Week 3 NA LCS Power Rankings

After a Hazy Week 2, Week 3 Clarifies Things a Bit

So, due in large part to erratic play, I realized the inaccuracy of gauging each teams' progress following a single weekend of games. For this reason, I decided to make a these power rankings a bi-weekly occurrence, versus weekly. Of course, this may be subject to change depending on what transpires from here on out. But, without further ado, here is my estimation of how each NA LCS team stacks up after three weeks of play. 

1. Counter Logic Gaming --- (5-1, 13-9) T-1st

Despite taking their first loss of the split to rival TSM, whom they have yet to defeat in a set this year, Counter Logic Gaming retains the number-one spot. It is with far less confidence, however, that I can claim them to be the best team in the region to this point. Since a 2-0 Week 1, all four of CLG's matches have went to a third game, exposing some of the team's weaknesses. At the same time, however, CLG was able to to close out three of the four deciding matches in convincing fashion, the sole exception being the loss to TSM. Interestingly enough, that loss may have included their most impressive game of the season, a 20-7, 38-minute dismantling of TSM in the opening game. Despite Stixxay going a perfect 5/0/10 on Varus and continuing to make his claim as the top ADC, the story of this game was Huhi and his mid-lane Fiora. We've seen Fiora adopted worldwide as a top-lane counter-pick to the new Galio, but Fiora mid? Well, based on the draft, CLG seemed determined to pick Fiora the moment they saw Galio, and have her follow The Colossus wherever he may go. It also seemed like a premeditated and polished strategy, as Huhi's Fiora mechanics were precise and timely. He finished 5/3/1, including this double kill that broke the game open for CLG.

While Huhi continues to surprise with his champion pool, Dardoch seems to be finding his place as a supportive, team-oriented jungler for CLG. In the team's two decisive games last week, he combined to go 4/6/28 on Gragas and Lee Sin, making crucial plays at critical junctures. Those 28 assists give him 138 on the split, putting him a comfortable 20 ahead of Xmithie for the league lead among junglers. In fact, CLG players hold four of the top eight spots when it comes to exist, including league-leader Aphromoo with 159.

Week 4 Opponents: IMT, NV

2. Team Dignitas ↑2 (5-1, 11-6) T-1st

It's official, the new and improved Team Dignitas is the real deal, and is prepared to make serious noise this split. Most will point to star top-laner Ssumday as the catalyst for the team's early success, and for good reason. Ssumday leads all top-laners in KDA (4.8) and kill participation (70%), and is second in assists (102). He has also demonstrated the ability to play whatever the team needs with his notoriously vast champion pool. In the decisive third game against Phoenix1, he went 3/1/14  as Shen with some well-timed ultimates, and even picked up a Knight's Vow to help keep his carries alive. He has not been hesitant to go carry-mode himself, combining for a perfect 3-0 record and a 13.5 KDA on Fiora.

Shrimp has made an immediate impact for DIG

While Ssumday provides the star power, Byeong-Hoon "Shrimp" Lee's reintegration to the lineup has sparked this team as well. While it appears perplexing to bench the jungler with the highest KDA in the league (5.4), it appears that is what Dignitas has done for the time being, opting for Shrimp in five of the team's six games this past weekend. Shrimp has proven to be no slouch himself, as he sits second in the entire league in kill participation (79.1%) and third in kills (42) among junglers, despite having only played 11 games. He has found particular success on the Blind Monk, posting a 6.1 KDA and a perfect 5-0 record with Lee Sin. Dignitas may just have two of the league's best junglers on their roster at the moment and, for now, seem to be taking the approach that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


Week 4 Opponents: IMT, C9

3. Immortals ↓1 (5-1, 9-6) T-1st

After being one of only three teams to open the season 2-0, Immortals opened Week 2 with a somewhat pitiful performance against Team Envy, in which they went down in consecutive games, neither of which eclipsed 35 minutes. What did both of these games have in common? Top-laner Flame on Galio, which appears to be a strong pick for some, and not so much for others. After going a combined 1/5/5 in his only two games of the season on the champion, the team decided on a return to comfort and dominance, which meant a heavy dose of Renekton for the star top-laner, a champion he is 4-1 on this split. He also broke out his Jarvan IV, going 6/0/8 and forcing a game 3 against Cloud 9, a series which Immortals went on to win.
In the same game, ADC Cody Sun debuted his Tristana to the tune of 5/1/9 (14 KDA). In the deciding game, he registered his first win on Xayah, finishing 6/2/4, including a triple kill in the game-winning fight. As teams continue to ban out his favorite champion, Caitlyn, Cody will have to find comfort on different picks in order for this team to succeed. So far, he has been able to do that, as the team holds a share of first place at 5-1. They face a massive test this weekend, however, as they prepare to play the other top teams in the league, CLG and Team Dignitas.

Week 2 Opponents: CLG, DIG

4. Team SoloMid ↓1 (4-2, 9-5) 4th

Despite sitting in fourth place, TeamSoloMid currently has as much momentum as any team in the league. They entered a Week Two showdown with rival CLG at 1-3, with their season hanging in the balance. After being routed in game one, the defending champions found themselves with their backs against the wall, a loss from falling to to a 1-4 record. They responded adequately, putting together perhaps their most impressive performance of the season in game two, orchestrated by Svenskeren's 13/0/12 Lee Sin. One would have to expect teams to begin banning out Sven's trademark champion, or at the very least taking it away. The TSM jungler is 6-1 on the champion this season, with a 4.8 KDA. On all other junglers? He is 3-4 with a KDA less than 3. Including the comeback win against CLG, TSM has reeled of six consecutive game victories. In none of those games has Hauntzer played his underwhelming split-push Kennen, but he has instead returned to comfort in the form of Gragas and Renekton. He is finally starting to look like the player we saw in the spring split, and TSM is finally looking like the dominant team we saw last summer. Expect them to rise in both the power rankings and standings in the weeks to come.

5. Cloud 9 ↑1 (3-3, 8-5) T-5th

Judging by their perfect Week 2, one might assume Cloud 9 is back on track to being the perennial top team they have been. Upon further review, however, Cloud 9 has been far from clean or precise, even in the games they have won. Take their Week 2 victories, one being over the hapless Phoenix1, and the other being virtually gift-wrapped to them time and time again by Echo Fox. In Week 3, they opened with a strong win against Immortals, before dropping the next two against them to lose the series. In these two losses, Impact, who has had an utterly miserable start to the split, combined to 10 times without picking up a single kill. Surprisingly, they stuck with him next series for a fairly convincing victory over FlyQuest. C9 needs to figure out which top-laner the team operates best with, and fast. 

