League of Legends Worlds Analysis, Group Stage - NWS vs. ALL Game #2

Alliance vs. Najin White Shield Game #2

2v1 Lanes, KBM top

Bans

Nidalee Rammus

Thresh Alistar

Zed Maokai

Picks

1. Zilean 2. Ryze

3. Lee Sin 2. Tristana

3. Irelia 4. Khazix

5. Kog'maw 4. Janna

5. Ahri 6. Lulu

Lane Match-ups – Alliance

Top -

Irelia will get bullied by Ryze early and will be reduced to surviving and farming. It will be rough for a while, but being lower than Ryze will keep his kill potential almost non-existent during the low levels, as well as providing Irelia with an easy way to set up a gank through the long duration of her stun. Once Irelia reaches and 6 and picks up a Sheen, she will have more control over the lane than Ryze. Her all-in onto Ryze will be superior while Ryze is scaling up with his tear/catalyst. Every opportunity after this point should be used to push Ryze out of lane and potentially kill him. Jungle ganks from Lee Sin will be extremely potent and should be a priority.

Mid -

Ahri vs Orianna is a very even match-up. Both have good wave clear and decent kill potential on each other. Ahri will have to rely on Charm to get harassment off and then quickly back off after it wears off. Ahri has a stronger burst and fast trade ability and needs to use it. Once 6 hits, going all-in can be effective, but she must dodge Orianna's Shockwave, which is harder than it seems it would be for Ahri. If Ahri goes all-in and misses her charm, she will lose to Orianna who has much higher sustained damage.

Bot -

Slightly better match-up for Alliance. The lane will go even for the first few levels, as Janna can stop most if not all of Zilean's damage while Kog'maw cannot trade too hard until he gets a few levels. As the lane continues though, it will shift in the favor of Alliance who will have higher trade potential and range with Kog'maw. At six, and once Kog'maw picks up Sheen, Alliance will have a very large advantage over Tristana/Janna.

Jungle -

Another Lee Sin against Khazix. Farm and look for opportunities. The best will be with Irelia against Ryze around the level 4/5 mark. Lee Sin should feel confident in having the stronger/even lanes that means he will come out ahead, even in a counter-gank.

Lane Match-ups – Najin White Shield

Top -

Ryze can bully Irelia, though it might not be so wise. With Irelia lower than Ryze, it will put Ryze at risk to be ganked easily by Rengar. Harassment should only be done when he knows that Rengar is on the other side of the map and must be wary anytime his presence is not accounted for. Be especially mindful of low hp ranged creeps and the ability of Irelia to double gap close in those situations. If possible, try to keep the wave slightly on NWS's side of the river, giving more time to chase Irelia in a gank, since she has built in tenacity to deal with Ryze CC, and because Ryze will need a short escape route if he gets ganked.

Mid -

Against Ahri, Orianna will have an even lane. Farm should go even as well as wave clear speed and trades. The only thing Orianna needs to do is dodge charms. As long as she can dodge charms she has stronger bully potential and with her sustained damage can take down Ahri. However, getting charmed will let Ahri put on a huge amount of burst and possibly kill her.

Bot -

Tristana/Janna will be ok in the first 2-3 levels, being able to trade evenly and get farm, however as the lane progresses it will only get harder and harder for NWS to do well in this lane. More burst and longer range will allow Alliance to start to bully around level 3. Once level 6 comes into play, and the first back, NWS's duo will be in real trouble. Kog'maw will be able to get free poke while also having the stronger all-in with Zilean ultimate in his back pocket. Lane swap would be advised.

Jungle -

Khazix will need to focus on farming, get past the stronger point of Lee Sin. Look to mirror his movements and counter-gank. Potential gank opportunity on top lane, but must make sure Lee Sin does not counter it.

Team Composition/Strategy – Alliance's

*Win Condition – Get rolling early and use the mid-game power-spikes of every member on their team to create a gold lead and map advantage. Snowball this into a win.

Alliance have drafted a team that has a very strong mid-game spike. Irelia, Kog'maw, and Ahri will all get consistently stronger from level 1 on up until the very late game. Once the lanes start to gain power, Alliance can shift that into objective control and pressure, especially with the Trinity Force spikes of Kog'maw and Irelia. The mid-game power needs to be used to pressure all over the map, taking vision control and denying NWS vision. Without vision, Ahri will have prime opportunity to get picks in the jungle. Lee Sin will also supplement this teams power, by being able to provide very strong early game ganks.

Team Composition/Strategy – Najin White Shield

*Win Condition – Survive the early and mid-game and get to the late game.

NWS have once again drafted a very late game focused team. They will have to survive the power-spike of Alliance and concede neutral objectives at times so as not to let them get too far ahead. Early wave kill potential from any of NWS's member will be useful in slowing down the tower push progress of Alliance. NWS have their work cut out for themselves, surviving lanes with disadvantages and making it past the heavy mid-game power of Alliance. If they are able to, they can defeat Alliance in the late game.

