Phew, I almost didn’t make it. A combination of video games and lack of sleep almost had me sleeping in but thankfully the vaunted iPhone alarm did it’s job. But I digress because this isn’t about getting personal it’s about getting down to business. So I thought why not try something different today (not really). I did my usual research but instead of doing it at the same time I wrote the article I figured I’d do it the night before. Now stick with me, I know you are probably like “What is this guy trying to get at?” Well you know when people are trying to make a decision and they say they’ll sleep on it? Well that is exactly what I am doing except instead of a life decision I am just trying to decide who is going to win today’s EU Masters semifinals matches. So, without further ado let’s break this puppy down!
Series #1: Rogue (-145) v LDLC (+105)
H2H: 2-1 LDLC
Okay so this is good, this is really, really good. I had a gut feeling about LDLC taking this one home and the fact that the line has moved so much into Rogue’s favor has me licking my lips. Now look, on paper yes Rogue looks to be the superior squad I mean they have Woolite in the bot lane for Pete’s sake! But who cares about Pete am I right? This guy sure doesn’t because this guy saw a stat that he has almost never seen in his short career of being judgmental about League players. This guy (me) noticed an insane stat coming out of LDLC’s bot lane (Hades) and that stat was this – Hades has only died 3 times so far during the EU Masters and currently has a 29.33 KDA. Wait what? Yes ladies and gentleman that stat is not a typo, Hades has a KDA of nearly 30 which essentially means for every 1 death he has almost 30 combined kills and assists. Sure the KDA of his remaining team members might not be similar but that singular stat gives you an idea of what LDLC is trying and has been doing. So why not dive into each players current KDA during the EU Masters from both sides combined with their total games played?
LDLC
Bando = 1.86 KDA (60 games)
TynX = 4.27 KDA (89 games)
Vetheo = 2.6 KDA (27 games)
Hades = 29.33 KDA (106 games)
YellOwstar = 3.78 KDA (419 games)
Rogue
Szygenda = 6.71 KDA (97 games)
Zanzarah = 3.2 KDA (300 games)
Czekolad = 7.5 KDA (83 games)
Woolite = 5.35 KDA (343 games)
Mystiques = 5.11 KDA (169 games)
So, what does this all mean? Well I’ve been ignoring it for too long and it’s the fact that YellOwstar recently moved from Coach to Support prior to the EU Masters and as you can see from the 400+ professional games this guy knows how to play the game. And the fact that he recently moved from coach to support means that this LDLC team essentially has a coach in the pregame to help draft and a coach during the game to help play that draft correctly. I know it doesn’t sound like a huge deal because it doesn’t translate into a traditional sports example but remember Esports has not physical connotation so the fact that essentially a wiseman is now on the LDLC squad is nothing but GOOD especially with all of these young players like Vetheo, Bando and TynX.
Now Rogue is no slouch either and they did just dispatch of MOUZ by a kill score of 36-8 which was basically like watching someone get curb stomped. But the weird thing here is that LDLC has had Rogue’s number having beaten them twice so far out of 3 matchups in the EU Masters. And the last time these two teams met the kill score was only 1 kill in favor of LDLC yet the gold lead was nearly 10K which shows that LDLC can and will play an objective based version of League of Legends similar to how teams in the LCK play. Rogue on the other hand seems to struggle at times with objectives having lost barons to DefuseKids and Vodafone Giants recently even when they were winning. I know the mistakes didn’t matter at the time but they will be huge if Rogue continues to make blunders around objective control.
But again, it’s more than that to me as I have one final point to make. Rogue has the experience on their side yes, but LDLC is the squad that looks hungry to get their shot into the LEC which if you didn’t know is the entire point of this tournament. The reason these guys play in EU Masters is to potentially get a call from an LEC roster and honestly guys like TynX and Hades have done more than enough in my eyes so far. But they will not stop here as I believe the youth of LDLC combined with the knowledge of YellOwstar (coach/support) will be enough to take LDLC over the hump today. I’m all in on The Boys.
DFS Plays: TynX, Vetheo, Hades
Series #2: Movistar (-140) v K1CK (EVEN)
H2H: 2-1 Movistar
The odds have changed slightly since I did my research yesterday and they are moving in the favor of Movistar which makes a lot of sense honestly. But wait, does it? I mean did you see the tiebreaker these two teams played when Movistar won by like 2K gold and the kill score was tied 10-10 and K1CK stole a baron? But recent games aren’t a great thing to go off of. Why? Because teams can learn and adapt and create a better draft in the future that can play to their strengths. And this is exactly what I am afraid of as K1CK has to be coming into this matchup thinking “These guys really aren’t that good.” I mean why wouldn’t they, K1CK wasn’t even supposed to be here so I am sure they are probably thinking that about this whole tournament. I mean you always hear about oh this guy is the next young talent or this team should win the whole thing, but when do you ever hear anyone talk about the team that made it in from the Play-Ins? NOT VERY OFTEN. And this adds even more fuel to my fire as K1CK has a chip on their shoulder and, and, and they have the firepower and the experience to back it up. Oh and it doesn’t hurt that they’ve played double the amount of games in this tournament compared to Movistar as they had to do all of this before in the Play-Ins.
Why don’t we touch on the Play-Ins point because I really want to dive into this one to show you all what I mean. Basically Play-In teams had to earn their spot into the EU Masters main event through hard work, determination and they had to beat the odds. And if my stats are correct (they are) then K1CK has played a total of 19 games so far during the span of the Play-Ins and the Main Event of the EU Masters. Compare that to 11 games played so far from Movistar and you have a group of guys who have 8 more games to find out how they can best win these games and 8 more games to gel together as a squad. But there is another point that I didn’t even mention and it is how Play-In teams have performed in EU Masters recently. And how better to prove my point that to just look at the stats from the 2019 EU Masters event? Well guess what, not one but both teams in the EU Masters final came from the Play-In stage with Misfits Premier beating SK Gaming Prime by a score of 3-0. So, do you believe me now?
But you know me and it wouldn’t be a full article if I didn’t list out each players experience and KDA during this tournament because you know, it helps I think.
Movistar
beansu = 3.78 KDA (193 games)
Elyoya = 5.79 KDA (43 games)
Xico = 3.38 KDA (188 games)
JaVaa = 4.91 KDA (162 games)
rhuckz = 5.68 KDA (127 games)
K1CK
iBo = 3.17 KDA (187 games)
shlatan = 4.63 KDA (132 games)
Matislaw = 7.17 KDA (159 games)
Puki Style = 5.05 KDA (185 games)
Raxxo = 3.21 KDA (231 games)
At the end of the day K1CK has just as much, if not more experience than Movistar and comes from a region which is very, very close (Portugal vs Spain). But as you know, just because the organizations are close to each other doesn’t mean the teams are as Movistar has 2 Spanish players, 2 Portuguese players and 1 player from Estonia. Compare that to K1CK who’s entire team is Polish and you have a team that likely communicates better and is more on the same page as they all have likely played which each other for a while. Give me K1CK and the upset because I am a believe of the magic of the Play-In teams.
The DFS Hitman 