The Summer Split has been the Jensen show thus far

 Regardless of who C9 plays in top-lane, they can find comfort in the fact that they may just have the league's current best player patrolling the mid-lane for them. Even in the loss to Immortals, Jensen combined to go 24/3/11, include a 7/0/7 performance on LeBlanc. He followed that up by going a combined 16/1/12 in the team's sweep of FlyQuest. Jensen is making a claim for the best player in the league, as he is the leader in both KDA (6.8) and kills (82) thus far. If C9 wants to progress as a team, however, it cannot just be the Jensen and Sneaky show. Their early games will also have to improve.

Week 4 Opponents: TL, DIG

6. Team Envy ↑2 (3-3, 6-9) T-5th

If judged strictly on their Week 2 performance, Team Envy might be a top three or four team. They made quick work of Immortals in two 33-minute victories, which were some of the cleanest and well-thought out games we have seen from any team this split. To follow that up, they clutched out a game 3 victory over Team Liquid, finishing off a perfect week and putting them at 3-1 and in a share for first. Week 3 was a different story entirely. Team Envy did not win a single game, swept by Echo Fox and TSM respectively. Most inconsistent team in the league thus far? I think so.

Week 4 Opponents: CLG, FLY

7. Echo Fox ↓2 (3-3, 8-5) T-5th

After a 2-0 start, Echo Fox has come down to earth and then some, losing three of their past four sets. Their most demoralizing loss came in Week 2 against Cloud 9, a team most expected them to lose to. Fox came out looking to trump that assumption, and dominated Cloud 9 for much of the game. Froggen was incredibly sharp on LeBlanc, able to snowball his early advantage and pick off C9 members with relative ease. The result? Three inhibitors down and a 7.5 K gold lead at 49 minutes. In competitive play, this means near certain victory. From there, however, Fox panicked, failing to take the proper steps and put down the correct vision to effectively end the game. Instead, they repeatedly hurdled themselves headlong into the nexus, hoping and praying it would fall. It never did, and Jensen's Cassiopeia out-scaled everyone for a 61-minute C9 win. By game's end, Fox had taken down 10 turrets to C9's eight, and six inhibitors to just one on the side of C9. Perhaps harping on their mistakes from that first match, Fox managed to throw a 4.4 K gold lead in the second game, with an ill-advised Baron attempt. So in a series they easily could have swept, Fox was instead swept by C9, putting the finishing touches on an 0-2 weekend. While it left me wondering where the leadership was on this team, one must also consider that Grig was playing in place of Akaadian in the jungle. With Akaadian back in the lineup in Week 3, Fox was able to sweep Team Envy, as well as push a top team, Dignitas, to a third game. I am still very much in a wait-and-see mode with this team.

Week 4 Opponents: TSM, NV

8. FlyQuest ↑1 (1-5, 5-12) T-8th

Both at 1-5, FlyQuest and Team Liquid are rather difficult to differentiate between. In the end, I gave the edge to FlyQuest because of their ability to repeatedly push teams to decisive game threes. That being said, FLY has yet to win a game three this split, and their only victory came in a sweep of winless Phoenix1. We did see a glimpse of vintage WildTurtle on Caitlyn, as he was able to carry his team to a game 2 win over CLG. The success was short-lived, however, as Stixxay snagged away the Caitlyn in game 3, and CLG put the hammer down in a convincing victory. I don't see FLY being anything more than a middle of the pack team, at best, this split.

Week 4 Opponents: TSM, NV

9. Team Liquid ↑1 (0-2, 0-4) T-8th

Team Liquid was finally able to pick up a win by using their old standby: put Piglet on Caitlyn. The former world-champion chose the Sheriff of Piltover in all three games against

Team Dignitas, combining to go 14/5/13 in the team's two victories. His performance in game three was vintage, accounting for nearly a third of his team's total damage to champions. Don't be fooled, despite playing on a bad team, Piglet is still a top AD carry. He is the only Team Liquid player not in the bottom 20 of the league in terms of KDA. He also matches Sneaky with the least deaths (27) among AD carries, which is shocking considering he plays on a team that is nearly always trailing. Piglet's kill participation (73.2%) is also tops at his position, demonstrating that when TL makes plays, he is part of them. This team simply does not have enough talent around him to compete. 

Week 4 Opponents: C9, P1

10. Phoenix1 ↓3 (0-6, 4-12) 10th

It is truly an anomaly how far Phoenix1 has fallen this split, as they shockingly sit winless at 0-6 so far. In Week 2, they were swept by both C9 and FlyQuest to fall to 0-4. In Week 3, they pushed their opponents to game threes, only to fall despite holding significant early gold leads. The most crushing defeat was the most recent one, a 43-minute game 3 loss to CLG. The defending MVP, Arrow, showed up in this game, going 8/2/6 as Twitch, and dealing by far the game's highest damage. Even newcomer MikeYeung played tremendously well, going 6/1/8 on Lee Sin, including some crucial kicks and flashy plays. In the end, it wasn't enough, and it is clear there is something inherently wrong with this team. Perhaps it is the inconsistency at jungle, as this is the only squad to have played three separate players at jungle this season. Whatever it may be, I, strangely enough, still believe in the ability on this team, and expect them to make a push. Unfortunately, they've dug themselves too deep a hole to even sniff playoffs. 

Week 4 Opponents: Fox, TL

NA LCS Summer 2017 Week One Recap/Power Rankings

A Very "NA" Opening Weekend

After another uninspiring performance on the international stage at MSI, North America once again appears to be in the doldrums of worldwide League of Legends competition. The region did nothing to curtail that perception in its opening weekend of the split, which was defined much more by mistakes and sloppiness than clean, cohesive play. No team seems to have separated itself from the pack. In fact, much of what was thought heading into the season appears erroneous after one week, albeit a minuscule sample size. So what did we learn from Week One? In short, not a great deal. 

