North American circuit
Written by: Drexxin
TEAM SOLOMID vs COUNTER LOGIC GAMING
February 7th, 22:00 CET
There's nothing in League of Legends that spells out a more classic bout than this one. The history and rivalry between these two teams have been perpetually monstrous, spanning from before Season 1 to now. This fantastic crowd-pleaser will be kicking things off as it is the first match to be played between the two teams.
For a time, these two teams had an undisputed lead over the rest of the world in terms of both popularity and performance. Though things have shifted, the fiery passion in the hearts of both teams' fans drive this particular match-up to be on a legendary scale in terms of hype and should provide to be the current day "Boxer vs. Yellow." for now and many years to come. Though Counter Logic Gaming has had quite a few switch-ups over the years, Team Solomid remains a static line-up in the recent years, excluding TheRainMan.
Between the two teams, Team Solomid has seized the majority of the victories after Counter Logic Gaming defeated them at IEM -Cologne in 2011. Since that tournament, the clash between the two have brought the results in favor of Team Solomid with nail-biting matches and unpredictable outcomes. Team Solomid would go on to take the gold out of CLG's grasp in the upcoming IGN Proleague 3 and 4, where the games were so close that Counter Logic Gaming would win the first set coming up from the loser's bracket but lose in the second set. As an effect of that, there's no way to tell which team is stronger against each other, but only which team is stronger overall.
The eagerness to see who maintains superiority drives us into an exemplary showdown in which many of the answers onlookers have regarding the possibilities: Has Counter Logic Gaming's new found work ethic yield results over Team Solomid? Is the recent acquisition of L1nk and Aphromoo going to put the team at a disadvantage to the very stable foundation of TSM? Will Counter Logic Gaming come up with a clever blue-side cheese tactic that will throw Team Solomid off-guard in a best of 1? If history repeats itself, Team Solomid will have their "killing spree" on Counter Logic Gaming, but CLG is not going to give that up without a fight.
TEAM CURSE vs COUNTER LOGIC GAMING
February 9th, 02:00 CET
While it was difficult to choose a second highlight article and though the decision to feature Counter Logic Gaming in two of them was a hesitant one, it was unavoidable to mention this epic rivalry. Though there's no bad blood between the two teams, one cannot forget the aptly named "CLG Bench" placed upon Curse Gaming. Three members of the previous Counter Logic Gaming line-up make up the mighty ensemble that is Curse Gaming.
Counter Logic Gaming has statistically been the stronger team of the two over a long course of time, but just recently Curse Gaming accomplished robbing CLG of the #1 NA team spot in our rankings, just narrowly passing them up. Despite this fact, Curse Gaming has displayed absolutely rampant and unstoppable growth in terms of strength and team synergy whereas Counter Logic Gaming's performance has remained largely stagnant and rarely fluctuating.
Though Counter Logic Gaming has proven to have the most success on the international level in the recent stages of IPL5 and MLG Fall, Curse Gaming has hastily crept up on the scene when compared to their results upon forming and have proven their worth with their well established and solidified roster. The question is, will Counter Logic Gaming meet their demise against this team largely based on players benched for not fitting in or under-performing, or will CLG's roster showcase the appropriate level of commitment and team synergy required to show Curse Gaming that they mean business?
Boasting two of the strongest minds, wills, and personalities of the League of Legends scene, HotshotGG and Saintvicious will battle it out to see who can captain their team to victory and we'll discover just how formidable a foe Chauster has become in the role of jungling when battling it out against the veteran. Hotshotgg will show if he is the spanker or the spank-ee up against ex-CLG member Voyboy, and Saintvicious will find out if he can back up his words on having the strongest bottom lane in North America, having claimed Doublelift has gotten "lazy". If Curse Gaming takes out Counter Logic Gaming in this game, CLG may have to go back to the drawing board.
European circuit
Written by: Nydra
SK GAMING vs TEAM FNATIC
February 9th, 18:00 CET
Oh, how hard it was to select the highlight match for LCS Europe day one when the cruel schedule put this match and EG vs Gambit back to back! When four of the strongest teams in Europe play their opening matches within two hours of each other, how is one to pick just one?
