Guest for Day 2: Pomelo
WE vs. IG
Source: http://star.longzhu.tv/lpl/v/93308
Game 1: Pre-game random banter
Pomelo: WE vs. IG is a classic match-up from Season 2. It would be tough for WE to beat IG this season. When will we see zzitai in mid again lol?
Hostess 2: Someone asked if we’ll see zztai, but Rookie and Kakao’s combo is too strong right now.
Pomelo: Yeah, because they’re both Koreans. Communication could be an issue if you pair a Chinese mid laner with a Korean jungler. In the current meta, it’s important to gain an advantage in the mid lane and make plays around the map together.
Hostess 2: IG reminds me of the old KTA: Rookie and Kakao as a combo, with Kid focusing on team fights. On the other hand, WE still has YuZhe as their support. Fans are wondering when Mystic (WE’s new ADC) and The Shy (streamer) will play. Also, Ninja is not highly rated right now.
Pomelo: Ninja plays too passively in mid. He doesn’t aggress on his opponents, just waits for scaling. That style worked in the previous meta, but not anymore.
Hostess 2: Can’t he focus on farming like Weiless?
Pomelo: Weiless is not only good at farming, but he is also aggressive in lane.
Pick & ban
Pomelo: Veigar ban. People may not know this, but in S1 I played a lot of Veigar. Veigar requires movement speed items, which weakens his laning phase. It’s more suitable for a scaling ADC to play passive, not someone like Uzi who constantly pushes the lane.
Pomelo: WE takes Nidalee away from Kakao because he’s accurate with spears. Corki and Ezreal are picked for poke comps.
Post-game
Pomelo: Dragon control was a weakness for IG in this game. Kakao’s mid game performance was also poor. He was constantly visible to WE’s vision and couldn’t make impactful plays across the map. WE’s poke comp shined in the mid game.
Hostess 2: Maybe it was a mistake for WE to pick Nidalee?
Pomelo: Maybe IG thought WE wouldn’t pick Nidalee or play well with her. Looks like IG’s top laner is being substituted for the next game?
Game 2: Post-game (VOD skipped to in-game directly)
Source: http://star.longzhu.tv/lpl/v/93319
Pomelo: Congrats to WE! They played well and Spirit’s early game counter gank gave them an advantage.
VG vs. King
Game 1: Pre-game random banter
Source: http://star.longzhu.tv/lpl/v/93438
Pomelo: Both teams aren’t performing up to my expectations. VG’s Mata is my favorite player. King’s Skye isn’t performing like his old days in LSPL, when he dominated strong teams like OMG in scrims.
Hostess 2: Assassin played a passive laning phase yesterday against WE. King is not as aggressive as before.
Pomelo: Maybe King has something to lose after achieving so much as a rookie team. Are they becoming a second WE? I think Snake is the dark horse, but they haven’t been playing well after the New Year. It’s like all the teams are slacking after New Year.
Pick & ban
Hostess 2: VG bans Ahri, a recent go-to pick for Assassin. And Skye loves his Irelia.
Pomelo: King bans Veigar, probably because of his strong crowd control. VG picks Lissandra to confuse King, and first picks Maokai. King’s bot lane has a disadvantage against VG’s Graves/Janna lane.
Pomelo: VG is focusing on shutting down Assassin. Nidalee was left open for last pick, which is surprising. Let’s see how it goes for King’s Corki against Graves.
Post-game
Pomelo: VG played well in their Dragon fights. King tried to kill Nidalee but flashed too much. Irelia couldn’t make an impact in this game.
Game 2: Pick & ban
Source: http://star.longzhu.tv/lpl/v/93439
Pomelo: King bans Gnar, Rumble, and Lissandra to prevent VG from blocking choke points. VG picks Maokai as a safe pick, and King chooses Xerath against VG’s engage comp.
Pomelo: On a side note, players are holding hot water bottles to keep warm.
Hostess 2: The hot water bottles are provided by the stage crew, players can’t bring their own.
Pomelo: Why? Because they may be doping?
Hostess 2: VG picks Maokai after waiting to see whether King plans to pick a farming mid or aggressive mid.
Pomelo: Xerath isn’t the best pick against VG’s engage comp. King doesn’t have a strong disengage comp. to protect Xerath. Veigar would have been a safer scaling pick. But Xerath can stun lock the enemy, giving time for Kalista to land more spears.
Post-game
Pomelo: Short games overall. Good performance from Veigar, but Assassin’s portrait before the match was wrong. King showed glimpses of their LSPL days, when they were considered better than Snake.