predictions – Snowball Esports [Legacy]

MVPs of the Week: Split 2 Week Ten

Reece Perry — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 02:55:41 +0000

Reece “LoLTies” Perry is back this week to bring us the Snowball MVP’s of the Week for Split 2, Week 10. Check out who put in the best performance for your team below!

Avant

Avant Gaming: Frae

I thought this was one of the more collaborative efforts, so to speak, from Avant this week. Frae was still leading from the front, but there were spot contributions from players hugely contributing to wins such as DarkSide and Praelus notably in game three. At the end of the day though, Frae has been Avant’s best performer on a week-in, week-out basis for the entire year now and he was still their best in week 10.

Tectonic

Tectonic: Praedyth

Notwithstanding game three, in which it looked like everyone on Tectonic had a bit of a disaster, Praedyth was the major reason this series was close. He was a relevant side lane consideration whenever Avant wanted to do something elsewhere on the map, and he basically single-handedly punked the entire roster on the way to pushing down the nexus in game 2. Hopefully he can parlay these last two weeks into a starting gig and show some consistency on top of these high highs.

Legacy

Legacy: Raid

Claire might have taken home all the plaudits, but we always knew that Claire was a monster. My single biggest criticism of Legacy (after we get past their sometimes rancid baron play) is that we don’t see consistent stepping up of the other players around Claire. Now, two games does not consistency make, but Raid was remarkable this series.

Historically he has been the poster boy for my issue with Oceanic Ezreals in that he played within the confines of Arcane Shift. But in this series he stepped forward, took risks to secure kills and push around MAMMOTH members, and actually Dared to Deal Relevant Damage, instead of just Q-poking and walking away. This was an Ezreal performance where some of the limits of Ezreal were sometimes pushed, instead of being used as a secure warming blanket, never to be touched.

MAMMOTH

MAMMOTH: Mash

I thought this was a fairly huge effort across all the MAMMOTH members this week. It wasn’t for lack of effort or production from one standout member that was the reason they didn’t win this match. It was small margins across key moments that turned this series around on them. Even when things started to go south, Mash was the one member who stood tallest and when you secure a pick like Varus for your veteran import, that’s exactly what you want from them. I can guarantee it will be of little consolation, but this was as monumental an effort as any five could have put in for a losing 0-2 series.

Chiefs

Chiefs: Ryoma

Once again, Raes and Ryoma go toe-to-toe here. Two incredibly early towers along with the Babip-assisted whipping that was inflicted upon the Bombers bottom lane cast a strong vote for Raes, and while it was a fairly standard Rakan engage, Destiny did also bring out a clutch teamfight.

But through it all I thought Ryoma played really well in both games. He had a commanding, controlling performance on his signature Syndra pick, and then when the Syndra was picked into him, broke out another fearsome Zed and went ballistic. It’s a really valuable weapon the Chiefs have shown opponents, this Ryoma Zed and gives them an extra element of mind games they can wield in drafts during the gauntlet.

Bombers

Bombers: Looch

Individually, I thought the Bombers fell flat in this series. They definitely had their good moments, but it was off the back of some good team coordination, rather than individual brilliance. I’m sure they’ll take that though, good teamplay going into gauntlet is definitely A Good Thing.

Of the individual performances, I thought that Looch had the best two-game set. Sleeping was okay in patches, Seb had a nicely timed Lamb’s Respite around baron but neither matched Looch across both lanes. Unfortunately the bot lane had a bit of a disaster so hopefully for Bombers’ fans they’ll bounce back against Legacy and maybe beyond.

Dire Wolves

Dire Wolves: BioPanther

For my money he was manhandled a bit in their loss, but there can be no denying the unbelievably high height that BioPanther hit in game 2. Down 1-0 in the series and with game 2 not going all the way according to plan BioPanther reached…well…not deep into his Mundo bag of tricks, but for the same trick he did last time and cleaned up another mid lane teamfight with a delayed triple kill. Save for Griffin, nobody else in the world has come from their challenger league into their premier league with this apparent fluidity. It’s been wonderful to watch.