In such cases, a writer will usually consider any sort of grudge between the two teams and luckily, there is a very recent one between SK Gaming and Fnatic dating back to IEM Katowice. With a new roster and revamped strength, SK were looking forward to the competition in Poland to prove they are still of relevance to the European scene and if not come first, then at least perform well against their EU colleagues.
If the AL match went well, the one against Fnatic did not and the bloody encounter was ended with a backdooring Kassadin, delivering a meal with similar taste to SK’s loss to CLG from S2WC. Going out this way was hurtful and it showed…
This brings us to the highlight match of February 9th, when SK Gaming will go out to seek revenge against Fnatic. Both teams are coming out with recently revamped rosters but Fnatic still seem to have the advantage, with Yellowstar once a teammate with sOAZ and nRated, automatically synergizing perfectly with half of the team. Against them stand SK with a jungler who still has not been tempered thoroughly unless something marginal has happened between now and Katowice.
History is also against SK Gaming when it comes to this match-up in particular. Besides Katowice, Ocelote’s team bears multiple Fnatic marks of defeat, obtained at Tales of the Lane, Campus Party and IEM VI New York. If SK Gaming have truly underwent reincarnation they need to show it by upsetting their old rival, otherwise it’ll be another triumph for the boys in black and orange.
GAMBIT GAMING vs TEAM FNATIC
February 10th, 18:00 CET
When a team is one of the reasons you miss the biggest tournament in the history of professional League to date, you are likely to crave for every drop of their blood. Such is the case with Fnatic and Gambit Gaming. At the S2 European qualifiers, Gambit (then Moscow 5) delivered a critical nudge to xPeke’s team, pushing the out of the grand final and into the 3rd/4th place match, which they’d eventually lose to miss the S2WC entirely.
Following said qualifier, both teams experiences a hiatus in results and easily dropped out of the competition for best European team, handling the prize to CLG.eu (now Evil Geniuses) and it was only recently that their resurgence occurred. Fnatic’s climbing to the top of the GosuRankings was as swift as it was spectacular and included a streak that featured outstanding placements at DreamHack Winter, IPL 5, THOR Open and IEM Cologne. Fans so a new Fnatic, one that wins decisively and boasts with the terrifying plays of sOAZ and xPeke.
At the same time, Moscow 5 too were reincarnated by throwing away their old garments and donning the pure white of Gambit Gaming, baptizing in by humiliating two of the strongest teams in Korea on Polish grounds. Replays from those games strongly indicate that more meta-game revolutions might be incoming, considering Edward’s GP5-less, quick pink ward openings and Diamond’s Locket of Iron Solari rush which found their ways into ladder and pro games alike.
The power level seems to fluctuate across the individual lanes as well, making the match even more intriguing. Alex_Ich and Diamond – elected AP and Jungler of 2012 by the GosuCrew – seem to be on the higher ground compared to xPeke and Cyanide but this doesn’t look to be the case with the top lane. sOAZ’s recent performances outshine Darien’s and on bot lane Yellowstar and nRated come in to give what is considered to be the weaker GBG link a hearty opposition. With so many variables, expect this to be the absolute highlight of February 10th.
NA circuit
TSM vs. CLG - 02/07 @ 10PM CET
Curse vs. Dignitas 02/07 @ 11PM CET
CLG vs. GGU - 02/09 @ 12AM CET
TSM vs. Vulcun - 02/09 @ 1AM CET
Curse vs. CLG - 02/08 @ 2AM CET
TSM vs. Dignitas - 02/08 @ 3AM CET
GGU vs. Curse - 02/08 @ 4AM CET
Vulcun vs. Dignitas - 02/08 @ 5AM CETEuropean circuit
SK vs. Fnatic - 02/09 @ 6PM CET
Gambit vs. EG - 02/09 @ 7PM CET
Fnatic vs. GIANTS - 02/09 @ 8PM CET
SK vs. Copenhagen Wolves - 02/09 @ 9PM CET
Gambit vs. Fnatic - 02/10 @ 6PM CET
Copenhagen Wolves vs. EG - 02/10 @ 7PM CET
GIANTS vs. Gambit - 02/10 @ 8PM CET
SK vs. EG - 02/10 @ 9PM CET
Written by: Drexxin
TEAM SOLOMID vs COUNTER LOGIC GAMING
February 7th, 22:00 CET
There's nothing in League of Legends that spells out a more classic bout than this one. The history and rivalry between these two teams have been perpetually monstrous, spanning from before Season 1 to now. This fantastic crowd-pleaser will be kicking things off as it is the first match to be played between the two teams.