1. Counter Logic Gaming (2-0, 3-1) T-1st

With the acquisition of Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, CLG was expected to vie for at least top-three spot  by the end of this split. Their position atop my power rankings after a single week, however, is due more to other team's shortcomings than their triumphs. That being said, they were the most impressive team from Week One, though not necessarily for the reasons one may think. Dardoch played poorly, to put it kindly, in his debut with CLG, overstepping at times and appearing timid in others. As he integrates himself into an already-established team, growing pains are to be expected. So although Dardoch did not play up to his potential, I wouldn't worry about him just yet. What did propel CLG to a fast start was their reliable and stable bottom lane. The team's AD carry Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes expressed confidence a day before the split started, posting on his Twitter account, "If you aren't starting me in your fantasy league, you're trolling." A day later, he backed up his bravado against the second-place spring finishing team Cloud 9. After a game one loss, Stixxay debuted Xayah, the game's newest marksman, and went a perfect 6/0/12 including a quick first blood. He followed that up with a 5/1/8 performance on Caitlyn, and an opening night victory. Through two matches, Stixxay's KDA of 8.8 ranks first among AD carries, and third in the entire league. His lane partner, Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black has demonstrated stellar play as well, seemingly having adapted very well to the recent changes, and effecting the entire map. Here is his most notable highlight play from the weekend.

In addition to his play-making and shot-calling, Aphromoo's leadership and guidance could prove beneficial to Dardoch, who has well-documented composure issues. As far as Huhi in the mid-lane and Darshan in top, comfort is the name of the game. Three times Darshan has played Gragas this season. Despite a less than sterling 4.5 KDA on the rabble rouser, his impact has been significant at times, delivering key plays when his team needs them most. Huhi, meanwhile, after looking nothing short of ugly on Taliyah, opted for comfort in his next games, going for Syndra, Ahri, and his infamous Aurelion Sol. Huhi, as he always seems to do with Sol, took over the deciding game against C9, finishing 7/0/10 and accounting for 40% of his team's total damage. The performance has already incited the return of Aurelion Sol bans against CLG, so expect those to continue for the rest of the split. I would also expect this team to have one of the highest ceilings of any team this summer, so look for them to improve drastically as the split goes on.

Week 2 Opponents: Echo Fox, TSM.

2. Immortals (2-0, 3-1) T-1st

Wasn't the departure of Dardoch supposed to bruise the chances of Immortals this split? Apparently they didn't get the memo, storming out of the gate with impressive victories over two of the top three teams from last split (Phoenix1 and TSM). In fact, the only thing keeping Immortals out of the top spot is the need to temper expectations a bit, considering this team missed playoffs in the spring. In the summer, however, it may be possible that the league's two best players thus far reside on the same team, Flame and Pobelter. Veteran top-laner Lee "Flame" Ho-Jong appears to have returned to prime form, a development that is sure to make his biggest fanboy, E-sports historian Duncan "Thorin" Shields, just giddy. Shields has always raved about Flame's abilities, and for the first time on the North American stage, he is dominating. His perplexing first game of the split on Jarvan IV, where he appeared completely disjointed with his team, seems a distant memory. Since then, he has gone 2-0 on both Shen and Renekton, posting a 23.0 and 21.0 KDA on these champions respectively, and leading his team to four straight wins. In fact, Flame's KDA of 11.8 is easily first in the league, just ahead of his teammate, Eugene "Pobelter" Park. Pobelter has always been perceived as a being one to sit mid and farm for team fights, but seems to have taken his game to another level this season. He leads the league in kills (26), finding all of his success on mages, including a dazzling 9/1/4 performance on Orianna in the deciding game against P1. In two convincing victories over Team SoloMid, he thoroughly outplayed his counterpart Bjergsen, who is widely regarded as the best mid-laner in the league. And while Cody Sun and Olleh (0/0/12 as Karma in closeout of TSM) continue to improve as a bot-lane tandem, it cannot be understated the impact Jake "Xmithie" Puchero has already had in the Immortals jungle.

Xmithie is already making his presence felt on Immortals

The former CLG jungler joined Immortals this split, and may have been just what the doctor ordered for this squad. While Xmithie's numbers don't jump off the screen this split, his control of the game and map awareness do. Throughout the weekend, he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time for his team, controlling the vision and pace while making plays when necessary.  His 42 assists ranks first among junglers so far, and trails only teammate Olleh and Aphromoo overall. So Immortals' impressive start begs the question: Who got the better end of the Xmithie for Dardoch "trade", CLG or Immortals? That remains to be seen.

Week 2 Opponents: Team Envy, FlyQuest

3. Team SoloMid (1-1, 2-2) T-5th

If judged solely on their opening performance against Cloud 9, TSM might just hold the number one spot on this list. They handily and confidently took down C9 in the first game, while capitalizing on their mistakes in the second to capture a a somewhat easy sweep. All systems go, right? With Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng returning to the lineup after a hiatus, the team would surely return to it's dominant 2016 summer form and go 17-1, right? Well, Immortals had other ideas. They were quicker to the punch in almost every instance, punishing TSM at every turn and looking like the more polished, cohesive team. Perhaps hubris was involved, as TSM continued to take fights and skirmishes in the wrong spots and in disadvantageous situations. This appeared most true for blooming star top-laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell. Despite being regarded as one of the premier top-laners headed in, Hauntzer has had an utterly abysmal start to the summer split. He has made numerous questionable plays, including being taunted under tower by a a Shen with level advantage, which ultimately resulted in a routine kill. Hauntzer's KDA (1.6) is second-worst among top laners, and his kill participation is under 50%. After such a rapid improvement over the past two splits, Hauntzer appears to be regressing as a player, and needs to re-focus himself. Don't tell me you're going to be the best top-laner in the world, show me. 

TSM will look to it's leader to bounce back

With all of that being said, TSM still has Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, who remains the best mid-laner in the league, period. Despite his mediocre KDA (4.0), Bjergsen holds the second highest kill participation among mid-laners, which at least shows that he is working well with his team. As TSM's leader and primary shot-caller, Bjergsen will have to be better in Week Two, and he undoubtedly will be. Perhaps the key is to discard the Galio pick and revert back to high damage mages and playmakers. On Galio, Bjergsen is 0-2 with a measly 1.6 KDA. On all other champions? 2-0 with a KDA of 8.0. 

Week 2 Opponents: Team Dignitas, CLG

4. Team Dignitas (2-0, 4-1) T-1st

It was very difficult to separate Team Dignitas from Echo Fox, considering both teams are off to 2-0 starts against the bottom-feeders of the league. In the end, I gave Dignitas the edge because of the more timely, less chaotic way they were able to close out their games, along with the superior potential of their roster. Because of their unceremonious 0-3 exit to P1 in last split's playoffs, some people might forget the amount of hype around this team coming into the spring. The additions of LCK stars Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho and Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun seemed certain to catapult this team to a top three or four finish. While this was not the case in the spring, one must consider that this was a newly constructed team with two Korean speakers and a thick language barrier. These things often take a significant amount of time to pan out. This split, Ssumday is playing like the superstar he has been in the past, leading the entire league in both CS/Min (9.6) and kill participation (73.8%). This included a Lucian top game in which he went 7/1/8 and led his team in damage dealt to champions. After beating the bottom two teams in the league, Team Dignitas will have a much more difficult test when they take on TSM this weekend.

