Curse 3-0 Sweeps CLG. Holy moly. What happens next?

I wouldn't call this an upset, but damn, I did not expect this to happen.

CLG barely stood a chance throughout the games. They won a few teamfights, got some picks, but that's about it. We will probably never know if CLG actually improved that much from their bootcamping, since this is actually the raw results from weeks of practice in South Korea, the currently best LoL E - sports region in the world.

So, Curse moves on to the semifinals vs C9. They'll most likely lose there, 3 - 1 to C9, because C9 is waaay more consistent and is actually a few levels above of Curse. Still, seeing as TSM will most likely lose to LMQ, I could see the Curse vs TSM match being very exciting and even.

CLG on the other hand, now have to play versus Dignitas in a series deciding who goes to relegations. Seeing as Dig actually took a game off TSM, I would actually call them the favourites, since they are probably not as heartbroken as CLG is at the moment. CLG were the expected victors of this series before it even began, whereas Dignitas were considered to be "the underdogs", not to a very large extent, but the matchup definitely favoured TSM.

So, what happens to CLG's main roster now? Well, I for one, like many other redditors, assume that Seraph may actually go. He did not live up the expectations, granted they were way to high even from the start, and while CLG has a toplaner that kind of leaves the toplaner on his own, he should have performed better, in my opinion.

Dexter could potentially leave - he wasn't that comfortable with the team as seen in "Chasing the Cup - episode 1" . He could probably find a new team, either in NA or EU, or start working for Riot. I doubt some teams will actually be interested in him honestly, perhaps the bottom teams of each regions standings or a challenger team, perhaps.

I doubt Link will continue. If he can't get any further than this, he probably doesn't have the motivation to continue. Link will most likely retire or start streaming Hearthstone. (Yes, I know, too soon)

Doublelift, as I mentioned in an earlier post, will probably retire, or start working for Riot. He said himself that if you don't go to worlds you're nothing, and since he didn't go, well, I suppose that's what he.. is. To some extent. He might stay though for Aphromoo, since they had so good synergy.

Aphromoo will probably continue. He is still a really good support, and if he doesn't get continue with CLG, another team will definitely pick him up. I highly doubt he'd go to another team though if he doesn't continue with CLG; he'd probably retire.

So, last man standing is Montecristo. People blame him for the loss, something I find undeserved. Montecristo has been in Korea for the majority of the summer split, therefore being unable to actually be a present force at the team's gaminghouse. I think that's one of the reason his coaching cannot be blamed on - he "barely" coached them. Of course, he spoke to them often, but it's a huge difference between being with your team and skyping with them on a daily basis. Montecristo either needs to move in with the team, or quit his job as a coach - he can't coach them from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the CLG roster, and how Curse fares in the rest of the playoffs.

Until then,

/John

Hi I'm Gosu signed for CLG - bigger than you think

If you checked Reddits league of legends subreddit today, you would see that the post at the top said that "hi I'm Gosu joins CLG". 

This received an immense amount of attention, and the thread currently sits at about 1200 comments and almost 2500 upvotes. For those of you who don't know who he is, I'll give a brief explanation below, as well as going deeper into why this could be considered to be more of a PR - move for the CLG.

Hi im Gosu is a very famous Canadian streamer, who streams on a regular basis and plays marksman. He's well known for his Vayne mechanics and montages.


The man himself resides in the Challenger bracket, and climbs steadily. Little is however known about him, some people arguing that he is actually Doublelift from CLG, since he does not stream with camera, nor does he have voicechat. This has lead to the famous comment that you will repeatedly see in Twitch chat saying "gosu grill???", where as grill is a misspelling of girl - since noone knows his gender, he may be Doublelift, but could just as well be a girl, or a grill (sorry). Gosu definitely can be considered one of the best Challenger bracket marksmans in the NA scene, and can probably rival some over in EU as well. However, he has not been picked up by any challenger/LCS teams, most likely to him not wanting to, since he earns share fare just through streaming (regulary has about 25 000 people watching his stream).

