LCS NA Week 2: MVPs and Top Plays

Note: These players are not necessarily the top statistically, but those who had the biggest impact for their team.

Top Lane

1ST: Cruzerthebruzer

With so many of Dignitas’ players contributing heavily to their now five game winning streak, it is perhaps easy to overlook the excellent work their newest addition has been doing for them in the top lane. While his play during Super Week wasn’t ideal, Cruzer really stepped up his game in Week 2 on Mundo and Renekton and showed that he can compete among the best in North America.

Dignitas is a team on fire right now after winning five in a row, and the newfound synergy between Crumbzz and Cruzer as a front-line duo really seems to be clicking.

Stats:

2nd: Dyrus (Team SoloMid)

Dyrus has had a rather quiet season so far but his combined score of 7-1-15 this week on Shyvana and Dr. Mundo is impressive; he has been doing a solid job providing the front-line tankiness that has allowed Bjergsen and WildTurtle to shine.

3rd: Balls (Cloud 9)

His Rumble was top-notch as it has been in the past and his perfectly placed ultimate totally turned around Curse’s team-fighting initiation, netting him a triple kill.

Jungle:

1ST: Crumbzz

Another Dignitas member who impressed this week, Crumbzz not only showed off the diversity of his champion pool by playing a very strong Fiddlesticks, but also continues to improve his mechanics and ganking. His Vi and Elise are top-notch and he synergizes perfectly with his team – he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, counter-ganking and securing objectives with perfect efficiency. If he keeps up this level of play Dignitas could continue winning for weeks to come.

Stats:

Total Score: 7-4-32 KDA: 9.75 Average Cs: 99.3 Best Champion: Fiddlesticks

2nd: Snoopeh (Evil Geniuses):

Snoopeh has been a player under a lot of scrutiny over the past couple of months, but I feel like he has finally found his zone. His jungle Dr. Mundo was a big factor in EG’s win over XDG.G and his Vi was solid even in defeat.

3rd: Meteos (Cloud 9):

Unkilled on Elise, Meteos helped snowball his lanes and secure Cloud 9 victory over Curse, and looks primed to take another run at top spot on the KDA board.

Middle Lane:

1ST: Bjergsen

It’s no surprise that Bjergsen once again finds himself at the top of this list – his play has not only been shockingly consistent but also deadly. His Zed absolutely tore Coast to pieces after he bested Shiphtur in lane, which is no mean feat, and the manner in which he dealt with Wizfujiin so quickly in fight after fight was mind-boggling. Although his assassin play is probably what he is most recognised for, it must also be said that Bjergsen’s Gragas was excellent against Counter Logic Gaming and he was able to totally shut down HotshotGG’s Ziggs with help from the OddOne’s ganks.

Simply put, no one else has had the same level of impact as Bjergsen has over the first two weeks of play. His laning is dominant, his roaming is fearsome and his ability to play assassins must have carry players shaking in their boots.

Stats:

Total Score: 16-3-11 KDA: 9 Average Cs: 308.5 Best Champion: Zed

2nd: Pobelter (Evil Geniuses)

Coming off a couple of rough games in Super Week, Pobelter’s play was much improved this week. His Gragas totally destroyed ManCloud – yes that was Pobelter.

3rd: Scarra (Dignitas)

On a team full of people playing better than ever, Scarra hasn’t needed to carry games quite as hard as he has had to in the past. And yet, he played very well on Karthus and Ziggs, providing the damage and presence to back up Imaqtpie and the rest of Dig.

Bot-Lane Duo:

1ST: Imaqtpie and KiWiKiD

No doubt about it: the KiWiPie has been playing insanely well. Having overcome some initial poor play at Battle of the Atlantic and the first two LCS games of this split, the Dignitas bottom lane have really come into their own as one of the best in North America. You’ve got to hand it to them – they’ve come a long way since getting beat badly by Alliance.

KiWiKiD’s aggressive support play perfectly compliments qtpie’s Jinx and Draven, and the kills have been flowing their way as a result. The numbers don’t lie: both members are in the top 5 for KDA this season and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Other NA bot-lanes will have to watch out, or the KiWiPie will take them down with ease if they continue on this red-hot pace.

Stats:

Imaqtpie

Total Score: 22-4-22 KDA: 11 Average Cs: 231

Best Champion: Jinx

KiWiKiD

Total Score: 6-5-35 KDA: 8.2 Average Cs: 23

Best Champion: Thresh

2nd: Sneaky and LemonNation (Cloud 9)

With a bold pick of Draven, the Cloud 9 duo were able to absolutely bully the Curse duo relentlessly. Strong laning and teamfight presence defined this duo last split, and their game versus Curse really showed off their dominant ability.

3rd: WildTurtle and Xpecial (Team SoloMid)

While they weren’t as strong as last week, the TSM duo remains fearsome. Turtle’s Lucian was especially of note as he went 12-4-13 in two games.  

Plays of the Week:

Click on the Pictures to see the highlight in the official Youtube VOD.

1) Them Resets: Shiphtur Spins All Over TSM

Despite being down several thousand gold and many many kills, Coast pulled off one of the most impressive turnaround team-fights in recent memory against TSM. Coming from the Baron area up the ramp into the Blue-Buff area, TSM clumped a little bit too much, which allowed Daydreaming to land a massive Leona Solar Flare and Shiphtur on Katarina to jump into the fray as Coast turned the fight on its head. Kills and resets poured in for Shiphtur before going he went down leading to a 4 for 2 exchange in the blink of an eye.

(Click photo for VOD)

2) Equalizing the Fight: Rumballs Burns Curse

Here we have another excellent turn around teamfight, this time by Cloud 9 with Balls on his famous Rumble making the play. After Curse pulled off a successful bush gank bot-lane with Zekent Flash-Tibbers stunning three of Cloud 9, things looked grim. But a massive Equalizer in the perfect line from Balls absolutely ruined Curse, giving Balls a triple kill and sealing the game.

?(Click photo for VOD)

3) The Dovahkiin: Dignitas Takes a Level 1 Dragon

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With perfect agro management and Fiddlesticks sustain, Dignitas was able to pull one over on CLG and take a level 1 Dragon without being suspected at all. Clever and unpredictable but also ballsy, this play could have gone horribly for Dig if they didn’t do it right but it worked out so well thanks to great control and smart coordination.