Greetings
fellow Summoners,
The
World Championship is upon us with the first of the group stage
matches underway. So what can we expect during the course of the
World's, and what can we expect from each team? After having watched
all 92 regionals matches and doing some stat taking, I'd like the
share with you a few things I noticed.
Sorry
its a bit late as the Group stages have started, wanted this to be up
yesterday, but life got in the way.
Combined
Regional Stats
For
those of you interested in the statistics of the regional qualifiers,
all of the data I've collected can be found here.
.ODS
files up currently, Excel will be up shortly.
Champion
List – Contains Pick/Ban, Win/Loss percentage, KDA and avg
KDA as well as Champion Picks and KDA/avg KDA of each player.
Items –
Contains (primarily) finished/intermediate items picked by X role for
each game as well as the total pick-up percentage per game. Broken
down into individual games, teams, and champions.
Objective
Control – Contains a few major objective points found in
most/each match, the times they were taken, and the win rates
associated with controlling that objective.
Things
to watch for
Outside
of the normal, high-skilled play that is associated with the
professional teams. There are a few things to watch out for. If you
regularly watch the LCS and the professional scene you probably
already know these, but if you are a bit newer to the scene, here are
a few things to keep your eye on.
Trinity
Force
Just
a small note, its back and in full force. Expect to see it, and
Trinity Force champions making a huge showing. With only two of the
Regional Qualifiers being played on the buffed Trinity Force patch,
several new champions for the various regions teams may be coming
out.
Contested
Champs
Even
though a total of 81 champions were picked/banned throughout the
course of the Regional Qualifiers, there are some very highly
contested champions among all the regions.
Champion
– Pick/Ban Rates
Shen
– 81 – 88.04%
Thresh
– 77 – 83.70%
Jarvan
– 73 – 79.35%
Zed
– 70 – 76.09%
Ahri
– 66 – 71.74%
Sona
– 63 – 68.48%
Zac
– 63 – 68.48%
Zyra
– 57 – 61.96%
Elise
– 54 – 61.96%
Ezreal
– 53 – 57.61%
Lee
Sin – 52 – 56.52%
Caitlyn
– 51 – 55.43%
Orianna
– 48 – 52.17%
During
the regionals, these were the champions that were either picked or
banned in over half the matches. With the exception of Sona and Zyra
(rarely
banned but picked a lot due to being the primary supports currently),
these champions are very highly contested and often banned out or
taken as first or second picks. You can expect to see a lot of
decision making and mindgames happening during the pick and ban
phases in an attempt to secure these champions for their own team or
deny them from the opposing team.
Fast
tower pushes/trades
During
the beginning of the summer split, we saw a lot of very fast tower
pushing with the first outer tower falling around 3:30 and sometimes
the following inner turret by 5:30. Since the buff to the outer
towers though, this has become a lot less likely. But, it does still
happen, especially in the Asian scene. Anytime you see a 2v1 lane at
the start of the match (especially with Caitlyn), there is going to
be a high chance of the jungler moving to the 2v1 lane and fast
pushing towers. Most teams have seen this kind of play before, and
will most likely react appropriately by doing the same in the
opposing lane, but with this type of strategy having mostly died out
over a month ago, it may be possible that a team gets caught of guard
by this. Regardless, in the event of extremely fast turret
pushes/trades, expect to see the rest of the game accelerated and
laning phases ending shortly after.
Champion
Combos
Some very potent
champion combinations have cropped up over the past few weeks or
months and we can be sure to expect them during the World
Championship. If you see them picked up, be prepared to watch some
pretty destructive plays coming from the combos.
+ Ashe + Zyra:
Probably the most well known combo and made popular by Cloud 9, the
Ashe/Zyra combination brings a ton of control from the bot lane, a
rarely known for the control they bring. Inside of the lane, the
long poke range provide good harassment, as well as the ability to
both engage and disengage with 4 different types of CC (Stun,
Knock-up, Snare, and Slow) provide this combo with a lot of safety
and kill potential. Outside of the lane, the CC that Ashe/Zyra
provide allow for more pure damage champions to come from the other
lanes. With high pick potential from Ashe's ultimate and the
CC/Protection/Zone Potential of Zyra, this bot lane combo allows
teams to almost always choose how and when to fight.