So, why did CLG sub someone who doesn't even want to play for them? Well, there are two reasons. One, CLG will earn a lot of money through having Gosu streaming for their brand, since some of the profits gained goes directly to the company obviously, and having such a popular streamer definitely gives the organisation more attention. However, there is one more thing. Doublelift has been rumoured to be quitting the professional LoL E -sports scene in case CLG fails to qualify for this year's worlds. With more teams than ever actually being able to contend for the top 3 spots in NA, we see that this could actually happen. Not hating on CLG - I definitely believe in them and I hope their sejour to South Korea helped them a lot, but they looked really week during the last two weeks of LCS, and they need improved performance to take on Curse. So, in case Doublelift does decide to quit the professional E -sports scene, CLG definitely has a valid replacement with Gosu. If Gosu does decide to join - it's still up to him. Or her.


I do not claim ownership for any of Gosu's videos. Everything produced in his video should be credited to him solely.

NA Quarterfinals - Day 1: TSM vs DIG - In - Depth discussion; what do the teams need to do to secure a victory?

Two of the oldest gaming organisations and teams in the competitive scene of LoL facing off against eachother. A loss here means elimination from being able to qualify to Worlds, and having to face the loser of CLG vs Curse to determine who needs to face relegations as the 6th place. A lot is at stake!

TSM is without doubt the team under the most pressure coming into this best-of-five. They have the largest fanbase, a new, hyped korean support import, and, seeing as they have been to every single worlds tournament before, they are almost expected to qualify for this one as well. But how and were should TSM focus in order to grant themselves the victory over the Donger Squad? Here's a few detrimental points.

• Get Wildturtle going - Wildturtle has shown that if he gets ahead early, he can outmaneuver his opposing laner with ease, and with the aid of his Korean support Lustboy they should be able to easily control the game. At the same time, we can see that if the botlane of TSM loses, it most likely will also cause them to lose the game. Dyrus can lose toplane, or Amazing may not perform his best, but as long as Wildturtle and/or Bjergsen gets going, they can carry the rest of the team on their backs. 

• Don't let Amazing fall behind - Amazing can be considered to be an emotional player, and the expectations were high regarding his performance coming into the Summer Split. He has lived up to those expectations, but only during the later part of the split. When he does fall behind, he rarely has any presence at all, and it basically becomes a 4v5 for TSM, as shown in his Volibear game, or a few others were he plays Xin Zhao.

Dignitas on the other hand, can probably rival TSM regarding which team has the biggest fanbase, especially thanks to Qtpie. The team has a lot of potential (I know, overused word), and can be a monstrous team wrecking all resistance at their best. However, they tend to be very inconsistent, hence the reason why they dropped so many games during the end of the split. Here's what DIG needs to make sure works for them during the games in order to secure a win:

• Get the solo-laners going - When Shipthur gets a lead, especially with a few kills, he turns his godmode on. At his best, he's amongst the top 2 midlaners in NA. At his worst, he falls behind in farm and doesn't have any presence at all. If Crumbzz can get him rolling, their chances of victory should definitely increase. Same with Zionspartan - he has great mechanics in 1v1s, and can destroy his opponent laner if he gets a lead. It's up to Crumbzz to ensure this, so he has a lot of pressure.

• Don't throw! Dignitas is famous for throwing, especially at baron. They have adjusted it to some extent, but it still occurs. Imagine their place among the rankings if they would've won all of the games they threw... In order to avoid this, I'd say that Dignitas should aim at acquiring full map awareness with wards before engaging Nashor, sa well as trying to pick off one or two from TSM. This way, they can turn an encounter with their opponents should they engage even though one or two of them have fallen.

TSM went 1 - 3 during superweek, and it may have affected them mentally directly after the week. However, NA playoffs is scheduled almost a month after the last LCS week. Therefore, this should not be a problem. Dignitas should be considered the underdog, but since they have improved so signifcantly with their new sololaners, they too have a lot of pressure, since the management as well as the fans most likely want to see some kind of improvement in comparison to last splits placement.

Assumed winner: TSM 3-1, with one of TSM's victory being really close.