Harry Taylor (once again) casts an eye on what is going wrong at the Peace house ahead of the star-studded team’s PGG showdown in LCO Week 7.
We are well at truly in the backend of the regular season now. With six games, left we see the departure of Super Weeks for this year (oh how I will miss you, Casual Fridays) as the league continues its third and final round-robin.
The league is tight.
Mammoth have fallen out of contention, but the league’s seven other teams are still in the race for five playoff spots, and every win and loss is the difference between one position on the ladder and the next, or even making the playoffs at all.
Gravitas, now on the outside of the playoff picture after finding themselves in third place just weeks ago, will look to contest a Dire Wolves looking to rebuild their momentum after a losing week. The Chiefs want to keep in the battle for top spot by taking the win against a Mammoth team now fighting for pride.
In the day’s final contest, Order have the chance to keep up the battle for first, but face a tougher opponent in Legacy. The Trees are coming off a 3-0 week that saw them rocket back into contention, a place they will desperately want to stay in, or at least improve on.
The most compelling contest though of the day will be the first one though, where league-leading Pentanet take on the out-of-form Peace, who are sure to be desperate to get that all-important, meaningful win.
Taylor’s Pick of the Week: PGG v PCE
Wow, what a couple of weeks of games can do to perceptions.
When I first wrote about this game in Week 1, I expected PGG to be taking Peace on in a constant back-and-forth for the league’s top spot. In Week 7, thanks to a series of highs and lows for both teams, things are looking a little different.
For Pentanet, they want to keep their hot streak intact.
Taking on the full rotation of the league undefeated sees them boast one of the longest winning streaks currently in LoL esports internationally, as well as a promised return to the top of the table. A statement decisive victory on Tuesday against the Chief, before backing it up with clean victories against Gravitas and Dire Wolves, shows the defending champions are back up near their best, and are looking to be in the prime contenders seat for the trip to Shanghai and beyond.
In the Peace house, however, everything’s gone wrong.
Since the injection of James “Tally” Shute into the lineup to start week 5, the team has only taken a single win from the past six, with that win coming against league cellar-dwellers Mammoth. Now PCE finds themselves tied for fifth with Legacy, and its clear their ship is far, far off the expected course. That needs correcting, and fast, if they want to reach the promised playoff lands, and they’re running out of time.
There could be many factors in why they are struggling. It could be synergy in the team since their aforementioned roster change, a struggle with the three-game weeks, a lack of confidence with the current meta, or a myriad of all three of these factors. Whatever it is, they will want to hope they sorted it out over the weekend, because this week is the ‘put-up or shut-up’ round in having a realistic chance of making a top-three playoff spot and getting the Bo5s double chance.
Unfortunately for Peace, even if they are able to sort out the kinks and come back to the team most expect them to be, it won’t be enough to take PGG.
The Perth organisation looks all but untouchable after a shaky start to the season, and should expect to get this win relatively easily as they continue to ‘goombastomp’ their way through the league on their way to Worlds.
Taylor’s Week 7, Day 1 Predictions
- Pentanet def. Peace
- Dire Wolves def. Gravitas
- Chiefs def. Mammoth
- Order def. Legacy
Week 7 of the LCO starts today: Pentanet vs Peace starts at 6pm (AEST). Catch up on all the LCO 2021 Split 2 details in our ultimate coverage hub.
