Will LGD redeem themselves, or is it Team Solomid’s time to shine?
There aren’t too many eSports tournaments that are split between two different games.
But this weekend, we do have one: the IEM San Jose.
Featuring some of the best League of Legends teams on one side and some of the finest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams on the other, it promises to be a riot.
We’ll be dealing with the stellar LoL action on offer as the teams compete for the $50,000 prize pool.
Here are our top three picks from the field of seven.
Last year’s runners-up were expected to do well again this year, especially since the team that downed them in the final – Cloud9 – are not competing this time.
Ironically enough, UoL weren’t even meant to be attending themselves, but have stepped in to replace Fnatic – who have pulled out for ‘medical reasons’.
The only issue? This really isn’t the team that were in the final last year.
In the past three months, four of their team have left; Kikis, H0R0, PowerOfEvil and Vardags.
Even accepting the ability of top LoL players to change teams and hit the ground running almost immediately, the communication abilities than come from months of playing together may not be as sharp.
Can Vizicsacsi and Hylissang put together a new team and be competitive? Of course they can. Will they? We’ll see.
Speaking of teams losing most of their squad at short notice, welcome Team Solomid.
At the recent end of Season 5, experienced veterans Dryus (top) and Lustboy (support) retired from the team, closely followed by jungler Santorin.
As they stated on their website, TSM now wanted to build an experienced and strong team around their star player, mid-laner Bjergsen.
And now it looks like they may have just found their ace-in-the-hole.
In an explosive twist that no-one saw coming, TSM nabbed North American League of Legends rivals Counter Logic-Gaming’s (CLG) most valuable player.
Yiliang ‘Doublelift’ Peng is a hugely talented AD carry and represented the cornerstone of CLG’s squad. Now he doesn’t.
With Doublelift joining Bjergsen and several other squad members ready to be announced, TSM all of a sudden are looking a vastly improved threat going into San Jose.
At the moment the odds don’t reflect that, so get involved while you can.
We know, we know, hear us out.
There is no argument here that LGD did not perform to anywhere near their ability in the recent World tournament.
They lost their opening four group matches on the spin, before recovering far too late to win their final two. Despite the late surge, they missed out on the playoffs.
The disappointment was only heightened because of their strong winning performance in the LPL Summer Playoffs back in August.
However, the simple fact remains. LGD Gaming have a squad packed with talent, hence why they’re favourites here.
Their star AD Carry Imp was their only player to leave Worlds with his head held high.
And, assuming that mid-laner GODV seems to have gotten over whatever affected him during the tournament, he’s easily one of the best across the globe in his position.
The biggest question is who will start in the top lane – Acorn or Flame?
One dependable and steady, the other with true star quality but, as we saw in Worlds, capable of self-destructing.
The choice is down to LGD, but whoever they choose could be crucial and could perhaps even be the difference between them winning the IBM San Jose or not.
Who are you backing to take the trophy on Monday?
