The final week of the League of Legends Championship Series wrapped up on Sunday, and the playoff picture is locked in. However, of the 12 teams heading to the regional finals, no team really stood out in the last set of games. In fact, the only team to go 4-0 over last week, Evil Geniuses, ended in seventh place in North America, narrowly missing a playoff spot.
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The most shocking part of last week was how much parity there appears to be within the two regions. No team had more than 70 percent objective control, there were no KDAs above 10, and no gold per minute rate rose above 1800, the traditional high point. And the team with the worst performance, Counter Logic Gaming, still managed over 1400 GPM, despite fielding a roster of B-teamers.
The four top contenders—Fnatic, Alliance, LMQ, and Cloud9—were all held to reasonable levels, and none were held without a loss. None of these teams made earned the team MVP nod, and they snagged only three of the ten player MVPs. The teams that dominated the MVP lists were Gambit and Evil Geniuses, who both ended in seventh place and will be fighting for their right to stay in the league later this year at the relegation matches.
In terms of champion selection, however, it’s a whole new world. Newcomer marksmen champions Tristana and Kog’Maw headlined this week’s top picked champions, and treeman Maokai was among the most banned. Fans were excited to see these new champs hit the field, but only time can tell if they continue to be popular through the regional finals and into the World Championships.
Finally, objectives are more important than every to control. Teams that took down the first dragon and/or first baron won over 75 percent of the time, meaning that having map control is going to be a special focus for teams in the coming weeks.
