North America’s League of Legends Super Week sees five teams all within a single win of claiming first place. However, that’ll be a tough task, as over the last few weeks, no clear leader has emerged. One of the most exciting matches this week will be between Counter Logic Gaming and LMQ. Both teams are even in first place with 9-5 records, and their records against each other are 1-1. Now firmly in the second-half of the season, it’s time for these teams to really take ownership of the top of the leaderboard, else it might just fall through their fingers.
With even records, it’s hard to say immediately who has a lead. In terms of KDA, gold, and kill participation, both teams are virtually even. In terms of objectives, LMQ have better control over the monsters in the middle of the map (Dragon and Baron), but Counter Logic Gaming get ups for better first blood, first tower, and first inhibitor rates. Simply put, Counter Logic Gaming appear to be better when laning, but LMQ control space better, and move better as a team during the mid-game when jungle objectives are important.
When looking at the individual matchups, however, one thing becomes clear: The biggest strength of LMQ is mid laner Yu “XiaoWeiXiao” Xian, whose 9.63 CSPM (creep score per minute, or total minion kills) means he powers up immensely in every match. In fact, it’s almost 2 CSPM higher than his lane opponent in this match, and Xian should be able to become a monster if left untouched. However, as noted above, Counter Logic Gaming perform better as a team during the laning phase, and should be able to place a big target on Xian for early ganking attempts. Coupled with Counter Logic Gaming marksman Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng’s affinity for creeps (just 1.0 behind Xian), and the undergods might have a perfect set up to upset LMQ.
Screengrab via Riot Games/YouTube
