6%
Total 2.7 64.6% +39 434 26.7%

Continue reading Academy Standouts: 2020 Summer Week 5 →

Analysis and Opinion

The Best Possible LCS-Eligible Academy Lineup

This article was available early to Patreon subscribers.

When Immortals swapped their LCS and Academy rosters around three weeks ago and then came out and actually won a couple of games, it forced some people to re-evaluate their opinions about the perceived lack of talent in North America’s tier 2 league. Then Poome and Contractz came up and helped 100 Thieves spoil Cloud9’s big at an undefeated season.

Sure, IMT “Academy” is anchored by Xmithie, Apollo, and Hakuho, but Allorim and Insanity are definitely playing their parts. And 100 Thieves have Ssumday, which at times renders any other observation about their roster moot—he’s just that good. But caveats aside, there is real potential in Academy, and I’ve been working to highlight it all year long.

The success of recent Academy-to-LCS promotions got me wondering: if I could take the players currently competing in Academy and form them into an LCS-eligible “super team,” who would I pick?

Find out below!

Check stats for all of these players on the Academy 2020 Summer Regular Season page Continue reading The Best Possible LCS-Eligible Academy Lineup →