Game Notes -

Look at the super solo queue style start. Irelia is not even near Lee Sin in case of an invade.

Irelia gets level 2 first and is able to put great harass onto Ryze, trading damage while Irelia has way more potions to sustain.

Instant reaction flash from Ahri away from Khazix saves her from possibly dieing, or at least from being forced out.

Lee Sin is in place, looking for a gank onto Ryze, and is perfectly ready for the counter-gank. Lee Sin holds onto his second part of his Q until after Khazix flashes. Alliance gets First Blood.

Orianna is really bullying Ahri.

Lee Sin buys Mobility Boots with the FB money, and it gets him another gank and kill in the bot lane.

The Mobility Boots pay dividends as Lee Sin is able to lane gank Ryze in the top lane, Irelia able to set it up with her dash and stun.

Kog'maw gets a snipe at the tower, killing Tristana off guard.

The early Lee Sin power has really been used amazingly, snowballing all the lanes.

NWS try a desperate Dragon, and Alliance collapse 5v4. A great kick and steal from Lee Sin get the dragon and the team also gets a kill and chase NWS back to base. ALL take mid and bottom turret. Completing the destruction of NWS's outer ring.

*NOTE – What is Kog'maw doing.... He left base without completing his Trinity Force. The combine cost is 3 gold >.>'

Alliance are very far ahead already. 6K gold at 14 minutes. Alliance will start to siege turrets, and look for picks with Ahri and Lee Sin during rotations.

Kog'maw picks up a very early Negatron Cloak. I really like this as the majority of NWS's damage is magic, even Tristana's burst, at this point and will keep him safe while they already have a big gold lead.

Vision control allows Ahri to find a pick onto Khazix in his own jungle.

Ahri going Deathfire Grasp first is the right choice in this match, as just shown. Alliance want to find picks and with the lead they have, 1 charm will lead to a kill.

Alliance continue to rotate between top and mid, while Kog'maw stays on bot lane alone, pushing. This means all the lanes are stronger than their counterparts and Alliance will be able to maintain the control over all 3 lanes, and just need to wait for a rotational opportunity.

As Kog'maw/Zilean/Lee Sin take dragon, Ahri delays in middle, running away with her ultimate, however she makes a sneaky play when hiding in the side bush, picking out Janna and annihilating her.

Irelia could have TP'ed in to the mid lane ward, and chased down NWS, but they do not.

With rotational play, Alliance bait NWS into a fight, and are able to get 2 kills for 0, and push NWS away for the free Baron.

Alliance are able to clear the final T2 turret and start to push into the base, however a great Orianna Shockwave pushes Alliance off and forces them to shop.

Alliance return to play the map and get a catch onto Ryze. Alliance do flub here a bit, they have a 5v4 and could dive and force there way into NWS's base. They are playing a bit too safe, but they are very very ahead and NWS need another 10-15 minutes to start to fight back.

With a new baron, Alliance start to siege NWS's base again, this time to success, taking bot inhibitor and then making a great Lee Sin play in mid to take the mid inhibitor and the game.

End Game Notes -

GG Shook on Lee Sin. Snowballed all 3 lanes. NWS do not have proper wards to stop him, and the early Mobility Boots really get him into the ganks.

Alliance did take a bit of time to close out the game, but they did reach the point of no return and won a Perfect Game.

What Najin White Shield should have done -

After the first 8 minutes? Not much. In champ select, they should not have let Alliance get Lee Sin and Irelia, their best champions for those roles. They also could have not played a full-scaling team and picked up a more mid-game focused champion in 1 or 2 of the roles.

In the game, NWS made some sloppy plays, ganking top predictably without knowing where Lee Sin was, and then playing over confident against a Lee Sin who got First Blood.

NWS tried to take a dragon, which is somewhat the right play, they had to do something, but it was more up to ALL to lose the fight at this point than for NWS to win it, and NWS solidified their loss here.

League of Legends Worlds Analysis, Group Stage - NWS vs. ALL Game #1

Najin White Shield vs. Alliance Game #1

2v1 Lanes, NWS top

Bans

Fizz Nidalee

Maokai Zed

Ryze Alistar

Picks

1. Lee Sin 2. Zilean

3. Thresh 2. Khazix

3. Tristana 4. Irelia

5. Lulu 4. Lucian

5. Riven 6. Twisted Fate

Lane Match-ups – Najin White Shield

Top -

A very dangerous lane on both sides, Riven and Irelia will be spending a good amount of time bullying each other. Riven has the ability to create strong burst trades, and to guarantee a stun and block some damage with her shield. Using this combo well, and as much as possible will be key in the match. However, Irelia will be able to respond strongly, with her dash and follow-up stun if behind. Irelia will also be able to out-sustain Riven, after the trades. Riven will have to create one or two strong trades in her favor and then go all in. As the level's progress and items come into play, Riven will have to be able to all-in and kill Irelia, which will be hard without ignite, and keep her out of lane after, otherwise Irelia will become too strong for Riven to deal with in an extended period of time.

