Here we are ?— nine weeks down, with a few interesting delays, and we’ve arrived at the Oceanic Pro League’s regular season-ending Super Week again.

Legacy Esports, The Chiefs, and the Dire Wolves have locked in a top-three seeding, and are now hustling for side selection and the single best-of-five that gives them. Order finds themselves all but locked in, but needing a win for fourth place.

There are a few teams that have already been dumped out of playoff contention, or sit close to it. In particular, defending champions Mammoth have already been locked out, and are left just playing for pride in the OPL’s final round.

This leaves three teams. Avant Gaming, Pentanet.gg and Gravitas find themselves tied at six wins apiece fighting for the fifth, and final spot in the playoffs. Like any good Super Week, all twelve game counts this week, and will likely affect the outcome of the league.

Emma van der Brug, Harry Taylor, and Reece Perry are here to talk about the biggest matches of the week, with the fight to become the last team at the playoff dance starting with Mammoth taking on Avant starting at 4pm AEDT on Friday.

Emma’s Feature: Legacy Esports (15–3) vs The Chiefs (15–3)

Prediction: Legacy def. Chiefs

The final match of the Oceanic Pro League split will be the most important one for both Legacy Esports and The Chiefs.

They’re currently tied for first spot, and this match has the potential to be the tiebreaker, or a decider if they need a tiebreaker match. Going into this week, both teams are sitting on fifteen wins and three losses.

Looking at both teams matchups this week purely from a placings perspective, Legacy have the seemingly easier matchups in the final week.

They’re facing two teams tied for fifth prior to this match, whilst Chiefs go against third and fifth ranked teams. This could spell a second place finish for the Chiefs.

They’re both looking to get into that first place seed, as the team’s gear up for the new playoffs format for the first split of the OPL in 2020.

The brand new format for OPL playoffs is a double elimination bracket, with the first place seed getting a pass into winners round two, and the winner of that round heading to the grand finals.

This match will be a fantastic way to end the regular split, and both teams will be looking to take out the win. With how chaotic last week’s matches were, it’s as hard as ever to pick a winner. Even the current ladder rankings don’t necessarily determine who is the favoured team in these matchups.

Legacy with the addition of James “Tally” Shute in the middle lane managed to take down the Chiefs the last time they faced, marking their first win against them since 2017 split two playoffs.

Legacy will be looking to take the win, and with their recent success against a variety of teams, they’ll be the ones to claim the win.

Legacy’s match against the Dire Wolves last week saw an absolutely dominating performance by Kim “Topoon” Ji-hoon who played Kennen.

Their match was really impressive, and showed that the roster earnt their 2-0 weekend. To take down the Chiefs, the Legacy roster will need to replicate their early success against the wolves and with constant pressure, not allowing them any slim margin to win.

The rotations by Leo “Babip” Romer on Olaf and Jonah “Isles” Rosario were key, and the timings showed their communication is on point, leading to them taking the win. This will be key in their match against the Chiefs, who can be very dominant in the early game.

With the playoffs in sight and the chance to take that key first place seed, this match has the potential to be the decider between which team takes that seed, and who has to play an extra match in the playoffs.

Legacy are poised to take the split win, and it all hinges on taking this win against the Chiefs this Saturday in the final match after a grueling Super Week.

Harry’s Feature Match of the Week: Avant Gaming (6–12) vs Dire Wolves (12–6)

Prediction: Avant def. by Dire Wolves

Both teams come into this game on Friday night with different motivation for getting the win.

For Dire Wolves, they are trying to get all three wins to give them a chance to lock second-place, and therefore Game 1 side selection in their first-round playoff game. They will need this victory to achieve that, but will be up against an Avant side playing for so much more.

The Avant org had a tragic end to 2019’s Split 2, a 2-12 record after the break after finding themselves tied for first. That second-half struggle turned into a missed playoff berth, and a disappointing end to their Worlds aspirations.

Even with a mostly new lineup for 2020, the org will not want to miss out again and see their international dream fade away once again, so getting this win, as well as getting the wins against Mammoth and Gravitas, are critical for them.

Unfortunately for Avant, I don’t see the win coming. Previous encounters and roster strength will see Dire Wolves win this game. It will be a challenge for both teams.

The Wolfpack have won both games, but neither were in the cleanest of fashions. Avant stretched out their Week 3 encounter to over 40 minutes before Dire Wolves could slam the door.

Avant will challenge the Dire Wolves hard though. They need to win this game to strengthen their claim for fifth, and will be able to stretch out any key battle, even from behind. They have done it before, they can do it again.

In any case, this game will be explosive. Both teams have their motivations for winning and will want to do anything to win.

Reece’s Feature Match of the Week: Pentanet.GG (6–12) vs Order (9–9)

Prediction: Pentanet def. by Order

I’m tipping my hand at the beginning here, I’m calling an Order victory. Let’s have a look at why.

They have, for my money, the only player with a prayer at taking this split’s “Most Improved” award away from Praelus in Haeri.

Watching Haeri remains a delight in bottom-of-the-table matchups – he is usually the best player on the rift by a considerable distance and I am expecting that from him here in this match.

I think rare7’s improvement from the debacle that was the start to his split is a treat to watch. And week by week, Eyla is erasing the dread I felt when I watched him play early on.

This is a bot lane on the rise and collectively this team feels like they are making the changes we needed to see from them after the beginning of the split.

But on the other side of the coin… I have fallen all the way off the PGG wagon after being right up at the front of the carriage at the beginning.

Somebody needs to fix Praedyth’s mouse, because when the teamfight starts his right-click button falls clean off. I’ve taken to counting his auto attacks in some of these fights, and I don’t need to take my socks off to keep counting.

Previously, I’ve defended Praedyth by saying his team needed to do a better job of giving him space to carry – and they did, and they still do – but as the split has worn on, I’ve lost faith in his confidence to make use of any space they do give him.

I hate having to write this. I’d run through a brick wall for Rogue, and it pains me to see this team struggling. But I can’t see where you can actually predict where they get a win from anymore. It almost feels like it happens by accident. Order for me, and comfortably so.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Ties_AU on Twitter.

Photography courtesy of Riot Games
Produced by San Hoàng

Our good takes are self-isolating here with me in Snowball HQ for 14 days, so I’m stepping in alongside Emma van der Brug and Harry Taylor to bring you the previews for Week 9 of the OPL.

This week promises to be a test of endurance, as we make up for missed games ahead of the Week 10 Super Week to take us into our new and exciting playoff format. As important as Week 10 is, with a big slate this round as well, teams cannot overlook any opponent.

The time for tough talk is over. It’s time for the sprint to the finish, so read on to see how our panel of experts sees the biggest matchups this week shaking out.

Emma van der Brug, Harry Taylor, and Reece Perry are here to talk about the biggest matches of the week, with playoff positioning on the line as Pentanet.GG take on Avant Gaming online from 4pm AEDT this Friday.

Emma’s Feature: Pentanet.GG (6–9) vs Avant Gaming (5–11)

Prediction: Avant def. Pentanet

Now that the OPL matches have moved online, the games and results are looking as crazy as ever. Both this week and next week will be absolutely critical for both Pentanet.GG and Avant Gaming, as they’re on the cusp of securing a playoff spot.

Pentanet are currently sitting in fifth place on their 6-9 record, whilst Avant are in sixth on 5-11. On the other side of the matchup, Avant secured an upset against The Chiefs, knocking them into second place behind Legacy.

It’s imperative if either of these two teams want to claim a spot in the playoffs, they are playing their best. There’s only three wins between fourth and seventh, creating enormous pressure for these teams to perform and earn every win they can as a safety net.

