WE 2 - LNG 0
First played set of the 2nd Stage of the Demacia Cup 2022, and the first round with proper LPL teams.
In this series, Team WE defeated LNG 2-0, off of 2 MVP performances by Shanks.
It's also important to note that due to sickness, Tarzan was replaced by LNG's LDL jungler Darwin.
Game 1 was blind pick between both teams, where Shanks and Yuekai engaged in a Syndra mirror matchup. Shanks largely dominated in this lane, the new Hope/Iwandy bot lane outplayed the duo of LP/Hang. New jungler for WE, Heng also did well and WE cruised to a comfortable in in 34 minutes.
Game 2 was much messier, as the game began with a medley of dives by WE into LNG's bot lane, to disappointing effect. LNG was able to take an early lead in basically all lanes, as while the bot lane took charge, Zika (K'Sante) was busy crushing Biubiu (Fiora) in the laning phase. WE found some opportune mid game picks to snag Cloud Soul and take charge though as they had the lead throughout most of the late game. However, closing the game proved to be a real struggle, as the LP (Zeri)/ Hang (Yuumi) damage combo seemed too much for WE to handle in a straight 5v5. WE split up heavily down the stretch and picked up 2 elders, neither being enough to take the nexus. Finally, 2v2 up topside, Biubiu and Shanks (Ryze) were finally able to kill their counterparts Zika and Yuekai (Azir) to break through and secure the win.
WE editorial incoming:
Overall, it was a promising start for this new WE team, but a very messy one. Shanks shined brightest today, particularly in Game 1, where he really jump started the team. He was also named Game 2 MVP, though that really belongs to the map outplays and picks in the midgame that allowed WE to come back from a bad early game start marked by bad dives and Biubiu being Biubiu.
Hope and Iwandy outplayed their lane opponents, which is a refreshing change from when Xing/Kedaya really struggled. In particular, I though LP struggled, though he's a rookie going into his first full LPL season (funnily he got a cup of LPL coffee in 2021 with Kedaya for LNG), so there's much to learn about this youngster. There were still some rough edges, like Hope getting randomly caught out in Game 2's later stages to breathe life into LNG, but it's nice to see.
Heng and Darwin both looked like rookies, which is to be expected. Heng's game 2 on Poppy was particularly shaky as he speared a some questionable dives that would get his bot laners killed. Fortunately, those kills landed with Hang's Yumi, so it proved fine at the end, and he did a nice job in teamfight situations securing objectives by bouncing out the opposing threat. We'll need to see him against a more experienced jungler, but a good debut nonetheless.
Biubiu was still Biubiu. Which is to say a mess in lane. Zika was probably LNG's most impressive player today, as they played the K'Sante/Fiora matchup twice, swapping champions between the 2 games. In lane, it was clear that Zika was superior, as he was up in CS heavily in regardless of matchups prior to 15 minutes. That being said, Biubiu was able to at least make a positive impact on both games. In game 2, he was eventually able to splitpush himself into relevance, and he was the catalyst of a few major picks, including the game winning ones against Zika and Yuekai. Ultimately, I was frustrated with him and continue to wish WE had picked up some alternative to at least consider, but I can forgive it if this is his level moving into the season, though I worry how he fairs against stiffer competition that continues to suppress him after laning phase.
Ultimately, Game 1 got me extremely excited about this roster, particularly the idea that my Shanks infatuation pays off big time, but Game 2 brought it to a more grounded level. This is a team that has vastly improved from last year, but it's still clear that there's still a lot of work to be done. If LNG had Tarzan in, I would guess this goes to at least Game 3, and of course, there's the rumblings that Scout is on the horizon for LNG as well, so it's tough to judge the performance for either side. Still, compared to where WE was late last year, I'm feeling much much better, and that's something I can be Hope-ful for!