Losing is inevitable. Every dynasty sees it’s end. I knew Moscow 5 would lose eventually, but after their dominance in game 1 vs Taipei Assassins I didn’t think there would be a reason for them to drop a series. However, enough things went wrong for them to drop it. Let’s cover those things.
This was a comment I made on reddit yesterday. I didnt’ know if I was being ridiculous, or making a sensible call. Alex Ich, the notorious farming machine, ended up playing Zilean and Gragas after his comfortable Evelynn pick was banned in both the second and third game. Is that a problem? I feel like Zilean is a one-trick pony; if you can predict his damage output or play something that counters it then it becomes a non-factor. Gragas is a strong mid, and I felt comfortable with Alex on that as it gave him the opportunity to farm, was a good lane opponent for Anivia, and had surprising synergy with Nunu’s Blood Boil. I know that sounds strange, to use Blood Boil on your AP mid, but Gragas’ Drunken Rage can increase his Attack Damage by 70! That’s nothing to scoff at for a champion receiving solo experience.
Both top lane losses were Nidalee vs Yorick. Something I never thought I’d see. Yorick would lose his first turret to how fast Nidalee would push, and then Nidalee would just keep pushing. She would fight until she was out of mana and then she would swap form and execute people. Her build was the wonkiest thing I’ve ever seen! Doran’s Blade, Chalice of Harmony, Spirit Visage, Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Trinity Force. Oh, so she does it all? Ok, that makes sense… They just couldn’t kill TPA Stanley on Nidalee! He was really impressive both games. However, if you’re one of the best (four) teams in the world, wouldn’t you want to counter-pick or ban Nidalee after what she did against you in game 2? If you can’t spare a ban, at least don’t pick the same champion expecting him to go top and lose all over again.
Lane swaps heavily favored Taipei Assassins and I felt like M5 knew this, yet just let it happen. I can see Kog thriving in a 2v1 situation because he doesn’t have the fear of two champions pouncing on him and taking advantage of his lack of escape. However, Ezreal can abuse a Kog’Maw because of his poke and burst. Even though both of them have skill-shots, Ezreal has a way to dodge skill-shots built into his kit, while Kog’Maw does not.
I honestly thought that M5 would be able to rise above the pressure that TPA put on their lanes early. However, TPA could effectively fight 4v5, leaving Nidalee top or bot to take towers on her own. No champion could fight that Nidalee and kill her, so there was no risk of death. It was a simple variation to the old Shen split push strat, partly because Nidalee was running Teleport.
