Another blistering Super Week is in store for the LCO faithful this week as Split 2 rolls on.
In Week 4, Chiefs broke away from Peace for sole possession of first place, despite losing to them on Day 2. Pentanet, Gravitas, and Order each have a stake in third with 5-4 records, with PGG moving into the threeway battle after pummelling Peace on Friday.
Desperately holding onto sixth position are Dire Wolves and Legacy. Both orgs which have shown sparks of brilliance in-game, but haven’t quite broken even on the scoreboard at 4-5.
To start off this week’s action, Mark “Praedyth” Lewis and the PGG posse will be facing Mammoth; who have the ignominious record of nine consecutive losses.
Following that is El Clasico between Chiefs and Legacy — the latter of whom is, despite being skewed towards Dragon “Dragku” Guo’s top-ranked squad, the last team I’d want to overlook. They’re looking for that Blue Shell moment every week.
Similarly, Dire Wolves will be honing in on Peace for a potential third upset in a row, as Jordan “Only” Middleton and the pack are coming off a week of much-needed wins against mid-card teams, Gravitas and Pentanet.
And beyond all that is the day’s big clash: Order vs Gravitas.
Hoàng’s Pick of the Week: ORD vs GRV
We’re in the thick of it now.
The LCO is well underway in the second round robin. Each team has nine games under their belt, picks have been shown and each Oceanic team has challenged each other at least once so far.
For the first time in the team’s history, Gravitas is holding third place this deep into a split, with solo laners Mahmoud “Safa” Safa and Nathan “Kyose” Bacha acting as focal points for the emerging roster.
But when they last faced off on Summoner’s Rift in Week 2, Shane “Kevy” Allen impulsively picked up Vi to pair with Jerome “Chungy” Chung’s signature Galio, and the duo ran a clinic from bell to bell. From first blood at 3:31 on Shao “Akano” Zhong attempting bottom scuttle crab alone, Order set the tone for the game — truly, Akano could not catch a break and Gravitas’ Diana was never a threat; the match was handily in Order’s favour, ending after 32 minutes.
In the meantime, Gravitas has been developing into a scrappy team who seems to thrive on bloody games happily trading kills to slowly claw back into a game, usually from a deficit. But recent showings from Order have shown they have the capacity to farm well in-lane build out slow advantages, with the second-highest GPM in the league, second only to the Chiefs — as well as pushing advantages through Kevy and reliably leaning on Nathan “Puma” Puma for late-game insurance.
Barring a chaotic element like Kyose’s LeBlanc popping off, Order should have the upper hand in and out of the laning phase.
Hoàng’s Week 5, Day 1 Predictions
- Pentanet def. Mammoth
- Chiefs def. Legacy
- Order def. Gravitas
- Peace def. Dire Wolves
The LCO is back on tonight. Mammoth take on Pentanet to start, from 6pm (AEST). Head to our ultimate coverage hub to stay up to date on all things LCO.