Pentanet are coming into this week off an 0-2 record, however they played against the second and third placed team, while Avant are coming in with a 1-1 record and a shock upset against The Chiefs.

With the momentum of that win, Avant has found their rhythm going into the final two weeks. With some polish they will be looking impressive and can earn their spot in the playoffs.

Thomas “LeeSA” Ma on Jarvan IV had a superb performance, ending the match participating in 25 of 27 team kills. He assisted Jesse “Chazz” Mahoney, taking first blood on Brandon “Claire” Nguyen only two minutes into the game.

He then racked up another kill and assist before four minutes, after challenging Park “Croc” Jong-hoon for the rift scuttler. If the Avant squad can replicate the impactful early game, they will set themselves up to take this game this weekend and continue earning a playoff spot.

Pentanet also faced the Chiefs, but didn’t find the success that Avant did.

They had their first 2-0 of the split the weekend before, but were unable to replicate the success in last weekend’s matches as they faced off against two of the top three teams.

The transition to online games looked to be a pain point, with their previous games against those opponents being a lot shorter last weekend.

Both teams have a similar matchups going into the final two weeks of the split, and as stated each win will be essential to securing their spot in the playoffs. Avant will be able to leverage the win against the Chiefs last week and continue their streak and take down Pentanet.

Harry’s Feature Match of the Week: Legacy Esports (13–3) vs Dire Wolves (11–4)

Prediction: Legacy def. Dire Wolves

Even with playoffs already locked for both Legacy and the Dire Wolves, and a top-three spot all but a formality by the time they load into the server on Saturday, these top squads will still come together to duke it out for the chance at taking top billing on the ladder.

With the Chiefs falling ever into the grips of catchability, these two squads should be ready to strike and take the throne in week 10 if the slide continues. The Legacy boys are better suited to this jump, and should come out on top this week.

After some small teething issues with the change of mid ?— from Jang “EMENES” Min-soo to James “Tally” Shute ?— Week 8 looked like all systems were once again firing in the team.

They were able to dispatch both Avant and Order with relative ease in the first week of games played from home. Having also previously taken down Dire Wolves in both meetings this split, once with Tally in mid, they are set up to make this matchup three from three.

Dire Wolves will also see a makeup game on the docket, making up their previously abandoned game against Order — which Emma tipped as a Dire Wolves win in Week 7 ?— as well as their other fixtures, with a game against Gravitas earlier in the round.

Whilst Week 8 saw them take down Mammoth and Pentanet this was done in the comfort and luxury of the Esports HPC at the SCG.

Week 9 will not see this comfort, as the SCG and EHPC have been shut down for the time being. This will see the team once again resettle, but still to a common gaming house, so we will need to see if this will affect their play having to change environments again.

Dire Wolves will be a big threat to Legacy.

They will be a big threat this week and also in the April postseason, and both teams will also take this as a tune-up match for when they almost certainly meet in a Bo5. There will certainly be some top tier gameplay and will become some must-see viewing in these trying times.

Reece’s Feature Match of the Week: Chiefs Esports (12–3) vs Order (7–7)

Prediction: Chiefs def. Order

On paper, this looks like a bloodbath waiting to happen. The Chiefs are a freight train barrelling through much of the OPL, leaving destruction in their wake. Order are a shakier situation, with much promise but much less delivery.

And it still could be a bloodbath waiting to happen. When last we saw these teams play it was, to be frank, a spanking. SeeEl took Spawn out behind the woodshed and gave him the Lassie treatment. The players never stood a chance.

But paper is brittle, and looks are deceiving.

Order’s clearest path to victory comes around the bottom side of the map. Haeri has been a consistent force for Order, Dream and Eyla have recovered some form, a welcome relief for the team and their fans.

• Read more: Haeri: “Being bad has only helped Order, we know why we were losing now and we can fix it”

While on the Chiefs’ side Claire has slowed, as has Katsurii. And while KoreaCK being for my money “The worst-performing player on the Chiefs” at the beginning of the split was a sign of how unbelievably strong the team was – now it’s kind of a problem in their losses.

For all his brash and self-aggrandizing bluster to start (“Very happy with my draft…gameplay mistakes to fix”), SeeEl’s Chiefs have flattered to deceive of late, admittedly against very stiff competition (and Avant). So it is important that they don’t put up another loss here, and risk Legacy putting ground between them.

And, despite the Pledge and Turn of this setup, the Prestige is going to be a very boring “I still think the Chiefs will win”. Order is still on the build and not quite at the Chief-toppling level yet.

Order’s baseline of success here would be playing the Chiefs competitively early, and making them really work hard for this win. And that’s what we can expect to see: Chiefs made to sweat for the win. Pyrrhic victories don’t get you points, but Order’s playing a longer game here.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Ties_AU on Twitter.

Photography courtesy of Riot Games
Produced by San Hoàng

The Oceanic Pro League train is an express ride to hype city. There are only three weeks remaining ?— including this one ?— and the excitement has not slowed down at all.

With only a handful of games remaining, it’s as good a time as ever for teams to prove to the league that they have what it takes to make it to the playoffs. There’s been undefeated teams being defeated, as well as teams triumphing in seemingly dire circumstances.

There’s at least something to be certain of in times like these, and that’s the uncertainty of who beats who in these matchups. Especially after defeating a high placed team but being defeated by a lower-placed team ?— I’m looking at you, Legacy Esports.

Emma van der Brug, Harry Taylor, and Alex Leckie-Zaharic are here to talk about the biggest matches of the week, with playoff positioning on the line as Avant Gaming take on Legacy Esports on Friday at 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Pentanet.GG (6–7) vs The Chiefs (11–2)

Prediction: Pentanet def. by the Chiefs

Last weekend only saw one of the two matches played. Pentanet.GG and The Chiefs both faced off against Legacy last Friday. After their huge win against Legacy last week, Pentanet will be feeling confident, especially knowing they triumphed where the Chiefs couldn’t.

That confidence will be key, especially against a Chiefs side who can snowball any small lead into a win. Mark “Praedyth” Lewis had a fantastic match against Legacy, with a 7/1/4 score on Miss Fortune. Alongside Jake “Rogue” Sharwood, the bot lane was unstoppable.

The Chiefs’ bot lane of Robert “Katsurii” Gouv and Kang “KoreaCK” Cheol-gyu didn’t fare as well against Legacy, with a 2/9/6 score between them. The Chiefs will be reviewing that game to see where it all went wrong and ensure they are ready to take the win this week.

Although they had a rough loss against Legacy, the Chiefs will bounce back and take this win against Pentanet. They have had their only two losses of the split in the last two weeks, but as playoffs approach, it’s time for them to truly show the rest of the competition what it takes to have remained undefeated for five and a half weeks.

The key for the victory lies in the jungle of the Chiefs roster. Park “Croc” Jong-hoon has been a dominant force and has been named in three Snowball Team of the Weeks.

His dominant style on punishing junglers makes him a terrifying opponent to face. He has a 100% win rate on three champions ?— Elise (four games), Olaf (two) and Nidalee (one game).

This match is the time for Pentanet to step up if they want a shot at taking the OPL crown, as the Chiefs are more than likely going to be standing in their way right up until the end ?— if they want to show what they have, now is the time.

Harry’s Feature Match of the Week: Gravitas (3–10) vs Mammoth (2–10)

Prediction: Gravitas def. by Mammoth

After a week of uncertainty in our world, this Saturday night blockbuster will attempt to answer at least one uncertainty: who is destined to be at the bottom of the league.

Gravitas and Mammoth will join the server this week with the wooden spoon all but given out to the loser of this contest.