Mid -

Lulu can push Twisted Fate in extremely hard in the early levels and again when she gets some AP. The lane will remain a solid farm lane without jungle interference. The winner of the lane will be whoever can push the lane the most while getting harassment down with their wave clear abilities. Lulu should just seek to push hard, and keep an eye on TF to stop his ultimate. At 6, Lulu can really start to duel/bully Twisted Fate, since he has the ultimate advantage over him. Lulu must be wary of Khazix ganks though, they will be highly effective with TF stun.

Bot -

A somewhat weaker lane that ALL's. Lucian and Zilean can bully Tristana well, and even if Thresh lands a hook, the burst damage that will come out onto Tristana after the hook is very high. Going to be a bit of a tentative and risky to go for the 2v2 and should expect to come out behind in CS if they do. If behind by too much at level 6, ALL's duo will have massive all-in bully potential.

Jungle -

Have we seen this match before? Yes! Another Lee v Khazix farm fest. Both sides will look to get to their ultimates, watching the lanes for opportunities to gank, but never truly trying to force them. Once level 6 comes in across the board, Lee Sin may be able to make plays against Irelia or Twisted Fate, but will still be unlikely.

Lane Match-ups – Alliance

Top -

A volatile lane for Irelia. She has the sustain advantage as well as being able to trade almost evenly with Riven. However, Riven's all-in potential is higher as is her mobility for getting trades and getting out. Irelia will need to respond by holding onto her dash and engaging Riven after her combo harass, applying Irelia's only trade potential. Utilizing the windows of Riven down-time will be essential for Irelia to stay in this match. As the lane goes on, it will turn more and more into Irelia's favor over extended durations, as long as she can avoid getting bursted in an all-in by Riven when she gets her ultimate.

Mid -

Twisted Fate is going to need to look to wave clear almost instantly as soon as possible. Lulu is going to be able to push him very heavily into his turret, as well as having guaranteed harassment. TF's best bet is going to be getting to the point where he can Red Card and Q clear the wave in one go, otherwise Lulu will be able to put down a lot of turret damage. Request a Khazix gank early to burn Lulu flash and return later. When level 6 hits, TF will probably have to sacrifice his turret for the ability to gank the side lanes.

Bot -

Alliance definitely have the advantage in the lane. Both Zilean and Lucian are lane bullies, especially against a Tristana who has weak trade and all-in ability early on. Should look to get harassment damage onto Tristana right from the start and continually keep her low and pushed back. Just beware of hooks into tower and lantern ganks.

Jungle -

Farm and try to mirror Lee Sin to prevent ganks. Just get your cs and be near the lanes when needed for defensive purposes. Look for triple ganks with Twisted Fate once he gets level 6.

Team Composition/Strategy – Najin White Shield

*Win Condition – Reach the late game and overrun Alliance's team with your protect the ADC/Death-ball composition.

NWS have drafted a very Tristana reliant team. They are all about the 5v5 team-fight, sticking together as a very grouped, death ball composition. With a lack of strong AoE on Alliance's side, this will become highly effective once Tristana reaches her power point and there will be little to stop them. NWS are however, weak in the mid-game, especially against the pick potential that Irelia and Twisted Fate can offer. They will have to make sure not to fall behind in the mid-game, otherwise Alliance can force them to split up and vastly lower NWS's team power. Riven is an odd pick in this line-up, as it doesn't really offer anything for the group protection, other than a stun. I assume its picked mostly to fight Irelia, through Irelia will out perform Riven in most cases. Does not really fit here.

It does however, given NWS a sort of, weak pseudo engagement in the mid-game, with Lulu using her ultimate on Riven when Riven dives into the Alliance team.

Team Composition/Strategy – Alliance

*Win Condition – Get picks in the mid-game and use the early-mid power of the lanes to generate a lead. Snowball this lead into a win by running a 1-4 or 1-3-1 split-push, forcing NWS to split up their protection composition.

Alliance need to get an early lead, especially using Irelia and Twisted Fate, and then turn that into pressure in multiple lanes. Alliance's only weak lane is Twisted Fate up against Lulu, however this can be mitigated by early AP onto TF for the wave clear. The rest of Alliance's lanes should be able to win on their own, and with a lead be able to put huge pressure on a lane during the mid game. Alliance should run either a 1-4 or some split of a 1-3-1 split-push once a lead is generated. Keep Twisted Fate in range to use his ultimate onto Irelia and have her split-push while the 3 man squad of Alliance pushes a weak tower/lane. Keep up the pressure, denying vision, and only back off for dragons and then shopping right after. Alliance need to keep up the mid-game pressure in multiple lanes, to prevent NWS from being able to scale and come together with their 5v5 composition.

Game Notes -

NWS initiate the lane swap, running double jungle from the start while Irelia attempts to nab experience up top. NWS did not pull off a successful freeze in the top lane, and this will allow Irelia to get experience.

Irelia wards behind in order to watch for the tower dive that is normal in non frozen 2v1 lanes.

