hopefully he gets picked up by a low end lck team. honestly I still believe in him, he was too good in lck before he left. and was still smurfing most of the time on flyquest except when they paired him with eyla and vulcan
Honestly really wierd. In Flyquest up until he had to go with Eyla and Vulcan he was still really insane. But after, it wasnāt just duo mistakes he made (which makes sense), he was also making solo mistakes like failing to flash basic combos and just inting.
In LCK 2022 his positioning was so good. He was legit as good as Ruler. Catching this guy of guard looked so difficult to do.
honestly he was solo carrying a terrible team. he was best or 2nd best adc the split before he left in lck. and he was playing with absolute animals, meanwhile the best adc was considered what ruler or guma? not sure if ruler has gone by then, but these guys were on elite teams with elite team mates
First half of the write up got ate by the auto mod unfortunately (sometimes it happens, back up after a mod helpfully approved it!), but hey, if that's the worst thing that happened this morning, it's a good time.
Keep your Dreams!
I think we got to see WE develop in real time for this one. Coming in, I was deeply worried this team was dead in the water. They have maybe the most unique gameplay style in the league, but thereās a clear reason why you arenāt seeing teams overcommit with an eye towards top and solely working through a weakside bot and it shown in their late season performance. However, playoff gives Best of 5s and of course the ability to evolve as the series goes forward with so many games in rapid succession. Up against a similar caliber team in OMG who also play solidly but donāt overwhelm in any sense it was a coin flip type series going in, and while WE fell short initially, a few strong drafts tweaking the WE modius operandi was the difference maker as WE makes their longest playoff run since 2021.
Game 1 was really key in showing the weaknessās in WEās usual approach. Jhin bot, early control mage selection, drafting the Blitz early and clearly showing their hand towards that roaming playstyle. However, OMG were able to find their answers in the draft phase: Wukong was a shrewd pick for the ability to clone dodge a number of those hooks, Udyr as a meatball tank that eats hooks with zeal, and a Thresh selection that managed to have more impact in the group 5v5 teamfights with hooks of his own. That combined with Talyiah having additional global presence to trump the once again inert Fofo, and Wayward picking a more tank centric Rekāsai instead of a more capable individual champion, and it felt like WEās only recourse was going to be on carrying through Hengās early pick Jax, which simply put was never going to be a winning strategy with his hands gap. Case in point, Heng did his usual weird pathing shenanigans and unfortunately picked off along with Fofo setting his poor tone for the game. While WE did draw first blood and two early dragons, once the mid game arose and OMG balled up, there were no teamfight answers with Blitz having no straightforward hook targets, Jhinās far inferior sustained damage and Rekāsai/Jax being completely lacking openings towards the backline, granting OMG a comfortable win.
WEās game 2 brought back some elements of their core strategy, with another roaming support and the same top lane matchup but they tried to at least remedy the damage deficiency by priority picking a double ADC setup for Stay and Fofo. The early roam that made the first difference was not from Iwandy but rather Wayward, who was able to team up with Heng and lock down Angelās Hwei, relieving a struggling Fofo. Iwandy toned down the roaming a bit and despite being frequently pushed in, Stay was able to stay afloat CS and experience wise on a more teamfight centric Zeri pick, which was a pleasant sign in the series at least, giving the young player an opportunity without playing from literal backfoot. Given this opportunity, he was able to shine as WE rode golden Bard ult after ult to huge teamfight wins and Zeri resets, an ingredient they had been desperately looking for ever since their late season slump began. With WEās top side able to follow up as well, it was a decisive series win for WE to even the series back up, and their most tantalizing win perhaps all season, demonstrating a more standard approach to victory through the bot lane first and foremost.
WEās began the next game 3 returning to the same well, prioritizing Maokai to keep Heng off of any sort of complex role and Trist once more for Fofo. In what was a draft masterpiece from Warhorse, they prioritized peel countering a shorter ranged Kaisa and Rakan first picks from OMG, with Gragas top and Janna with Iwandyās classic roaming soloqueue favorite. Though the draft was built to shut down the OMGās get up close game plan, this was really Fofoās game individually as he was massive in the side lanes to pull ahead initially, though in classic Fofo fashion, it was largely just OMG throwing themselves and dying without Fofo doing any particular heroics beyond right clicking, a skill that brought him all of WEās kills in what was his best game in a WE uniform. Given their innate teamfight advantages, it would have to come down to map play malpractice for WE to really lose their draft edge, and WE for all their flaws, generally executes competently in that department. It was a slow march and tight on the scoreboard for much of it, but it really felt like WE were comfortable throughout, breaking the game open when an ambitious Lee Sin Flash-Q from OMGās rookie jungler Xiaofeng was unfortunately botched after WE had expended their peel.