Whilst both teams will want to do everything in their power to win this game to avoid being set up for the dreaded eighth-place, I think this week’s disruptions will limit any practice and raw skill and synergy will become a key factor. For this reason as well as their previous win I see Mammoth as the favourite.

Last week only saw one of Gravita’s games and none of Mammoths game played, with Gravitas falling to Avant in a relatively tight contest that saw Avant break a 5 game slide. Gravitas’s game against the Chiefs and Mammoth’s contest against Pentanet.GG and Order are due to be played in the upcoming weeks.

With the delay in games last Saturday we also saw a delay in a new debut for the Mammoth lineup. Support Andy “Emelg” Chen has stepped away from the team after his brief cameo to resume University classes.

Hone “Artek” Collier has stepped into the role, becoming the fourth player in the starting lineup who was part of the 2019 Emprox Oceanic Challenger Series roster. This move reunites a bot lane who had promising success in the OCS, having a 7–4 regular season before a 3-4th place finish in the playoffs.

This move should continue to capture the team synergy and levels of Macro that 2019 Emprox had and will hopefully translate into more gelling and comfort for the team on the rift.

Questions around the Gravitas lineup still continue to get asked with the smörgåsbord of players on their roster and their continued willingness to tweak the roster, it will be interesting to see who will be playing this week.

As long as there aren’t many changes to the formula seen in the last fortnight, Gravitas more than have the ability to put up a fight, but until gameday, it won’t be known who is going to be stepping up to bat this week.

Alex’s Feature Match of the Week: Legacy Esports (11–3) vs Order (6–6)

Prediction: Legacy def. Order

Now less than a month away from the conclusion of the regular season, both Legacy and Order are looking to step up as playoffs loom.

While already down both games against Legacy, Order can really announce their Gauntlet intentions with a strong win on Saturday. Legacy will look to put more distance between the top three and the rest of the pack in order to focus on the Chiefs and the Dire Wolves.

Legacy is flying high after avenging their defeat to the Chiefs earlier in the split, closing out a stellar game to tie the four-time OPL champions on wins at eleven apiece.

A 2-0 sweep against Avant and Order would lock them into the top three, with the final game of the split against the Chiefs likely to be the decider for first place.

Their formula for victory is simple. Play their game. Legacy looks the best when they get to dictate the course of the game, and traditionally have struggled when the laning phase doesn’t go their way.

Last week’s tank-heavy composition eliminated much of that difficulty, and something similar will be the recipe for success this week.

Order wasn’t able to play either of their games last week due to safety concerns, and a battle against one of the league’s top two teams isn’t really the best way to ease into the new online format. Luckily enough, a game against the struggling Gravitas could be the launch pad they need to build momentum from in order to challenge Legacy.

For Order to take the win, a massive step up will be required. In their favour is that Legacy has dropped games to both Pentanet.GG and Gravitas, teams Order have beaten, and soundly.

Last time Snowball covered this matchup, a particular emphasis was placed on Ronan “rare7” Swingler being put on a carry. That still holds true, but Harry “Haeri” Kang may be able to have more of an impact against James “Tally” Shute following his substitution into the side.

If Legacy repeats the plan they executed against the Chiefs by placing their solo laners on tanks, a return to the Azir he played in the last Legacy game might be another carry Order sorely need.

It’s going to be a tough battle if Order can really take it to another level, however, Legacy just look too good at the stage of the competition for Order to be taking the win.

Legacy look poised to sweep this week and move to 13–3 with only a few weeks left to play, and are one of the favourites to take the title.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

Photography courtesy of Riot Games
Produced by San Hoàng

Week 6’s Oceanic Pro League action was chaotic, to say the least. Order got their first 2-0 week for the split, Gravitas got the win over preseason favourites Legacy, and we laid witness to the end of the undefeated streak as the Chiefs fell to Dire Wolves.

Week 7 comes along as the next stage for the teams in the OPL to either carry their momentum, or put their losses behind them, as the march to playoffs continues.

With top teams looking to lock in their tickets for the new double-elimination-format playoffs from this week on, and teams on the outside trying to keep themselves in contention, every match matters.

Emma van der Brug, Alex Leckie-Zaharic and I are here to talk about the biggest matches of the week, with playoff positioning on the line in every bout.

Emma’s Feature Match of the Week: Order (6-6) vs Dire Wolves (8-4)

Prediction: Dire Wolves def. Order

The second match on Saturday is Order’s best chance to prove they belong in the finals. They come into this week off the back of a 2-0 weekend, while the Dire Wolves managed to split the week against top-two duo Legacy Esports and Chiefs.

After a long gruelling battle against the Chiefs last week, with Ha “Vital” In-seong and Ari “Shok” Greene-Young putting on impressive performances, the Dire Wolves are the favourites in this matchup and should take the win.

Order aren’t going to be pushovers though. Maintaining their Week 6 momentum will be pivotal in championing their playoff contention, but they would need to take down the Wolves and even Legacy and Chiefs in the remaining 4 weeks if they want to prove they can take the crown.

• Read more: Haeri: “Being bad has only helped Order, we know why we were losing now and we can fix it”

The key for both team’s success in this game is the jungle match-up. Park “Mir” Mi-reu has had some great performances on Lee Sin in the past few weeks, and he will need to keep that up against Order. Jordan “Only” Middleton has shown a wide variety of picks recently, with his Karthus helping the Melbourne-based team secure a win against Pentanet last week.

Down in the bottom lane, Ha “Vital” In-seong and Daniel “Decoy” Ealam have really found their synergy, and their results are proving so. With Vital having more consistency in recent weeks, he’s proving that he’s not to be underestimated.

The Korean AD carry has made a huge improvement between their matches against the Chiefs alone. In their first matchup he had an 0/5/3 record, but in their most recent game last week, he turned that around with a 11/3/6 statline. With Decoy by his side, the bottom lane of Order better be prepared for what they’ll face on Saturday.

Harry’s Feature Match of the Week: Avant Gaming (3-9) v Gravitas (3-9)

Prediction: Avant Gaming def. by Gravitas

Avant Gaming and Gravitas find themselves two games adrift of fifth place and the playoffs coming into Week 7, meaning this clash on Friday evening will make-or-break each team’s hopes for a late playoffs push.

Avant are on a four-game losing streak, whilst Gravitas come into this week with some confidence after claiming the biggest upset of the split so far as they toppled second place Legacy last Saturday.

Gravitas should be able to use this new momentum this week to pick up the victory and attempt to roll into the postseason. Gravitas have made a number of changes, picking pieces from their 10-man roster to find what clicks and what doesn’t, and it seems like they have landed on their star roster.

• Read more: Icebreakers: Project Praelus

Ashley “TrAshley” White has moved into the support role, gelling well with bot laner Nathan “Puma” Puma, whilst solo laners Nathan “Beats” Nguyen and Lo “Siuman” Pak Man have swapped their lanes in-game multiple times to a decent amount of success.

On the other hand, Avant has looked lost these last couple of weeks. Their drafts have been sub-average and whilst they have put up a bit of a fight in some games, it hasn’t been reflected in their wins column.

Their ace in the sleeve, bot lane sub Vincent “Violet” Wong, who was undefeated after his first two games, was handed his first loss of the split against Order. However, Avant has looked like a different team with Violet, and should funnel into him again like they did in Gravitas in Week 4. His presence might not prove the difference this time though.

Alex’s Feature Match of the Week:  Legacy Esports (10-2) vs The Chiefs Esports Club (11-1)

Prediction: Chiefs def. Legacy

Last time Chiefs and Legacy squared off on the Rift, it was to preserve their undefeated streak so far in the split and take sole possession of first place.

