From four to three. The LCO playoffs continue after we farewelled our first team of the finals last night, with Pentanet exiting in fourth. For the Dire Wolves, they survive for one more day.
Pentanet will be extremely disappointed with the result after seeking greener pastures for practice against those in the greater PCS region, however largely a lack of adaptation has led to their departure.
The ability to adapt is a core element of any League of Legends tournament, becoming more prevalent as the season progresses into best of three and/or best of five matches.
It is this element that has largely cost Pentanet — and also, had been the crux of Dire Wolves in the latter half of the season.
As we move to best-of-fives this element becomes much more important; as further information is presented on the table, strengths and weaknesses become more apparent and adjusting accordingly can be the difference between win or loss.
This evening, we once again, run it back for the Queensland derby — as The Chiefs take on Team Bliss for the third time since the mid season break.
Callum’s Pick of the Week — The Chiefs vs Team Bliss
The element of Team Bliss that has become most apparent over the course of the second half of the season is this willingness to adapt.
From the eleven games played post mid-season break, Yoo “Daystar” Ji-Myeong notably has piloted ten different champions — and in the process has demonstrated great depth of champion pool, but also highlighted himself as one of, if not the best pick ups from teams in recent memory.
Bliss has demonstrated multiple ways to weaken The Chiefs over the groups stage, firstly targeting the jungle pool of Leo “Babip” Romer which has been condensed in his return to play. Then, moving to remove signature picks for individual players.
Sejuani: comfort for Babip, highly synergistic pick with Ronald “Kisee” Vo’s mid pairings.
Zeri: by far Quin “Raes” Korebrits’ best looking and performing champion this year.
And removing Ryan “Aladoric” Richardson’s Rakan.
This strategy proved winning in the last time these teams faced. This season in particular, while Chiefs have had a notable decline, one disadvantage that has become apparent is the degree of transparency that one can prepare for the series with.
Comfort and condensed champion pools and play styles is not necessarily a negative in its own right and becomes a reflection of the mastery of the players and the team as a whole.
However, when off form as Chiefs have demonstrated in 2023, become targeted and begin to show glimpses of weakness.
Expect to see Bliss target the individuals on Chiefs yet again, to assist with securing a favourable position for themselves.
The Chiefs have shown cracks in the armour, and are likely to fall to this season’s dark horse in what may be a grand final preview, with the losing team having another chance against the Dire Wolves in the lower bracket.
LCO Playoffs Day 3 Predictions
Our first LCO team through to the PCS playoffs — and potentially onwards to MSI — will be decided tonight, with the upper bracket best-of-five qualifier between Chiefs and Bliss beginning at 6pm AEDT. For more, check our ultimate coverage hub.
Follow our prediction team @CDMLoL, @ImHarryTaylor, @NadetteOCE and @Ties_AU on Twitter.