Variations of this
combination include replacing Ashe with Varus, or Zyra with Sona.
Though not as effective, they still provide a large amount of control
from the bottom lane.
+
Vi + Ahri/Shen: Recently
picking up steam, particularly in the Korean scene, Vi + Ahri/Shen
have been causing huge amounts of problems for the opposing team.
Vi's ultimate is guaranteed to hit here target and with the extra
range she can get from her Q Dash, she can almost always reach the
high priority targets in any fight. This long range, guaranteed
crowd control allows Vi to setup her teammates. This is hugely
effective with Ahri and Shen. Ahri, with her ult, is able to easily
follow Vi to her target. With her targeted CC'ed Ahri is guaranteed
to land her charm on her target, resulting in her entire combo
hitting on top of Vi's damage. 99% of the time this will result in
the targets death. Shen, as the other combo with Vi, is also
extremely effective. Shen will Ult onto Vi as she is dashing in.
The result is having Shen teleported into the opposing teams back
line and following up Vi's CC with even more CC.
+
Ori + Delivery System: Another
well known combo and seen time and time again throughout the world,
is the Ball Delivery System. Basically it consists of Orianna + any
champion that can cover a very large distance quickly while holding
onto Orianna's ball. This allows fast and easy positioning of
Orianna's ball into the middle of the opposing team for her Ultimate.
Many champions work well for this, though some of the more notable
ones are Jarvan, Zac, Vi, and Nocturne with their long range engages.
Regions,
Teams, and Differences
China
The
Chinese League of Legends scene can be summarized in one word,
aggresion.
+
See Kill, Get Kill Mentality - If there is any chance for a kill, the
Chinese players will go for it, even if it means committing
themselves to their own death. This often puts the players in very
high risk situations. Rarely faced with defensive teams in their
region, Teams OMG and Royal may potentially set themselves up to get
their aggression countered. However, if they are able to draw other
teams into their style of play, they will most certainly come out on
top.
+
Low Warding – The Chinese region seems plagued by low warding,
especially when you compare them to NA/EU regions in which often
times you will see 7+ wards out per team at one time.
+
Teir 2 Turret Trades – A common tactic in China, often times in 2v1
lanes, not only will the outer turrets be traded by 3:30, often times
the inner turrets will fall by 5:30 as well. Beyond that, on a rare
occasion even the Inhibitors have been traded during that first
turret push and have fallen before the 9 minute mark. No other
region has ever done this, so they need to be prepared for the
Chinese teams to not back off from the intial pushes.
+
Hectic Play – While controlled and understood by the teams, most of
the games from the Chinese region feel extremly Hectic. More often
than not a fight resulting in a kill is going on, someone is out
getting caught, a tower is being pushed, or a gank set up. Things
are always happening in the games, but just as often as this
accomplishes beneficial goals, it also causes teams to put themselves
into bad positions and be punished for it.
Team
OMG -
+ Yorick Jungle – Team
OMG love to play Yorick Jungle. A very unique pick-up, he does
extremely well at early turret/objective pressure. He is also a very
strong duelist in the jungle, potentially the strongest and is played
with a very strong counter jungle preference. If Yorick makes it way
into the hands of OMG, expect their jungler to bully the opposing
teams jungler and to have high presence in objective play. However,
do not expect him to be ganking very often, as his ganks have little
effectiveness. Team OMG love to combo this with Renekton Top so that
they can use Yoricks ultimate on Renekton after he has used his
Ultimate, so that there are two lizards running around with the AOE
damage.
+ Very Strong Orianna –
If Team OMG's mid laner gets his hands on Orianna, be prepared to see
some extremely strong play out of him. His Orianna is one of the
best in the world and though I would love to see it played, I would
prioritize target banning this champion against them.