This time it’s a little bit different. The departure of Minsu “EMENES” Jang turned the midlane dynamic between Legacy and the Chiefs’ Brandon “Claire” Nguyen on its head, with Legacy slowly getting back into the swing of things with native toplaner James “Tally” Shute.

Both teams are fresh off losses in Week 6 with the Chiefs taking their first loss of the split against the third-placed Dire Wolves, while Legacy were stunned by Gravitas to drop only their second game of the split.

• Read more: Legacy Esports part ways with rookie mid laner EMENES

The Chiefs loss has evaporated some of their threatening aura, but a decisive victory over a new Legacy will go some way to healing the wounds.

For the Chiefs to win this, it’s time to unleash Park “Croc” Jong-hoon on another jungle carry. In the two teams’ last encounter, the import jungler showed remarkable presence on Nidalee and dominated the map. If he can have a similar performance on Friday, it might be too much for Legacy to handle.

Speaking of Legacy, they’ll need an equally as strong carry performance this week from Quin “Raes” Korebrits to get on top of the first-place outfit. If Leo “Babip” Romer can get the snowball rolling early, it could be the catalyst for Legacy surging ahead of the Chiefs this split.

However, the classic rock-paper-scissors dynamic of the top three should still hold true this weekend. A win for the Chiefs will practically lock them into playoffs, and put them in the hot seat to maintain that valuable number one seed.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

Photography courtesy of Riot Games
Produced by San Hoàng

It’s been an eventful week in the Oceanic Pro League, and the games haven’t even started yet.

Mammoth took their first win, Legacy lost their star mid laner and now it’s looking even more likely that the Chiefs are in the driver’s seat to win their first Oceanic title since 2016.

Emma van der Brug, Harry Taylor, and Alex Leckie-Zaharic are here to talk about the biggest matches of the week, with playoff positioning already on the line as Order take on Pentanet.GG on Friday at 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match of the Week: Dire Wolves (7–3) vs Legacy Esports (9–1)

Prediction: Dire Wolves def. Legacy

Starting the split off with three 1-1 weekends in a row to start the split, the Dire Wolves have stepped up their game and have just completed their second 2-0 weekend in a row.

This puts them comfortably into third position overall in the Oceanic Pro League – just 2 wins behind second place Legacy and three wins above fourth placed Order and Pentanet.GG.

Legacy had a surprise announcement during the week after another 2-0 weekend. Their rookie mid laner Jang“Emenes” Min-soo announced his departure from the team. His replacement at the time of writing is yet to be announced.

• Read more: Legacy Esports part ways with rookie mid laner EMENES

This week will be a test of how well the Legacy roster can overcome losing such a key player in their team. The remainder of their roster is established in the team and the bottom lane will retain their synergy. Legacy is under the guidance of Tim “Carbon” Wendel and will make the correct and best decision they can go into the week’s matches, regardless of the outcome.

This is the week for Dire Wolves to take down Legacy. With the big change of the loss of Legacy’s mid laner, it’s going to be a huge test to see how they can bounce back.

This is the time for Dire Wolves to pounce, and with two 2-0 weekends in their pockets with solid performances across the board, they’re looking solid.

Their last match was very much in Legacys’ favour, but with the loss of Emenes, it’s time for the Dire Wolves roster to show that they are not just all bark.

Sett has emerged as a consistently strong pick, and with Ryan “Chippys” Short playing the champion, it fits into his playstyle well. Park “Mir” Mi-reu was chosen as the Snowball Team of the Week for good reason.

His recent performances on Sylas have really shown how adept he is at playing him. He consistently makes the most of his kit, using the versatility of his ultimate to be as effective as possible in any situation.

These key reasons are how Dire Wolves will take down the Legacy roster. The roster is still not to be underestimated due to the strength of the other players, but due to the reliance on their past mid laners performance, it will take some time to adjust to the changes.

Harry’s Feature Match of the Week: Order (4–6) vs Pentanet.GG (4–6)

Prediction: Order def. by Pentanet

Week 6’s play kicks off with a mid-table clash full of implications when Melbourne-based Order meets Perth representatives Pentanet.GG.

The two squads find themselves tied at 4-6 apiece in a tiebreaker for fourth place coming into the start of the sixth week of play, with Pentanet breaking the tie on head-to-head with their week 3 victory. A win here will elevate the victor away from the other?—even if just temporarily?—on the standings.

This match is really close. With both teams wanting to put their best foot forward to break away from each other, it’s hard to predict who will win. Ultimately I do see Pentanet taking it in what should be a close affair.

Pentanet takes advantage in both terms of recent form and previous meetings.

Last week saw Pentanet hang with the now third place Dire Wolves in a close 51-minute thriller on Friday night which saw both sides trade the advantage before the Wolfpack secured a second Baron Nashor, as well as a four-stack Elder Dragon, to secure the victory.

Order’s Week 5 saw their 1-1 curse broken… but not in a good way.

Faced with the monumental task of going up against a powerful Legacy team before facing the undefeated Chiefs the day after, the week was going to be tough for them, and it proved to be, handed two lopsided losses.

The players of both teams have seen recent changes in their personal contribution and form, but the Pentanet players seem to be in a better position to pick themselves up, and re-find the consistency they need to show their best.

On the other side of the Rift, Order players have seemed to be a bit lost and getting outshone by their opponents. Whilst a lot can change in a week, I’m not convinced that the change will come straight away. Instead, it will be a process, giving Pentanet the edge this weekend.

Alex’s Feature Match of the Week:  Mammoth (1–9) vs Avant Gaming (3–7)

Prediction: Avant def. Mammoth

This would have been easier to just write off as an Avant win in literally any other week so far. Yet Mammoth did what some thought would be impossible and claimed a win.

Although the win was over their fellow wooden spoon contenders, Gravitas, it’s an improvement considering their loss to them earlier in the split.

Avant are just lagging behind the playoff cut, only a win away from joining Order and Pentanet.GG in a three-way tie for fourth. Their fate is in their own hands, as alongside Mammoth, they have a matchup against Order to play.

Order are currently staring down a three-game losing streak, and failing to fire against Pentanet and Avant on Friday completely reshapes the league. That chaos is exactly where Avant wants to be, and can force their way into fourth with a 2-0 week.

This means it’s the kind of week that Avant won’t be happy with a scrappy victory over Mammoth.

This game isn’t just about beating the last-place team, it’s a launch pad to completely turn around their season. A fast, decisive victory with composed rotations and manoeuvres will set them up to take the fight to Order later in the day.

Mammoth, on the other hand, shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves. They’re still sitting dead last in the standings, but the win is a good start to somewhat salvage the season.

If they can play some calm and collected League of Legends, and choose their battles carefully, it’s not outside the realm of possibility for them to double their win record.

However, at the end of the day, you have to put faith in the scoreline. Avant has already beaten Mammoth once this split and they’re favourites to make it a double on Friday.

For Mammoth, this is their best chance to build some momentum by taking a win against the other team in the bottom three.

This game could get messy depending on who fires up on the day, but this week the safe bet is on Avant Gaming to take the win and keep themselves in playoff contention.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

Produced by San Hoàng

The Oceanic Pro League has just tipped over the first round-robin of the split, and teams are starting to settle into their placings.

With the team match of the split now behind us and the undefeated team being revealed, it’s time for teams to step up if they want to have a chance at earning a spot in the playoffs.