Alliance does not pull off the freeze either, and NWS are able to get Riven to the bot lane before the wave reaches the turret.

Lanes turn into Tristana vs. Irelia top with Riven bot and Thresh roaming.

Riven flashes unnecessarily so, and Lucian is warding when the gank opportunity happens.

Zilean dances around in the enemy minion line and gets hooked, taking a ton of damage from the minions.

Twisted Fate behind in CS by a good amount.

BF sword on Tristana against Lucian pick-ax means that Lucian cannot bully Tristana like he normally can.

When NWS try to push mid tower, Lee Sin gets a little too forward, hitting the tower, causing Twisted Fate to flash in and stun, and Khazix to dive when Zilean shows up with his ultimate. Alliance get 2 kills, including First Blood.

Irelia has her sheen and a small lead on Riven and can now bully her in lane, having stronger trades and being able to avoid Riven's burst by dashing back to minions.

Alliance shop, and when they return gank bottom, forcing NWS back. ALL attempt dragon, but do not juggle the damage well and are forced back when Khazix gets low.

Lulu is still ahead in CS, being unrelenting in pushing TF to his turret and getting turret damage.

ALL's duo gets Tristana to half hp and then go all-in. With a level advantage against Thresh and a solid amount of AD, they are able to get the kill on Thresh while TF ultimates top lane, scaring NWS from fighting back in bot, as well as getting a kill on Riven in the top lane.

ALL move the fight to dragon, and get 2 kills for 0 and dragon. The double stuns from Twisted Fate and Irelia are wreaking havoc against NWS.

NWS chase too deep onto Twisted Fate and the gank is turned around by Irelia TPing in.

Alliance at this point should knock down the bottom turret and then run a 1-4 lane with Irelia split-pushing, or run a 1-3-1 with Irelia and Twisted Fate splitting.

ALL do get caught by NWS in the bot lane as they go too aggressive against the tower. An accidental save from TF keeps Zilean alive and ALL are able to run away with low HP.

Lucian gets caught on bot lane out by himself.

NWS do have a way to come back in Tristana late game with the protection of Lulu/Thresh/Lee Sin.

Alliance piddle around, not doing much of anything for a bit, while Zilean and Khazix try to get vision alone, both getting caught by NWS, particularly Thresh. NWS get 2 kills and dragon due to a bunch of solo attempts at vision control by ALL.

Alliance are not playing and have not played this lead right. They need to have Twisted Fate keep mid pushing and be in range to TP top, while Lucian/Khazix/Zilean push bot lane. NWS would be forced to go for a fight with the man advantage, and Alliance can use that opportunity to take an objective in the other lanes.

Alliance try to force a fight/dive at the bottom T2 turret of NWS, but a hook by Thresh prevents the fight and turns it into NWS's favor. Both teams end up low and getting everyone away.

28 minutes in is the first time that ALL run their 1-3-1 lane, but they do it a bit uneven and NWS take dragon while ALL take the top T2 turret. Somewhat even trade, but dragon is worth so much more gold at this point. Baron side T2 turrets are just ok advantages, as teams will want to be on that side anyways at this point.

ALL do a good 2 man split on bottom taking the T2 and inhibitor turret, trading the top T2 for it. ALL were able to get a winning fight top, 2 for 1, while at the bottom inhibitor, they almost take down Riven who is barely saved by Lulu.

NWS are getting Tristana very strong now though, with good back-up.

Lucian gets triple critical hit by Tristana, surprisingly, and it kills him, costs ALL the Baron as NWS take it.

Alliance have lost their mid-game power, and the Tristana/Lulu in NWS' back pocket has reached a very deadly point. Without solid ranged AoE, Alliance cannot do much against the death ball/protect the ADC strategy NWS can now run.

Alliance pick a fight just outside their base. Irelia dashes into 3, even though Tristana is out of position to the side. Really should have focused the actual threat. Alliance do turn to focus Tristana, but a good Riven flank scares them off and splits up Alliance. They should have all ran towards Tristana. Zilean ultimate is wasted by the moves of Alliance, used on Lucian but Lucian dashes and flashes out, getting no use from it.

NWS's death ball is too strong for Alliance at this point, and though Alliance had the best chance they could in the fight positioning, they miss the opportunity and lose their mid inhibitor for it.

Alliance try to make an engage near baron, but are forced away, losing Irelia, and NWS takes baron.

Item Notes -

Thresh sells his gold item to be able to afford the Mikael's, a potential game changer when used on Tristana.

Zilean build Aegis against only Lulu and spends money onto T3 gold item. Zilean really needed some mana regen and CDR, as they are huge for constantly having his ultimate up for fights. Mikael's would have been a much better choice.

End Game Notes -

Both sides mess up the freeze at level 1. Either side freezing could have given them a large advantage in terms of the team's top laner match-up. Would have really benefited Irelia more of this had happened, and hurt Riven the most if both lanes had been frozen

Alliance did not use their mid-game pressure properly and it really cost them the game.