+ Mundo Top – Picking
up a little bit of steam lately, Team OMG will run Mundo as a top
laner. Only seen in the Korean scene as well, most region's teams
will not have played against this. Watch out for this pickup and
enjoy watching something most unplayed to great effect.
Team
Royal -
+ Support Annie – Team
Royal's support player loves to play Annie and is highly respected at
it by his region. More often than not, Annie draws a ban from the
opposing teams and when she does not, Royal will pick her up
immediately. If Royal gets their hands on Annie, you can expect to
see the ADC/Support combo run in the mid lane. This allows Annie to
have the greatest zone of influence and you will see her
participating in counter jungling, objective control, and running off
to gank both top and bottom lanes. You will also see Team Royal
going very aggressive during the pre-minion spawn time.
+ Very, Very Strong Fizz
– Ban Fizz versus Team Royal. Their mid laner absolutely loves to
play Fizz and is extremely good at him. Even when shutdown in 2v1
lanes, he still manages to come back and carry extremely hard on this
champion. Expect to see him banned versus Royal, or to see some
amazing play out of their mid laner on Fizz.
Europe
-
During
the Summer Season, Europe had the highest amount of competition for
the top spots of the region. The teams are very used to playing in
high pressure situations and the practice under the stress of every
game having large implications for them may provide the EU teams with
a small edge in that area.
+
Objective Control Focus - Recognizing the value of objectives over
kills, the teams from this region place a high value on controlling
objectives. Expect to see fights break out around turrets and dragon
and expect to see objectives pushed after every teamfight. NA/EU/KR
are the only regions to place a huge priority on getting objectives
after won teamfights. They feel that if you don't get an objective
after each won teamfight, then you did not properly use the advantage
you gained.
+
Variety of Strategies – The EU teams know how employ and deal with
a large variety of strategies, team comps, and play styles. Expect
to see the likes of Split Pushing, Team Fight Oriented, Skirmishes,
Pick, and more Comps will come from this region's teams.
+
Mercury Treads – EU teams have the most willingness of any region
to pick up Mercury Treads on any of their champions. Just as often
as their carries will pick up Sorcerer's Boots or Berserker Greaves,
they will pick up Mercury Treads. Opposing teams need to recognize
this and be prepared for EU's carries to be less susceptible to CC.
+
ADC's as Casters – EU love to play their ADC's as casters. With a
heavy focus on their mid laners, the EU use their ADC's for upfront
damage. Expect to see EU's
ADC's building Bloodthirster, Last Whisper, and Infinity Edge before
they pick up Attack Speed outside of Berserker Greaves.
+
Mid Lane Focused – EU focuses a lot of their effort and attention
into the mid lane. Their mid lane players are some of the best and
you can expect junglers to be providing a lot of support to get their
mid laners rolling into the play makers they love to be.
Team
Lemondogs -
The new team on the
scene, but holding the number 1 spot in EU for the longest time, the
Lemondogs are a strong team. During the EU Regionals, they seemed to
be playing a little lackluster, but I believe this is due to them
being satisfied with just making it to the EU Regionals. With the
time since them, I believe they will have picked up their desire and
effort as being in the World's after their first season in
professional play sets in.
+ Twisted Fate – One of
the few teams to still employ Twisted Fate since the nerfs, the
Lemondogs actually feel he is stronger since his passive change.
Expect to see him banned or played, and to have a very large effect
on the outcome of the games he is in.
Team
Fanatic -
Taking the number one
spot from Lemondogs during the EU Regional Qualifiers, Fanatic is
most likely EU's strongest team. Constantly keeping control of games
and forcing them to played at their pace. Breaking their flow will
be key for other teams.
+ Aatrox – Both Fanatic
and Gambit really love to play Aatrox and they are the only teams in
the Worlds that put priority on him. Aatrox is a big pick in EU and
no where else. Teams from the other regions need to be prepared to
see him played both in the Jungle and Top lane. Whichever lane he is
in, Aatrox will be a bully and in any duel situation players cannot
forget about the massive leach that he has.
+ Yorick – The only
team to play Yorick outside of China. Fanatic prefer to play him top
lane though as a lane bully.
Team
Gambit Gaming -
EU's
most aggressive team, Gambit Gaming are definitely a favorite in the
EU scene. Their play style is very aggressive and if they can get
even a small lead in the early stages of the game they will turn it
into a huge win.
+ Aatrox – Both Fanatic
and Gambit really love to play Aatrox and they are the only teams in
the Worlds that put priority on him. Aatrox is a big pick in EU and
no where else. Teams from the other regions need to be prepared to
see him played both in the Jungle and Top lane. Whichever lane he is
in, Aatrox will be a bully and in any duel situation players cannot
forget about the massive leach that he has.
+ Miss Fortune –
Gambit's ADC loves Miss Fortune and will pick her up almost anytime
she is available. Teams need to be prepared for his very aggressive
lane presence on his favorite champion. I wouldn't be surprised to
see him pick up the new Trinity Force on Miss Fortune, but we will
have to wait and see.
+ Eve Jungle – Gambit's
Jungler's favorite champion to play, Eve creates a lot of pressure
around the map just by being Eve. The constant invisibility causes
her to be in the back of the opposing teams mind at all times.
Gambit also know how to make great use out of Eve to creat teamfights
and during them as well.
Korea
-
The
region hailed as having the
strongest teams of all, we can expect big things from all three teams
from this region. Interestingly enough, the Korean teams are the
ones that play most like the current NA/EU LCS teams and the same
strengths can be seen from them as well.
+
Objective Control Focus - Recognizing the value of objectives over
kills, the teams from this region place a high value on controlling
objectives. Expect to see fights break out around turrets and dragon
and expect to see objectives pushed after every teamfight. NA/EU/KR
are the only regions to place a huge priority on getting objectives
after won teamfights. They feel that if you don't get an objective
after each won teamfight, then you did not properly use the advantage
you gained.
+
Variety of Strategies – As top of the top professional teams, the
Korean teams know how employ and deal with a large variety of
strategies, team comps, and play styles. Expect to see the likes of
Split Pushing, Team Fight Oriented, Skirmishes, Pick, and more Comps
will come from this region's teams.
Team
Najin Black Sword and Team Samsung Ozone -
Unfortunately,
these two teams were not a part of the regionals, having bypassed
them with the amount of League points they have accumulated. Both
will be extremely strong teams and from what games I was able to find
and watch, play very much the same as most of the region. We can
expect very strong play, very objective controlled styles, and a
large variety of team comps. Analysts and casters of the Korean
region however, are toting SK Telecom
as Korea's currently strongest team, not the 1st
place Najin or the 2nd
place Ozone. This is due to the play styles and champion choices of
SK Telecom in relation to patch 3.10 and 3.11.
Team
SK Telecom -
A favorite to take first
in the World's, they are an extremely strong team right now. The
changes in patch 3.10 and 3.11 have vastly increased SK's chances
with how well the patches have fit into their champ picks and
playstyles.
+ Extremely Strong Mid
Laner – Faker of Team SK is a very large portion of the team. His
ability to make plays, carry, and keep his team strong in bad
situations is greater than even most of the professional Mid laners.
Shutting him down will be hard, and potentially necessary for
opposing teams.
+ Elise Top – Used to
be a very popular pick, playing Elise top is rarely seen as of late.
Team SK however, will still pull her out. Other teams top laners
need to remember her strengths.
North
America -
Constantly
poked at as being the lesser of the regions, this year may be the
year that NA teams prove the world wrong. With strong showings from
all three qualified teams, the NA region is out to prove that they
deserve to be fighting for the top spots.
+
Objective Control Focus - Recognizing the value of objectives over
kills, the teams from this region place a high value on controlling
objectives. Expect to see fights break out around turrets and dragon
and expect to see objectives pushed after every teamfight. NA/EU/KR
are the only regions to place a huge priority on getting objectives
after won teamfights. They feel that if you don't get an objective
after each won teamfight, then you did not properly use the advantage
you gained.