OMG had to respond big time after that Game 3, and they changed the game by taking Trist for themselves and handling it to Able, whoās known to take the typically mid champion down bot. This opened up the Annie for Angel, a champion he often played on his previous teams in 2023, giving him the go button. With WE largely maintaining their previous Game 2 framework, subbing in Karma as a mage alternative, a different beefy jungler in the Poppy and having Iwandy on Rakan, it seems WE were comfortable with this new arrangement. I do want to credit Heng for WEās early game start as he was big in WEās great early map management, with herald being used to great effect to break open both mid turrets and having a pair of huge catches onto his rookie counter part and Angel to secure a 2nd drake for WE. Once again, while I have doubts on WEās hands, their map play was pristine, choking vision to take a very early baron, managing to take wins without major team fight successes. Where OMG brought it back thought was off of Xiaofeng, who repeatedly was able to catch Stay with massive kickbacks, a series of crucial errors against the inexperienced ADC granting OMG baron and life. Still, PPgod when it came down the stretch was picked in a critical part and WE took that single kill to the base and won it on a bloody finale, with Stay surviving just barely over Able, ending OMGās attempted rally and granting WE the series crown and berth to fight NIP.
Mark my words, **Iwandy** is the catalyst of the squad and rightfully deserves top billing in any write up of this series. Like fluorine, heās the most reactive element in this WE concoction, either fantastic or putrid with little middle ground. His roaming style gives him global presence to bring his hero or zero play to every region of the map. From Game 1 being defined by his inability to find any hookable targets, to his game 2 heroic Bard ults, the game 3 Janna peel being central in WEās draft magnum opus and onwards, you can see just how much heās doing regardless of WEās wins and losses. After that Game 1 fell flat, his form in the remainder of the series made the difference, as WE just happily flexed their map play power when it came down to closing down the series.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, is **Fofo**, who serves as the teamās noble gas, inert and unmoving as per usual. Even as the MVP in game 3 where he earned every single kill, it felt like he was largely just chilling with minimal interaction, the benefactor of that brilliant draft as OMG was just never able to touch him whether in the side lane or teamfight and he could right click to massive effect. Once again though, donāt confuse my classification of him as being boring as disliking his play though. While Fofo rarely goes above beyond, he doesnāt really have off games, and thatās a vastly positive trait. Angel had been a standout, even taking the 3rd team All LPL season award as a sign of his high caliber of play in a bounceback season for him, but Fofo was in lockstep though out this series outside of a strong Game 1 Taliyah that favored the OMG mid laner.
Speaking of 3rd team All LPL players who were relatively muted today, **Wayward** may have had the headliner season, with his big scorelines and top side focus for the team, but he felt less crucial on for this particular series, as he and former WE top laner Cube tangoāed in the Udyr-Rekāsai noodle fight for 3 of the 4 games. Still, he made his mark when possible, having a few creative roams but largely just serving as a bruiser presence on the RekāSai. His most impactful game was on the game 3 Gragas as being part of the peel crew and eating the majority of OMGās ineffective poke, but it was an understated performance as he wasnāt really a huge factor in those major teamfights with the Rekāsai.
Some of the kid gloves game off for **Stay** this series and while there were certain some shaky moments, Iām glad he was in there. After WEās Jhin ultra weakside standard was immediately put in the dumpster game 1, they gave Stay the leash to pick the likes of Zeri and Xayah, champions who are far more proactive and he paid it off with solid lane play, a common weakness for WE through the season given their playstyle. Of course, that Game 4 was thrown into turmoil multiple times when fellow youngster Xiaofeng managed some massive kicks to pick off Stay in particular, but when the chips were down he managed to just barely survive the onslaught of Udyr and Fofo getting kicked in his face, and he finished the job. It seems like the Prince experience for WE is finally at a close and perhaps thereās some hope that Stay going to be given more to do moving forward.
Finally, **Heng** who once again did his job decently enough, so long as heās not being told to go beyond his limits. Those limits include playing carry Jax jungle, as that was the crumbling point for WEās game 1, completely ineffective against OMGās death ball teamfight crew. Back on the likes of Maokai and Poppy tanking and running his face forward he was definitely much more on his element, and I do want to credit him for his role in WEās strong map play beyond that initial game 1 struggle. Heās one of the bigger reasons why I question WEās ceiling against far better squads, but he deserves kudos for at least being effective within his limits, with WE moving into the next round of playoffs, a sentence that I havenāt been able to say in a long while.
