so i took a few (10) days off, 1. to let some news happen. i felt like i was saying a lot of the sames things over and over, ad nauseam infinitum, and 2. i want you to CRAVE what i say...ok, so really it's just the first part. that being said, a lot has happened during my self imposed sabbatical. first things first Fnatic!!! so, Fnatic is the EU Spring Split champs, with an amazing series against the Unicorns of Love. you really couldn't have asked for anything more from this series...well, i mean, other than high quality play and calculated objective calls. this series was fun to watch from a viewers perspective, but a "what not to do" in terms of its educational value. but education and entertainment have never played nice together, so screw that shit and bring on the ham! congrats to eu darlings, Fnatic, who, against all odds have emerged as the champs and are still the team to beat, even with a new roster. maybe they're sloppy at times, maybe they play all ham all day, but i think this team can definitely put on the blitzkrieg bop on a korean or chinese team...catch them off guard and potentially steal a series on the world stage. on the other hand, UoL didn't even expect to be in this spot, which is nice to read, since, unlike a lot of teams, they didn't lie to themselves and their fans. everyone knew what they were capable of, but no one honestly believed they'd ascend to the top of the division. this team is definitely poised to make a move next split, and while they might not be ready to take on korea or china, i think they are just good enough to scare a team or 2.
back in the good ol' us of a, we had a familiar match up, pitting C9 against mainstay, TSM. the na region hasn't been quite as exciting as eu, but has still provided us with some great series...this just wasn't one of those times. i've been saying, all split, C9 doesn't look motivated to win. they play very reactionary and they just don't dictate any sort of pace. Hai's champion puddle is evaporating, Meteos makes questionable gank calls and Balls is far from the power top laner he's been in past splits. all in all, they are not the same team from a few splits ago, and they've slowly gone down hill, as Jatt was quoted as saying in a recent interview. will next split be the first time C9 has a roster change? only time will tell. on the flip side, TSM, since IEM, has looked pretty dominant. Bjergsen is the straw that stirs the drink. his mid lane dominance has given TSM what they've craved for so long, a true carry. Santorin has been the perfect compliment for this teams composition, and Lustboy has been the balance that has kept WildTurtle from going too ham too much. as it stands, this team, i believe, as much as it pains me, has a viable chance to win worlds. it may be a small chance, but its a better chance than they've had in any previous year. what i am happy about is that na has some new blood on the rise, with TiP, Team8 and Gravity all having strong showings this split, we could see a shift in power sooner than later.
now with the na and eu splits over, korea and china finishing up, as well as the other regions, this leads us to the Mid Season Invitational (MSI). while this will be a fun, post split, distraction, the real heat will be generated by the potential roster swaps amidst all the rumors and rigmarole. so many players futures are up in the air, and so many are being talked about going to all sorts of regions, it will be fun to see what changes and it will give me plenty to talk about. just a few names to keep in mind, Rekkles, Wickd, Shook, Forg1vengre, Hai, Incarnati0n and HolyPhoenix. i'm sure there are others, but off the top of my head, those could end up be some movers. as for the MSI, GE Tigers and Edward Gaming are the 2 that are obviously "expected" to be, 1. in the MSI and 2. be contending to win it. SKT1 and Vici Gaming are respectively on the other side of that conversation, and if you replace either of those former teams with the aforementioned teams, the other regions still have their hands full. i hate to be another broken record, but any type of championship still goes through korea and/or china and not beating a team from either of those regions would feel like a hollow victory. beyond that, we have our relegation matches for both na and eu. hopefully some more new blood will be injected to both LCS' and shake things up even more. i tire of the same old teams.
now for the fun stuff, we MAY be getting our Samsung world championship skins! no announcement has been made, and no previews have been provided, but the timing is roughly around when we got the SKT1 skins from s3, so hopefully we'll see something of those in the coming months.
i've typed a lot, and i think i've given you a lot to read. a new podcast from Tower Dive is on the way this week, where i'll get to bicker with my main man, Pan, about all things League. thanks for reading, and i'll see you on the rift!
Cheers!
-Hooks
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