I was super excited for this game in Week 4 of the #NALCS. Immortals showed some macro
issues in their win vs. C9 – if you extend them long enough, you might be able
to win an objective-based teamfight since they play a squishy comp. And Team Liquid might have the shot to do it – specifically if Dardoch can match Reignover’s aggression and Piglet can carry.
Picks and Bans – This got a little crazy. Both teams heavily targeted top lane in their bans with IMT banning Poppy, Nidalee, and Graves, all champions they’ve been good on. They first pick Lulu, which is curious, since Pobelter has been so good as a carry champion. TL do well to get both Elise and Kalista following with Corki/Maokai to keep Lourlo safe. The IMT draft finishes with Rek’Sai, Caitlin, Ekko, and Janna. IMT look like world beaters but this is a very strange comp with poke, catch ability, and some teamfight utility. TL have a more classic CC-based teamfight comp which has been effective in the meta in other regions, but requires a ton of coordination. They do have a lot of waveclear and midgame options. This is one of the better drafts against IMT that I’ve seen so far.
On the other hand, the time Dardoch spends helping Piglet
allowed Reignover to get a big lead in the jungle. Elise is a strong ganker
with cocoon, but giving the jungle over despite her fast clear is a bit of a
letdown. Some bad positioning from Lourlo allows Reignover’s First Blood streak to continue. Still, I think this is ok for TL. They
can survive a few Lourlo deaths as his utility will come later in the
teamfights. They just need to survive until then and importantly, out-executed
Immortals. Only TSM have really been able to win teamfights against IMT and
that obviously didn’t end in a TSM victory.
40:00 – The first big fight. After getting their jungle
taken away time and again by Reignover, TL have vision on Huni pushing up the
bot lane and try to take IMT’s blue. Matt is caught a bit and Huni TPs in
behind them and the chain CC start from IMT. Huni ults to save himself,
Reignover knocks up three with un-burrow and Adrian splits the team with his ult. TL do a good job understanding that they have initiation and note kite and
go back in, killing Reignover. But WildTurtle was untouched in all of the
preceding and IMT chase for an Ace. The post-match stats indicate WildTurtle
dominated, and he did, but a lot of this was setup by his teammates carrying.
42:20 – TL make a good call here. After losing 5 for 1, they
come back aggressive and dive on the IMT top lane. They are well positioned to
survive the Janna ult and take down Pobelter and two turrets (though trading
their own bot lane tier 2 to Huni). You can’t sit back against IMT and these
are the calls they need to win.
From here though, IMT do a better job making calls first and
the game was played out in TL’s jungle. I really like this style for Reignover
– he’s so aggressive and can make game-ending plays for both teams, but having
the heals, shields, and buffs from Lulu/Janna really makes him better. IMT take
Baron at 49:30 off a disjointed call from TL – Lourlo and Matt went in without
support, get caught by the Janna ult and TL lose three. Overall, I thought TL
had the right idea – they picked a good comp, got good individual performances,
but just couldn’t meet each other 100% on the calls. Meanwhile, IMT went in and
out as a team and supported each other perfectly. That, more than anything, is
why they’re undefeated through Week 4 (and Huni/Reignover are undefeated since
2014).
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