+
Variety of Strategies – The EU teams know how employ and deal with
a large variety of strategies, team comps, and play styles. Expect
to see the likes of Split Pushing, Team Fight Oriented, Skirmishes,
Pick, and more Comps will come from this region's teams.
Team
Cloud 9 -
Cloud 9 has been
dominating the NA scene. Having one of the best seasons in any
region and showing their strength time and time again, Cloud 9 is a
favorite, at least in NA, to take the World Championship. With
extremely coordinated team fights and probably the highest objective
focus of any team, Cloud 9 are going to be a massive threat.
+ Dragon Fights – Cloud
9 love the dragon. More specifically, they love the fight that
dragon creates. Cloud 9 excels at fight at or near dragon and many
of their games are won at the first dragon fight. Teams need to be
aware of how strong Cloud 9 are at dragon and be prepared to let it
go and take other objectives, or to come in to the dragon fight with
a very strong teamfight.
+ Ashe/Zyra Combo –
Cloud 9 popularized this combo and they play it to great effect. I
expect to see it either banned or picked out. Cloud 9 need to be
ready for the amount of priority that other regions put on Zyra as a
support, even outside of the Ashe/Zyra combo. No doubt Cloud 9 are
just as solid without this comp, but if they get it, expect great
things.
+ Metoes' Jungle Style –
Metoes his highly acclaimed as the most efficient jungler and
possibly the best jungler. His style of play is maximizing his time.
He will rarely go for a gank unless he knows that he has a kill,
preferring to get the guaranteed gold from the jungle, than spend a
minute or more trying to make a gank happen. However, his positioning
sense and presence are uncanny and rarely is he not where he needs to
be. Opposing teams junglers will need to be able to keep up with
Meteos or the presence he provides will be their undoing.
+ Rumble – C9's top
laner is extremely potent on Rumble. Often times he will turn a 2v1
into a double kill for himself while on this champion. His ultimates
are always spot on, providing huge impact in any fight. While not
the highest priority for other teams, I still feel that Rumble
deserves a targeted ban when it comes to Cloud 9.
Team
TSM -
A
fan favorite in NA and a long standing team that has been to Worlds
before. TSM are expecting a lot out of themselves and put a lot of
pressure on doing well in the worlds. They may be the team putting
the most pressure on themselves in the Worlds.
+
Long Standing – One of the
teams that have been around the longest, TSM is comfortable playing
in the large scenes with lots on the line. Their best performances
happen in high pressure situations and I expect their play during the
worlds to be a step above their play during the LCS.
+
Mid-laner Reginald – Owner, Shot caller, and Play maker for TSM,
Reginald puts a lot of weight on his shoulders. A very strong
player, expect to see a large portion of TSM's ability to win games
centering around Reginald. The downside however, is that when
Reginald gets shutdown, he frustrates easily. Get Reginald
frustrated and TSM falls apart.
Team
Vulcun -
NA's
second strongest team during the LCS, Vulcun have made just as strong
a showing throughout the season as Cloud 9, being the only team to
really give Cloud 9 a challenge in the season.
+
Large Champion Pool – Vulcun have one of the largest champion pools
out of any team in World's. Every player has played a wide berth of
champions over the course of the Regional Qualifiers and the season
itself. Their pick/ban phase is one of the strongest, because it is
near impossible to ban any of them out.
Southeast
Asia – Team Mineski
Playing
similarly to the Chinese scene, Team Mineski very much prescribes to
the see kill, get kill philosophy. Capitalized by very high
aggression, large kill/death counts, and a willingness to fight to
the last hit, be prepared for some high action games coming from Team
Mineski.
+
Good Bans – Expect this teams research to be done. The pick/ban
phase will be highly effective for Team Mineski, as in the Regionals
they seemed 100% ready for every team they fought.