ORDER

ORDER: FBI

FBI’s ability to deal big damage without standing out as going incredibly aggressive is remarkable. That’s usually the sign of a great positional ADCarry. While he’s known for his Xayah and Ezreal picks this season, I believe he can play basically anything and be incredibly competent on it, which I would suspect is what ORDER were trying with the Kog’Maw – and while it didn’t work out, I’m not looking at the pick or the draft being the main reason behind that.

What’s exciting for ORDER fans is that I think his best suite of champions are being patched back in now – I really enjoy watching his Ashe and Varus, and I predict ORDER fans will as well.

Player images courtesy of Riot Games/OPL

OPL Split 2, Week 10: Match Predictions

Josh Swift — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 02:55:00 +0000

It’s been a minute. We’re now in the 10th week of Split 2, and it’s the final round before the Gauntlet begins.

I can’t say that I’m at the top of the Snowball tipping tournament standings, you could say I’m middle-of-the-pack, like Bombers, or MAMMOTH. Regardless, I’m joined by two of our wonderful resident Snowballers Emma & Jess for this week’s predictions.

Avant Gaming vs Tectonic

Swifty: As we’ve alluded to in our updated OPL Gauntlet Guide yesterday, there’s unfortunately no way for Tectonic to avoid the promotion tournament. They can either finish eighth and will automatically qualify, or seventh and still qualify based on promotion points.

However there’s still some work to be done by Avant. I won’t go over all the details, you can find them in our guide. Essentially, Avant need to both win this series and rely on MAMMOTH to win against Legacy and then again against Bombers in the first round of the Gauntlet. I expect this to be a slug fest, there’s pride on the line as well.

W: Avant Gaming 2-1

Emma: Tectonic have had a rough couple of weeks. There were a few moments in the series against ORDER in which they impressed, but were ultimately unable to take a game off the Melbourne squad.

With neither team being able to make it to the gauntlet and Avant fighting for the safe spot away from potential relegation, this series will be bloody. I think that Avant will pull through and take the overall win.

W: Avant Gaming 2-1

Jess: The competition at the bottom of the standigs is fierce. Tectonic and Avant have both had some strong performances but they have found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard at the tail end of the split.

The Tectonic revamp hasn’t done much for the squad in the last two weeks, I guess that’s what comes with switching the team dynamic shortly before the end of the split. After their great upsets against top teams earlier this split they haven’t been able to continue the streak.

Avant have clinched a few key games and has the potential to place 6th, breaking their 5th place curse in the worst way. Though there were some recent glimmers of hope they have struggled to keep up the momentum to get them their victories. However, they have come out on top each time these teams met and I’m throwing my support behind them.

W: Avant Gaming 2-0

MAMMOTH vs Legacy

Swifty: This is the one to watch this weekend. There’s so much on the line for these teams. While both are fighting for the final spot in the Gauntlet, MAMMOTH are looking specifically at the difference between fourth and fifth seed, giving them side selection.

This is Legacy’s last chance for this split, and it’s a tough ask. They cannot drop a game. My prediction? I think Legacy will take the series, but the match record will be 2-1. MAMMOTH will progress to the Gauntlet to face Bombers. If there are teams that have clutch players able to pull off a 2-0 like what’s required here, Legacy are one of them but I don’t think this is their time.

W: Legacy 2-1

Emma: I’m having some serious SINderella flashbacks from previous years with this match up. MAMMOTH currently have the best possible chance of making it into the Gauntlet, with anything other than a 2-0 from Legacy means they proceed. The good thing for both teams is they have a spot secured for next season, however it’s definitely do-or-die for Gauntlet dreams.

With a 3-6 record over Legacy’s 4-5 MAMMOTH are still placed higher and it shows how important the 2-0s have been for the potential 3 points each week. It’s going to be another interesting set however with Legacy having their gauntlet dreams resting on a 2-0, I think they will bring a disciplined and aggressive style to fight for their spot.

W: Legacy 2-0

Jess: The most nail biting match of the week, one of these teams will make the Gauntlet. Will it be the trees, Claire leading the pack or Juves 600IQ alpha male and his troops?