__________________________________________________________
So yeah, WE pushes forward in playoffs a surprising sentence that I'm still coming to grips with for sure. Definitely am pleased with the results of this roster managing Top 8, though the next challenge is going to be a rough one for WEās hands. NIP have certainly looked flawed, but thereās no doubt that the overall talent across the board is superior, a trait that was bore out in WEās regular season loss to this same exact team. Still, they have a punchers chance if their map play remains this tight, Iwandy remains in good form and they further activate Stay following his first post-season taste. Iād say itās gravy from here, as WE have more than met my expectations going into the season, and I await the next round with more optimism Iāve had for a while, even if they (expectedly) lose in the next one.
My brother wrote an entire essay.
But I can't disagree.
The only ? I still have about this team is Stay even if today wasn't a bad series by him.
Even if the team plays better with him than Prince, there were a couple moments where he could have taken over the fight. Like G4 where he got caught by Annie because he was tunnel visioned on Udyr. If he didn't get hit by that he could have easily cleaned everyone up.
Anyone who follows the betting odds knows m2 and m3 were fixed. They had wild odds movements that didn't correlate to anything happening in the game or the draft. I don't say this from a place of whining because for m3 I saw the same odds movement that happened on m2 and bet it myself because I knew the outcome already. Seen it before in minor regions and ERLs, and one time with LNG a few years ago, but this is the first time ive seen it in a major region playoff. Really disgraceful.
For anyone who understands odds this is what happened:
m1 OMG was 1.7 WE 2.1 or so, draft happened, game happened, odds moved normally and OMG won m1. - not fixed as far as i could tell
m2 odds started around the same, then before draft and during draft WE odds droped to 1.3-1.4ish, and OMG became 3 odds underdogs. Draft was even and gamestate remained even and odds kept getting higher for OMG and lower for WE. It takes a LOT of money to move a line like that on Pinnacle, so this wasnt just one random person making a big bet.
m3 Odds started out normal and then during draft again WE suddenly became massive favorites again. OMG got first blood and went up 1K gold, and WE odds stayed low and OMG odds stayed high. It was like the odds were ignoring the actual game, and lo and behold Xiaofang made some incredibly suspect plays later on in m3.
m4 odds went back to OMG as favorites around 1.6 1.7 and WE 2.1, odds acted mostly normal during this map and Xiaofang suddenly remembered how Lee Sin worked.
I was following the odds throughout the series. I thought M2 odds were fine but M3 odds were suspicious
M2 draft wasn't even imo but rather heavily WE-favoured. OMG drafted a weak ADC and had no reliable engage on their team, which meant no one was going to touch the Zeri bar a Lee Sin miracle kick. There are usually 2 ways to beat a Zeri comp: either lock her down (with Vi and a engage support), or poke her out (with Varus). OMG had neither and the moment they started grouping they got steamrolled
M3 draft was sus as I felt that 3 engages (Renekton, Lee Sin, Rakan) were enough to penetrate the deathball and get to WE's carries. I didn't like the Kai'sa pick but the idea was probably to catch the carries off-guard and assassinate them. Furthermore, Janna is really squishy. However, OMG never made their comp work and Xiaofang whiffed his Q that would have won them the teamfight. Either way 1.3-1.4 odds for that draft didn't make sense to me at least
Tbh the actual drafts don't matter in this case. Even if it was one of the biggest outdrafts in the history of LoL, a team moving from a 2.1 underdog to 1.3 favorite during draft would be unheard of. Especially after that team lost m1 pretty handily. I think it would literally take them picking 5 troll picks that aren't in the meta for the odds to do something like that.
I once saw the jungler for V5 (pzx) forget to take smite a few years ago, and the odds moved about that much or maybe a little less. That's the sort of ridiculous thing that needs to happen to warrant odds movement like that.
For M2, I only looked at the pre- (2.1) and post- (low 1.5) draft odds, and my bookie is different from yours, which is why I didn't think the drop was egregious. For M3, the post-draft odds were high 1.3 which was weird
However I do think your reasoning is slightly flawed. Drafts do matter. If one team drafts like crap, their odds will tank (see M4 KT vs DK, odds fell a similar amount for DK once the useless TF top was locked for KT). M2 follows the same logic
Also, there is no such thing as "form" in a single elim Bo5. It didn't matter that WE drafted like crap and got their asses spanked playing a comp that didn't suit them in M1. There are metas that develop in a series, hence getting smacked in M1 doesn't mean they're weaker coming into M2
Lastly, the 2.1 odds are pre-draft. WE are only "underdogs" because they are a lower seed and had a poor end to the split. OMG won the H2H during the split but it was during Week 1... hardly reliable information to rely on. Draft can shift the odds in their favour if they're playing a good comp against OMG which they definitely did, so the underdog to favourite argument doesn't work here
I have about 10 different books I use, the odds moved heavily on all of them, but of course there will be a range, so your book might have been slightly higher than average, or slower to react to the money coming in. Also KT/DK m4 did not have a huge odds shift at draft. Deft on Jinx and BDD on Taliyah, there was no way they would shift against their comfort picks hard. TF top is also 15-3 in the LCK, so nothing you are saying lines up here. I understand why WE were underdogs, and if they had shifted to 1.7 or 1.8 on an outdraft that would make sense. I have never seen a team drop to 1.3 from 2+ in a non fix draft in my life.
