No more LCO second chances.
The lower bracket continues to heat up as Oceania continues its steady march to Worlds; week two is here, and one contender will see their campaign end this evening — Order and Peace come face-to-face, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Both teams have made Worlds 2021 their public objectives, and that means one will fall a hurdle or two early in that regard on Tuesday evening.
Order come into the contest licking their wounds, and looking to improve from an unexpectedly poor showing against the Dire Wolves in the upper bracket. A 0-3 blowout was far from the ideal result, and all eyes will be on how the Melbourne squad regroup from a game that would have surely shaken their confidence.
The main issue, in my eyes, is that Order lost their regular-season glamour; just weeks ago, they were dominating the league. Come playoffs, however, and with the Andrew “Ark” Chun substitute, the squad looked far more timid.
The Wolfpack took full advantage, tearing them apart in 39 minutes. Little changed with Jerome “Chungy” Chung back in the team, and they fell quickly.
Order must now reset, or risk bowing out in straight sets.
That may be difficult though; Peace have returned to some of their best League of Legends in the lower bracket, dismantling the Chiefs in three to damn the four-time OPL champions to yet another title-less season.
Peace have found their five, and look all the better for it too.
If Order are to win, it must be through the bot lane. Vincent “Violet” Wong and Nathan “Puma” Puma have been two of the best performers this season, and both have the ability to 1v9 the game if they can score the gold early. Ryan “Aladoric” Richardson and David “Beats” Nguyen play a big role in that too, as the building blocks for their ADCs to survive and thrive.
Both duos will know this too: expect early impact from the jungle and mid lanes, especially in the Leo “Babip” Romer and Shane “Kevy” Allen duel.
In this game, Peace should emerge as eventual victors.
The team is clicking at the right time, and this five-man formation (if we see it continue in the postseason) is a well-tuned engine compared to the spluttering misfires we saw from the Dragon’s Den across the regular season. Order, on the other hand, desperately needs some servicing.
No second chances — or rather, resurrections, if we take a leaf from Thanos — should see us get a thrilling five-game contest, but I give it to Peace in the end.
The meta so far this playoffs has been swift 3-0 demolitions, but haymakers, curveballs, pocket picks, and desperation should get us all the way to Silver Scrapes as the LCO Split 2 playoffs reach the pointy end tonight.
Week 2 of the LCO Split 2 playoffs begin tonight at the regular time of 6pm AEST. Tune in on Twitch at twitch.tv/LCO to watch the elimination series unfold.