MAMMOTH have had a strong showing this split and are on the brink of starting the next SINderella story. Though they’ve had some exciting matches, the last time these two power house teams met they fell barely as Legacy capitalised off small mistakes from the line up. If they clean up their game it could lead to this coming down to the final minutes.

Now Legacy; the trees, the roots of the OPL, this team has been to the end of the Gauntlet, has ended SINderella stories in the past and has held second and third place more than most teams. This roster is a staple in the OPL, Claire’s ability to put his team and the region on his back and bringing home the goods is what gives me hope they can take this win. Only has shown what a strong jungler he has become and developed over the split and this team has my full fledged support coming into this exciting match.

W: Legacy 2-0

Bombers vs The Chiefs

Swifty: This match has absolutely no bearing on the Chiefs’ Gauntlet placement. They’re locked in to the third round and are potentially two Bo5s away from Worlds.

Bombers however, have the chance to secure fourth seed and side selection in their Gauntlet round. Bombers are in a really weird scenario right now where they have both a chance at winning the OPL, and a chance they’re headed for the promotion tournament as well.

The Chiefs I think will be looking to stay on their best form as they look to a potential grand final appearance at Rod Laver, but I can see Bombers taking a game.

W: The Chiefs 2-1

Emma: Chiefs and Bombers are both locked into the gauntlet run. Chiefs have had a fantastic end to the split with 4 2-0s in the last 4 weeks, their last loss was against the Dire Wolves in week 5. Last time the Chiefs faced the Bombers was in week 3, where they 2-1’d the Bombers.

Both teams have admittedly shown huge improvement over the split and I think this series will showcase the growth that both teams have experienced. Bombers have come off a few great weeks of improvement and I think they’re going to definitely bring the fight to the Chiefs. I’m having a hard time going with the logic that Chiefs will 2-0, but I want to have faith in the Bombers and their improvement over the split. I’m choosing faith!

W: Bombers 2-1

Jess: Bombers are looking down the end of a gauntlet but not the one we normally see them in. For the first time in what seems like ever, this team will be hitting the winners gauntlet to take the split. This is a warm up for both teams as a taste into the square off we may see in a few weeks time.

Chiefs have had a strong split, clinching some key games though unfortunately losing some surprises. This team is strong, resilient and ready to take on gauntlet and this is a stage warm up for the excitement we will see come gauntlet weekend. They’ve shown some good form in the last split and have not befallen the normal Chiefs curse and stayed near the top of the leaderboard all split.

W: The Chiefs 2-0

ORDER vs Dire Wolves

Swifty: Some might call me an ORDER fan. They’d be right. The boys from Melbourne have their eyes locked on a home-town grand final appearance and this match would go a long way to showing that they have what it takes.

The Dire Wolves look mighty scary right now. Over 12 months undefeated domestically is nothing to balk at. They’ll be wanting to keep that record untarnished but I think Swiffer and co. are ready to be the ones to put an end to their reign in this series. I’ll be happy with a close 3-game series regardless, as I love watching these two teams specifically duke it out on the rift.

W: ORDER 2-1

Emma: With both of these teams locked into the gauntlet, it will be a good chance for ORDER to face of against the top dog and see how they fare. With an interesting few weeks behind them, ORDER are showing their strengths again and I believe they have what it takes to take a game or two off the Dire Wolves.

However with the gauntlet just around the corner the Dire Wolves are ready to fight back at anyone who threatens the alpha seat.

W: Dire Wolves 2-1

Jess: The 1st v 3rd place rumble. This is going to be a match to watch purely for its high quality game play. These two powerhouses have shown why they are on the top of the leaderboard.

Spookz and Swiffer have shown they’re a dynamic duo with a powerhouse bot lane. By sealing the deal as one of the top teams getting to play off in the gauntlet the ability to show it to the Wolves would cement their position. A strong showing in last week’s match against Tectonic could mean that they take a game off the powerhouse of the rift.

Another amazing split for the Dire Wolves and last week proved no different. Shern and BioPanther have shown up to be 2 of the most dominant forces to hit the Oceanic rift this split. Their long running undefeated streak has shown just how strong they are.