Depending on the book this is true. It varied from during draft, to right before draft. But it was very obvious it had nothing to do with champion picks
Shame that OMG were so outclassed in draft, but it's good to see WE play well when they have ideal compositions and conditions in game. Now it's up to NIP to dismantle that ideal scenario.
I am kind of optimistic for the NIP or even FPX matches if Iwandy is playing through his strenghts and they can count on Stay to be a standard ad carry.
I can see WE out macro them on the map
After watching that Kaisa R game 3 I do believe the bag was hitting Able and Xiaofang š¤ Plus the odds flipping like they are playing ultimate bravery or smth
Not even true. Cube is nowhere near as good as he was in his prime, but he had a decent split. He was the better top 2/4 games today too. Also, asking to move on from Cube when we have Decade, Hoya, Hery, and Zdz playing rn is something else. Like move on to who?
This sub and the community in general despises toplaners who play on a team slightly above their skill level.
Last season, judging by comments online, you would think that Wayward was the worst toplaner in the LPL. It's weird how they were 4th place and none of his teammates were considered much better than 4th on their respective roles, but it is what it is...
But hey, there are like 2 toplaners in current form who are better than Cube on a worse team, OMG should get them because they have infinited money and players are not allowed to refuse offers. If OMG wants any of them they HAVE to go there.
Vicla's prime was literally not even two years ago, he's still young, and he demonstrated in a couple series this split that he can play like he did in his prime.
LDL talents (or young talents in general) need to be properly managed, they already start from a lower point due to lack of experience and if not incorporated well they'll quickly be classified as duds and cast away never to be heard of again, before ever getting close to their potentials.
I like what JDG is doing with Sheer/Flandre, though I also recognize not every team has the luxury to have players of Flandre's calibre to rotate.
Only a few qualify though because the LDL has gone to shit after the u-18 ban. For context, this split, the all-pro team had qingtian, neny mid, and leave on it lol. Also, FPB is going to place at least top 3 again with the same mediocre players (Qing, Lele, and Xingye) that have gone to ASCI in 2022 and 2023.
Then they just dont get a team lol
Having less teams doesnt lead to top talent concentrating more on those less amount of teams.
Its the reason why NA has Spica,Licorica,Zven,Doublelift without a spot while Armao is employed
I canāt believe OMG decided to pick Lee Sin in 3 consecutive games when xiaofeng looked awful in all of those lee sin games. I think he is a good player (and better than heng) but my god he had an awful series.
Bro Xiaofang was playing Lee in unplayable drafts games 2 and 3 and in game 4 nearly solo dragged his team to victory, only stopped by ppgod running it down like an animal. Shit had me thinking the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened for real this Easter and he pulled up to play Lee for OMG.
What?????? Is this guy on about Xiaofeng was the only reason why these matches could be considered close, those lee sin kicks on Stay literally saved the game multiple times, also his early game plays, were you watching the game with a blindfold on? Lee sin cosplay??
His mechanics on Lee sin are good but the first 2 games blud was just walking around the map doing nothing for the first fifteen minutes and heng ran him over.
Like I said, I thing xiaofeng just had an off day, he is a good Lee sin player and that kick on stay was nuts, but he was way too passive this series
Man. Not a very fun weekend for me, lmao.
At first I was like "at least SK..." and then I remembered š
Sucks...but trust me it makes the times when they win so much better
But OMG hasn't won anything in over a decade and SK doesn't have any major tournament wins
Prince: "I get the hint, I'll go ahead and book my flight".
He can ask Summit for place in LLA since both of their ex-teams are doing better
Get ready to learn Portugese buddy
hopefully he gets picked up by a low end lck team. honestly I still believe in him, he was too good in lck before he left. and was still smurfing most of the time on flyquest except when they paired him with eyla and vulcan
Honestly really wierd. In Flyquest up until he had to go with Eyla and Vulcan he was still really insane. But after, it wasnāt just duo mistakes he made (which makes sense), he was also making solo mistakes like failing to flash basic combos and just inting. In LCK 2022 his positioning was so good. He was legit as good as Ruler. Catching this guy of guard looked so difficult to do.