Harry Taylor, Alex Leckie-Zaharic and I break down their chosen featured matches this week, starting with Avant Gaming taking on the Chiefs at 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match: Gravitas (2–6) vs Mammoth (0–8)

Prediction: Gravitas def. Mammoth

The bottom two spots in the ladder are taken up by this the teams facing in this match—Gravitas and Mammoth. Both teams are looking shaky coming into Week 5, and after a full round, the latter have yet to find a win. Both teams are coming into this week off of an 0–2 week.

This week is an interesting game, with both teams not wanting to be in the final position. Each team has strengths and weaknesses, but if Gravitas play Nathan “Puma” Puma, they have the stronger bottom lane and will take out the win.

Both teams have forms of instability in their rosters. The bottom lane of Mammoth features Gian “Styled” Leon and Cameron “Nausicaa” Maine. The duo have experience in the Challenger Series, but the step up to the Oceanic Pro League has been challenging for them.

With the importance of getting early dragons to work towards the Dragon Soul, they’ve been successful in getting this objective. The dragon however is traded usually for a Rift Herald, which allows the opponent to claim early gold and gain advantage.

On Gravitas, the instability lies within their roster—with a roster of eight players, it’s hard for the team to build synergy, and especially so without the gaming house.

The instability is in a similar flaw to Mammoth, with the bottom lane being the weakest. With the focus being on objectives, and Rift Herald to get tower plates, it’s important to make early plays to get the gold advantage and scale into the game.

• Read more: Snowball’s Icebreakers: Project Praelus

This match is one to watch, with the battle of the bottom lanes to determine the winner. With Puma being one of the strongest players between the two rosters, he will lead Gravitas to victory alongside captain Jordan “Praelus” Fernandes.

Harry’s Feature Match: Avant Gaming (3–5) vs Pentanet.GG (3–5)

Prediction: Avant def. by Pentanet

Avant Gaming and Pentanet.GG will come face to face on Saturday evening in what has the potential to be a critical match in the playoff race.

Coming into Week 5 sharing possession of fifth place, this game has a real potential to be critical in both breaking the tie between these two teams and acting as a jumpstart for the chase for a playoff spot.

This match can easily go either way, although Pentanet is slightly more favoured and my pick to win, although arguments can be made either way. The newest OPL team should squeak this out and put a real catalyst into their campaign towards April and the postseason.

In the early game, Pentanet will likely have the advantage with the stronger two-vs-two clash in top/jungle and the bot lane. Mark “Praedyth” Lewis and especially Jake “Rogue” Sharwood will want to put the pressure on their opponents early and try to gain dominance.

Yao “Api” Jian Jing and either of his bot laners—Vincent “Gunkrab” Lin and Vincent “Violet” Wong—will want to match that incoming pressure, but with the recent swapping around of the Avant bot lane, the team’s lower-map cohesiveness has been brought into question. The ability to go to the limits—based around trust, and understanding—just might not be there.

• Read more: Dire Wolves settle into OPL title hunt after 2–0 weekend

Both teams do have a consistency issue, especially around the jungle. Both Pentanet’s Paris “Souli” Sitzoukis and Avant’s Thomas “LeeSA” Ma have submitted a mixed bag of performances and whether they will turn up on the Rift or not is a question that needs to be asked. If only one of these players turns up probably on Saturday, their team will gain advantage.

Alex’s Feature Match: Order (4–4) vs Legacy Esports (7–1)

Prediction: Order def. by Legacy

As we move into the second round robin of OPL 2020 Split 1, we’ve got a clear view on who’s at the top and who’s at the bottom of the ladder.

In the middle however, are Order, who despite being pegged one of the more likely teams to take the whole competition, now sit just inside the Gauntlet cutoff in fourth.

Having only dropped a single game to the Chiefs, Legacy beat out Order in Week 1 in a messy game but proceeded to tidy up their game and firmly establish themselves as one of the two teams to beat this tournament.

Both teams are similar in that they’ve pretty much beaten every team below them on the ladder and lost to everyone above them—with the exception of Pentanet.GG picking up the surprise victory over Order.

This week the bottom lane will be the most important, as the two ADC veterans Ronan “rare7” Swingler and Quin “Raes” Korebrits do battle once more.

In their last match, some errors in tactical decision making from rare7 was a contributing factor to their loss after Legacy capitalised on their mistakes.

For rare7 to gain the ascendancy in this matchup, coach Jake “Spawn” Tiberi could easily give him counter-pick to ensure he can carry his team to a victory.

Legacy has looked a tier above the rest of the competition, so if Order can pull it all together as the business end of the split crests the horizon, it would be a huge boost to their season.

They’ve been usurped by the Dire Wolves for third, and so taking down the second-best team in the league in convincing fashion makes a statement going forward.

• Read more: Pabu’s Top Plays: OPL 2020 Split 1, Week 3

It shouldn’t happen though. Legacy have shown remarkable cohesion this split, and with the mechanical skill of their players, they are clear favourites to take the win. They’ve knocked down Order once this split and all signs point to another victory.

However, Legacy should be looking to emphatically stomp Order this weekend and do their part to put some more distance between the two best teams in the league and the other six.

A strong victory makes this even more of a two-horse race, and the less teams Legacy have to worry about, the happier they’ll be.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

This week a series of battles across the standings determine who drops behind in each race, and who takes the upper hand a month in — not least of all the return of the table-topping El Classico clash.

With the end of the first round robin approaching, the Oceanic Pro League has seen a fair share of fixtures but has also left some of it’s best for last.

The two undefeated squads, Legacy Esports and the Chiefs, will come face to face in the El Classico on Friday evening, where the victor will come out supreme and claiming the sole share of first place.

Along with myself, Emma “ammeplays” Van der Brug and Alex “Alexicon” Leckie-Zaharic break down the biggest match of the week as the Pro League rolls on, starting with Gravitas vs Order on Friday, February 21 from 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match: Order (3–3) vs Dire Wolves (3–3)

Prediction: Dire Wolves def. by Order

Sitting in the equal third after Week 3 of the Oceanic Pro League are Order and the Dire Wolves. The two teams are facing off on opposite sides of the Rift in a match that will give the viewers an insight into how the placings will fall into place over the split.

Last week was a 1-1 week for both teams, as Order lost to Pentanet.GG and looked shaky in their performance against bottom-placed team Mammoth. Dire Wolves had a win to start the week against Avant, but had to face the Chiefs, who defeated them and remained lossless.

This week could fall into either team’s favour, especially since both teams have the exact same record so far against other teams. They have wins against Gravitas, Mammoth, and Avant Gaming, with their losses to Pentanet, Legacy, and Chiefs.

Order has shown to be an incredibly emotional team when they play, with their decision making in-game being influenced by their performances in-game. Last week against Mammoth, the team had a very shaky early game that had viewers wondering if they would be able to take the win against the last-placed team.

The early game emotions seemed to cause some mistakes, with missed skill shots and questionable fights, however, the player experience gap was a deciding factor and they eventually took the win.

The Dire Wolves are still seemingly finding synergy in the early game and the ability to translate those small wins into victories. It seems communication is also being worked on, with Ha “Vital” In-seong in their match against the Chiefs teleporting into their team and dying, with an 0-5-3 performance on Aphelios, and 2k gold behind his opponent Robert “Katsurii” Gouv.

It’s tough to decide on the winner for this week, as both teams seem to be on a level playing field. Personally, the Order roster looks more consistent if they have a good early game, and they will take out the win this week, due to the advantage of having already played on Friday.

They will get a chance to play against Gravitas who they’ve beaten previously and with the memories of that game fresh in their minds, face off against the Dire Wolves roster.