W: Dire Wolves 2-0

The OPL continues tomorrow with the final round of the regular split, Friday 17th August at 5pm on Twitch, or at oce.lolesports.com.

MVPs of the Week: Split 2 Week Nine

Harry Taylor — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 02:55:45 +0000

Harry “Hispanic_at_the_disco” Taylor is on hand to bring us the Snowball MVP’s of the Week for Split 2, Week 9. Check out who put in the best performance for your team below!

Dire Wolves

Dire Wolves: Triple

Dire Wolves vs Avant for me was a battle of the mid lane, and Triple put on a clinic on this week, running amuck on Summoner’s Rift, dealing disgusting amounts of damage on both Zoe and Syndra. Game 1 saw him go on a rampage, landing crucial sleepy trouble bubbles and paddle star’s to chunk out the opposition, leading the Wolf Pack to victory.

His game 2 performance on Syndra saw him lay down dark spheres all over the map on his controlling rampage of the game. His efforts led the Wolves to a swift 2-0, securing the team a seat at the Melbourne Esports Open final, as well as keeping him in contention for the Raydere medal.

Avant

Avant Gaming: Frae

If I am going to call Dire Wolves vs Avant a battle of the mid lane, I can’t just give the MVP to only one of the mid laners right? Frae’s performance on LeBlanc in Game 1 was able to keep the Wolfpack in check with some sick chains. He kept Avant in the game, trying to salvage their gauntlet dreams.

Whilst he wasn’t amazing in Game 2, he will need to bring his Game 1 performance once again this week if Avant wants to avoid a trip to the Promotion tournament.

Chiefs

Chiefs: Raes

Raes was unstoppable against Legacy on Kai’Sa, going legendary in Game 1 and following it up with a dominating performance in Game 2. He had a large presence on the map throughout the series, finding plenty of kills and dealing over 500 damage per minute during the series. This number would have been bigger, had it not been for his team ending the games before he could hit his final spikes.

He was critical in getting the boys in blue all 3 points and securing second place, whilst reminding his OPL counterparts to ban Kai’Sa or prepare for a lot of pain and grey screens.

Legacy

Legacy: Mimic

Whilst Friday night might have been one to forget for the trees, Mimic’s performance on Fiora in game 2 is one to remember. He got the ball rolling with a first blood on Swip3rR in the first 2 minutes, and became a walking threat on a map, keeping the Chiefs at bay until mid-late game.

He will need to show up once again next week against MAMMOTH if Carbon’s boys want to be able to make the playoffs.

ORDER

ORDER: Swiffer

Swiffer defied EGym’s orders against Tectonic, playing the recently reworked Akali less than 2 weeks from her re-release. While it might take him normally 100 games to master a new champion, Swiffer played the rogue assassin to perfection in Game 1 against Tectonic. He gave grief to the emergency substitute mid laner Anderu as well as the rest of the Tectonic lineup with his big roaming plays.

He went on a rampage in Game 1, but on his Game 2 LeBlanc, he took the backseat, allowing the rest of the team to shine. He ended his week deathless, with around a third of ORDER’s total kill count. If he is able to keep this level of performance up, the gauntlet looks bright for the boys from Melbourne (Melbourne BTW).

Tectonic

Tectonic: UDYSOF

In a week of change and chaos for the New Zealand team, there was a shining star in new starting jungler UDYSOF. Joining the team last week after playing the OCS season with the Dire Cubs, there was hype for the new boy, and he made some noise in Game 2, going 6/0/0 on Trundle.

It was a great introduction for him, and if he had been on a carry jungler he would of had the potential to dominantly carry that game into a victory, but alas he couldn’t because he was on a tank. If he can keep it up, expect him to make waves moving forward.

Bombers

Bombers: Tiger

Bombers were able to secure themselves their first Gauntlet appearance after in a 2-1 win over MAMMOTH. Star ADC Tiger was crucial to the Bombers success, being able to land his shots and giving the woolly mammals the 1-2-3-4 on Jhin in their Game 1 and 3 victories.

The Frenchman was unstoppable, and was once again came up clutch for the team backed by the Essendon Football Club. This week was just another example of his ability to perform in high pressure situations, something the gauntlet rookies will need come the end of the month.