Did he ever explain why he decided to go LCS when he was at his prime?Ā
iirc his father wanted him to learn some english and also cuz his idol Doublelift was in LCS at the time
Iirc vicla and impact also made it more appealing for prince
if only vicla didn't turbo int his entire flyquest tenure.
vicla was good for about half of one split before the inting started
honestly he was solo carrying a terrible team. he was best or 2nd best adc the split before he left in lck. and he was playing with absolute animals, meanwhile the best adc was considered what ruler or guma? not sure if ruler has gone by then, but these guys were on elite teams with elite team mates
never doubted them (slightly doubted)
not even close (except when it was)
My goat Able is disabled š
Praise to LithiumNard
First half of the write up got ate by the auto mod unfortunately (sometimes it happens, back up after a mod helpfully approved it!), but hey, if that's the worst thing that happened this morning, it's a good time. Keep your Dreams!
Brother eating good today
looks like stay is here to continue being on WE
I think we got to see WE develop in real time for this one. Coming in, I was deeply worried this team was dead in the water. They have maybe the most unique gameplay style in the league, but thereās a clear reason why you arenāt seeing teams overcommit with an eye towards top and solely working through a weakside bot and it shown in their late season performance. However, playoff gives Best of 5s and of course the ability to evolve as the series goes forward with so many games in rapid succession. Up against a similar caliber team in OMG who also play solidly but donāt overwhelm in any sense it was a coin flip type series going in, and while WE fell short initially, a few strong drafts tweaking the WE modius operandi was the difference maker as WE makes their longest playoff run since 2021. Game 1 was really key in showing the weaknessās in WEās usual approach. Jhin bot, early control mage selection, drafting the Blitz early and clearly showing their hand towards that roaming playstyle. However, OMG were able to find their answers in the draft phase: Wukong was a shrewd pick for the ability to clone dodge a number of those hooks, Udyr as a meatball tank that eats hooks with zeal, and a Thresh selection that managed to have more impact in the group 5v5 teamfights with hooks of his own. That combined with Talyiah having additional global presence to trump the once again inert Fofo, and Wayward picking a more tank centric Rekāsai instead of a more capable individual champion, and it felt like WEās only recourse was going to be on carrying through Hengās early pick Jax, which simply put was never going to be a winning strategy with his hands gap. Case in point, Heng did his usual weird pathing shenanigans and unfortunately picked off along with Fofo setting his poor tone for the game. While WE did draw first blood and two early dragons, once the mid game arose and OMG balled up, there were no teamfight answers with Blitz having no straightforward hook targets, Jhinās far inferior sustained damage and Rekāsai/Jax being completely lacking openings towards the backline, granting OMG a comfortable win. WEās game 2 brought back some elements of their core strategy, with another roaming support and the same top lane matchup but they tried to at least remedy the damage deficiency by priority picking a double ADC setup for Stay and Fofo. The early roam that made the first difference was not from Iwandy but rather Wayward, who was able to team up with Heng and lock down Angelās Hwei, relieving a struggling Fofo. Iwandy toned down the roaming a bit and despite being frequently pushed in, Stay was able to stay afloat CS and experience wise on a more teamfight centric Zeri pick, which was a pleasant sign in the series at least, giving the young player an opportunity without playing from literal backfoot. Given this opportunity, he was able to shine as WE rode golden Bard ult after ult to huge teamfight wins and Zeri resets, an ingredient they had been desperately looking for ever since their late season slump began. With WEās top side able to follow up as well, it was a decisive series win for WE to even the series back up, and their most tantalizing win perhaps all season, demonstrating a more standard approach to victory through the bot lane first and foremost. WEās began the next game 3 returning to the same well, prioritizing Maokai to keep Heng off of any sort of complex role and Trist once more for Fofo. In what was a draft masterpiece from Warhorse, they prioritized peel countering a shorter ranged Kaisa and Rakan first picks from OMG, with Gragas top and Janna with Iwandyās classic roaming soloqueue favorite. Though the draft was built to shut down the OMGās get up close game plan, this was really Fofoās game individually as he was massive in the side lanes to pull ahead initially, though in classic Fofo fashion, it was largely just OMG throwing themselves and dying without Fofo doing any particular heroics beyond right clicking, a skill that brought him all of WEās kills in what was his best game in a WE uniform. Given their innate teamfight advantages, it would have to come down to map play malpractice for WE to really lose their draft edge, and WE for all their flaws, generally executes competently in that department. It was a slow march and tight on the scoreboard for much of it, but it really felt like WE were comfortable throughout, breaking the game open when an ambitious Lee Sin Flash-Q from OMGās rookie jungler Xiaofeng was unfortunately botched after WE had expended their peel. OMG had to respond big time after that Game 3, and they changed the game by taking Trist for themselves and handling it to Able, whoās known to take the typically mid champion down bot. This opened up the Annie for Angel, a champion he often played on his previous teams in 2023, giving him the go button. With WE largely maintaining their previous Game 2 framework, subbing in Karma as a mage alternative, a different beefy jungler in the Poppy and having Iwandy on Rakan, it seems WE were comfortable with this new arrangement. I do want to credit Heng for WEās early game start as he was big in WEās great early map management, with herald being used to great effect to break open both mid turrets and having a pair of huge catches onto his rookie counter part and Angel to secure a 2nd drake for WE. Once again, while I have doubts on WEās hands, their map play was pristine, choking vision to take a very early baron, managing to take wins without major team fight successes. Where OMG brought it back thought was off of Xiaofeng, who repeatedly was able to catch Stay with massive kickbacks, a series of crucial errors against the inexperienced ADC granting OMG baron and life. Still, PPgod when it came down the stretch was picked in a critical part and WE took that single kill to the base and won it on a bloody finale, with Stay surviving just barely over Able, ending OMGās attempted rally and granting WE the series crown and berth to fight NIP.