Week 2 Opponents: TSM, Team Liquid

5. Echo Fox (2-0, 4-0) T-1st

Who would have guessed that, after one week of play, Echo Fox would be the only NA LCS team yet to drop a single game. The catalyst for the team's early success? Their unquestioned leader, Henrik "Froggen" Hansen. One can't help but respect Froggen for what he has endured in his time on Echo Fox, surrounded by bad teams and finishing near the bottom of the standings despite top-level play. He has been every bit as good as mid-laners like Bjergsen or Jensen, but hasn't gotten the notoriety due to his team's struggles. This split, however, Echo Fox is off to a fast start and Froggen is the obvious reason why. How's this for a stat? Froggen has led his team (by a wide margin) in damage dealt to champions in all four victories on the young season. He stayed humble yet confident in a post-game interview, yet the question remains whether Fox will have enough around him to compete when competition stiffens up in the coming weeks.

Week 2 Opponents: CLG, Cloud 9

6. Cloud 9 (0-2, 1-3) T-7th

Cloud 9 clings to the number six spot almost purely on merit. In Week One, they looked like an entitled team, expecting to win based on their success the previous split, rather than earning it on the rift. Somehow, after being spotted a several thousand gold lead and a free infernal drake after the flukiest steal most of us have ever seen (See here), Cloud 9 managed to make nothing happen and choke up a pivotal game three against CLG. C9 was drastically outmaneuvered around the map, seemingly always on the back foot to CLG's proactive play. While I despise the split-pushing attack speed Kennen as it is, Ray made it look worse than I ever could have imagined, making no impact whatsoever on the game. Contractz made his share of mistakes as well, with ill-advised dives on Kha-Zix, and less than stellar coordination with his team. This game three loss on opening night seemed to snowball into Saturday, where a potentially tilted C9 threw game two against TSM with a highly ambitious Baron Nashor attempt. C9 looks like a discombobulated team thus far, a team without an identity.

Is it time already to bring in Impact?

Fortunately for Cloud 9, they have an ace-in-the-hole in the form of world-champion Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong on their bench. I would be absolutely shocked not to see him in the starting lineup this coming weekend, as C9 looks for a quick fix to their struggles. While it is easy to point at one player as the reason for a team's issues, top-laner Ray is likely to be the scapegoat, and for good reason. His highly-aggressive, individual, "solo-queue" style of play is a detriment to the team, and simply does not fit in with how they would actually like to succeed. On top of that, his stats are horrendous, posting just four kills in as many games and sporting a putrid 1.7 KDA. That is not a superstar player. Cloud 9 does still have Sneaky, Jensen, and Smoothie, all of whom lead their respective positions in kill participation, and are all within the top four in that category. If Impact returns to the lineup, everything else will likely fall into place, and Cloud 9 will be just fine.

Week 2 Opponents: Phoenix1, Echo Fox

7. Phoenix1 (0-2, 2-4) T-7th

Similarly to Cloud 9, Phoenix1 is ranked this high based on past performance, rather than what we have witnessed so far this split. After a third-place finish in both the spring regular season and playoffs, much was expected of P1 this summer. They even had the spring MVP No "Arrow" Dong-Hyeon, although I thought it should have been TSM's Bjergsen. Arrow has not played like an MVP thus far, posting a KDA of just 3.2, which is 32nd in the league. Performing even worse is the team's other star, mid-laner Yoo "Ryu" Sang-ook. After a tremendous debut split in the NA LCS, Ryu is off to a disastrous start this season. If we don't include Team Liquid mid-laners, he ranks last at his position in KDA (1.7), and second-to-last in kill participation (62.3%). He also needs to play more careful, as Ryu's 23 deaths are the most in the entire league thus far. With P1's stars playing so poorly, it is no wonder that they sit at the bottom of the standings. What is even more concerning, however, is the fact that they have opened the season with back-to-back game three losses in chaotic, heartbreaking fashion to what are perceived as inferior opponents.

Week 2 Opponents: Cloud 9, FlyQuest 

8. Team Envy (1-1, 2-4) T-7th

Coming straight out of the promotion tournament last split, Team Envy is a great story so far at 1-1

this season. Both of their series have gone to game three, and both ended in dramatic fashion. After a 50-plus minute loss in the deciding game against Dignitas, Envy bounced back to upset Phoenix1 the very next day. They led P1 for nearly the entirety of game three, capturing nine towers at game's end to only one for the opponent. Even then, it took backdoor heroics from Seraph's Jayce to finally finish the game off. Despite Seraph's heroics, it is clearly Nam "Lira" Tae-yoo who makes this team go, just as he did all of last split. In the two victories over P1, Lira went a combined 7/1/10 on Nidalee and his trademark Lee Sin. In fact, Lira is the only jungler who still seems to be using Nidalee to great effectiveness. Similarly to Dignitas and Echo Fox, we are in wait and see mode concerning Team Envy, but the decent start is certainly encouraging.

Week 2 Opponents: Immortals, Team Liquid

9. FlyQuest (0-2, 0-4) T-7th

After what was probably an over-performance in their first split in the NA LCS, FlyQuest have come back down to earth and then some. The only change to what was a top-four team in the spring was replacing veteran AD carry Altec with another veteran AD carry WildTurtle, two players that seemed somewhat comparable in skill. Surely the team would not be heavily impacted by one roster change. Well, thus far, FlyQuest has not been the group of savvy veterans that took the league by storm last split, but instead has been the most disappointing team in the first week. While the entire team has played poorly, the performance of the former Cloud 9 solo laners and NA LCS champions has been the most troubling. Balls has been the worst top-laner in the league through one week, posting a KDA of just 1.5, and participating in just 45% of his team's kills. Hai is not far above him at 2.0, with the second-lowest CS/Min (7.5) among all mid-laners. While the entire team has looked suspect, it is primarily up to these two to step up their games, especially considering the vital roles they played in FlyQuest's early success last split.