MAMMOTH

MAMMOTH: Chippys

While MAMMOTH had a bit of a shocker in our Match of the Week, Chippys was massive in Game 2 on what I consider his signature pick, Camille. He went legendary with an 8/1/4 statline, getting a triple kill as the cherry on top.

He was a large part of the reason that MAMMOTH were able to claim a win and a point from the series, which will be very critical in this Friday night’s showdown with Legacy, as they now only need to win a single game to qualify for the Gauntlet.

Player images courtesy of Riot Games/OPL

OPL Split 2, Week 9: Match Predictions

Andrew Wray — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 02:55:02 +0000

There are 3 points between 4th and 8th in the OPL, with the bottom of the table so close it can make tipping difficult to navigate!

Don’t worry though as we’ve got you covered to ensure you can win bragging rights in your tipping league. You’re in good company as I’m sitting in first place for the Snowball league.

Check out what myself, Ducky and Isaac have picked, or use an 8-ball, you’ll probably have a better tipping score than Fish.

Dire Wolves vs Avant Gaming

Andrew: Last time we saw this matchup Avant looked promising and the players themselves said afterwards they felt that they could have done better and potentially come home with the series. I think this time around however the Dire Wolves will be navigating through this series with more confidence, going from strength to strength since then.

With that said, the Wolves do have a handy 4 points in hand – perhaps they are allowed to take their foot off the gas and coast into MEO.

W: Dire Wolves 2-0

Ducky: Avant threw out some curve balls last week against ORDER, but they’ll need to bring sliders, fastballs and knuckle balls to have a chance at beating the Dire Wolves.

I was a major critic of BioPanther, but now I think he’s a solid Raydere Medal chance. He has completely blown my expectations out of the water, and I’m happy to be proven wrong. This should be a walkover though, and Dire Wolves should have first place wrapped up by 7pm Friday.

W: Dire Wolves 2-0

Isaac: All hail the kings baby – the Dire Wolves have proven domestically they are unbeatable in their current form, and an Avant Gaming squad looking to avoid the relegation scrap is unlikely to be their undoing this weekend as the defending champions begin preparations for the upcoming gauntlet.

Frae and DarkSide have both been interesting in recent weeks, and definitely will be exciting to watch, but coming up against Triple and k1ng makes it difficult to show anything too special.

All that said, feel free to come back here and tell me I’ve cursed the Dire Wolves if Avant pull out the upset. I just don’t think it’s a reality as the green machine rolls on.

W: Dire Wolves 2-0

Legacy vs The Chiefs

Andrew: Can we finally find a name to call this series? I’ll nominate it as “The Old Firm” – two founding OPL teams battling each other like two old, firm friends… okay back to the drawing board and someone else can think of a better title.

Legacy need to come up big in this series to make their final dash for playoffs, it’s always a grudge match between these two and Chiefs with a 2-0 have the ability to really inflict pain into the hearts of fans of the Tree.

I’ve got this pencilled in as a 2-1 Chiefs win but this could very well be a sweep for the boys in blue. Chiefs have the better players on the rift and Legacy will need a MVP performance from Claire to get the job done.

W: The Chiefs 2-1

Ducky: Legacy have shown us that this split they can look like the first placed team and the last placed team in the space of 1 series. Against Chiefs, who are vying for that top spot (requiring Dire Wolves to win no more than 1 of their games against Avant and ORDER), every point will be crucial for Carbon’s men who currently sit in 6th based on points.

I think Chiefs will come away with the win, but Legacy will find a way to take a game to sure up their points. It all relies on how Raid and Decoy do down bot. If they can hold their own, Claire can carry a game or two.

W: The Chiefs 2-1

Isaac: Every league in the world has it’s ‘El Classico’, where two titans of the competition come head to head and all eyes turn to the contest to see which club will reign supreme. For the Oceanic Pro League, Legacy against the Chiefs is that titanic clash, ever since the two teams first met on Summoners Rift in the opening match of the 2015 season.

Despite the Chiefs looking to solidify a strong seed for the gauntlet in second place, and Legacy trailing behind in the search for a confirmed finals run, these matches still pack all the same spice and venom that a top of the table clash would bring.