NWS got picked off by Twisted Fate and Irelia way too much. They did not respect the Stun cards or the power of Irelia and it honestly should have cost them the game.

What Alliance should have done -

Alliance had the right team composition and the right early game and start of the mid-game strategy. They generated a large lead and took control of the game. However, once they reached this point, they seemed to stop doing anything. 3 people got picked off in a row, all by themselves. NWS started roaming as a team while Alliance sat around.

When Alliance had the lead, they needed to use it to pressure all 3 lanes. NWS's team had to team-fight and could not fight back against Alliance with their lead. Alliance needed to run 1-4 and 1-3-1 split-pushes. Force down the bottom turret while Irelia takes top and Twisted Fate pressures mid, then switch and have the 3 man squad take down middle. Alliance needed to have Irelia use her power to create pressure, Twisted Fates ability to show up to a gank, and the power of Lucian over Tristana to work down a lane. Alliance had the power in all 3 lanes to split NWS apart, but they did not do this.

League of Legends Worlds Analysis, Group Stage - C9 vs. All Game #2

Alliance vs. Cloud9 Game #2

Standard Lanes

Bans

Rumble Lee Sin

Syndra Tristana

Maokai Khazix

Picks

1. Alistar 2. Zilean

3. Rammus 2. Lucian

3. Kog'maw 4. Ryze

5. Ahri 4. Jarvan

5. Irelia 6. Morgana

Lane Match-ups – Alliance's

Top -

Irelia will get bullied by Ryze early and will be reduced to surviving and farming. It will be rough for a while, but being lower than Ryze will keep his kill potential almost non-existent during the low levels, as well as providing Irelia with an easy way to set up a gank through the long duration of her stun. Once Irelia reaches and 6 and picks up a Sheen, she will have more control over the lane than Ryze. Her all-in onto Ryze will be superior while Ryze is scaling up with his tear/catalyst. Every opportunity after this point should be used to push Ryze out of lane and potentially kill him. Ganks with Rammus will be extremely effective with Irelia stunning before Rammus taunts.

Mid -

A strong match-up for Ahri. She will be able to easily farm against Zilean and wave clear later on at a similar speed. Ahri gains the advantage by having large kill pressure and gap close against Zilean. At level 6, Ahri can all-in Zilean, a good charm with enough AP can kill Zilean before he is able to ultimate as well as Ahri retaining ultimate charges to continue to chase Zilean if his ultimate does get used. Tons of CC with Rammus. If either Rammus or Ahri are able to get the Charm/Taunt onto Zilean before he can ultimate, proper chaining will be able to kill Zilean before he is able to break out of the CC.

Bot -

A heavy sustain lane for Alliance (especially since Alistar starts heal). Alistar will seek to soak up damage for Kog'maw while sustaining through the harassment with his heal. This will allow Kog'maw to properly CS in the early stages of the lane and not be bullied out. Later on, there will be great synergy with Rammus/Alistar for ganks in the bottom lane.

Jungle -

Rammus against Jarvan is a match-up we don't see very often. Rammus will heavily look to gank. If an opportunity presents itself early he will take it. With his lanes though, it is highly likely that he will farm until he is able to get boots, further securing ganks, and allowing the lanes to get the extra cc and damage they need to secure a kill in a gank scenario. Mostly seek to ignore Jarvan and out speed him around the map.

Lane Match-ups – Cloud9

Top -

Ryze can bully Irelia, though it might not be so wise. With Irelia lower than Ryze, it will put Ryze at risk to be ganked easily by Rammus. Harassment should only be done when he knows that Rammus is on the other side of the map and must be wary anytime his presence is not accounted for. Be especially mindful of low hp ranged creeps and the ability of Irelia to double gap close in those situations. If possible, try to keep the wave slightly on C9's side of the river, giving more time to chase Irelia in a gank, and because Ryze will need a short escape route if he gets ganked.

Mid -

A rough match for Zilean. He does not have much to offer against Ahri. Passively farm and reach the point where Zilean can two bomb waves. Seek to roam and control river vision at this point while making sure not to get caught out by Ahri while doing so. Let your passive experience gain do the work around the map for you.

Bot -

Lucian/Morgana can take control of the bottom lane. They have great early bully potential and strong all-in. However, Alistar sustain will really put a damper into their play. C9 need to decide if they want to go even or slightly ahead in bottom lane, or fast push a turret in a 2v1. If they stay in the 2v2, then Jarvan should seek to burn Kog'maw's flash around level 3-4 and then return at level 6 for the kill.

Jungle -

Jarvan is put a little bit on the back foot against Rammus. There is a lot of worrying pressure for the top lane that the Rammus pick signifies, especially since Ryze will be pushing early against Irelia. However, without ignite up top, pre-level 4/5 ganks should be effective only in burning a flash if not burning nothing. There is not enough damage for the short duration of CC that Alliance will have. Jarvan should focus on gaining a level advantage with Zilean's passive, and on Kog'maw in bot lane. I would love to see a Red->Blue start, then move into Rammus's bot jungle. Try to burn Kog'maw's flash around 3/4 then return to base, picking up wards to toss deep into Alliance's top jungle, as that will be the time they Alliance have kill potential onto Ryze.