Week 2 Opponents: Immortals, Phoenix1

10. Team Liquid (0-2, 0-4) T-7th

No team has looked worst than Team Liquid one week into the season. A once successful and

competitive franchise, they looked absolutely lost in Week One. While the glaring weakness resides in the mid-lane, it is astonishing how far Kim "Reignover" Yeu-Jin has fallen. Only a year removed from leading Immortals to a nearly undefeated split and being named NA LCS MVP, Reignover is struggling mightily on a bad Liquid team. In fact, his KDA of 0.7 ranks dead last in the entire league, along with his kill participation of 43.5%. Liquid's games have not even been competitive, as they have lost the turret count by a whopping 40 to 8 in four games. What's more is that they have yet to capture a single inhibitor in these four ugly losses. If Team Liquid's trajectory continues in this downward spiral, the question becomes what happens to AD carry Chae "Piglet" Gwang-Jin. A proud player and a former world champion, Piglet cannot be pleased with what has transpired on Team Liquid, and could be looking to go elsewhere sooner rather than later. 

Week 2 Opponents: Team Envy, Team Dignitas

NA LCS Week 2 Recap

Standings                                                               KDA Leaders                                                  Kills Leaders                

1. TSM 4-0 (8-1)                                                    1. BunnyFuFuu (C9) 12.3                                1. Jensen (C9) 69

2. Team Envy 4-0 (8-2)                                          2. LOD (NV) 10.1                                             2. Sneaky (C9) 55

3. Cloud 9 3-1 (7-4)                                               3. Meteos (C9) 9.7                                           2. Doublelift (TSM) 53

4. Immortals 3-1 (7-4)                                            4. Sneaky (C9) 9.4                                           2. Huni (IMT) 49

5. Apex 2-2 (5-6)                                                   5. Bjergsen (TSM) 7.8                                      5. Pobelter (IMT) 41

6. Echo Fox 1-3 (5-6)                                            6. Doublelift (TSM) 6.8                                      6. Ray (APX) 37

7. Team Liquid 1-3 (3-6)                                         7. Biofrost (TSM) 6.7                                        7. GBM (NRG) 36

8. NRG 1-3 (4-7)                                                    8. Hauntzer (TSM) 6.6                                      8. LOD (NV) 36

9. CLG 1-3 (3-7)                                                     8. Santorin (NRG) 5.7                                       8. Stixxay (CLG) 36

10. Phoenix1 0-4 (1-8)                                          10. Impact (C9) 5.4                                           10. 2 Tied at 33

Best-of-Threes: Working as Intended

Best-of-threes have brought a great deal of excitement to the NA LCS

          The implementation of best-of-three series into the NA LCS was a no-brainer and, quite frankly, should have happened sooner. This past weekend, we saw the depth and flexibility the new system allows, as exactly half (5) of the series went to a decisive third game. Often times, the results of the games were radically contrasting, as each teams' endurance, versatility, and ability to adapt on the fly was put to the test. How different would Week 2 look had these teams been playing just isolated matches? Well, Immortals would have not have the opportunity to ban out Ohq's Twitch that terrorized them in their first match-up, and in turn would have fallen to a winless NRG team. Counter Logic Gaming would be 0-4, now having lost the opening match of every single series. And TSM would look like invincible world-beaters, throttling Immortals in Game 1 before finally showing some vulnerabilities in Games 2 and 3.
          The Eastern League of Legends regions have been playing best-of series for quite some time. The advantages are quite apparent, and are already on display just two weeks after adoption into the LCS regions (Europe plays best-of-two). Not only only does it force teams to be multi-dimensional and better prepared, but it also places more pressure on a coaching staff to adapt. In addition, this is a similiar format  to the best-of-fives that teams can expect to see in a playoff scenario, making them more aptly prepared for such a situation. With nine weeks and two series per week, a team can play up to 54 total matches this season, well over twice the amount from the 2016 Spring Split. While no team is likely to actually play that many games, they will still be playing more than ever before in the LCS. With a greater sample size, we achieve more reliable results. When it's all said and done, the cream will rise to the top.

Cloud 9 Ascending

No one had a better weekend than Michael "BunnyFuFuu" Kurylo

          It is never an organization flying under the radar, but watch out for Cloud 9 in the coming weeks. After dropping it's opener in a tight set with Immortals, Cloud 9 has rebounded to win its next three series in rather convincing fashion. The players claim that the new lineup's communication is steadily improving each and every week, an assertion that has translated to the Rift. In a 2-0 weekend, Cloud 9 steamrolled Phoenix1 in a Game 3, then went on to sweep Counter Logic Gaming cleanly. What a win over CLG is worth these days is debatable, but we'll get to them later.
          For me, it quite literally begins with the re-insertion of William "Meteos" Hartman into the starting lineup. Cloud 9 has played 11 games this season, and Meteos has either killed or assisted on first blood in nine of them (82%). Straying away from his old "farm until six" style, Meteos's early pressure, particularly on Rek'Sai, has given his team a jump on the competition. By purchasing an early Sighstone, he usually converts that early advantage into vision, allowing his team to press further. After nearly a year away from competitive play, rust and an adjustment period was to be expected. This has not been the case, however, as Meteos leads all junglers in KDA (9.7) and assists (101).
          Meteos is not the only C9 member filling the stat sheet, as mid-laner Jensen and AD carry Sneaky are first and second in the league in kills, with 69 and 55 respectively. While these are a bit skewed considering C9 has played more games (11) than any other team besides Immortals, it still is a number worth noting. With two of the premier carries in the league, it demonstrates that C9 is managing to put it's gold in the right hands, and they are delivering. Not only that, but both players also reside in the top four in CS per minute. Jensen is in second with 9.6 and Sneaky tied for third with 9.0. While the mid-laner and AD carry rack up kills, the rest of the team accumulates assists. 
          While it is difficult to consider a former world-champion a supportive player, that's exactly what Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong has been for Cloud 9 this season. Since winning the 2014 World Championship with SK Telecom T1, Impact has been a part of several mediocre teams (Impulse and NRG), only to fade from prominence. Following a disappointing finish to the Spring Split, C9 acquired Impact to replace veteran top-laner Balls. The transition was not seamless, as Impact found himself floundering in the front-line and making questionable teleport decisions early in the first week of the season. As communication has improved, however, he has become a big-time initiator and tank for his team. Winning four of six games and boasting a 7.20 KDA on the champion, Maokai has emerged as Impact's most reliable pick, and something other teams might look to take away from him in the future. 
          Amidst all the big names and kill statistics, Cloud 9's most integral member might be a part-time player, Michael "BunnyFuFuu" Kurylo. Despite sharing time at the support role with Smoothie, it seems inevitable that Bunny will be named a starter for C9. When in the lineup, he ignites the team with decisive and aggressive play-making capabilities, which the team lacks in his absence. The results don't lie: C9 has won five of it's six games with Bunny at support, while actually posting a losing record (2-3) with Smoothie. While Smoothie did have a tremendous performance with Nami (0/2/18) in the closeout game of CLG, the team functions significantly better with Bunny in the lineup. With him, they defeated CLG in about seven less minutes (34:42) than with Smoothie (41:23).           
          This is no slight to Smoothie, as BunnyFuFuu is simply playing as well, if not better, than any support in the league right now. In fact, following his amazing weekend, he sits alone atop the NA LCS leaderboard in KDA, with a mark of 12.3. The next highest is LOD of NV at 10.1. But the stats don't do the man justice, as C9 looks like an entirely different team with him in the lineup. In addition to his signature Thresh, Bunny is emerging as one of the best Bard players in North America, constantly forcing this issue, especially when his team is ahead. C9 has found tremendous success on the combination of Bard and Sivir, champions that allow them to quickly rotate around the map and pick off opponents in the blink of an eye. With Meteos effectively controlling vision in the jungle, the difficulties are further exacerbating for opposing teams. Opponents, however, are already beginning to key in on this niche for C9, taking away champions and forcing them to expound on leads in different ways. As a group of highly skilled and versatile players, they are undoubtedly capable, and will only develop more as the season progresses. A huge test approaches this Friday, as Cloud 9 takes on TSM for the first time this season, seeking to prove that they can compete with the region's first-place team. 