The history of the fixture, and Legacy’s sheer determination to secure points and make it into the gauntlet one way or another, will likely see this go to three despite the difference in calibre each organisation has shown this split.

W: The Chiefs 2-1

Tectonic vs ORDER

Andrew: While it would be fun to poke fun at ORDER about how this series went down last time, I don’t think lightning will strike twice. ORDER look a more complete unit since that display and Tectonic seem to be on a downwards slide after such a promising start to the season.

Just how much have things changed since that massive upset over ORDER? Well after we controversially ranked ORDER 7th in our Power rankings the week after Tectonics big upset I reckon there’s a chance that after this series Tectonic will be dreaming of a 7th place finish and that’s grim.

Tectonic have a new jungler which I find to be a little controversial given Sybol has been ORDER’s kryptonite, and it seems awkward to make a roster change with two weeks of the season remaining.

W: ORDER 2-0

Ducky: Tectonic and ORDER have had polar opposite seasons. While Tectonic were fast out of the blocks, they have faltered in the last few weeks. ORDER stumbled out of the blocks, but are set for a 3rd place finish after all hope seemed lost.

Tectonic have replaced the underperforming Sybol with Dire Cubs’ jungler UDYSOF, and while this change will be positive for the team, I can’t see them overcoming their issues to take 2 series off ORDER this split.

Not to mention it was announced this week ORDER now have the services of Inero, which combined with ChuChuz’s draft skill shown in their Avant series last week, makes for some of the best support staff in the OPL.

W: ORDER 2-0

Isaac: An interesting mid-week pick up for Tectonic in the form of Dire Cubs jungler UDYSOF may give the cellar dwellers a spark of momentum when it comes to their match against ORDER, but being welcomed to the OPL by Spookz – especially just a week after his shining performance against Avant Gaming – will be no easy task for the youngster.

The Cubs alumni will certainly be one to watch as both teams get onto Summoners Rift, but with Tectonic’s slump likely to continue as the split draws to a close, and ORDER still hunting that third place finish to confirm their gauntlet standings, there’s little doubt this will be a clean sweep for the Melbourne squad.

W: ORDER 2-0

Bombers vs MAMMOTH

Andrew: Somehow with a 2-6 record Bombers are in 4th place tied with MAMMOTH and this very difficult for me to grasp. They’ve taken some games off the bigger teams and have secured some clean 2-0 wins over Tectonic and Avant but I tell you what they would have to be considered one of the least threatening potential playoff teams aside from maybe Avant.

I’m forecasting MAMMOTH winning this series 2-1. If Bombers can get the win though it really does shake things up coming into playoffs – practically securing their playoffs spot and showing they can take a series from a playoff contender.

W: MAMMOTH 2-1

Ducky: I will forever lavish in the fact that Bombers were a top 4 team. Yes, if you look at the OPL site, while they are only 2-6 on match record with 10 points, they still have the 4th placed spot. God bless the alphabet. Bombers have always somehow managed to take games off the other higher ranked teams, even though they have looked shaky and inconsistent.

MAMMOTH will be looking to prove that their super squad is truly a top 3 contender, and dismantling the Bombers will go towards serving that. However, I’m going to serve up an upset here. Seb looked on some good form last week, and if he shows up again this week, I think MAMMOTH won’t be able to keep up. Plus, I still want to believe.

W: Bombers 2-1

Isaac: This match sees both teams enter level in the standings as confirmation of playoffs loom, but despite the Bombers being placed higher than MAMMOTH due to their points haul the squad has actually won one game fewer than their trailing rivals.

Because of that, technically a MAMMOTH 2-1 looks like an upset on paper, but with a 3-5 record over Bombers’ 2-6 the team simply has more experience closing out games in their favour.

Chippys and Juves will be key in the coming weekend’s match. Look to them to provide major impact through the top side of the map, with MAMMOTH’s top laner likely given the freedom to control the tempo through a carry selection.

W: MAMMOTH 2-1

The OPL continues tomorrow for week 9 of the split, Friday 10th August at 5pm on Twitch, or at oce.lolesports.com.