For a time, these two teams had an undisputed lead over the rest of the world in terms of both popularity and performance. Though things have shifted, the fiery passion in the hearts of both teams' fans drive this particular match-up to be on a legendary scale in terms of hype and should provide to be the current day "Boxer vs. Yellow." for now and many years to come. Though Counter Logic Gaming has had quite a few switch-ups over the years, Team Solomid remains a static line-up in the recent years, excluding TheRainMan.
Between the two teams, Team Solomid has seized the majority of the victories after Counter Logic Gaming defeated them at IEM -Cologne in 2011. Since that tournament, the clash between the two have brought the results in favor of Team Solomid with nail-biting matches and unpredictable outcomes. Team Solomid would go on to take the gold out of CLG's grasp in the upcoming IGN Proleague 3 and 4, where the games were so close that Counter Logic Gaming would win the first set coming up from the loser's bracket but lose in the second set. As an effect of that, there's no way to tell which team is stronger against each other, but only which team is stronger overall.
The eagerness to see who maintains superiority drives us into an exemplary showdown in which many of the answers onlookers have regarding the possibilities: Has Counter Logic Gaming's new found work ethic yield results over Team Solomid? Is the recent acquisition of L1nk and Aphromoo going to put the team at a disadvantage to the very stable foundation of TSM? Will Counter Logic Gaming come up with a clever blue-side cheese tactic that will throw Team Solomid off-guard in a best of 1? If history repeats itself, Team Solomid will have their "killing spree" on Counter Logic Gaming, but CLG is not going to give that up without a fight.
TEAM CURSE vs COUNTER LOGIC GAMING
February 9th, 02:00 CET
While it was difficult to choose a second highlight article and though the decision to feature Counter Logic Gaming in two of them was a hesitant one, it was unavoidable to mention this epic rivalry. Though there's no bad blood between the two teams, one cannot forget the aptly named "CLG Bench" placed upon Curse Gaming. Three members of the previous Counter Logic Gaming line-up make up the mighty ensemble that is Curse Gaming.
Counter Logic Gaming has statistically been the stronger team of the two over a long course of time, but just recently Curse Gaming accomplished robbing CLG of the #1 NA team spot in our rankings, just narrowly passing them up. Despite this fact, Curse Gaming has displayed absolutely rampant and unstoppable growth in terms of strength and team synergy whereas Counter Logic Gaming's performance has remained largely stagnant and rarely fluctuating.
Though Counter Logic Gaming has proven to have the most success on the international level in the recent stages of IPL5 and MLG Fall, Curse Gaming has hastily crept up on the scene when compared to their results upon forming and have proven their worth with their well established and solidified roster. The question is, will Counter Logic Gaming meet their demise against this team largely based on players benched for not fitting in or under-performing, or will CLG's roster showcase the appropriate level of commitment and team synergy required to show Curse Gaming that they mean business?
Boasting two of the strongest minds, wills, and personalities of the League of Legends scene, HotshotGG and Saintvicious will battle it out to see who can captain their team to victory and we'll discover just how formidable a foe Chauster has become in the role of jungling when battling it out against the veteran. Hotshotgg will show if he is the spanker or the spank-ee up against ex-CLG member Voyboy, and Saintvicious will find out if he can back up his words on having the strongest bottom lane in North America, having claimed Doublelift has gotten "lazy". If Curse Gaming takes out Counter Logic Gaming in this game, CLG may have to go back to the drawing board.
European circuit
Written by: Nydra
SK GAMING vs TEAM FNATIC
February 9th, 18:00 CET
Oh, how hard it was to select the highlight match for LCS Europe day one when the cruel schedule put this match and EG vs Gambit back to back! When four of the strongest teams in Europe play their opening matches within two hours of each other, how is one to pick just one?