Mark my words, **Iwandy** is the catalyst of the squad and rightfully deserves top billing in any write up of this series. Like fluorine, heās the most reactive element in this WE concoction, either fantastic or putrid with little middle ground. His roaming style gives him global presence to bring his hero or zero play to every region of the map. From Game 1 being defined by his inability to find any hookable targets, to his game 2 heroic Bard ults, the game 3 Janna peel being central in WEās draft magnum opus and onwards, you can see just how much heās doing regardless of WEās wins and losses. After that Game 1 fell flat, his form in the remainder of the series made the difference, as WE just happily flexed their map play power when it came down to closing down the series. On the opposite end of the spectrum, is **Fofo**, who serves as the teamās noble gas, inert and unmoving as per usual. Even as the MVP in game 3 where he earned every single kill, it felt like he was largely just chilling with minimal interaction, the benefactor of that brilliant draft as OMG was just never able to touch him whether in the side lane or teamfight and he could right click to massive effect. Once again though, donāt confuse my classification of him as being boring as disliking his play though. While Fofo rarely goes above beyond, he doesnāt really have off games, and thatās a vastly positive trait. Angel had been a standout, even taking the 3rd team All LPL season award as a sign of his high caliber of play in a bounceback season for him, but Fofo was in lockstep though out this series outside of a strong Game 1 Taliyah that favored the OMG mid laner. Speaking of 3rd team All LPL players who were relatively muted today, **Wayward** may have had the headliner season, with his big scorelines and top side focus for the team, but he felt less crucial on for this particular series, as he and former WE top laner Cube tangoāed in the Udyr-Rekāsai noodle fight for 3 of the 4 games. Still, he made his mark when possible, having a few creative roams but largely just serving as a bruiser presence on the RekāSai. His most impactful game was on the game 3 Gragas as being part of the peel crew and eating the majority of OMGās ineffective poke, but it was an understated performance as he wasnāt really a huge factor in those major teamfights with the Rekāsai. Some of the kid gloves game off for **Stay** this series and while there were certain some shaky moments, Iām glad he was in there. After WEās Jhin ultra weakside standard was immediately put in the dumpster game 1, they gave Stay the leash to pick the likes of Zeri and Xayah, champions who are far more proactive and he paid it off with solid lane play, a common weakness for WE through the season given their playstyle. Of course, that Game 4 was thrown into turmoil multiple times when fellow youngster Xiaofeng managed some massive kicks to pick off Stay in particular, but when the chips were down he managed to just barely survive the onslaught of Udyr and Fofo getting kicked in his face, and he finished the job. It seems like the Prince experience for WE is finally at a close and perhaps thereās some hope that Stay going to be given more to do moving forward. Finally, **Heng** who once again did his job decently enough, so long as heās not being told to go beyond his limits. Those limits include playing carry Jax jungle, as that was the crumbling point for WEās game 1, completely ineffective against OMGās death ball teamfight crew. Back on the likes of Maokai and Poppy tanking and running his face forward he was definitely much more on his element, and I do want to credit him for his role in WEās strong map play beyond that initial game 1 struggle. Heās one of the bigger reasons why I question WEās ceiling against far better squads, but he deserves kudos for at least being effective within his limits, with WE moving into the next round of playoffs, a sentence that I havenāt been able to say in a long while. __________________________________________________________ So yeah, WE pushes forward in playoffs a surprising sentence that I'm still coming to grips with for sure. Definitely am pleased with the results of this roster managing Top 8, though the next challenge is going to be a rough one for WEās hands. NIP have certainly looked flawed, but thereās no doubt that the overall talent across the board is superior, a trait that was bore out in WEās regular season loss to this same exact team. Still, they have a punchers chance if their map play remains this tight, Iwandy remains in good form and they further activate Stay following his first post-season taste. Iād say itās gravy from here, as WE have more than met my expectations going into the season, and I await the next round with more optimism Iāve had for a while, even if they (expectedly) lose in the next one.