Team Composition/Strategy – Alliance

*Win Condition – Get picks in the early-mid game and snowball that into a mid-game power spike with Kog'maw Trinty Force and then into neutral objective control and tower pushes.

Alliance have a strong CC/Pick composition. Every lane has some form of CC and bully potential around the level 4+ mark. With Rammus making really fast ganks, Alliance should focus on reaching levels 4/5 and proceding to start their pick game with Rammus. Gank setups from Alliance's lanes will allow Rammus many avenues of entrance into the lanes. Getting a lead from the ganks, Alliance can turn it into a pick game, pressure jungle buffs and vision control with the power spikes of Irelia and Ahri. Once Kog'maw gets his Trinity Force, it will be time for Alliance to start pressuring turrets and dragons. They need to be aware of the engage potential of Jarvan and if they can avoid it and turn an early lead, they should be able to snowball it into a win.

Team Composition/Strategy – C9

*Win Condition – Keep Kog'maw down and allow Ryze to scale. Do not let Rammus roll away with the game and use the mid-game power of Zilean/Jarvan/Lucian to take dragons, at least 1^st and 2^nd.

I'm not sold on C9's team composition. It feels like it was heavily picked on countering what they have ran up against, rather than creating a solid team strategy. Jarvan has been picked against Kog'maw and Morgana has been picked against Rammus. C9's team seems a little scattered. That said, they have the advantages of experience from Zilean and a stronger lane down on bottom. Early focus should be made there and transitioned into an early dragon. Ryze is going to need to fend for himself and should be decently ok until level 4/5. At that point, dragon should be taken by C9. Jarvan can then switch to protecting top lane, as it will be the most vulnerable, but return to bot lane once he hits 6 to take out Kog'maw. Keeping Alliance's lanes from getting ahead will be key and will allow C9 to fight for/take early dragons. These dragons can then be used to carry them through Ahri and Irelia's mid-game pick potential and get Ryze past his mana stage.

Alternately a lane swap in this scenario would be good, hampering a lot of Rammus's ability.

Game Notes -

Rammus focuses heavily on farming, while Jarvan spends a lot of time in range to counter-gank top.

Level 6 from Irelia and sheen rush do great damage to Ryze.

Rammus beats Jarvan to 6, spending all his time farming.

Lack of wards allow Rammus a good gank top, gets First Blood but C9 do catch and kill Rammus. However, this will really hurt Ryze against Irelia. The top lane match really turns into her favor.

C9 get a good dragon during the backs of Ahri/Kog'maw.

Alliance look to catch Ryze top, moving to the power of Irelia. End up trading top for bottom.

Irelia is left to free farm, severely hampering Ryze and C9 in this match.

C9 is building up 2 tear items, hampering them during the mid game.

Irelia gains a massive CS lead while C9 don't really do anything in response.

The timing of the dragon takes from C9 really given them nothing to pressure while Irelia runs rampant top. Perhaps a 4 man push up top would have been good, sacrificing the bottom turret.

C9 make a bad map movement and trade 2 mid turrets for all 3 bottom turrets and almost losing their inhibitor. They do catch Alliance out and get 2 kills for 1, pressure dragon and get a 3^rd kill.

Alliance make a great trade after this, C9 go to dragon but Alliance push top taking the T2 turret. The open map allow Alliance to take vision control and use their pick comp to their advantage.

C9 end up outplaying Alliance in a 5v5 fight, however, Irelia is just too strong and C9 have to back off going 2 for 2 but ending up with much lower hp.

Another fight with great play by C9 and a misstep from Kog'maw allow them to trade 4v4, however 3 kills go onto Kog'maw.

C9's lack of a front-line is really hampering them in this match-up.

C9 try to engage but are unable to at dragon, they need to just back off, but instead Morgana goes in, and C9 force the fight. Losing 4 for 0. Nets Alliance the Baron and this is essentially the end point for C9.

C9 still aggressively taking dragon.

Item Notes -

Jarvan really should have built tankier from the start. Alliance have two very strong front-lines while C9 is really running with none. The Sightstone on Jarvan really lacks combat stats and I would have liked to see more focus on defensive items.

End Game Notes -

Lack of a front-line for C9 lost them fights as the game progressed.

Irelia got out of hand.

C9 really lost in the turret control advantage. Alliance opened up the map much faster which allowed them to use their pick composition well and delay to the point where their front-line could really just roll into and sit in C9's team.

What Cloud9 should have done.

I don't really agree with the way pick/bans went. C9 really only picked re-actively to Alliance's plan and ended up with a team composition with little synergy of their own. Cloud9 needed a better pick and ban phase to create a team that they wanted, not a team reacting to what Alliance wanted.

Inside of the game itself, should have ran a different early game strategy. An earlier first dragon, would have created better timing and movements for them throughout the game.

