On the Road to Regionals

TSM - The Legend of Mr. Pillow and Baylife

There is tons to say about Team SoloMid. At their best, nobody in North America can touch them. They currently are the leaders in circuit points. It's also safe to say they are the leaders in North America as well. When all is said and done, they are the team to beat. Although they always do extremely well, there are a few glaring weaknesses in the shining armor.

Team Composition - If it ain't broke, don't fix it sums how TSM picks champions. Chaox currently on Corki, Xpecial loves Blitzcrank, and Reginald plays Gragas or Twisted Fate. Banning out the key champions could give other teams a good chance to get TSM out the comfort zone. Another way to go would be to outplay the NA meta. The reason Azubu Blaze dominated was because they brought the game and set the pace. Early tower aggression and global objectives wrecked the farm until thirty minute strategy.

Reginald - I feel that Reggie has the most inconsistent play. He's good at Gragas, but never wins with Twisted Fate. He needs to stay off of TF. The power of TSM comes from teamwork. Reginald's Gragas, Morgana, and Ahri all do pretty well. When he isn't facing junglers camping his lane, his aggression often pays off. His creep score also benefits when he's comfortable. Please Reginald, do not play Twisted Fate.

CLG Gaming GG

Counter Logic Gaming Prime may be the best chance to beat TSM. Doublelift has been on fire. I'm excited to see what they have to bring to the table. Expect CLG to activate their trap cards. I can't shake the feeling that it is about time for Voyboy and HotshotGG to shine. Hotshot should use this opportunity to leave his track in the jungle. He'll be going against TheOddOne, who is (in my opinion) the #1 North American jungler. Destroying the enemy jungle and smart plays could be the difference between first and second place.

Being one of the teams to beat, CLG should have no problem getting into the later rounds. They will be prepared with their A game. The only teams that should give CLG a challenge are TSM, Team Dignitas, and Curse. Even a great team like Curse looks small next to Counterlogic Gaming. The tournament will most likely be another clash of TSM and CLG, but CLG has been putting the work in, so we will see how it pays off.

 

The New Player On Team Dignitas

Ever since the acquisition of Patoy, Team Dignitas has been on a rampage. They've been destroying the SoloMid invitationals. Crumbzz and I Will Dominate have had some sort of connection lately. In fact, I Will Dominate has been dominating. He pressures all lanes while controlling his jungle at the same time. The reason he is able to do this is because Team Dignitas is active all over the map. Scarra has one of the most insane farm styles in the game. What is even more amazing, is that he has the time to roam. When Scarra gets in the zone, plays are made.

Team Dignitas is looking incredibly strong. They are taking early advantages in games and running with them. Anyone who wants to beat them has to do so head on by playing with early aggression, taking global objectives, disrupting farm, and be everywhere on the map.

Patoy and imaqtpie have gotten along very quickly. The combo will still be fairly new when the tournament comes along allowing them to take a mile every given inch. Until everyone picks up on the combined play style, expect the bottom lane to win against lesser prepared teams. Overall, expect the entire team to beat lesser prepared teams.

 

All Aboard the Curse Train!

These guys are streaking. Insane amounts of improvement are bringing  them to the top. Jacky's Morgana has been awesome. Insane skillshots from chubbybear lead him and his team to victory. It is not just one player doing all the work. Curse is becoming known for their wombo combo playstlye using  champions like Shyvana and Orianna. The teamwork is outstanding. Cop has been doing work both in game and the dating scene.

The great thing about Curse is that it's teamwork. Nobody is expected to carry the workload. Most of the plays are made by following up. Whether it be an Elementz hook, Nyjacky binding, Saintvicious snare, Westrice's dirty Akali skills, or Cop's damage, every member contributes.

The Curse philosophy is simple. Improve. Strive to be number one. The goal is to beat out teams like Team SoloMid. The amount of work they put in is showing and now that they moved into the gaming house, watch them get even better. They can play with the big dogs, and take games off tough opponents. With their goals in sight, regionals in the place to prove they have what it takes.

 

TSM "Where Is Aphromoo" Evo

TSM Evo has a level of intelligence that has taken them this far. Nhat is one of the smartest players I have seen stream. His thought process saves games and helps the entire team. Almost everything is logically explained by Nhat. If Nhat is the brains, then that makes wingsofdeath the muscle. As of late, wings has started to shine. What makes him so special is the fact that he play unorthodox champions. The first time I ever saw AD Lulu was from TSM Evo. He has an unusual style with some champions that throws others off. Hopefully we will all see that play style at least once in the tournament.

The team's success will most likely come down to DontMashMe. He has had quite enough time to work with the team. I believe that if he avoids getting into troll mode, they can take games off of tough opponents. There should be no problem taking on a more serious attitude, especially because this is the tournament. Basically, TSM.Evo are the Detroit Lions going into the playoffs and DontMashMe is Matt Stafford. He has the ability to make plays for the team to win, but at the end of the day, Megatron is there when needed.

 

Dynamically Underrated

This a story of team chemistry. I'm not exactly sure what Dynamic did to get them this far, but it is working. They've taken games from great teams like Team Dignitas and Curse which leaves them overlooked. When they achieve an early advantage, they snowball hard. ZionSpartan is a scary guy to lane against.

The only issue is that they need to explode out the gate. There have been games where Team Dynamic has dominated the first game, then roll over the next match. Inconsistency kills them. If they find their zone, be afraid. Dynamic is one of the most underrated teams currently, so watch out for a few upsets. When the team pulls together they can beat anyone.



Team Legion

Where did they come from? They have had strong showings in the TSM invitationals and IPL Face Off. Appearing seemingly out of nowhere, their play continues to impress. Legion is a team that beats others at their own game. They seem most comfortable adapting to the opponents, but that does not mean they do not control the pace. LgN is a team that converts. Kills open opportunities to global objectives to get them even farther ahead. Their opponents will be tough, but expect Legion to win a game in each set.  

 

Aphromoo + Muffinqt: The Wonder Twins

Anyone that has watched mTw scrim knows mandatorycloud, Xmithie, Balls, Muffinqt, and Aphromoo are more than just teammates. Their friendship allows mTw to play the game as a unit and have fun while doing it. The success comes from knowing when to laugh and joke around, but entering serious mode when the time comes.

Mancloud is an amazing AP player, and now that Aphromoo has joined Muffinqt in the bottom lane, the team seems a bit more balanced. Balls is an exceptional top laner and is one of the more intelligent tops in the game. Overall, the team works well together and they belong together. Hopefully mTw and TSM.Evo meet at some point in the tournament. An amazing "grudge" match with great sportsmanship at the end would show what cometative League of Legends and e-Sports are all about.

 

Season 2 Regionals

The top 7 teams ranked by circuit points all have the ablity to beat each other. There should not be too many upsets, but the top 4 will be the most interesting to watch. It may be a tossup between TSM, CLG, Team Dignitas, and Curse. The fight may be between CLG and Team Dignitas to take on TSM in the finals. Regardless, several games will be amazing. The action will be back and forth and the prize will be amazing. Season 2 is coming to an end, and the finale will be entertaining. Be sure to tune in on August 30th to watch all the teams battle it out at PAX Prime!