In something of a surprise during weeks three through six of the North American League of Legends Championship Series, Echo Fox established themselves as the favourites moving forward.
Echo Fox continue to dominate
With their only losses coming against Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming, Echo Fox’s continued dominance even over the likes of Cloud9 has placed them in a tier all on their own. The clear stars thus far for Echo Fox are top laner Huni and jungler Dardoch, who somehow appear to be continually improving week to week. The only concern for Echo Fox moving forward is the upcoming patch, which will introduce one of the largest mid-season changes in the history of League of Legends. Talent-wise however, Echo Fox should be able to maintain their momentum.
Clutch showing consistency
Clutch Gaming have continued to improve throughout the season, with the team currently in a tie for third place. Clutch are perhaps the most consistent team in the entire league, defeating teams below them in the standings while struggling to find themselves against high tier competition, mainly Cloud0 and Echo Fox. Mid-laner Febiven has showed no signs of slowing down, dominating nearly every lane matchup while providing a solid win condition for his team. The question for Clutch from the beginning of the year has been top laner Solo, who showed signs of weakness against the likes of fellow rookie Licorice, who solo-killed him multiple times in their matchup. The ceiling for Clutch appears to be a solid playoff placing, but should Solo find a more productive role, they could be dangerous moving forward.
100 Thieves stumble
Arguably the most inconsistent team thus far is 100 Thieves, who, during this four-week stretch, lost to two of the worst teams in the league, in Golden Guardians and Flyquest, before defeating Cloud9 in Week 6. However, the last few matches have been promising for 100 Thieves, with star support player Aphromoo being placed on multiple play-making supports; something most teams are unwilling to do in the current meta game. This has been a crucial transition for 100 Thieves, as Aphromoo’s ability to force fights and push the tempo has been a resounding success. However, teams now have time to prepare for these off-meta picks, with 100 Thieves needing the likes of mid-laner Ryu to step up in the coming weeks should they want to continue their recent success.
CLG in a downward spiral
Counter Logic Gaming have continued with their struggles, losing their last six matches in a row. True to their name, one of CLG’s only wins has come against Echo Fox, showing they have what it takes to take on any opponent in the league. Every single player has thus far struggled for CLG, with the likelihood of midseason roster changes looking ever more likely. Offseason roster moves of adding ReignOver and Biofrost have clearly been major failures, especially with the likes of former support Aphromoo excelling on 100 Thieves. CLG have struggled against lower-tiered competition over the past few weeks, with the only bright side being the aforementioned meta shift hopefully helping the squad regain their confidence.
Pick and ban helps Golden Guardians
The most shocking match of the past four weeks was clearly Golden Guardians pulling off the upset against Team Liquid. Struggling to reach their preseason favourite expectations, Team Liquid were expected to roll over the struggling Guardians on talent alone. However, Golden Guardians executed a brilliant pick and ban phase, acquiring comfort champions in every role while setting up a team composition that utilised speed and engage to create space for Deftly’s Varus. Team Liquid nearly came back, even after falling far behind in gold early, but a crucial mistake by AD carry Doublelift gifted the game back to Golden Guardians. Even with Liquid’s struggles, this was a low point for the squad, with questions of just how far they can go this split continually arising.
With three more weeks to go, the top six teams appear to have separated themselves from the bottom four as they look to move on to the playoffs. Still, there’s a lot to play for as the Spring Season continues.