The biggest downfall however, came in how many turrets they let Alliance take without taking their own. Cloud9 just gave up several turrets, allowing Alliance to keep up in gold and to take control of map movements and vision control, something that their pick composition really needs to be able to play effectively. Cloud9 needed to prevent this, or to open up the map themselves and keep Alliance on their side of the map.

League of Legends Worlds Analysis, Group Stage - C9 vs. ALL Game #1

Cloud9 vs. Alliance Game #1

2v1 Lanes, Cloud9 Top

Bans

Ryze Tristana

Lee Sin Alistar

Maokai Zilean

Picks

1. Khazix 2. Kog'maw

3. Lucian 2. Elise

3. Rumble 4. Nami

5. Syndra 4. Kayle

5. Janna 6. Xerath

Lane Match-ups – Cloud9

Top -

Pretty even match-up between Kayle and Rumble. Both should be able to cs fine in lane. Early harassment will go in Kayle's favor, but Rumble can easily turn around for the slow and flamespitter damage because of Kayle's short range. Whoever gets ahead will be able to start to bully the lane, as both champions do sustained damage. Both are vulnerable to ganks, but in a 2v2 fight, Rumble and Khazix should come out on top.

Mid -

This lane will mostly be a farm lane, however if Syndra is able to land her stun, she can get some free harass onto Xerath. At level 6, kill pressure will definitely be on Syndra's side, should she be able to reach Xerath. Need's to be wary of Elise ganks. The double stun will give kill pressure onto Syndra.

Bot -

Very strong bully lane. Should seek to trade and harass Kog'maw extensively in the early stages. Janna shield + Lucian Q and passive will really put the hurt onto Alliance's lane. Lucian should always keep up his dash once Nami picks up bubble, and only use it to dodge Nami ultimate and bubble stun. They should be able to take the lead early and hold onto it. Elise ganks should be fairly escapable and not the biggest worry.

Jungle -

Khazix can be bullied or even killed by Elise in the early levels. Upfront damage and stun will give her the advantage in a 1v1 fight, as well as spiderlings preventing isolation damage. Khazix should look to farm as much as possible while keeping an eye on where Elise is at. If possible, get mid or top a kill and make sure to counter-gank top if Elise heads up that way.

Lane Match-ups – Alliance

Top -

Pretty even match-up between Kayle and Rumble. Both should be able to cs fine in lane. Early harassment will go in Kayle's favor, but Rumble can easily turn around for the slow and flamespitter damage because of Kayle's short range. Whoever gets ahead will be able to start to bully the lane, as both champions do sustained damage. Both are vulnerable to ganks, but in a 2v2 fight, Rumble and Khazix should come out on top.

Mid -

A farm lane for Xerath. Should try to get any poke he can onto Syndra while making sure to avoid getting stunned by her. Keeping his range, Xerath should be under very little threat unless he gets hit by the long range stun of Syndra, allowing her to close the gap. Farm farm farm and get ready for the siege game that will be happening mid and late game. An aggressive slow into an Elise gank will be the best option if Elise does come mid.

Bot -

Kog'maw/Nami will be bullied around by C9's duo. There is a much higher damage output on C9's side in the early stages and Alliance must respect that. Play safe, and use Nami sustain to keep Kog'maw farming. If at anytime Lucian uses his dash, Nami should place Tidecaller's Blessing onto Kog'maw and he should use his range increase to tag Lucian, Nami should then bubble Lucian, allowing for good solid harassment to be put down onto Lucian. Early sweepers to make sure the lane bushes are clear would be ideal for getting Elise into a lane bush for a gank, utilize the chain stun her and Nami can provide.

Jungle -

Elise is slightly stronger than Khazix in a 1v1 early on. If possible, try to find him at a creep camp early on and bully him out. Prevent him from being able to help the lanes, and then move to gank top. Getting an early kill on Rumble onto Kayle will help the top lane tremendously. Just make sure Khazix is not in a position to counter-gank or else it is highly likely C9 will come out on top.

Team Composition/Strategy – Cloud9

*Win Condition – Use the powerful mid game spikes to control objectives and gain a lead. Snowball this lead into tower pushes and the win.

Cloud9 have grabbed themselves very comfortable champions that are very strong at group fights in the mid game, from level 6 on. They will seek to use this power advantage to put lots of pressure on jungle objectives, primarily on dragon, and win fights there. By winning these early mid-game fights, they can snowball that lead into lane advantages and skirmish power. Cloud9 should seek to push down lanes in their own match-ups with Khazix adding in that extra hand to get kills or push Alliance out of lane so that C9 can take turrets.

Team Composition/Strategy – Alliance

*Win Condition – Survive lanes without getting too far behind. Scale up and move into a tower siege style of play once Kog'maw reaches his Trinity Force and push down turrets, keeping C9 on the defensive.