Harry’s Feature Match: Legacy Esports (6–0) vs The Chiefs (6–0)

Prediction: Chiefs def. by Legacy

The El Classico. The fixture named after the rivalry of two of Oceania’s oldest and fabled franchises, harking back to a time before the Oceanic Pro League even existed, and before the Chiefs and Legacy Esports were known under their current names.

After the intensity of the rivalry lessened as their ladder positions drifted apart over the last few years, the heat is back as the two teams find themselves tied for first, each undefeated at 6-0. Both teams will be coming in at full force looking for the win, as the rewards of sole possession of first place on the ladder are too valuable to lose.

This game is hard to predict. Arguments can be made either why but I have Legacy as the slight favourites. Legacy as a team is just that slightest bit better on paper. Whilst both teams are clearly by far and away the number one and number two in this league at the present moment, the raw skill from Legacy is just that bit higher and may become crucial in a matchup like this.

I also see the Chiefs have seemed to develop a focus of winning via getting an early dominance in the top lane with top laner Romeo “Thien” Tran and jungler Park “Croc” Jong Hoon as a negative, as I think that will not work against Kim “Topoon” Jihoon and Leo “Babip” Romer and the rest of the boys as green, as there closeness in overall ability will rebuke this technique.

This technique did falter last week for the Chiefs, as Thien fell behind in his matchup, with Croc and bot laner Robert “Katsurii” Gouv picking up the slack. Even though I have Legacy as the favourites, they will need to be work hard and clean to get it.

The Chiefs will be one of if not the hardest team that Legacy will face on an Oceanic level and they will have to be on their best. Any mistakes will be costly and too many will be detrimental to their ability to win.

Alex’s Feature Match: Gravitas (2–4) vs Avant Gaming (2–4)

Prediction: Gravitas def. by Avant

Gravitas and Avant Gaming’s clash this week is a difficult one to untangle. On one hand, they have identical records, winning and losing against the same teams.

But apart from victories over Mammoth and Pentanet.GG, the other lowest teams on the ladder, these two squads have been relatively unremarkable this split.

With their match on Saturday rounding out the first round-robin of the split, one team will break into Gauntlet territory while the other languishes at the bottom of the table, a stone’s throw away from the wooden spoon.

This match will be decided by which team’s shining light is the brightest, with both Gravitas and Avant having clear standout players this split. Jordan “Praelus” Fernandes, by far the most experienced player on his team, has dragged his squad to their two wins this split, and has been the main reason they haven’t been completely and utterly blown out in their losses.

Facing off across from the underperforming Thomas “LeeSA” Ma, he can carry the game through the jungle, but depending on how much you rate AV’s victory over Mammoth, LeeSA seems to be on the uptick.

AV’s shining light at the moment is Jesse “Chazz” Mahoney, who stepped up massively in his squad’s victories, and will be looking to do the same this weekend.

Dominant performances on Zoe and Ekko last week show he can carry when he needs to, and despite that Ekko game ending in a loss, he’s shown he can go toe-to-toe with other teams vying for a playoff spot. If he has a similar performance this week, he could blow the game open from the mid lane.

Saturday’s game sets the tone for the race for the Gauntlet, and with looming matchups against Order and Legacy for Gravitas and Avant respectively, there’s a real chance that one of these teams ends the fourth week of play 2-6.

Pentanet, on the other hand, have their game against Mammoth this week, which offers a huge chance to crawl out their spot at the bottom of the standings.

By the time the dust clears on the Gravitas v Avant match, one team will push into the middle of the pack and leave the other with a whole lot of work to do come the second and third round robins of the split. Avant has the higher ceiling, and this team begins to gel more and more together, their potential only grows.

A battle against Gravitas is a chance to prove that they belong where the pundits placed them prior to the beginning of the split, and they’ll be hungry to slay the demons that have plagued their games. AV will take the win, but it will be close, and it will be bloody.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

Two weeks in, and the split in the Oceanic Pro League is widening. Harkening back to original grudge-match races to the title, Legacy and the Chiefs have stormed to undefeated 4–0 records and rule the Oceanic roost.

For many teams, the season is already approaching a point of no return if they want to avoid getting sucked into a fight to avoid the spoon. Some rosters just haven’t fired, while others have been unlucky. All will be eyeing a key 2–0 weekend.

Our prediction analysts Emma “ammeplays” Van der Brug, Harry “hispanicatd” Taylor, and Alex “Alexicon” Leckie-Zaharic break down the biggest match of the week as the Pro League rolls on, starting with Avant Gaming vs Dire Wolves on Friday, February 14 from 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match: Dire Wolves (2–2) vs The Chiefs (4–0)

Prediction: Dire Wolves def. by Chiefs

The Chiefs are looking to be one of the top contenders of the Oceanic Pro League this split, after two weeks of games on the Rift. Coming into Week 3 with a flawless record, the pressure will be mounting on them to continue their streak.

On the other side of the Rift, their opponents first up on Friday after the Dire Wolves, who are currently sitting on a 2–2 record. They’ve faced off against Legacy Esports, who are currently tied for first with the Chiefs.

In the clash between two former Oceanic kings, the long dormant dynasty of the Chiefs have the upper hand in 2020, and are all possibilities to take out the victory come Friday evening. They are currently one of two teams with a perfect record, and have handily won each of their games at breakneck speed.

On top of that, Romeo “Thien” Tran is certainly delivering after being tipped as a player to watch ahead of the split. He has stepped into the team’s top lane with confidence. He’s already seeing a lot of success too, including a 7/0/4 game on Diana against Pentanet in Week 1.

On top of that, the Chiefs have a dominant, controlling style. Each game they’ve played has been relatively even up to the 10 minute mark, and then they begin their squeeze. In their match history this split, that moment in the game—around the time the Rift Herald emerges in the Baron Pit—has been key. From there, they have snowballed four times in a row.

While the Dire Wolves do have the potential to claim an upset in the Week 3 match, the Chiefs are definitely favourites here, and with their 4–0 record only building their confidence as well, all signs point to them collecting win five on Friday night.

Harry’s Feature Match: Mammoth (0–4) vs Avant Gaming (1–3)

Prediction: Mammoth def. by Avant

It might be early to call a match ‘split-defining,’ but for Mammoth and Avant Gaming, this Friday evening match may be just that.

After finding themselves nestled in the bottom half of the ladder after the opening fortnight, these two teams will be coming into this game wanting to use this as a springboard to set themselves up on a path towards a playoff spot.

Looking ahead, the win here is critical for both squads, because the losing team will be put into an awful position in the ladder. A loss will see Mammoth be at best 1–5 after Week 3, whilst Avant could be at best 2–4 if they see “defeat” flash on their screen.

This is a tough spot to come back from in terms of playoff hop too, as they would need at least a 50% win rate for the rest of the split to get at or over nine wins, the number of victories Order needed to secure fifth in both splits of 2019.

AV should be able to take it early, and let the lead roll into a snowball, but Mammoth do have a chance to change their own record too: if they have solved their early game issues, and the retention of those leads, the game may have changed.

However, Avant comes into this game as favourites, and should be able to take the all-important win on Friday evening. While both teams have shown the ability to start strong early, the boys have blue have proven that they can push the lead into a win like they did last Friday against Pentanet, while Mammoth have continued to let leads fizzle.

Alex’s Feature Match: Pentanet.GG (1–3) vs Order (2–2)

Prediction: Pentanet def. by Order

After two weekends in the OPL, we’re beginning to see a clear picture of where every team stands, and this match in particular holds two teams that have—so far—coughed up performances a little way off where they were expected to land.

Coming into 2020, Order featured prominently as one of two teams that were ostensible title favourites alongside Legacy. Four games in, however, they’ve failed to fire against Legacy, and were obliterated by the new-look Chiefs lineup. Their two wins have come against Avant and Gravitas (both 1–3).

