2012-06-12, 11:05 PM
As far as TSM vs CLG.NA at Anaheim went, I think TSM made a few simple mistakes that let CLG keep it close. After seeing how dominant they were against them in that first best of three game, I don't think anyone was shocked that they won in the end. It was far more shocking the CLG even put up a fight. TSM has now proved multiple times that they are the top team in NA, and did so even more convincingly this tournament than any other. The only serious competition seemed to come from CLG.EU, and while some might argue CLG.NA has proven to be just as much a contender, I don't agree, but that's a matter of opinion.
Speaking of CLG.EU, they continue to perform well, but they've still got some more work to do. I feel like TSM was just too dominant this tournament for them to really shine, but they, and TSM.Evo are waiting in the wings to take front stage as a dominant force in LoL. Wickd and Froggen remain strong, but apparently just couldn't quite manage to carry through against the NA teams. Still, they have done very well against TSM in the past and they are by no means pushovers, so I expect to see them as strong contenders at the Season 2 championships.
TSM.EVO was knocked out surprisingly early, and much to I think everyone's disappointment. They are just a small step away from being a consistent Top 3 team imo. I feel like WingsofDeathx needs some more experience, and that Salce needs to get back to carrying status for them to reach that though. Nhatphromoo can only do so much after all. Still, we've seen how Doublelift carried CLG.NA, so perhaps Aphromoo can get to that point as well. I think by the Season 2 championships they'll be contenders, but we may not seem them fully bloom until Season 3.
Curse.EU is strong as well, but they seem to suffer against NA teams. Depending on the way Season 2 is seeded, we could see them in contention, but at the moment, it feels like there are too many NA teams that could knock them out of the running.
Speaking of Curse, I'd be remiss not to talk about Curse.NA. I feel like they just keep hanging around the edge of being a top team. Always in the 4th or 5th place, but just not quite able to get to that top tier of NA teams. I hope that the addition of Saint will help them get there, but whether they'll manage to do that before the Season 2 championships is unclear.
Team Dynamic shows that they are a top team, but they're still not quite there yet. I don't think it'd be too surprising to see them place second in a major tourney, but I don't believe they can take the Season 2 championships unless they up their game some. There are just too many teams who seem to have some idea how to deal with them. Perhaps they'll do better if more EU and Asian teams are involved, but even with their impressive rise into the tourney scene, I feel they are somewhat lacking compared to some of the other top tier NA teams.
Touching on Dignitas, they are always a contender, but the top lane swap will continue to hurt their chances. They used to be able to rely on Voyboy to win his lane and force a jungler to camp top, allowing their other lanes and jungle to do work, but I think with the change, they're still figuring out how to deal with Crumbzzz top. He's a good top and all, don't get me wrong, but there is still a gap that has limited them. Obviously they're still good enough to place top three, but I feel like they need a little more time and practice to really get back into the dominant force they once were.
As for CLG.NA, I feel like HotshotGG is a worse jungler than Saint was, and until we see them in a tourney with Voyboy on their roster, we can't know for sure how good they are. I know everyone is praising Hotshot, but he remains a pretty limited jungler. People keep on arguing that he stole that baron from TSM, but OddOne wasn't even able to smite it because he was out of the baron pit. That was more of a TSM facepalm than him doing anything special. His Naut jungle was kind of meh, as was his Shen. Not terrible, but a far cry from the jungle Saint was able to do, and still way below what any other jungler main can do if left unchecked. I feel like all TSM needed to do was force him into a jungler that he wasn't comfortable in, and they would have won far more easily. Unfortunately with only 3 bans, that was pretty hard to do. I think if it had been 4 bans per team, we'd have seen a 2-1 TSM win or even a 2-0.