Alliance's team is setup to tower siege. With 3 ranged champions, 2 psuedo ranged champions, and the long range skills of Xerath and Kog'maw, Alliance have very strong potential to focus on pushing down towers. They need to make sure to not fall too far behind in the lanes and to be very careful about the small jungle skirmishes and the teamfights around dragon. When it comes to jungle objectives and dragon control, Alliance need to make sure they have very solid warding and use the poke of Xerath and Kog'maw before engaging or getting engaged upon.

Game Notes -

A slow invade from Cloud9 gain them control of Alliance's red buff and switches to 2v1 lanes.

C9 pushes hard top while Alliance freeze bottom.

Nami backs early and heads mid, moving back to bot/dragon.

C9 takes top while Alliance take dragon.

The early turret kill will send C9's duo bot lane with an item advantage, forcing Alliance to back and shop themselves.

The turret down top gives C9 map control and makes Kayle pushing much more dangerous.

Collapse by Rumble as Elise steals blue ends up burning her flash.

*Note – look at how many players have HP pots.

Strange back time for Kog'maw, especially with dragon timer. Janna backs to grab Mobility Boots and wards for dragon and Kog'maw backs shortly after, C9 walk to dragon and take it out freely.

Elise goes very early Sight Stone, loses out on fight/gank potential. I feel the Sight Stone is a weak pick this early on, if Alliance was not going to fight for the second dragon.

Cloud9 put a lot of pressure onto Alliance's blue buff, end up hoping it over the wall with Syndra, notice the position. Blue does not leash.

Cloud9 gets the third dragon in trade for top turret. Alliance try to take top T2 as an additional response, but Rumble uses ultimate to keep things clear. C9 push mid, Alliance try to engage. A great pre-emptive flash by Syndra keeps her from getting slowed by Nami wave and then stunned by Elise after. Elise goes too aggressive and flashes for a cocoon that would not have mattered and gives up first blood, and gives C9 the opportunity to take mid turret.

Xerath gets a great catch onto Syndra, bringing her very low. A sneaky ward gives vision of Syndra backing and Xerath snags the kill with his ultimate. Earns Alliance the bottom T1 turret.

Elise is still lacking a completed item. Build is all over the place.

C9 push the lanes as a group, looking for a fight with their better mid game team fight. Get stopped at turrets, but the pressure does keep Alliance on the defensive. When dragon spawns, C9 get it without contest once again. Alliance respond by taking C9's mid tower.

C9 pressure and Rumble ultimate forces Alliance off of their mid T2 turret and C9 takes it down, but must retreat after.

C9 continue their slow control of the game, pressuring Alliance and slowly building a larger gold lead.

A great aggressive catch due to vision control by C9 does not kill Alliance, but brings them all low, allowing C9 to take Baron and get a catch onto Xerath.

C9 quickly push mid and take down the turret and inhibitor.

C9 will now pressure bottom, the best inhibitor to take when mid is down and you have Baron buff. C9 have successfully turned their mid game advantage into a snowball control lead. Working their way into Alliance's base.

With 2 inhibitor's down for Alliance, C9 cycle through lane management to keep the pressure on Alliance and keep them in their base, gaining pressure and vision throughout the map.

C9 draw Alliance out of their base into the top jungle, and then collapse, not allowing them to return to base to stop the super minion waves.

Item Notes -

Elise's build is all over the place. Partially built towards Frozen Heart, pieces of Ancient Golem, and a Sight Stone that they Alliance is not using offensively. Elise does not end up with a single completed item, outside of Mercury Tread, for the entire game.

End Game Notes -

Cloud9 used their power spikes extremely well and took several dragons, building up their gold lead, and then using the power it offered them to continue to pressure Alliance.

Elise built really badly and was never really a factor in this game.

Take note of how low of a kill game that this one was. This match was the first real NA vs. EU match and it played on styles that NA and EU use that the rest of the teams in the World Championship rarely see or use. Slow, purposeful, controlled matches are rare to see from the Asian teams and I feel that they are a potential wrench into Asian team playstyles.

What Alliance should of done -

Elise built badly, and this really was an issue. She got extremely outplayed and built terribly. I would have liked to have seen a different jungler than Elise. I feel she is very weak at the moment, unless built into a heavy siege, chain CC composition. With Elise though, I would have liked to see Alliance react to the fast push of C9 up top and done the same on the bottom lane. They had the opportunity with Elise and Kayle at bot lane golems and 0 defenders on the turret. It was the perfect time to take the tower, and then retreat to take dragon after. Cloud9 would not have been able to respond to either of these, giving Alliance a 2 for 1 trade. Afterward, switch lanes and do the same top. Trade turrets with C9 and take the first dragon. Then Alliance can push mid with 3. With Kog'maw at 6 and Xerath's range, Alliance could have put pressure on mid before the second dragon becomes an objective or at least before the third one. By keeping the pressure on the turrets and poking, it would force C9 to have to trade turrets for dragon, or to deal with the poke of Xerath and Kog'maw.

Cloud9 taking the fast top turret gave them turrets to trade for the more valuable dragons later on.