The more things change, the more they stay the same. We're reminded of this every season, but we put our faith in offseason moves and roster shuffles anyway. Yeah, we were wrong again. The work-in-progress teams are still works in progress. Chiefs still win every time.
But for what it's worth, that optimism comes from a good place. It's the same hopeful naivete that we saw in Cronulla fans, who suffered for 50 years before finally being rewarded with a championship. The same belief that led one Cleveland Cavaliers fan to literally consume faeces off the ground after LeBron carried the city to its first title.
If you're a Sin fan, promise me you won't do that when Juves brings you to the promised land.
Play of the Week
You know that scene in Return of the Jedi where Darth Vader finally returns to the light side, only to get electrocuted to death by Palpatine? Or the ending of Scarface, where Tony Montana shows some signs of redemption after refusing to involve kids in a hit, only to get gunned down by Sosa's men in his own mansion? Our Play of the Week is basically the OPL version of that.
To give you some context, Abyss's bot lane were all up in Legacy's grill at the start of Game 1, as is expected for any Varus/Malzahar lane. Suddenly, the ults come out from Legacy, and Tim "Carbon" Wendel arrives for a gank. At last, sweet justice!
Or not, as some judicious summoner use from Abyss bails them out. Mike "Cuden" Le does a solid job of saving his carry from Lawrence "Lost" Hui's Curtain Call. Is this Abyss's redemption? Could they actually be the good guys in this bot lane?
Nope. Andy "Cupcake" Van de Vyer Flashes in just as they begin to relax, puts down the Stranglethorns, and allows Lost to clean them up with the left right goodnight. Lesson of the week: no good deed goes unpunished.
Sin Gaming v Avant Garde
Result: 2-0 Avant Garde
Where do Avant find these top laners? Evan "Ceres" Mascarenhas ran a clinic on Cuong "Flaresz" Ta's Jayce, grabbing two kills early and creating a nice cushion against Sin's aggressive comp, allowing Avant to eventually win Game 1 off solid objective play.
Game 2 was almost the Ceres Show again, but Stephen "Triple" Li added a fantastic 8/2/7 performance on Syndra to earn the spotlight. 'Disregard dragons, acquire kills' was their motto, as they simply outfought Sin at every turn to grab a game-winning Baron.
Legacy Esports v Abyss Esports
Result: 2-0 Legacy Esports
Abyss drafted brilliantly in Game 1 as they led Legacy to pick up five squishy damage dealers for Jayce and Kha'Zix to feast on, but Legacy set the tone ingame with dominant map control. Lost put the team on his back with a 7/0/5 scoreline (that's 100% kill participation, by the way).
This 1v2 double kill by James "Tally" Shute basically summarises Game 2: two dudes running top to make a deposit in the Legacy bank account. Tally's Investment Bankplank balled out from that point onwards, making it difficult for Abyss to get anything done. Cha-ching.
Exile 5 v LG Dire Wolves
Result: 2-0 LG Dire Wolves
Despite some Ahri heroics from Chris "Siuman" Lo and a filthy Baron steal from Eldin "Guts" Skenderovic (whose full name is probably top 3 in the OPL), Dire Wolves controlled Game 1 from start to finish. Calvin "k1ng" Truong finished with a game-best 6/2/7.
A surprising draft phase saw Camille and Rengar slip through the cracks -- and predictably, Guts ran a train on Lachlan "Sybol" Civil's jungle early on. But in the end, Ryan "Chippys" Short was the superior OP abuser, outdueling x5 to a textbook win.
Tainted Minds v Chiefs Esports Club
Result: 2-0 Chiefs Esports Club
The much-hyped match of the week delivered early on as Tainted Minds threw a curveball by placing Tristan "Cake" Côté-Lalumière on bot lane Ziggs (because who plays AD carry in 2017, right?). The TM siege engine gave them a decent objective lead, but Chiefs' superior teamfighting snagged them some crucial Barons, and saved us all from the horror of bot lane Ziggs in solo queue.
Game 2 saw TM go up 3-1 early, only to not get a single kill for the rest of the game as Chiefs' Corki/Jhin comp had simply too much firepower for them to deal with. Bot lane Ziggs also lost again. I hope that doesn't discourage TM from picking it again, but keep it out of my games, thanks!
The Oceanic Pro League continues next Saturday from 3 PM AEST as Sin Gaming take on Legacy Esports. Watch live at oce.lolesports.com.
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