• LCS Quick Hits: The Rise of New Teams

    The LCS came back with a bang, and it reminded us what we all love about e-Sports. We saw epicly long CLG games, terrific plays and ganks from a number of teams, Meteos actually died a few times, and the European games had massive delays. It was terrific to watch, but the one overarching theme in both LCS is not only how closely contested this season will be between all the teams in Europe and NA, but also how successful the new teams were early on.

    3 teams in Europe and 2 teams in NA are fresh to scene, but the new kids on the block shot out of the gates with a combined 17-8 record, a 68% win percentage. Both #1 teams in each region are newcomers. Cloud 9 sits atop NA with a 5-0 performance while Alternate was also a perfect 5-0 in EU. Let's take a quick look at what gave the new teams so much success early on.

  • First Impressions and Judgement Reservations: What We Learned from the First 48 Hours of the LCS

    We've had a wonderful week of e-Sports action that is only going to get better. Both the NA and EU LCS return, as well as the finals of the Korean OGN between MVP Ozone and CJ Entus Blaze. We've seen surprises, comebacks, and upstart teams all make their marks on the week so far, and it's been a joy to watch. There's plenty we can take from the first week, but we need to remember to take everything with a grain of salt.

    Even though the LCS kicks off with a super week, meaning each teams plays 5 games, it won't even be a 5th of the season done. Every team can have a bad weekend. We saw as much as happen last season, and with all the roster changes growing pains will certainly be a factor. 

    First Impressions

    We don't crown teams after one week, and we certainly shouldn't bury them either. That being said, Cloud 9 has proved they are for real. They've only played 3 games, but took out the top 3 teams in the spring regular season and old favorites in TSM, Curse, and Dignitas. They proved that they can close out teams with a lead, as well as come from behind because of their confidence in each other and their team compositions. Cloud 9 plcks well and plays to that comp's strength, which seems to favor AoE and CC-heavy teams. It's always great for the scene for a new team to come and push everyone to get better, and this only bodes well for North America going forward

  • NA LCS Summer Split Preview: Back with a Vengeance

    The NA LCS is back on Wednesday with a super week, and the landscape has changed since the last time we saw our favorite teams. Relegation and roster moves have changed the landscape and power structure of the scene, and that's without even mentioning all the new sponsors the summer split has brought. We kick things off with a super week, meaning all 8 teams in the LCS play 5 games, but before that starts let's look at how each team stacks up going into the new season.

    Team SoloMid

    History should have told us not to bet against TSM going into the spring season. Put them against North American competition, and all they do is win that simple. TSM was floundering after the Season 2 World Championships, and for much of the early season in the spring. However, when they plugged in WildTurtle for Chaox, their fortunes changed and they dominated the rest of the season en route to a first place finish.

  • Women in e-Sports: Breaking the Glass Ceiling

    Women have been struggling for equality in just about everything for as long as anyone can remember. They are objectified, discriminated against, and generally ridiculed when trying to do thing perceived to be a "man's" domain. Guys talk about how they love girl gamers, right up until the fact girls try to get taken seriously. A few days ago, Team Siren, an all girls LoL team, released a video that sent the scene into a frenzy about their legitimacy, and earned plenty of ridicule. Either way, it got an interesting conversation started.

    This isn't an article crying out against the injustice women face, how they really are good as men at everything, and how God is really a woman. The goal here is to identify what holds women back from succeeding in competitive LoL, and what possible solutions are out there to change it from their end.

    Self-perpetuating misogyny

    The gaming community will never be known as the most mature, the most forgiving, or the most accepting community around. Twitch chat and Xbox live continue to make sure of that. If we're talking real, the majority of viewers of female streams are only there to watch the girls on webcam.

    In order, for these same girls to get more viewers they are tempted to play to what their "viewers" want and dress a little more revealing and act a little ditsier, thus perpetuating this idea that girls aren't to be taken seriously. At some point, girls have to decide whether they want exposure by exposing themselves, or let their play give them exposure.

  • Great Expectations: How the Weight of Winning Impacts the Summer Season

    A few universal truths exist in sports, and e-Sports is no different. Winning isn't everything it's the only thing, there is no "I" in team, and of course that it's easier to win when no one expects you to do it. Being the scrappy underdog will always be easier than the old favorite and the biggest reason is expectations.

    Ask any player and they will tell you that the mental game plays just as big of a role in the way a player and a team performs as their actual skill levels. So what does this mean for the LCS? It means that teams like GGU, Vulcun, and Ninjas in Pajamas (formerly Copenhagen Wolves) have their work cut out for them in the summer split.

    The Problems Winning Creates

    When a team has a great season, especially coming out of nowhere they are only expected to get better and better. Fans and the players believe themselves that they are essentially climbing a ladder and that a 2nd or 3rd place finish means a 1st place finish the next season. In reality, it's not that simple because a lot of things have to go correctly to win. That's what truly makes the incredible run of TSM all the more impressive. Everyone's been gunning for them for months and they still always manage to end on top.