Battle Report: NA LCS Spring Split - Week 2

January 26 2016


Week 2 had a lot of great things going for Team Liquid. It showed we could contend with a top team in CLG (much like TSM in the previous week) despite a change in our roster, and we garnered out first win in a butt-clenching, comeback victory against Echo Fox.

Even though Liquid currently stands at 1W-3L, it's about how we can transition into the mid-season and how we identify mistakes and strengths. Right now, we sort of lack an identity--unless you count 'GodPiglet' as our identity. Nonetheless, if it weren't for some overzealous, hyphy-ness (yes, I'm using this word) from our young guns when the death timers count down from an eternity, we could be 4-0 right now.

Day 1: Team Liquid VS Counter Logic Gaming - LOSS






CLG maybe not be the team they used to be with the departure of Doublelift, but they still play a high-level game.
Veterans like Aphromoo and Darshan, formerly Zionspartan, know how to rotate around the map and punish even the slightest mistakes. Team Liquid on the other hand, showed how hot they can get--absolutely punishing the Stixxay vs Piglet match-up--but still fell short to superior late game pressure.

  • Team Liquid: Shen, Rek'Sai, Ryze, Bard, Lucian
  • Counter Logic Gaming: Fiora, Elise, Corki, Alistar, Caitlyn

The immediate problem before going into the game is we allowed a carry pick (Fiora) to fall to the hands of a lethal carry player in Darshan. While you can play odds, Team Liquid as a unit did very little to try and stop the top lane menace and rather opted to secure kills onto Piglet--or rather, seemingly take advantage of the Stixxay vs Piglet match-up.

However, while we usually take pride in the 'TL 5v5', it was CLG who came out on top with perfect team play in the large-scale fights. The reason we lost can be demonstrated in the GIF below. As you can see, our young guns grew overzealous and dove CLG. While the intentions were good, Piglet and FeniX were lagged behind by not only minions, but the threat of Fiora's teleport. Had they commit, it would have been a sandwich, and an even faster defeat. The fact is, CLG wasn't even that far behind, and yet we engaged a fight without our own carries' immediate damage output. This isn't solo queue.






VOD: Team Liquid vs Counter Logic Gaming


Day 2: Team Liquid VS Echo Fox - WIN






While Echo Fox is still an up-and-coming new team, this match-up excited me. Not only is Cop (formerly of Curse) the coach, but their Marksman was also Liquid's 2015 Marksman substitute, Keith. As I saw Keith and Piglet duke it out for Rift Supremacy, flashbacks of #keepkeith flew over my head. Of course, we now know why we didn't abide.

  • Team Liquid: Gnar, Elise, Cassiopeia, Alistar, Caitlyn
  • Echo Fox: Tahm Kench, Rek'Sai, Lissandra, Kalista, Janna

For me, there's very little in the way of explanation for Echo Fox' early game dominance. They came onto our team as a unit while Piglet was farming, and demolished us. The way this was played out must be looked into, as better teams would never allow a come back to happen. But three substitutes and some amateur players meant our World Champion would outplay you when he finally joined the fights.

Looking at our composition, we ran a two-threat composition in Cassiopeia and Caitlyn. Both these champions WILL pump out far more damage than Echo's line up if the game pushes into the later phase. But this win wasn't about our stalling and pushing into the late game. It was about how we positioned ourselves in fights which allowed Echo to punish themselves.





Look at this GIF above. It's a very simplified demonstration of how we came back in fights. Piglet and FeniX split from each other, forcing Echo, who was already in a poor situation, to have to choose between killing either our marksman, or our AP carry. It's subtle, but this recognition to NOT stay together forces opponents to make tough decisions.



VOD: Team Liquid vs Echo Fox


Pros:

-There are signs of life against top teams
-Good early pressure (Except against Echo Fox who caught us off guard)
-The current roster is solid, but need more time to gel (pro/con)

Cons:

-We become overzealous with a lead
-Heavily reliant on Piglet's high-level of mechanics
-The inexperience shows against veteran teams/players (just takes time!)






Writer // Ken Serra
Art Credit // Riot