Lastly I'll talk about MTW.NA. I really wanted them to do well this tournament, as I enjoyed their team back when they were simply Goose, but they got knocked out so early. They are an interesting team with all sorts of odd strats and ideas, as well as some pretty interesting team members. Seeing Atlanta on Yi or their Jarvan/Leona kill lane was lots of fun, and I hope they can be top tier contenders in the Season 2 championship, which is possible if the EU and Asian teams can't handle them. Assuming they make it there of course, since it seems they can't quite get out of the shadow that many of the top tier NA teams cast.
Speaking of CLG.EU, they continue to perform well, but they've still got some more work to do. I feel like TSM was just too dominant this tournament for them to really shine, but they, and TSM.Evo are waiting in the wings to take front stage as a dominant force in LoL. Wickd and Froggen remain strong, but apparently just couldn't quite manage to carry through against the NA teams. Still, they have done very well against TSM in the past and they are by no means pushovers, so I expect to see them as strong contenders at the Season 2 championships.
TSM.EVO was knocked out surprisingly early, and much to I think everyone's disappointment. They are just a small step away from being a consistent Top 3 team imo. I feel like WingsofDeathx needs some more experience, and that Salce needs to get back to carrying status for them to reach that though. Nhatphromoo can only do so much after all. Still, we've seen how Doublelift carried CLG.NA, so perhaps Aphromoo can get to that point as well. I think by the Season 2 championships they'll be contenders, but we may not seem them fully bloom until Season 3.
Curse.EU is strong as well, but they seem to suffer against NA teams. Depending on the way Season 2 is seeded, we could see them in contention, but at the moment, it feels like there are too many NA teams that could knock them out of the running.
Speaking of Curse, I'd be remiss not to talk about Curse.NA. I feel like they just keep hanging around the edge of being a top team. Always in the 4th or 5th place, but just not quite able to get to that top tier of NA teams. I hope that the addition of Saint will help them get there, but whether they'll manage to do that before the Season 2 championships is unclear.
Team Dynamic shows that they are a top team, but they're still not quite there yet. I don't think it'd be too surprising to see them place second in a major tourney, but I don't believe they can take the Season 2 championships unless they up their game some. There are just too many teams who seem to have some idea how to deal with them. Perhaps they'll do better if more EU and Asian teams are involved, but even with their impressive rise into the tourney scene, I feel they are somewhat lacking compared to some of the other top tier NA teams.
Touching on Dignitas, they are always a contender, but the top lane swap will continue to hurt their chances. They used to be able to rely on Voyboy to win his lane and force a jungler to camp top, allowing their other lanes and jungle to do work, but I think with the change, they're still figuring out how to deal with Crumbzzz top. He's a good top and all, don't get me wrong, but there is still a gap that has limited them. Obviously they're still good enough to place top three, but I feel like they need a little more time and practice to really get back into the dominant force they once were.
As for CLG.NA, I feel like HotshotGG is a worse jungler than Saint was, and until we see them in a tourney with Voyboy on their roster, we can't know for sure how good they are. I know everyone is praising Hotshot, but he remains a pretty limited jungler. People keep on arguing that he stole that baron from TSM, but OddOne wasn't even able to smite it because he was out of the baron pit. That was more of a TSM facepalm than him doing anything special. His Naut jungle was kind of meh, as was his Shen. Not terrible, but a far cry from the jungle Saint was able to do, and still way below what any other jungler main can do if left unchecked. I feel like all TSM needed to do was force him into a jungler that he wasn't comfortable in, and they would have won far more easily. Unfortunately with only 3 bans, that was pretty hard to do. I think if it had been 4 bans per team, we'd have seen a 2-1 TSM win or even a 2-0.
Lastly I'll talk about MTW.NA. I really wanted them to do well this tournament, as I enjoyed their team back when they were simply Goose, but they got knocked out so early. They are an interesting team with all sorts of odd strats and ideas, as well as some pretty interesting team members. Seeing Atlanta on Yi or their Jarvan/Leona kill lane was lots of fun, and I hope they can be top tier contenders in the Season 2 championship, which is possible if the EU and Asian teams can't handle them. Assuming they make it there of course, since it seems they can't quite get out of the shadow that many of the top tier NA teams cast.