Echo Fox Seeking Answers

Froggen is regarded as Echo Fox's best player, but the team is struggling

          On the strength of a late-season push, Echo Fox finished the 2016 Spring Split at 6-12, barely avoiding relegation and securing a spot in the summer lineup. The momentum carried into the current split, where Echo Fox began the season with a 2-0 sweep of Phoenix1 in it's opening series. Froggen utterly dominated the series, following an 8/1/9 Viktor performance with a 3/1/5 showing on Swain. Since then, however, the team has lost three consecutive series, including back-to-back sweeps in Week 2. 
          An identical lineup to the one that had developed some cohesion last split now appears to be faltering, particularly in late-game situations. Despite going 0-4 over the weekend, three of Fox's four games hit the forty-minute mark, where the team had every opportunity to win. The one that did not go that distance was Game 2 versus NRG, where veteran top-laner Quas debuted Illaoi in the NA LCS to resounding success.While Quas did demonstrate proficiency on the champion, it seemed a foreign entity to Fox, and one the team simply could not deal with. In a feeble effort, they fell in just under 33 minutes by a kill count of just 2-7. Froggen farmed spectacularly as always (leading the game with 301 CS), but there just wasn't any sort of initiative taken on the side of Fox. For example, Hard finished the contest 0/0/0 on his jungle Graves, and dealt just 4,800 worth in damage. Maybe he's looking to preserve his KDA, but if you're going to go down, at least go down swinging.
          This has been a theme this season, as Hard's kill participation (57.3%) is last among junglers having played at least eight games. For what it's worth, he has posted the highest KDA (3.9) on the team this season, while KFO is having an absolutely abysmal time in the top-lane. With a KDA of 1.6, KFO trails every NA LCS player whose name does not begin with P1. He is contributing on only 50% of his team's kills, which is dead last in the league by a wide margin. KFO made a name for himself last split as a prominent split-pusher as Fiora. In one Fiora game this season, however, he went just 1/5/3 and made a myriad of bad decisions. If he doesn't step up his play and the losing continues, don't be surprised to see Echo Fox go in a different direction.
          Of course, the bottom-lane is not without it's own issues, as Keith and Big have been on completely different wavelengths thus far this season. After a brief stint on TSM propelled him into the LCS, Keith emerged as a serviceable AD Carry this spring. Thus far this summer, however, his 17 kills trails only P1's Mash among AD carries in North America. At 2.2 and 2.3 respectively, both Keith and Big are in the bottom 15 of the entire league in KDA. Despite repeatedly going back to Braum, Big has had some truly questionable performances on the champion. Some of his ultimates have been ill-advised and confusing, and he also often overestimates the champion's tankiness. Frankly, Echo Fox is a mess, whose only win-condition appears to be Froggen completely taking over a game. 

Struggles Continue for Counter Logic Gaming

Facing adversity, CLG looks to its leader, Aphromoo

          Is it time to panic yet? Counter Logic Gaming, defending NA LCS champions and MSI runners-up have started the season 1-3, including two series sweeps. The same roster that took a game off SK Telecom (first NA team to do so) is struggling against regional competition. Yet, all that being said, I do not believe it is time to panic.
          During a champion select phase, one commentator stated that CLG picks specifically around it's style, and in a way that might be confusing to other teams in any given meta. In the ensuing game, CLG played one of its cleanest contests of the split, cruising past Team Liquid in just over 30 minutes, by a kill count of 17-6, to secure its first series victory. In this game, we saw the defending champs. We saw the runners-up at MSI that captivated everyone with their exciting style. Sometimes, you just need to revert to what works for you, and CLG did just that in the final two games of this series. In two straight games on Caitlyn, arguably his best champion, Stixxay went a combined 11/2/10 Darshan, meanwhile, broke out his fabled split-pushing Jax to the tune of 7/0/2 in Game 2 of the series (expect to see a lot more Jax with the buffs to Trinity Force). The team's leader, Aphromoo, pushed the go-button with some amazing proactive Alistar play, racking up 22 assists in two games on the champion. For the first time all split, CLG looked like CLG, and appeared poised to make a push up the standings. 
          The very next day, however, CLG drifted away from these comfort picks, and was, in turn, swept by Cloud 9. Darshan once again picked Swain in the top-lane, only to fall to 0-2 on the champion with a KDA under one. Darshan, stop playing Swain. It might be a prominent and powerful choice at the moment, but it simply is not working for the team. With both Caitlyn and Alistar on the table, Stixxay and Aphromoo passed on their best champions (only ones with winning records this split) and instead aimed to pick against Cloud 9, taking away Sivir and Braum. Eventually, CLG's members will realize that they don't have to conform to what is "meta" or what is regarded as good. They are too smart not to. CLG simply has to get back into it's own game, and I fully expect this squad to do so. 

NA LCS Week 1 Recap

Standings                                                               KDA Leaders                                                  Kills Leaders                

1. TSM 2-0 (4-0)                                                     1. LOD (NV) 15.7                                             1. Jensen (C9) 32

2. Apex 2-0 (4-1)                                                    2. Hauntzer (TSM) 11.0                                   2. Doublelift (TSM) 24

3. Immortals 2-0 (4-1)                                            3. Meteos (C9) 10.0                                         2. Huni (IMT) 24

4. Team Envy 2-0 (4-1)                                           4. BunnyFuFuu (C9) 7.8                                 2. Ray (APX) 24

5. Echo Fox 1-1 (3-2)                                              5. ShrimP (APX) 7.6                                       5. Sneaky (C9) 23

6. Cloud 9 1-1 (3-3)                                                 6. Doublelift (TSM) 7.1                                   6. WildTurtle (IMT) 22

7. CLG 0-2 (1-4)                                                       7. Bjergsen (TSM) 7.0                                    7. Apollo (APX) 20

8. NRG 0-2 (1-4)                                                       8. Adrian (IMT) 6.9                                         8. Huhi (CLG) 18

9. Phoenix1 0-2 (0-4)                                                8. Biofrost (TSM) 6.9                                     8. LOD (NV) 18

10. Team Liquid 0-2 (0-4)                                        10. Apollo (APX) 6.6                                       8. Meteos (C9) 18

The State of the Game

Patch 6.9 Marked the Introduction of the Four Elemental Drakes 

          Since the Mid-Season Invitational, Summoner's Rift has experienced a significant overhaul, most notably on the bottom side of the map. Replacing what was a static and often undervalued Dragon are the four Elemental Drakes, each of which rewards a unique and permanent buff of its own. While there was some skepticism about the randomness at which these jungle bosses spawn, none can argue that the Dragon was in need of some adjustments. With an early game that had become an arms race to knock down turrets and stray from combat, Riot admittedly aimed to put more premium on early game objectives. How much premium? Well, that's up to each team to gauge for themselves. Infernal has established itself as the most coveted drake, purely because of its scaling power and usefulness in any situation. The others, however, have also found relevance in deciding a team's course of action in any given situation. While we still see plenty of lane swapping and turret trading early on, the Elemental Drakes have brought diversity and excitement to the game, which seemed to be the primary mission of the changes. Factors to consider and rewards to weigh have grown exponentially as teams continue to feel out the best avenue to victory. Of course, with so many options, the avenue is not always clear, especially considering it changes based any given situation. That is why this change is so great, because it makes the the ways to destroy the enemy nexus bountiful and perpetually changing. There are so many different ways for teams to win a competitive game of League of Legends. After all, the ends justify the means, right?
          Of course, we can't forget about the love given to the Rift Herald. The buff granted, "Rift of the Void", now grants more base health, armor, attack damage, and magic resistance than previously. Most importantly, it now lasts a full 20 minutes as opposed to just two, and can only be acquired once. I repeat, 20 minutes. The Herald has gone from a nice little consolation prize to an objective that can completely alter the course of the game. Imagine a three-item Trundle snagging that buff and split-pushing for the duration of the game. That is a problem. On a team with one or two Mountain Drakes? A nightmare. With such variance on both sides of Summoner's Rift, decision-making is more paramount than ever before, and the quickest teams to adapt and innovate are most certainly to be the most successful. Here's a look at how each team fared in the first week of summer competition.

The Good

     TeamSoloMid

Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell is having a breakout split thus far for TSM

          Any discussion of who impressed in the first week of the NA LCS Summer Split has to begin with the region's most popular squad: TeamSoloMid. Following what was a tumultuous and rocky Spring Split, TSM came into the first weekend of play as an underdog to Counter Logic Gaming. They swiftly squashed that notion, however, making quick work of CLG, followed by Team Liquid, and escaping the opening weekend as the league's only undefeated team. TSM looked good doing so, outplaying CLG on every front and slowly accumulating leads at every position. Both Bjergsen in the mid-lane (3/0/7) and Svenskeren in the jungle (2/0/5) recorded perfect games in the first victory, but it was the performance of Doublelift that stood out the most. Playing inspired against his former team, Doublelift went 8/1/3 as Lucian, dealing nearly a third of TSM's total damage and some of the signature plays he is known for. Enabling Doublelift to perform so well was the team's new support, Vincent "Biofrost" Wang. A former challenger player, Biofrost's aggression and play-making abilities stood out in the opening weekend. As opposed to Yellowstar, who was a roaming and shot-calling support, Biofrost remained attached at the hip of Doublelift, allowing him to succeed at all costs. His cohesion with the team can only improve going forward. Bjergsen, meanwhile, appears to have returned to form after several lackluster splits. and is making an early case as NA's best player. In four games, he has played four different champions, each of which brings a different style to the mid-lane, and different elements to the team. The team's less anonymous solo laner, Hauntzer, has unquestionably been the league's strongest top laner. Hauntzer has been an absolute monster, recording a 11.0 KDA (2nd) and providing the front-line threat that Doublelift and Bjergsen need. Although teams will have trouble deciding worthy bans against TSM, it would be wise to keep Ekko away from Hauntzer. In two games on the champion, he has combined for a score of 15/1/13 (28 KDA), and has been the team's highest damage dealer in each match.

     Immortals

Will this Split end differently for Immortals?

          After a disappointing third-place finish in the Spring Split, I'd  imagine that no one was more eager to get back on the Rift this summer than Immortals. However, the same problems that reared their ugly head against TSM in the playoffs seemed to resurface for them in the opening weekend. Despite going 2-0 in series, it was anything but clean for Immortals. In his very first game, a low-mana, level 5 Huni decided to tower dive a fairly a healthy Meteos as Ekko. The ensuing play gave first blood to Cloud 9, and put Immortals behind the eight ball. Later on, Immortals made a hasty play for Baron that resulted in a quadra kill for Jensen's Azir and a put C9 in the driver's seat. In the end, Huni's full ability power Ekko, and the rest of Immortals, was able to make just enough plays to squeeze out a game win, and eventually a series win over C9. It was not a cleanly played series from either side, as Cloud 9 lost as much (if not more) than Immortals won. Huni's underwhelming Riven pick was overshadowed by Pobelter quietly carrying on Viktor. In the deciding third game, Pobelter dealt more than a third of his team's total damage (38.5 k), and caught Sneaky sleeping in the pivotal team fight. Even in their second series against Phoenix1, Immortals trailed in kills for much of the first game before their talent and experience ultimately won out. In the second game, we finally saw a vintage performance, as they crushed Phoenix1 in just over 26 minutes. What made Immortals so dominant last split was their full throttle, decisive play-making that forced other teams to play a reactionary style. At the same time, they experienced little to no adversity, and their  hubris often seems to be their ultimate weakness as well. Although they padded the statistics last split, they have just one player (Adrian) in even the top 20 in KDA after one weekend of play. If they hope for a better result this time around, they'll surely have to show a bit more variance than they did last season. They'll definitely be itching to show what they can do in this Sunday's rematch with TSM, the team that bounced them from the playoffs, 3-0, mere months ago.