In such cases, a writer will usually consider any sort of grudge between the two teams and luckily, there is a very recent one between SK Gaming and Fnatic dating back to IEM Katowice. With a new roster and revamped strength, SK were looking forward to the competition in Poland to prove they are still of relevance to the European scene and if not come first, then at least perform well against their EU colleagues.
If the AL match went well, the one against Fnatic did not and the bloody encounter was ended with a backdooring Kassadin, delivering a meal with similar taste to SK’s loss to CLG from S2WC. Going out this way was hurtful and it showed…
This brings us to the highlight match of February 9th, when SK Gaming will go out to seek revenge against Fnatic. Both teams are coming out with recently revamped rosters but Fnatic still seem to have the advantage, with Yellowstar once a teammate with sOAZ and nRated, automatically synergizing perfectly with half of the team. Against them stand SK with a jungler who still has not been tempered thoroughly unless something marginal has happened between now and Katowice.
History is also against SK Gaming when it comes to this match-up in particular. Besides Katowice, Ocelote’s team bears multiple Fnatic marks of defeat, obtained at Tales of the Lane, Campus Party and IEM VI New York. If SK Gaming have truly underwent reincarnation they need to show it by upsetting their old rival, otherwise it’ll be another triumph for the boys in black and orange.
GAMBIT GAMING vs TEAM FNATIC
February 10th, 18:00 CET
When a team is one of the reasons you miss the biggest tournament in the history of professional League to date, you are likely to crave for every drop of their blood. Such is the case with Fnatic and Gambit Gaming. At the S2 European qualifiers, Gambit (then Moscow 5) delivered a critical nudge to xPeke’s team, pushing the out of the grand final and into the 3rd/4th place match, which they’d eventually lose to miss the S2WC entirely.
Following said qualifier, both teams experiences a hiatus in results and easily dropped out of the competition for best European team, handling the prize to CLG.eu (now Evil Geniuses) and it was only recently that their resurgence occurred. Fnatic’s climbing to the top of the GosuRankings was as swift as it was spectacular and included a streak that featured outstanding placements at DreamHack Winter, IPL 5, THOR Open and IEM Cologne. Fans so a new Fnatic, one that wins decisively and boasts with the terrifying plays of sOAZ and xPeke.
At the same time, Moscow 5 too were reincarnated by throwing away their old garments and donning the pure white of Gambit Gaming, baptizing in by humiliating two of the strongest teams in Korea on Polish grounds. Replays from those games strongly indicate that more meta-game revolutions might be incoming, considering Edward’s GP5-less, quick pink ward openings and Diamond’s Locket of Iron Solari rush which found their ways into ladder and pro games alike.
The power level seems to fluctuate across the individual lanes as well, making the match even more intriguing. Alex_Ich and Diamond – elected AP and Jungler of 2012 by the GosuCrew – seem to be on the higher ground compared to xPeke and Cyanide but this doesn’t look to be the case with the top lane. sOAZ’s recent performances outshine Darien’s and on bot lane Yellowstar and nRated come in to give what is considered to be the weaker GBG link a hearty opposition. With so many variables, expect this to be the absolute highlight of February 10th.
NA circuit
TSM vs. CLG - 02/07 @ 10PM CET
Curse vs. Dignitas 02/07 @ 11PM CET
CLG vs. GGU - 02/09 @ 12AM CET
TSM vs. Vulcun - 02/09 @ 1AM CET
Curse vs. CLG - 02/08 @ 2AM CET
TSM vs. Dignitas - 02/08 @ 3AM CET
GGU vs. Curse - 02/08 @ 4AM CET
Vulcun vs. Dignitas - 02/08 @ 5AM CETEuropean circuit
SK vs. Fnatic - 02/09 @ 6PM CET
Gambit vs. EG - 02/09 @ 7PM CET
Fnatic vs. GIANTS - 02/09 @ 8PM CET
SK vs. Copenhagen Wolves - 02/09 @ 9PM CET
Gambit vs. Fnatic - 02/10 @ 6PM CET
Copenhagen Wolves vs. EG - 02/10 @ 7PM CET
GIANTS vs. Gambit - 02/10 @ 8PM CET
SK vs. EG - 02/10 @ 9PM CET
