This is a weekly article series that will go over just some thoughts, ideas, predictions...whatever I’m feeling for the week. It may be anything from current champion ratings to the pro’s state of mind. As always, you can catch the weekly landing page for the 'Rift Life' blog HERE

The Cap’n’s Pieces o' Eight

No. 1 It’s Piracy!

Let’s kick this new series off the right way... by continuing my Pirate theming. I’m talking about Gangplank, obviously. Last week, during the pre-show, Jatt brought us a bit of trivia revealing that Gangplank was the highest win rate in the LCS at the moment. In last week’s games, we had Camille, Gnar, Vladimir, Ornn, Illaoi, andddd Gangplank....that’s it! Additionally, Gangplank was 100% picked or banned. Mostly being picked. So that means this champion is not only being played the most, but winning the most. Why?? Is it because GP is legitimately overpowered? Is it the global map pressure? Is it kleptomancy? I’d like to see some more variation this weekend. Can teams/coaches figure out how do deal with this champion?

No. 2 Clutch Clutches

I noticed something last week. Clutch gaming is really living up to their name with some of their plays and wins. Making clutch plays at just the right time. Some of you may wonder where “Clutch” came from. Well, we talked about how CG is owned by the Houston Rockets sports organization. The reference comes from the ‘93-’94 NBA Finals where the Houston Rockets blew multiple big leads in their first two games and eventually won seven in order to advance to the finals. The “clutch city” reference stuck and has been used in other Houston sports. Back to esports, CG has seemed to make some seriously impressive plays when it needed to be done. Such as Apollo stealing baron multiple times last weekend.

No. 3 The 1%

Lately it’s seemed as if there has been praise for certain pros, that really haven’t been performing at a high enough level to be deserving of it. I’m looking at guys like Impact, Bjergsen, even Doublelift. There are a few others. Commentators, analysts, etc. are always saying things or voting these guys MVP. Bjergsen, for example, always winning MVP. Sure his team has won most of the NA LCS finals. Sure he’s an amazing player and you wont typically lose a game because of him... but how often does he have an insane performance. Same can be said for Impact or Doublift. We hear the phrase “Man, Jensen played out of his mind”.. But do you hear that about these other guys that we are always taken as the best? It’s almost as if once they’ve secured their spot as the best, perceptions don’t change. I really hope some of the other players who consistently push the envelope manage to get some recognition this split.

No. 4 Happy duo, Happy life?

I notice a lot of pros talk about being dissatisfied with the current meta. This attitude obviously comes and goes, but it’s a common thing to hear. So based on the current balance of the game (the meta) we may see a certain style of game. The meta of spring split right now seems to be based on stalling out games in order for carrys to come completely online. Pros even admit that they don’t particularly like that type of play and prefer shorter more exciting games. That being said, even if they don’t like a certain game style, if the meta proves that that style is “the best” at the current time, then they are forced to play that style. In the end, it’s akin to working a job you hate, just because you have to. Shouldn’t the balances be in place to provide the most exciting view AND gaming experience. I’m not a game designer, but I imagine this is really difficult. I suppose I’d just like to hear more about the reasoning behind balance changes.

No. 5 Mad skilz

That last thought leads me into another I’ve been having... I recently decided to start trying out Azir in my solo play. Azir is one of those champions that has a pretty low win rate across all ELOs. The reason for this is pretty simple... he requires a high level of skill to be effective with. I really wish Riot would release more champions that are like this. Difficult to play, but once mastered, a real work of art. The latest champion, Zoe, kind of hits the mark in my opinion. The playstyle does seem pretty difficult. The problem that people are crying about with Zoe is... her damage is just too high. Provided some balance changes, I think Zoe could fit into the same tier as Azir. Highly difficult to get right, but once you do...so beautiful.

No. 6 FLY be free!

Last weekend Flyquest finally was able to debut their full roster. Fly, their mid laner, apparently had some issues regarding visas and such. This seems to be a semi-common problem. At least every season I hear something about a visa barely going through in time or not working out at all. This gets me wondering, is it really that difficult?? Some forethought on the team’s part should give plenty of time to get paperwork on their players completed. If it’s really just a case of the U.S. being ridiculous with our work visas, then maybe the league need some sort of union to support the players in this way.

No. 7 Fantasy Flops

So I’m running a fantasy league for the spring split with my friends. Most of them don’t even watch the games and so they all were auto-drafted/filled during the draft of our teams. The system automatically gives them the highest “estimated points” pros, which means a lot of EU players ended up on the friends’ teams that don’t follow the NALCS. The funny thing about this is, the EU players seem to be consistently getting more fantasy points. As far as I know, the points are the same in both regions for the actual objectives. So the difference is in playstyle. It seems in the EU, games are consisting of significantly more kills than in NA. I don’t really have a point to this thought, other than it’s pretty interesting that playstyle would be THAT different between our two regions. Which also leads me to think, why on earth can’t we choose from all players across all regions? Fantasy league really needs some improvements. It’s a large component of every other major sport. Why not League of Legends?

No. 8 Last but not least

The Golden Guardians are in dead last. With a 1-7 record, it’s really not looking good. The odd thing I’ve noticed about this split though...all the teams really seem to have some highlights. While it’s still pretty easy to identify the top tier teams right now, the rest of the pack is a lot closer than one might think. Which I think is great. All the teams getting thrown out of whack during this franchise move has really been great for the league when it comes to making the whole group more interesting to watch. I doubt this was the intent of the team owners, to share the wealth across the board, but it really seems to have worked out that way.

Well, those are my ramblings for the week. Shower thoughts. Momentos. Whatever. Feel free to comment below and strike up a conversation on any of the above, or anything at all. Are you excited about the games this weekend? The top two teams go head to head this week, should be a great game for sure (C9 vs. FOX).

Source: All from Giphy.com