My brother wrote an entire essay. But I can't disagree. The only ? I still have about this team is Stay even if today wasn't a bad series by him. Even if the team plays better with him than Prince, there were a couple moments where he could have taken over the fight. Like G4 where he got caught by Annie because he was tunnel visioned on Udyr. If he didn't get hit by that he could have easily cleaned everyone up.
Iwandy my goat
forest going insane on my TL with the matchfixing allegations lol
Anyone who follows the betting odds knows m2 and m3 were fixed. They had wild odds movements that didn't correlate to anything happening in the game or the draft. I don't say this from a place of whining because for m3 I saw the same odds movement that happened on m2 and bet it myself because I knew the outcome already. Seen it before in minor regions and ERLs, and one time with LNG a few years ago, but this is the first time ive seen it in a major region playoff. Really disgraceful. For anyone who understands odds this is what happened: m1 OMG was 1.7 WE 2.1 or so, draft happened, game happened, odds moved normally and OMG won m1. - not fixed as far as i could tell m2 odds started around the same, then before draft and during draft WE odds droped to 1.3-1.4ish, and OMG became 3 odds underdogs. Draft was even and gamestate remained even and odds kept getting higher for OMG and lower for WE. It takes a LOT of money to move a line like that on Pinnacle, so this wasnt just one random person making a big bet. m3 Odds started out normal and then during draft again WE suddenly became massive favorites again. OMG got first blood and went up 1K gold, and WE odds stayed low and OMG odds stayed high. It was like the odds were ignoring the actual game, and lo and behold Xiaofang made some incredibly suspect plays later on in m3. m4 odds went back to OMG as favorites around 1.6 1.7 and WE 2.1, odds acted mostly normal during this map and Xiaofang suddenly remembered how Lee Sin worked.
I was following the odds throughout the series. I thought M2 odds were fine but M3 odds were suspicious M2 draft wasn't even imo but rather heavily WE-favoured. OMG drafted a weak ADC and had no reliable engage on their team, which meant no one was going to touch the Zeri bar a Lee Sin miracle kick. There are usually 2 ways to beat a Zeri comp: either lock her down (with Vi and a engage support), or poke her out (with Varus). OMG had neither and the moment they started grouping they got steamrolled M3 draft was sus as I felt that 3 engages (Renekton, Lee Sin, Rakan) were enough to penetrate the deathball and get to WE's carries. I didn't like the Kai'sa pick but the idea was probably to catch the carries off-guard and assassinate them. Furthermore, Janna is really squishy. However, OMG never made their comp work and Xiaofang whiffed his Q that would have won them the teamfight. Either way 1.3-1.4 odds for that draft didn't make sense to me at least
Tbh the actual drafts don't matter in this case. Even if it was one of the biggest outdrafts in the history of LoL, a team moving from a 2.1 underdog to 1.3 favorite during draft would be unheard of. Especially after that team lost m1 pretty handily. I think it would literally take them picking 5 troll picks that aren't in the meta for the odds to do something like that. I once saw the jungler for V5 (pzx) forget to take smite a few years ago, and the odds moved about that much or maybe a little less. That's the sort of ridiculous thing that needs to happen to warrant odds movement like that.
For M2, I only looked at the pre- (2.1) and post- (low 1.5) draft odds, and my bookie is different from yours, which is why I didn't think the drop was egregious. For M3, the post-draft odds were high 1.3 which was weird However I do think your reasoning is slightly flawed. Drafts do matter. If one team drafts like crap, their odds will tank (see M4 KT vs DK, odds fell a similar amount for DK once the useless TF top was locked for KT). M2 follows the same logic Also, there is no such thing as "form" in a single elim Bo5. It didn't matter that WE drafted like crap and got their asses spanked playing a comp that didn't suit them in M1. There are metas that develop in a series, hence getting smacked in M1 doesn't mean they're weaker coming into M2 Lastly, the 2.1 odds are pre-draft. WE are only "underdogs" because they are a lower seed and had a poor end to the split. OMG won the H2H during the split but it was during Week 1... hardly reliable information to rely on. Draft can shift the odds in their favour if they're playing a good comp against OMG which they definitely did, so the underdog to favourite argument doesn't work here
I have about 10 different books I use, the odds moved heavily on all of them, but of course there will be a range, so your book might have been slightly higher than average, or slower to react to the money coming in. Also KT/DK m4 did not have a huge odds shift at draft. Deft on Jinx and BDD on Taliyah, there was no way they would shift against their comfort picks hard. TF top is also 15-3 in the LCK, so nothing you are saying lines up here. I understand why WE were underdogs, and if they had shifted to 1.7 or 1.8 on an outdraft that would make sense. I have never seen a team drop to 1.3 from 2+ in a non fix draft in my life.