Pentanet are another roster that have struggled to meet expectations so far this year. The Perth org acquired a Pro League slot from the Bombers, and collected two former champions in Jake “Rogue” Sharwood and Brandon “BioPanther” Alexander.

Despite that, however, the team has slipped past the middle table battle, limping to just a single victory against the Dire Wolves so far this split.

It’s crunch time for both teams. Order need to prove they can go toe-to-toe with the tabletoppers and Pentanet needs to fire up now to turn their season around. Order, meanwhile, have a game against the 0–4 Mammoth and are poised to jump to 4–2 if they win both games this week.

For this game, keep an eye on the mid lane. Both Harry “Haeri” Kang and Jarod “Getback” Tucker are regarded as the forefront of the new wave of Oceanic talent, and in a battle against each other it will be extremely interesting to see who claims the ascendancy.

Pentanet have failed to make an impact so far, but this week Order will be out for blood following last week’s loss, and are clear favourites to take the win this week. However, Order should win both games this week and firmly establish themselves as a top-three team in a crowded middle of the standings.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

The first week of the Oceanic Pro League is in the books, and a picture is already forming of where teams could be battling for the remainder of the split.

In particular, perennial—for the most part—Oceanic contenders Legacy Esports and the Chiefs both announced their return in 2020 in style results-wise, bagging 2–0 records to claim equal places atop the ladder for the opening round.

A mid-table pack has also formed, though it feels remiss not to mention that this could change very quickly considering just two matches have been played per team. Right now, however, the host of teams on 1–1 consist of the Dire Wolves, Gravitas, Order, and Pentanet.GG, all of whom will be looking to wipe away a mixed start with a 2–0 weekend.

Our prediction analysts Emma “ammeplays” Van der Brug, Harry “hispanicatd” Taylor, and Alex “Alexicon” Leckie-Zaharic break down the biggest matches of the week as the Pro League rolls on, starting with Mammoth vs Legacy Esports on Friday, January 31 from 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match: Pentanet.GG (1–1) vs Avant Gaming (0–2)

Prediction: Pentanet win

Even with Week 1 results in the bag, it can still be difficult to pick the placement for each team, especially when only two games have been played each. Avant Gaming and Pentanet are two such examples, with both facing 2–0 teams in the season opener.

This match looks, from early expectations, to be falling in Pentanet’s favour. Avant went up against two tough teams in round one, with a 6-13-11 overall on Friday evening against Legacy, before clocking up a 7-19-15 overall against the Chiefs the next day.

The Oceanic stalwarts had a good start to their Saturday game, but ended up being unable to use the momentum to close out the game, especially after Legacy netted a 16-minute Rift Herald which cracked open Summoner’s Rift.

Avant’s matches this week will be tough, but it’s their opportunity to step up to the plate and notch their first win of the year. They have a big weekend again, but if they want to keep up with their competitive spirit, it’s time to shift gears.

On the other side of the Rift, and the continent in terms of representation, Pentanet had a mixed start to life in the Pro League. Their Friday match showed some nerves, especially with a shaky 1-6-4 performance from Jarrod “Getback” Tucker.

The mid laner redeemed himself on Saturday, however, flipping the KDA for a soaring 6-1-4 run on Veigar against Ari “Shok” Greene-Young’s Akali. Getback’s performance in the game was a big influence, and seemed to decide if Pentanet were able to take the win. With a few kinks ironed out, and focus around Getback, PGG is beginning to look exciting.

Scott “Westonway” Farmer’s pick/ban phase is something else to highlight heading into Week 2. In the match against the Chiefs, he was able to counterpick the hyper-mobile Chiefs comp with a CC-heavy fighting team. Even though they lost, their drafting was impressive, and this will be another avenue they’ll look to succeed in next weekend.

With another week of practice under their belts, and Westonway’s eyes cast over the first eight matches of the OPL split, Pentanet are sure to strengthen their position heading into Week 2, and step into the leading pack with a win over Avant on Friday.

Harry’s Feature Match: Legacy Esports (2–0) vs Dire Wolves (1–1)

Prediction: Legacy win

After an opening week in the Oceanic Pro League that saw both Legacy Esports and the Dire Wolves fall below their own expectations, the two green teams come face to face in Week 2 looking to strengthen their weaknesses.

Despite a 2–0 week from Legacy, the early title contenders—though don’t call them that if you can help it—emerged with plenty to work on, and some doubt from the public about whether they truly were the top dogs.

Having a pair of bad starts against both Avant Gaming and Order, especially by bot lane duo Quin “Raes” Korebrits and Jonah “Isles” Rosario, they were able to bring themselves back into both matches through a series of team fight wins, as well as shining performances from Korean duo Kin “Topoon” Ji-Hoon and Jang “EMENES” Min-soo.

Dire Wolves also have aspirations for a high placement in the Pro League regular season after a rough Week 1 start, where tactical mistakes from both before and during the game cost them the chance to start 2–0.

The Wolfpack deployed their seven-man roster against Mammoth in a “team-based decision,” allowing jungler Toby “UDYSOF” Horne and support/coach Andy “Cupcake” van der Vyver to replace Park “Mir” Mi-reu and Ha “Vital” In-seong. To round out the changes, starting support Daniel “Decoy” Ealam shifted to the bot lane.

This move was limited at best, exposing the lack of synergy between the duo-supports in the bot lane. The swap allowed their opponents a slim advantage, before the Wolfpack were able to secure a 5–2 teamfight at dragon pit to snowball to victory.

On Saturday, the starting lineup returned to the fold in a close affair against Pentanet.GG. While coach Ben “Kai” Stewart admitted on broadcast he had “buggered the draft,” the Dire Wolves were able to earn advantage for most of the game. A risky Baron call cost them, in the end, however, and slapped them with a 1–1 record after the opening round.

With both teams likely less than pleased with their first-round tactics, the second week will be an interesting matchup as both sides look to make up for their failings on the Rift early.

Even with their early starts looking lackluster at the moment, Legacy seems to be in a leading position to take this win. The trees should be able to fix any early-game mistakes, and dominate all aspects of the game with their star-studded roster. If the Dire Wolves can keep it clean though, the game could prove rough for the Adelaide team.

Alex’s Feature Match: Order (1–1) vs The Chiefs (2–0)

Prediction: Chiefs win

In what will be the biggest match of the Oceanic Pro League this so far this year, four-time champions the Chiefs will take to the stage against three members of their 2019 lineup, now wearing the magenta and black of Order.

Chief among those departures, if you’ll forgive the pun, is Brandon “Swip3rR” Holland, who flew the Chiefs banner between 2014-2019. Now, he faces his old team for the very first time, more than five years after first putting pen to paper with the org.

If you were to pick this result before the OPL started, the probable answer would have been to give it to Order. They’d recruited the Armoured Titan, Jordan “Only” Middleton, and Bill “Eyla” Nguyen and rounded out their additions with Gravitas mid laner Harry “Haeri” Kang.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, were forced to dig deep to rebuild their roster. They luckily kept hold of Swip3rR’s protege, top laner Romeo “Thien” Tran, as well as mid laner Brandon “Claire” Nguyen, however, the rest of the roster was all new.

Their two imports Park “Croc” Jong-hoon and Kang “KoreaCK” Cheol-gyu impressed on debut, helping the team to a 2–0 start. Robert “Katsurii” Gouv also went a long way to allay concerns about his fit with a dominant 11-0 Miss Fortune game against Avant.

