Reign of Gaming

Minions don't spawn until 1:30 into the game, but it's entirely possible to win or lose before anyone has farmed a single minion. The majority of players in the pro scene have found out just how important level 1 strategies are due to the LCS, and even now have to formulate multiple plans so they don't get predictable in what they do. Level 1 matters, which is what made it such a gigantic deal when CJ Entus Frost's then ADC Woong looked a the screen during a pause against TSM.

A good level 1 can turn an inherently losing match-up into a winning one, or snowball an even / counter match-up even harder than normal. Kills are the best outcome involved, but seemingly small things like opponents buffs or denying the enemy duo lane double golems can lead to winning lanes. We all know how important vision is on Summoner's Rift, and it's as true at 40 minutes as it is as 2 minutes. Even in solo queue, you do your team no favors by waiting in base for that 4th health potion or sitting by your tower while you wait for the minion wave.

The Setup

Certain teams are going to be better at fighting level 1 due to their skill sets. Having a Blitzcrank, Alistar, or Thresh is almost reason enough to want to brawl at level one. The key is forcing something, anything to be done at level 1. Acing a team level 1 will almost certainly obviously win you most games where it happens, but even getting early flashes out of opponents can swing entire lanes in your favor. If your team has heavy level 1 cc, it is in your best interest to look for a fight.

It's a been a wild week in e-Sports leading up to the LCS playoffs where both NA and EU teams will square off for $100,000 in prize money each. The playoffs will certainly dominate the League of Legends news for the next few days, so it's nice to take a deep breath and see just what all is happening around the scene. We have players and teams helping in the face of tragedy, a disqualification of a playoff team, and top-rate playoff previews this week.

aAa Disqualified for Being Unable to Field an Approved Roster

The match between aAa and SK Gaming was delayed this morning, and the reason has just been announced by RedBeard on the LoL forums. Unfortunately, a member of aAa had to tend to a family emergency and aAa could not get their substitutes to the Riot studio in time to play. The community misses out on what would have been a terrific match, and it is a situation where no one really wins.

Here is Redbeard's official statement:

LCS Fans,

We wanted to give you an update on the situation with the SK Gaming vs. aAa match that was delayed earlier today. Unfortunately, we’ve made an official ruling to disqualify aAa from the EU LCS playoffs. This is obviously an extremely disappointing situation as we’re missing out on a great match-up between two fantastic teams fighting for their LCS lives. This difficult decision was made because aAa was unable to field a roster of eligible players, and was necessary in order to maintain the structural integrity of our league.

Earlier this week, a starting aAa team member sadly had to return home for a family emergency and would not be able to make it back to play in today’s match (we want to respect the individual and team’s privacy and can’t share more information). None of their three eligible substitutes were able to act as such in time for these matches despite the best efforts of aAa to scramble for an alternative. The LCS did everything in its power to adjust playoff scheduling to accommodate the team’s needs, including a possible makeup match on Saturday morning, but the team was still unable to fulfill the roster requirements stated in the league rules.

An alternative option was raised to allow for aAa to use a substitute not eligible on their roster, but this would’ve violated the official rules and put SK in the unfair position of playing against a team composition they were never allowed to practice for. We had extensive conversations with aAa and SK to try and find a solution (to SK’s credit, they did their best to accommodate – those guys are studs!). However, in the end the league felt it was unfair to SK and other teams to deviate from a substitution policy that could potentially correlate to an unfair disadvantage for an opponent. Setting this precedent would lead to a very slippery slope.

Our sincere apologies to all of our fans for the inconvenience this created. Despite the elimination of this match, we are extremely excited for the remainder of playoff action occurring in Europe and NA.

RedBeard

The LCS regular season is over, and we saw some truly amazing games in both Europe and North America. Riot saw over 100k+ viewers tune in regularly to matches every week that pit the best against the best in each scene. The real winners were everyone watching these titans clash. It's that time of year where we should recognize some players who had truly incredible seasons.

MVP

MVP (Most Valuable Player) will be given to the player who had an incredible season and went above and beyond at their position. MVP is always a tough choice to make because it can be hard to define how much 1 player truly impacts a team. The decisions weren't easy, but these were my MVPs for the NA and EU scenes.

Europe - xPeke (Honorable mention Diamondprox)

What's not to love about the best player on the best team? The rest of the team is talented around him, but he is the straw that stirs the drink. When xPeke is playing well, the team is nigh unbeatable. He made a gigantic impact on a number of games from split-pushing a nexus for a victory Ender's Game style (the enemy's nexus is down), to teleport ganking with Katarina.

Team Curse's longtime support player, Cody 'Elementz' Sigfusson, has decided to become a free agent. Both Curse management and Elementz feel it is best for the team and Elementz to go their separate ways starting with the Spring playoffs. He will be free to sign with another team during the summer split beginning May 13th, or remain as a reserve for Curse based on his decision.

Elementz offered the following statement on the decision and his time as a player for Curse

"I've decided to become a free agent due to internal issues on the team, but I will remain on Team Curse as a reserve player to help the team finish out the season any way I can. Curse fans I couldn't thank you enough for all your support and helping me get to this point in my life.

I would also like to thank the Curse organization and my teammates for making it this far together. It's unfortunate that this had to happen but life has a way of working things out and Steve and I have agreed that this is best decision for the team and myself. I am looking forward to the things to come and wish everyone I've met along the way the best of luck in the future.

Elementz has been both a great player for top teams, and a pillar of the League of Legends community since beta. His run on Counter Logic Gaming during the early days of the e-Sports scene saw the team dominate time and time again en route to several tournament victories. His famed tier list ranking champions by their effectiveness in the current meta continues to be one of the most viewed and talked about pieces in the scene today.

Over the last few weeks, we've seen teams clawing themselves out of the holes they dug themselves early in the season. Upsets have been abundant in both the European and North American scene in a far greater quantity than early on in the season, So why are there more upsets that have happened now as opposed to early on in the season? Let's take a look at the several factors that have contributed to the recent prevalence of parity.

Knowledge is Power!

Early on in the LCS, teams didn't know or understand what to expect. No one was coming in as a complete unknown, but several players had very little LAN experience. The players and teams weren't use to a demanding schedule of games that matter every week and the preparation needed to be successful. When teams just went in playing it by ear, without the game-planning and preparation, the better team is much more likely to win.

Effort takes no talent. As the season went on, these teams learned what it was like to be a pro, what the game was demanding of them to be successful. Weaknesses are exposed time after time and let teams see where they need to improve. Once the jitters are gone and the teams focused on what they needed to improve on, they started to use those losses as lessons in improvement. Some teams changed players, some teams changed styles or champions, but they have all figured out what they don't do well and have started to address it.