Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic wrapped up this weekend after pitting the five LCS teams who avoided relegation from both NA and EU against each other. The first two matches, Dignitas vs Alliance and Team Solo Mid (TSM) vs Lemondogs (LD), took place the weekend before in conjunction with the EU LCS Spring Tournament. The other three matches, Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) vs Alternate (ATN), XDGG vs Gambit Gaming (GMB), and Cloud 9 (C9) vs Fnatic, were held alongside the NA LCS Spring Promotion Tournament.

Up first the matches in EU saw the Alliance roster absolutely crush Dignitas in a 2-0 sweep. Alliance was a complete unknown going into the tournament due to roster swaps, retaining only 2 members of the former EG squad that had held the spot in the last split of the LCS. The new roster clearly worked out however, as the new jungler Shook had commanding presence throughout both games and was clearly in sync with the Alliance laners. Dignitas on the other hand were clearly still struggling with the problems that had caused them to end the summer split in 4^th place. Crumbzz was simply never a factor for Dig and their new top laner Cruzer lost favorable lanes both games. While Alliance did look good in the games their true strength is hard to see due to the utter failure of Dignitas. What is clear is that Dignitas has a mountain of work to do in order to be competitive in the NA LCS in the coming split.

The TSM vs Lemondogs showdown was much the same story. TSM’s addition of Bjergsen to the lineup looked strong, but it’s difficult to be sure how strong when the new LD roster’s mistakes were apparent all across the map. Similar to Dignitas in NA, the Lemondogs have their work cut out for them to be competitive in the coming EU LCS split.

The first BotA matchup in NA was CLG vs ATN. Neither game looked very clean cut, especially game 1 which went on a full 20 minutes longer than it should have due to some silly mistakes on Alternate’s part. On the whole Alternate looked okay and could easily be a top team if they iron out the mid game mistakes. Kerp and Creaton were absolute monsters for the team, and Kerp would eventually seal game 1 with an out of nowhere double kill. Where Alternate soared CLG floundered, falling back into bad habits like Doublelift attempting to split push. Nien clearly got over his slump winning lane both games, but seemingly transferred it to Link in mid. The poor performance by Link was even more disappointing when compared to the godlike display he’d put on only a month prior at IEM Cologne. The much hyped return of the “Rush Hour” botlane for CLG was similarly disappointing as Doublelift fell into his old ways and Aphromoo made several key mechanical mistakes that would cost CLG more than one team fight. Alternate’s problems are relatively small and with a little work they should be a force to be reckoned with in the EU LCS. The problems for CLG however remain as mysterious as always, on paper the team should be able to iron things out quickly and be a top 3 contender but CLG has always run a bit counter to logic. It’s impossible to predict how CLG will do in the NA LCS, but keeping expectations low is probably a good idea for fans.

The early game of XDGG vs Gambit seemed to go well for XDGG, picking up early victories around the map and even having Mancloud straight out duel Alex Ich in mid. Unfortunately for XDGG the name change from Vulcun didn’t leave behind the problems they’ve always had in the mid game. Gambit on the other hand continued on their dominant spree since  the return of Edward. Both games Gambit never hesitated to punish mistakes from XDGG, which allowed Gambit to sweep the series 2-0. There’s little doubt in anyone’s mind after both BotA and IEM Cologne that Gambit is going to be a top contender in the EU LCS this spring. XDGG is less clear cut, the problems that plagued them from the start of the LCS remain and XDGG took the longest vacation of any of the teams only returning to practice a week before BotA. Last split XDGG did well enough to make it to worlds in 3^rd place, but it’s hard to tell if they can replicate those results with a far more competitive NA scene this split.

The final match of the EU vs NA showdown was the first place Cloud 9 vs Fnatic rematch from worlds. Game one offered fans a bit of extra excitement as C9 dared Fnatic to let Kassadin through, and then picking it for themselves. Fnatic attempted to counter the Kassadin with some interesting picks aimed at the laning phase, but while it generated an early farm lead Cloud 9’s superior team fighting would seal the deal. Despite better picks from Fnatic in game two the result would be the same resulting in a Cloud 9 sweep. Though they got swept Fnatic did not look bad in the games, they were simply unprepared for the new Cloud 9 strategies. Fnatic will likely be a top contender yet again in EU LCS. Similarly C9 delivered a clear message in their matches, They’ll likely not have another insane 25-3 split but Cloud 9 is a surefire pick for top 2 NA.

At the end of the two weeks Battle of the Atlantic ended in probably the best way anyone could hope for. NA won on points, EU won on total matches, and the rivalry between regions can continue. Most of the teams looked good which should prove exciting when the LCS returns in just under 3 weeks. For now though we’ll just have to speculate while we enjoy the holidays and the New Year.