Order, on the other hand, tossed away a lead against Legacy, and only took a win over the rookie-filled Gravitas. There were plenty of positives, but failing to close the game out when it really mattered puts a firm question mark beside their name, and they’ll need to strengthen their late-game if they’re going to have a chance to lift their first trophy come April.

This will be an explosive match, both on the Rift and behind the scenes. Expect plenty of emotion in this one, especially towards the top lane as the student takes on the master in the first chapter for the new-look Chiefs. It’s extremely early in the season, but Order will have to put on a good showing if they want to make this title a three-horse race.

At the end of the day though, when you couple the performances of the Chiefs’ debutants with an Order struggling to deal with a little chaos, it’s quite hard to give Order the W. It’ll be close, it’ll be messy, but the metaphorical money is on the Chiefs to take the win, and move to a 3–0 in the OPL standings before they face off against Mammoth on Saturday.

The Oceanic Pro League returns this Friday.

Follow @ammeplays, @ImHarryTaylor & @Alexicon13 on Twitter.

After a lengthy Oceanic Pro League offseason, with plenty of roster swaps, an Oceanic exodus to the Championship Series and the European Championship in the break, and a wave of rookies arriving to take their places, the region’s premier League of Legends competition is back.

With comes a new chance for kings to be crowned, new stories to be told for some of the best League players Australia and New Zealand have to offer, and of course Snowball Esports’ weekly match predictions for the weekend ahead.

Our prediction analysts Emma “ammeplays” Van der Brug, Harry Taylor, and Alex “Alexicon” Leckie-Zaharic break down the biggest matchups of Week 1 as the Oceanic Pro League gets underway for 2020, starting with Avant Gaming vs Legacy Esports on Friday, January 31 from 4pm AEDT.

Emma’s Feature Match: Pentanet.GG (0-0) vs Dire Wolves (0-0)

After arguably the biggest offseason shake-up to have happened in the Oceanic Pro League, it’s certainly an exciting time to be a fan. Pentanet.GG marks one of the biggest changes in the league, with the west coast team fielding a strong roster for their debut.

On the opposite side of the Rift in the opener, the Dire Wolves stand ready to try and paw their way back to the top of the league — the Sydney organisation has also recruited well in the offseason, at least on paper, and mark a strong foe for Pentanet’s first weekend.

First-week matches are always exciting to watch, mainly due to the uncertainty of rosters, and how will they perform at crunch-time. If we look at back 2019’s Split 2 opener, Order lost to Legacy Esports. As history shows, Legacy itself wasn’t that much of a title contender — the squad went on to string twenty defeats in a row.

Casting a look into the crystal ball for this match, it looks like the newcomers may have the rub of the green. They’re a new team, with newfound drive and passion, and they are poised to claim a statement victory in the first round of the season.

One key element for the west coast roster is Scott “Westonway” Farmer, who coached the now-departed Essendon Bombers to a 3–0 grand final victory over Order, and lifted the trophy in 2019. He is joined at Pentanet by another member of that championship squad in captain Jake “Rogue” Sharwood too, which could prove invaluable straight off the bat.

Roster synergy will play a vital part in Pentanet’s early matches. As well as the Bombers leadership duo, they also have two former Dire Wolves in their roster in the form of Jarod “Getback” Turner and Brandon “BioPanther” Alexander. They finished fifth.

This looks like a relatively even game for the Dire Wolves and Pentanet on-paper, but week one matches can always be chaotic. As far as first-round tiebreakers for the matchup, it looks like valuable helmsman experience from Westonway, and pre-built synergy for the newcomer organisation, means Pentanet should claim the win in a volatile opening week.

Harry’s Feature Match: Order (0–0) vs Legacy Esports (0–0)

Legacy Esports and Order will meet to start play this Saturday, in what could shape up as the game of the week — both orgs enter Split 1 fresh off the back of major roster overhauls that have set them up for a tilt at the Oceanic crown.

This game could reasonably go either way. Each team has set themselves up for success in 2020, and the first week of the new lineups could be key for their early Split 1 run. Whoever claims the win could claim the title of “pacesetter” after round one.

Order looks to have the rub of the green, however, off the back of the Chiefs core they picked up in the offseason. The Melbourne squad picked up Bill “Eyla” Nguyen, Jordan “Only” Middleton, and veteran top laner Brandon “Swip3rR” Holland, as well as former Gravitas star Harry “Haeri” Kang, and added them to bot laner Ronan “Rare7” Swingler (formerly Dream).

With Legacy having what can only be described as an abysmal Split 2 in 2019, they spent the time away reloading all five positions. This came in the form of the return of prodigal son Leo “Babip” Romer, former champion Quin “Raes” Korebrits, and Mammoth top laner Kim “Topoon” Ji-hoon. Joining them are two new names in the OPL, former academy support Jonah “Isles” Rosario, and Gen.G and DragonX trainee Jang “EMENES” Min-soo to create a rich lineup.

Despite the stacked squad, however, it is still yet to be seen if they will gel together straight away, or if it will be a process to get the superteam rolling in Split 1.

The first week back after a break is always the hardest to predict. While we can see both these teams could be fighting for the title at the pointy end of the season, Order may win the battle in the first week due to the history most players have together.

It is on paper, of course, but until there are results on the board it’s time to trust the paper — Order’s former synergy should edge it out in the close game, and the Melbourne squad should take the 1–0 record in what could be a key head-to-head this year.

Alex’s Feature Match: Mammoth (0–0) vs Gravitas (0–0)

Success can be a curse. Without the tumultuous offseason we just had, this would have been a cut-and-dry Mammoth stomp of Gravitas, with the defending champions easily expected to brush aside the team that placed seventh in last year’s second split.

However, with four out of the five starting players for Mammoth now overseas playing in the LCS and LEC, and their star jungler now playing for Legacy Esports, Mammoth has had to assemble a squad without a single game of OPL experience between them.

Gravitas had nowhere near the success that Mammoth did, yet almost all of their 2019 squad have also moved on. They were left nearly as destitute as Mammoth, and also had to bring in rookies from the OCS and other circuits to fill their roster.

Despite all that, Gravitas are the ones that have an edge in this week’s game, because that edge’s name is Jordan “Praelus” Fernandes. The GRV jungler is the only player from either team to remain on the respective rosters coming into 2020, and his influence will be a vital and steady hand to ease the rest of his team into their OPL debuts.

By this stage, I know what you’re thinking, and almost all of the OPL armchair analysts agree. On paper, this is a battle of the two weakest teams in the league, a bunch of inexperienced rookies who are more likely to fight over the wooden spoon than over a playoff spot.

However, it’s so much more than that. These are the first true grassroots teams in OPL history.

These orgs aren’t relying on a squad full of OPL veterans to carry them to glory. Instead, their rookie rosters will have to fight tooth and nail for every win that comes their way. A single player out of the ten in this matchup played in the OPL in 2019, and only one other has played even one game in the league.

We’ve seen so little of almost all of these players that it becomes extremely hard to pick a winner. However, because we’ve seen what Praelus can produce on his best day, it’s difficult to pick an entirely unproven Mammoth roster to take the win over Gravitas.

Led by Praelus, Gravitas will reign victorious in this matchup and, hopefully, launch themselves into a productive season.

If you want to be inspired this week, it’s not going to be by watching Legacy vs Order. It’s going to be by watching Gravitas vs Mammoth, because any win is a testament to the effort and passion these players are putting in.

Don’t look at this as an early battle for the wooden spoon, look at this as the beginning of eight OPL careers. These young rookies stepping onto that stage this weekend have got everything to play for, and that’s when the game truly shines. When those dreams finally come true.

The Oceanic Pro League returns on January 31.

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