Rift Life - Issue #4 - Who's on top this week?
Hey there, I’m Tate (aka @captenredbeard). As part of the ‘Rift Life’ NALCS blog series, I’ll be chatting about week 3 games and predictions for week 4. The landing page for this week’s issue can be found HERE
What happened in week 3?!
SPOILERS FOR NA LCS AHEAD
So last week I made my predictions, and in general. I was right on most accounts. Let’s take a look.
FOX drops their first game to CLG?!? My only missed prediction on day 1. I still stand by it though, CLG wins by a single team fight going their way. Props to them for capitalizing, but I don't think this win is an indication of CLG being a top tier team right now.
I’m sad my prediction for day one 100 win turned out correct, since I am bandwagoning Clutch so hard...but I was seeing a lot more synergy with 100. That being said, CG really played well and quite nearly took this game. I’m really optimistic about their future this split.
In my opinion, the TSM vs. 100 game was a bit of an upset. 100 has looked a lot better than TSM so far. C9 beating CG was really pretty expected, but I had to try.
Other than that... this past week of games was pretty much expected. We are seeing some changes and improvements in just about all teams. Some stand-out performances...such as Hauntzer essentially carrying the team to the win over 100. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I don't see Bjergsen as the major carry here. Sure, he did well and its unlikely he'll ever lose the game for you...but does he heard carry? I don't see it. Look at Hauntzer's damage and impact in this game, despite a matchup he should be behind in (Vlad/Gangplank).
Source: YouTubeCurrent standings, after week 3, are as follows. Courtesy Riot Games.
Tate’s Rates
All that being said, let’s look at week 4 and make some predictions.
Oh man, this is a really tough week for predictions and a tougher week on the teams. The top echelon of teams are all playing each other this week. The biggest matches being FOX vs. TL and C9 vs. TL. On top of that, we’ve got CG going up against TSM, as well as TSM vs. CLG. The TL matches are really going to show us the power ranking of the top three. The TSM matches will give us an indication of whether or not they are truly on an upward trend and deserve to be in the top third of teams.
Now for my predictions, I’m betting on CG again. I think they are looking good, and if they can just tighten up a bit more they’re going to come out on top. The C9 vs. TL game is the most difficult decision of the week. TL is looking REALLY good so far, but so is C9...honestly, both of them are looking better than FOX now. So really, my predictions this week are deciding what rank I’m placing the top 3. My bet is C9, TL, FOX.. Technically if my predictions are correct, it puts C9 in first and TL/FOX sharing 2nd, but TL is looking better than FOX for sure.
Let me know if you agree, disagree, or don’t care.
