Introduction

As the groups for the LCS comes to a close, the primary focus has been on the teams that have had hot streaks and/or were expected to take the throne and remain on top. Well, we're going to be looking insightfully into the teams that aren't doing so hot, but definitely have potential. Today our focus is going to be on the bottom 4 teams, their status, and what they can do to pick themselves up and give a strong showing at this upcoming super week for both regions. North American Circuit https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/mrn_preview.jpg" border="0"> Team MRN Though inconsistent, MRN has shown their capability for upsets in the LCS. They have taken games off all of the top rated teams with the exception of Dignitas. MRN have suffered from some internal problems with their mid laner getting constantly ill and with Nientonsoh subbing in somewhat late into the LCS season had already completed. After Nientonsoh’s debut, the team had higher expectations, one would assume. Marn was quoted stating that this was supposed to be a long-term investment rather than an instant bolstering of the team’s performance. Unfortunately, the team still hasn’t been able to show its strengths on a scale that would rival the top. MRN has clearly shown that they can take games off the top teams, so my favorite quote in this situation is “If you did it once, you can do it again.” If Marn can harness the strength they have to roll through the superweek that they utilize to pull massive upsets, they’ll be right on track. Vulcun Command If there was a team Vulcun could related to in League of Legends’ developing eSports history, it would be SK Gaming from Season 2. The potential is all there, but it’s very passion driven. Like SK Gaming last season, the team is underperforming but shows potential. When a great chain of events kick off, the team’s enthusiasm and Zuna’s roaring passion echo off the LCS walls, leading to great victories. Fortunately, the individual skill is all there and it has shown in the past. Zuna, who started as AD Carry, switched to top, and has now transitioned back to AD carry, is showing strong promise in the role, especially with the addition of Bloodwater. On top of that, Mandatorycloud is often regarded by other pros as one of if not THE best mid laner in the LCS. With positive spirits, Vulcun has a lot to gain out of this upcoming super week. https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/coLPreview2.jpg" border="0"> Team compLexity Complexity is a rather unfortunate case of a team that started off awful but came back strong; however, the situation was “too little, too late.” Having been bottom of the barrel fairly consistently, pr0lly joining the team has created compLexity anew. Their performances are strong and their innovation is a key component to their recent successes. This next week for compLexity gives them an opportunity to have a reason to be feared. Lautemortis and Pr0lly have always had extremely ridiculous synergy with one another as recent performances have shown. While their bot lane seems to be their weak point, NickWu has been extremely dominant on his unique roster of champions he chooses to run. Though compLexity may not have the consistent standard performance to make a difference in their standings, they have the minds required to throw a surprise curveball and beat teams with compositions they are unfamiliar with. If they can keep the other teams off their toes, their potential is incredible. https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/ggu_preview.jpg" border="0"> Good Game University Last, but certainly not least, we have Good Game University. Out of all the not-so-well represented teams from the beginning of the season, fans, casters, and even the top NA teams have seen Good Game University as the biggest threat of all of them and the one they fear the most. While unfortunate visa issues prohibited the team from playing with their static lineup, Good Game University has found recent success, maintaining one of the longest win streaks in the entire LCS. GGU is another clear-cut case of the potential being there, but not being quite fully tapped. Now fully accustomed to their latest line-up, each member has been doing well individually and meshing much better together as a team rather than displaying vibes of random, meshed up high Elo solo queue players. Unlike some of the under dogs, the goal GGU should be looking for is enhancing their standard play and not deviating too far from the norm. We’ve seen them try and fail at things such as “Jungle Leona”, whereas they’ve straight up beaten top teams playing standard. If they spice up their standard play rather than a full deviation, they’ll be looking quite strong this week. European Circuit https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/CHW_preview.jpg" border="0"> Copenhagen Wolves Copenhagen Wolves has been absolutely spectacular these last couple of weeks. In fact, word of mouth dictates that they are the team that many of the top 4 don’t wish to face at the moment. Once buried in last place for several weeks, when the team began practicing with Bjergsen, Copenhagen Wolves seemed to have rebirthed into a whole new team. It is undermining to claim that Bjergsen alone as a player has shifted the team’s performance entirely, but it is safe to say that having him around in the team has made them significantly stronger -- the team chemistry and synergy is evidence of that. The only thing that will cut the Wolves’ strength is not entering the super week with nerves of steel. Very frequently an underdog team will receive a small bolstering to their standings and then fall tragically as their nerves get the best of them when they can’t handle the hot streak. A clear mind means a clear victory this week. https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/AAA_preview.jpg" border="0"> Against All Authority Against all Authority doesn’t seem to attribute any particular target reasoning as to why they lose games. The team and organization itself has always been a prominent competitor in the past, placing 2nd in the Season 1 World Championships only behind Fnatic. When aAa seem to lose, it seems to be due to the outplay. Although it’d be foolish to trivialize what they need to do to compete with the big boys, it truly does seem like a case of “practice and study more as a team.” Against All Authority walks into games performing confidently in the laning phase, but lack cohesion near the end. If aAa can iron these things out, then they might have a shot at a strong performance next week. https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/giants_preview.jpg" border="0"> GIANTS! Gaming Giants can be classified as being most related to a mold of CLG and MRN from the North American scene -- not in the way they play the game and where their faults lie, but the fact they seem to be kryptonite to some of the Season 2 monsters while dropping games to the others. Most notably, Giants has been able to take wins off Gambit Gaming where many other European teams struggle to do the same. Calculating them amongst the ranks of other European teams, you could say they are weaker for sure. However, a lot of their strength comes down to their picks. One extreme example is the AD Kennen of Jimbownz. It is a niche that he can fill that most teams don’t really know about or hardly practice with due to the rarity of it. I’d say Giants should expand their champion repertoire, but it’s a little too late to do that. What they really need to do is pull something out of their magical bag of tricks that teams cannot adequately study and essentially “cheese” their victory as their chances of redeeming themselves in standard play against well established teams like Fnatic or Gambit Gaming will be rough. https://www.gosugamers.net/general/images/2013/april/dragonborns_preview.jpg" border="0"> DragonBorns Oddly enough, the last place team of both regions have a lot in common. You could call Dragonborns (and compLexity) gimmicky in this case, but the negative connotation behind that term doesn’t do justice to Dragonborns. While Dragonborns initially started off fairly well, they have been having significant troubles ever since teams have begun studying and the LCS has progressed. Even though they are the last place team, the upsets they have provided to viewers have been nothing short of glorious. Utilizing a ban-worthy Draven in competitive play and running AP Nidalee bottom are just a fraction of what this team publicized in competitive play. The problem therein lies that they continuously fall back into a standard deviation of play, which is not their strong suit. Perhaps rather than blatantly grinding out games, they should really get together as a team and focus on what crazy strategies they can pull out of their minds to bring us truly devastating blows to the opposition rather than the opposite.