+
Very Strong Mid and ADC – Be warned, these two will carry the
games. Team Mineski's mid lander and ADC are highly skilled and if
not shut down early, will be huge problems for other teams.
+
Scattered Teamfights – Team Mineski love spread out teamfights.
They are very skilled at exiting and entering battles at the right
time, maximizing the effect they can have on teamfights. They will
attempt to separate opposing teams, catching out high priority
targets if any mistakes are made.
+
High Kill Counts – With the see kill, get kill mentality prevalent
in their region, Team Mineski's games have very high kill/death
counts, often ending with over 50+ kills between the two teams. This
play-style accelerates player builds. It may be possible to throw a
wrench into their game by not allowing Team Mineski to pick up so
many kills. The lack of accelerated builds could potentially throw
off their game timing.
+
Ryze and Top Lane Jarvan - While most other regions and teams have
dropped Ryze, Team Mineski's mid laner still plays him, and to
devastating
effect. The rest of the World's teams will need to be prepared for
this. The other quirk, is that they like to play Jarvan top lane as
a Burst Damage dealer. Rarely seen in other regions, teams need to
be ready to face a very high damage Jarvan and not be caught off
guard by it.
TW_HW_MO
– Gamania Bears
Though
only having a few games to go on from the Regional Qualifiers, there
are a few things to note coming from this team. Playing much like the
Chinese scene, here are a few things you can expect from the Gamania
Bears.
+
Extended Engages – Generally starting engages in small skirmishes,
the Gamania Bears are quick to rotate and collapse from all lanes to
join any fight. This often results in engages that last for a minute
or longer as each new person joins the fight.
+
Fighting with Low HP – Expect the Gamania Bears to fight even with
HP so low that a soft breeze will kill them. They are very good at
knowing just how much damage they can take (especially from towers)
and will stick around until the last moment. Though this is high
skill play, it also gets them in to trouble as sticking around so low
has gotten them killed unnecessarily.
+
Lots of Roaming – Gamania Bears almost play without a lane. With
their preference for extended engages and desire to chase down any
fight, Champions are constantly moving from one lane to the other,
clearing out a wave of creeps and then running off again.
+
Unimpressive CS - With their priority on fighting and roaming, the
Gamania Bears CS is not very impressive compared to other regions.
Often times, by the 30 minute mark, only one champion would be above
200 CS, and rarely by much.
+
Always Carriers Red Pots – An interesting tactic, every player on
the Gamania Bears will generally have a red pot on them throughout
the game. With their preference for extended fights, even one pot
can be the difference between a win and a loss. The extra hp it
provides for its low cost is a huge benefit to them
+
Very Aggressive – Gamania
Bears like to fight, and they will almost always seek them out or be
harassing in lanes. The downside to this though, is that they put
themselves into a lot of danger by doing this. Their aggression is
not often backed by a safety net and can be easily punished.
Wildcard
– Gaming Gear
Though
having a strong showing during the Wildcard tournament, Gaming Gear
are the underdogs of the tournament. Having the least experience at
this competitive level, it will be unlikely that they make it out of
the group stages, however, I would not count them out completely.
Being the team that others will have focused on the least, they have
a great opportunity to prove themselves a threat, especially if we
assume that they have been training with EU's professional teams
lately.
+
Good Berth of Champions – Over the course of their Qualifiers,
Gaming Gear showed the largest variety of played Champions. With
only one loss during the Qualifiers, they also know how to play all
of their Champions. It will be difficult to shut them down through
picks/bans.
+
Solid Gameplay – For the most part, Gaming Gear's play was very
solid, following primarily the NA/EU styles. However, their biggest
weakness was knowing when they were ahead and how to take advantage
of it. Opting into the slow burn style of winning, other teams in
the World's will be able to take advantage of that.
+
Weaker Team Cordination – While far above most teams still, the
coordination of Gaming Gear's team play, both in team fights and map
control, is lacking compared to the more experienced teams.
Twitter:
@SnowSpotsGaming
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