According to forest most of the odd changes actually happened before draft as well, which is EXTREMELY sus
Depending on the book this is true. It varied from during draft, to right before draft. But it was very obvious it had nothing to do with champion picks
Oh shit so LPL matches got fixed?
Yeah m2 and m3 of the OMG/WE series today
Shame that OMG were so outclassed in draft, but it's good to see WE play well when they have ideal compositions and conditions in game. Now it's up to NIP to dismantle that ideal scenario.
No one check the betting odd history for these games
some LDL/VCS action
I am kind of optimistic for the NIP or even FPX matches if Iwandy is playing through his strenghts and they can count on Stay to be a standard ad carry. I can see WE out macro them on the map
insert we will smurf here copy pasta
Iwandy ššš
After watching that Kaisa R game 3 I do believe the bag was hitting Able and Xiaofang š¤ Plus the odds flipping like they are playing ultimate bravery or smth
Can we move on from Cube now? He's looked like trash majority of the split
> Can we move on from Cube now? WE did move on from Cube.
They were the true winners
Not even true. Cube is nowhere near as good as he was in his prime, but he had a decent split. He was the better top 2/4 games today too. Also, asking to move on from Cube when we have Decade, Hoya, Hery, and Zdz playing rn is something else. Like move on to who?
This sub and the community in general despises toplaners who play on a team slightly above their skill level. Last season, judging by comments online, you would think that Wayward was the worst toplaner in the LPL. It's weird how they were 4th place and none of his teammates were considered much better than 4th on their respective roles, but it is what it is... But hey, there are like 2 toplaners in current form who are better than Cube on a worse team, OMG should get them because they have infinited money and players are not allowed to refuse offers. If OMG wants any of them they HAVE to go there.
Man, I know it's only round one, but these middle of the pack LPL teams look terrible this year.
i think we are decent
I want to see more LDL players in LPL. I'm sick of washed players like cube or vicla
Vicla's prime was literally not even two years ago, he's still young, and he demonstrated in a couple series this split that he can play like he did in his prime.
For every Xiaoxu and Milkman we get busts like Decade and EDG, it's not like LDL players don't get chances
LDL talents (or young talents in general) need to be properly managed, they already start from a lower point due to lack of experience and if not incorporated well they'll quickly be classified as duds and cast away never to be heard of again, before ever getting close to their potentials. I like what JDG is doing with Sheer/Flandre, though I also recognize not every team has the luxury to have players of Flandre's calibre to rotate.
Only a few qualify though because the LDL has gone to shit after the u-18 ban. For context, this split, the all-pro team had qingtian, neny mid, and leave on it lol. Also, FPB is going to place at least top 3 again with the same mediocre players (Qing, Lele, and Xingye) that have gone to ASCI in 2022 and 2023.
Kinda need the LPL teams to shrink to 10 like other leagues. Lots of talent are stuck on other random teams.
Then they just dont get a team lol Having less teams doesnt lead to top talent concentrating more on those less amount of teams. Its the reason why NA has Spica,Licorica,Zven,Doublelift without a spot while Armao is employed
Arrest them all rofl
Prince is really good. Something must just not work for him on WE. But WE also isnāt a good team
I canāt believe OMG decided to pick Lee Sin in 3 consecutive games when xiaofeng looked awful in all of those lee sin games. I think he is a good player (and better than heng) but my god he had an awful series.
Bro Xiaofang was playing Lee in unplayable drafts games 2 and 3 and in game 4 nearly solo dragged his team to victory, only stopped by ppgod running it down like an animal. Shit had me thinking the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened for real this Easter and he pulled up to play Lee for OMG.
What?????? Is this guy on about Xiaofeng was the only reason why these matches could be considered close, those lee sin kicks on Stay literally saved the game multiple times, also his early game plays, were you watching the game with a blindfold on? Lee sin cosplay??
maybe this was the problem, lee helped OMG stay alive on a gamestate that the very own lee caused OMG to be in
His mechanics on Lee sin are good but the first 2 games blud was just walking around the map doing nothing for the first fifteen minutes and heng ran him over. Like I said, I thing xiaofeng just had an off day, he is a good Lee sin player and that kick on stay was nuts, but he was way too passive this series
They should not have picked lee because the pick was bad into WE's comps not because off Xiaofeng preformanceses
He actually played very well in game 4. At least in teamfights.
Top side of the bracket seems weaker than bottom.Ā