Reign of Gaming

The LCS returned to Europe with 16 exciting games last week where we saw Fnatic rise to their usual spot atop of the standings and Alliance plummet to the bottom. The rest of EU had their ups and downs across a wild week, and it looks to be another tumultuous season in the standings for the most closely contested region in LoL.

For all intents and purposes we only have 3 teams with the same basic lineup from last split in Europe, but the new blood all showed flashes of greatness and moments of failure. Only Alliance left the week without a win, and they'll have their work cut out for them to climb the standings with the depth of talent Europe is able to boast.

Fnatic and Gambit - A Cut Above

Europe's 2 best teams from last year are proving they are once again the teams to beat this year in Europe. Fnatic cruised to a decisive 4-0 week including a win over Gambit, and the Russians went 3-1 with their only loss coming against Fnatic. A new season with changes to the masteries, items, and warding hasn't changed who the elite in Europe are early, and it's tough to see these two teams not on a collision course for each other come playoff time.

The LCS returns to both Europe and North America next week, and it will be once again time for players and teams to test their skill against each other. In the debut season of the LCS, fans were treated to unbelievable plays like Xpeke back-dooring SK's nexus, Wildturtle's unbelievable Caitlyn ultimate, and countless others. We also saw the rise of teams like Cloud 9, the resurgence of Fnatic and Gambit, and the decline of CLG and Curse.

The competitive scene has been active for over 3 years now, and we have learned it isn't a forgiving place to players who can't adapt. Challenger teams and players are getting better every day and with the introduction of the Coke Challenger League, it's time for a few older players and teams to finally step up and prove they are worthy of the praise they get. If not, they'll find themselves on the outside of the LCS looking in after a disappointing spring season.

Doublelift

Doublelift has unbelievable talent and regularly carries CLG to victories they have no business getting. However, their entire team strategy has been about building around him to carry almost since he joined CLG without any first place results. Newer fans of the league scene might not realize this, but CLG was the best team in the world in Preseason 1 and again at the very beginning of Season 2. Since CLG acquired Doublelift on November 23rd, 2011, they have not finished first at a LAN event (they have 3 second place finishes.)

The Battle of the Atlantic concluded on Sunday with a wonderfully entertaining series between Cloud 9 and Fnatic. Cloud 9 avenged their worlds loss with a 2-0 victory over the European powerhouse and won North America the competition 5-4 in points (even though Europe won 3 of the series).

5 Teams from each region played their seeded counterpart and both regions came away with something to brag about. More importantly, we got another chance to see the LCS teams compete in the Season 4 patch and observe how they coped with all the changes. What emerged didn't look too differently from Season 3 in the end, but let's take a look at what we learned from these matches.

Carrying through Mid and Jungle

The game has evolved over the years and one thing that hasn't changed from season 3 to is the balance of power in the lanes. In Season 2, ADC's reigned supreme and did so much damage it invalidated a lot of champions, particularly bruisers. You saw support mids the likes of Anivia, Lux, Morgana, Orianna rule the day, and although Orianna has survived you don't see many of these types of champions picked anymore because mid lane is now the carry lane. Europe's depth of quality teams can largely be attributed to the fact that their best players reside in the mid lane.

Saturday kicks off the first new LCS event with the EU promotion series and the Battle of the Atlantic, where EU and NA will square off for bragging rights and $25,000 for the winning region. The top 5 teams from NA will face the corresponding seed from EU to earn points for their region. To see the full breakdown of the rules and schedule check here . 

Fans and players alike were disappointed with he lack of international competition last season, and Riot took the criticism to heart. This weekend, we will be treated to the brand new Alliance lineup (formerly EG) versus Dignitas followed by the now Bjergsen led TSM versus the revamped Lemondogs in the first of a few international showcases. Let's take a look at how these teams stack up against each other.

TSM vs Lemondogs

North America has their work cut out for them if they want to win the Battle of the Atlantic, but TSM versus Lemondogs should give them the lead going into the North American matches next week. This series is worth 2 points, and while TSM has always had their issues with Korean teams, their record against Europeans is much less bleak. 

Swapping out Reginald with Bjergsen is undoubtedly an upgrade in terms of raw talent, but it will be interesting to see how he meshes with the veteran squad when it comes to team fights and objective control. Reginald was known as the shot-caller and leader of TSM, and this will be our first real glimpse at just how the team looks in a Summoner's Rift without Reginald.

News broke yesterday courtesy of Ongamers.com that Riot would be prohibiting LCS players from streaming certain games like Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft etc. Most of the community immediately went to its first reaction to almost everything - they grabbed their pitchforks. (For the full story on the new rule and what players can and can't play check out Evoli and Slaher's wonderful piece here).

When I first heard the news, I was right there with everyone questioning what Riot could possibly be thinking. How could they tell players what to do in their free time? Don't they know what freedom is? These colors don't run..MURICA and so forth. Having had some time to digest the news, I now realize this rule isn't so bad and isn't so different from what other sports leagues do. However, it brings about much bigger questions for everyone involved: where's the limit for what Riot can dictate to players and organizations, and should players have some way of negotiating for themselves?

*Editor's Note: Riot has since removed this restriction to see the statement click here

Why the New Rule is Fair - A Non-compete Clause

First and foremost, Riot is a business. Businesses want to grow and expand their brand. Riot loves building up e-Sports, but it doesn't want its stars using their fame to promote other games by playing them on stream. E-Sports is a vehicle for Riot to grow, and more games being popular helps the scene but not necessarily Riot. The clause they added into the LCS players contracts is in effect, a non-compete clause where the person(s) under contracts agrees to not work with any similar competitors. Riot Magus's statement on the situation can be found here confirming the stipulation.