The Bad

     NRG Esports

GBM will have to step up for NRG to rebound from a tough Week 1

          As a new NA LCS team, NRG Esports began last split by winning it's first three games. with mid-lane star GBM emerging as the Week 1 MVP. The former LCK player was one of the first to find great success on the new Zilean, leading his team to an absolute throttling of TSM in Week 3. The excitement surrounding NRG fizzled, however, as the team seemed to regress throughout the course of the season, eventually being swept by Team Liquid in the first round of the playoffs. In response to the defeat, the organization made several roster changes, bringing on Ohq, Quas, Santorin and KiWiKiD. The revamped roster did not take the league by storm in quite the fashion the former one did, as NRG lost both its first two series of the summer to rookie teams. Their struggles culminated in a 24-5 loss to Apex on Saturday, which completed the two game sweep. Quas struggled mightily in the loss, going just 0/6/2 on Vladimir, who is considered to be one of the game's strongest champions currently. In fact, Quas has had an abysmal start to his NRG career, recording a 1.3 KDA during the opening weekend, better than only Gate of Phoenix1 (1.0 KDA). He can't shoulder all of the blame, however, as no NRG member has a KDA higher than 2.7. GBM, the only remaining player from last split's lineup, posts just a 1.6 KDA, and has struggled to find picks that will work for him thus far. Widely regarded as the team's best player, GBM will have to perform better if the NRG hopes to recover from a rough first weekend. It won't get any easier, however, as Immortals awaits them on the schedule Friday night.

     Team Liquid

With the team struggling, Dardoch has been reinserted to the lineup

          Everything changed when Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett joined the Team Liquid lineup last spring, igniting the team to a strong finish that included wins in 5 of its final 6 matches. He was twice (Week 3, Week 9) the weekly NA MVP, and enabled star Korean players Piglet and Fenix to thrive in their respective positions. Prior to the 2016 Summer Split, however, Team Liquid suspended Dardoch indefinitely for insubordinate behavior, and even toyed with the possibility of moving him to another organization. That all changed when the team seemingly crumbled without him, swept by Team Envy and demolished in the first game against TSM. Apparently, TL had thought it's integral structure would be able to withstand such a loss, but was quickly proven wrong. As new acquisition Moon floundered in the jungle, the team struggled in turn, and was never really in control of any of it's first three games. Just like that, Dardoch was back on stage, and quickly had the team in position to hand TSM it's first loss. Though they inevitably fell, it cannot be overstated how much more confident the TL players looked with Dardoch patrolling the jungle. So while TL looked poor in a winless opening weekend, the team should be expected to make big strides with Dardoch back in the lineup. If they don't, they could be looking at a hole too large to climb themselves out of.

The Surprising

     Counter Logic Gaming

Who would've guessed CLG would go 0-2 in the opening weekend?

          Counter Logic Gaming put North America on the map last month, finishing second at the Mid-Season Invitational only to defending world champion SK Telecom. The organization was vindicated with the performance, proving ultimately that dropping Doublelift was the right decision. After all the top-level competition, CLG was come home and stomp the rest of lowly North America, right? Not so much. In the opening series,CLG was outmaneuvered by TSM repeatedly, and was simply slower on the uptake. The team was constantly on its back foot, forcing to play reactionary while TSM called the shots. Ironically, forcing the issue and putting team's on their heels is what made CLG so successful internationally. Stixxay seemed determined to prove he was an Ezreal player, picking the champion in each of the first two games and yielding rather underwhelming results. He would have been much better suited on his signature Caitlyn, or even a post-nerf Kalista, though it is unlikely that would have changed the outcome. Losing to TSM was one thing, but surely CLG couldn't fall to a brand new LCS team and move to 0-2. Well, they did, falling in a three-game series to Team Apex, and looking rather poor doing so. Stixxay struggled as Ezreal once again, going just 0/3/5 in the deciding loss. Huhi and Xmithie, meanwhile, have also performed poorly despite getting some of their more comfortable champions (Rek'Sai, Viktor). They have a 2.3 and 2.4 KDA respectively, both of which rank in the bottom 20 of the league. Needless to say, no one expected this sluggish start from the defending NA champions, and some have already attributed it to an MSI hangover. Personally, after that international performance, I'm going to give CLG the benefit of the doubt. I expect them to bounce back this week against both TL (Saturday) and Cloud 9 (Sunday) and be right in the thick of things come next week. 

     Apex Gaming and Team Envy

     

XSpecial is already making a big impact for Apex Gaming

          If Bjergsen is the MVP of the split thus far (and I think he is), then XSpecial is a close second. An LCS veteran, Xspecial has come bursting back onto the scene with Apex Gaming, winners of the 2016 Spring Challenger Series. This lineup is clearly not content just making it into the league, however, as they have made some noise with a 2-0 opening weekend. The team's strong start is due in large part to XSpecial, who has found his niche playing tanky, engage heavy, support champions for the team. In fact, he has only played Braum, Thresh, and Alistar thus far, something worth noting for opposing teams seeking to pinch his champion pool. To this point it's been effective, however, as his 88.4% kill participation is tops in the league among players with at least four games. With his help, the team's AD carry, Apollo, has found himself in the top ten in the league in kills (20) so far. Leading the team in kills, however, is the new top-laner, Ray, coming from Edward Gaming of the LPL. Ray has been the team's second (arguably first) best player, with his Fizz being an integral part of Apex's victory over CLG. In two games, his tankyFizz has gone 14/5/15, and was an absolute nightmare for CLG's back line. Apex has a huge test ahead this weekend, as they are set to play both TSM (Saturday) and Team Envy (Friday).

          The second undefeated newcomer to the LCS is Team Envy. On paper, the potential and experience was there for the lineup, especially in the in the solo lanes (Seraph and Ninja). However, it is the AD carry, LOD, who has been the team's standout performer to this point. LOD is no rookie, having bounced around on seven different teams since 2012, including Team Curse and Team Coast. When Ember disbanded in March, LOD was picked up by Envy, which never looked back. After one weekend of play, the AD carry leads the league with a KDA of 15.7, with the next closest sitting at just 11.0 (Hauntzer). He has found particular success on Caitlyn, a marksman who has shown a sudden resurgence to prominence. In two games on the champion, he has combined for a score of 11/1/8, and has been comfortable enough for other teams to take notice. While Envy did go 2-0 in opening weekend, they did so against the two winless teams in the LCS. This weekend, one of the undefeated newcomers will be no more, as Team Envy and Team Apex face off in a prime-time showdown this Friday night.