The most dominant team in LMS history had no trouble facing the only opponent who beat them in the regular season. Flash Wolves stepped up their play considerably, and G-Rex simply couldn’t compete with the fantastic performances of Maple, SwordArt, Moojin and the rest. They showed signs of resurgence in game 2 after switching their mid laners, but FW was simply too strong and the Dinos had to leave Macau without a single victory.
This marks another split where Flash Wolves were on a whole another level compared to the rest of the teams, and the Taiwanese scene is feeling a bit stale at times: FW’s bitter rivals AHQ are falling further and further down the gutter, not even reaching playoffs this split, and the same happened to last year’s Worlds contenders J Team and Hong Kong Attitude. The “forever fourth” Machi 17 again proved worthy of their nickname, and the newly formed MAD Team showed signs of promise, but clearly aren’t good enough yet.
This means, of course, that the LMS region will be backing the Wolves at MSI once again. A lack of good results internationally since MSI 2016 should be concerning for the region’s best team, and the region itself – if their five-time champions have been losing on the international stage for nearly two years, what does it say about the quality of the rest of the league? Flash Wolves’ dominance seems to have impacted the LMS negatively: all the best players try to get on FW and leave their teams, while FW themselves can’t improve without real competition and then proceed to lose once they face strong Chinese or Western teams.
The Wolves, however, have one very interesting trait on the international stage, which could spice MSI up once again. They are known as the Korean Slayers, due to their curious ability to beat the best Korean teams without trouble, even if they lose to the rest of the opposing teams. With multiple victories against teams such as SK Telecom T1, KOO Tigers and Longzhu Gaming, they always know how to make a tournament interesting. However, they also have a tendency to consistently lose against Chinese and North American teams, which usually leaves them in an unfavourable spot in the end. This is the first time we will see them with their new top laner and jungler though, so maybe one of these traditions gets broken this year.
Flash Wolves could reign the LMS for a long time to come, and the rest of the region needs to seriously step up and find a way to dethrone them. Until then, the Kings of Taiwan will remain on top, and try to bring back the honour their region has all but lost on the international scene.
]]>MORE TIPS: ESPORTS PREDICTIONS
GUIDE: HOW TO BET ON LOL
Taiwan’s Flash Wolves were the absolute kings of LMS over the past few years, winning four titles in a row without even facing a serious challenge. Before the split, concerns were raised over whether the team will be able to function after losing their jungler and long-time captain Karsa, but the Wolves didn’t even blink. Their new jungler Moojin has been tearing the league apart from day one, and is one of the team’s main strengths.
Mid laner Maple is still a great carry player prolific with the current power picks: his Azir remains undefeated this year, and his Ryze is known world over as one of the scariest rivals to face in the middle. ADC Betty has stepped his game up from last year, finally expanding his champion pool with some hard-carry picks (though Varus is still his favourite). SwordArt has been the best support in the league for a while, and his efficiency on both heavy engage and ranged healer champions provides Betty with big leads in lane and safety in teamfights.
FW’s main discovery this split is the fantastic rookie top laner Hanabi, who excels at carry champions that are currently heavily contested. Hanabi has been popping off in teamfights, and G-Rex will have to stop him in order to take the throne.
G-Rex, on the other hand, play an explosive, attractive and team-focused style, that was an enigma for the rest of LMS teams over the season. The squad from Hong Kong uses both their mid laners effectively, switching strategies from game to game, and changing carry duties from top to middle or middle to ADC like it’s nothing. Composed teamfighting and fantastic synergy give the newcomer squad huge power in the mid-game, which Flash Wolves will have to deal with if they want to stand a chance.
G-Rex’s main star is Samsung Galaxy’s former ADC Stitch, who likes to play reserved in lane, but then becomes the focal point of his team once the laning phase ends.
This series is not going to be a one-sided stomp, and it’s not easy to predict a match between such dominant teams. Flash Wolves might have an edge here, due to their individual prowess and experience in big matches, but G-Rex will surely put up a fight. I believe in the Wolves to take their fifth consecutive title and go to MSI once again.
Best bet: Flash Wolves to win, paying $1.40 at GG Bet.
]]>