NRG are fighting to stay in the #NALCS playoffs while TIP
are in a slide trying to figure out how to play their comp in this patch. Both
teams are trying to improve their shotcalling and perhaps more importantly, the
little things (warding, namely) that set up the plays. Have to go with #NRGWin
here.
Picks and Bans – The real story is the NRG draft of
Gragas/Kogmaw followed by Tahm Kench/Janna, which means they are focused on
keeping KonKwon alive. TIP are smart to follow first-pick Nidalee with Bard and
Nautilus (removing a tank from the NRG lineup and adding a way to catch Kogmaw
and Kalista/Viktor for range waveclear. Love NRG finishing with Orianna – she
is such a good utility fighter, adds a shield for Kogmaw, and has both engage
and disengage with the ult. She’s one of my favorite midlane champions to see
or play with.
Early Game – Standard lane swap with 2 tower trades. By
being faster, NRG shove the bot lane wave after their second tower take and
head for Dragon. They get it but after an extended skirmish, TIP are able to
respond by killing Impact (GBM missed his ult). Now that Dragon does not give
gold, early Dragons are a bust unless you have significant CS advantages
elsewhere. At 31:00, TIP, with a level and TP advantage, call the bot lane tier
2 and get it. On the way out, Mash is caught by the Gragas ult and TIP tunnel
hard to save him. They actually do and turn a kill on KonKwon but don’t respect
the shockwave enough, losing the fight 1-2. That Orianna! Still, TIP have a
turret lead, a path to the bot lane inhib, and a Nautilus that is far ahead of
Impact’s Tahm Kench. They just can't let Kogmaw continue to feed (out-CSing Kalista by a
significant margin).
36:15 – TIP are smart to split Feng out and roam with the
rest of the team. After a few sojourns through the jungle, getting Dragon and
Rift Herald (for Mash?) on the way, they meet in mid lane where they catch LOD
and almost kill him. Their main source of damage gone, it’s a lost fight for
NRG and they are smart to shove the mid turret. They now completely control
vision of the middle of the map.
38:15 – Impact looks caught but a big shockwave from GBM
gets NRG back in the game. They are also able to clean up Pirean in the midlane
using the Kench ult. Impact is starting to catch up in items given his low-econ
build and Kogmaw still has a lead on on Kalista. With no Pirean, NRG should
shove mid lane back and they do.
The next few minutes were a disaster for NRG. TIP
maintain vision of the NRG red side allowing them to shove top and mid a bit at
a time. They rotate between the lanes and eventually take both 2nd
tiers. Facing a big gold deficit, NRG try a desperate Baron without sufficient
vision control and they are caught in the pit for a 0-3 fight and Baron loss. I
know Kogmaw shreds Barons but it felt like they were pressured into that play
after losing a couple turrets. Analysts talk about warding all the time (and
Dardoch mentioned in his Day 1 feature that warding doesn’t drop Nexuses), but
this lead is almost exclusively a result of TIP’s control of vision in the
river and the NRG red side. From here, TIP play smart by respecting the Kogmaw
and slowly poking down the inhibitors. Another won fight at 56:40 gives them
two inhibitors and that was basically the game. They play patiently by tugging
NRG around the map.
TIP won the game off of comfort picks for Mash and Gate and
a much improved performance from Feng on perhaps the safest champion in the
current patch. They did a better job shotcalling than NRG, which could not
accomplish anything with the Kogmaw despite an early lead and early power
spike. NRG were caught between plays multiple times and picked a terrible time
(first Baron) to be decisive. This is not a good performance for a team trying
to make noise in the playoffs. TIP are not going to get comfort picks forever
but they have to be encouraged by their cohesion and improved gamesense they
displayed in this victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment