Forking in League of Legends

League of Legends is an objective based game. The ultimate aim is to destroy the opposing team’s nexus and to do so you have to get through their towers and inhibitors. Neutral objectives such as baron and dragon, kills and gold only matter insofar as they aid you in destroying enemy structures.

Season 8 so far has been somewhat defined by stalled out games. Tanks are as prevalent as ever, ADC’s thanks to Targon’s and over-heal are somewhat tanky themselves and wave clear champions such as Sivir and Azir are prevalent. As such it doesn’t take a particularly advanced understanding of macro strategy to stall out games and make it difficult for an opponent to secure objectives. Which is why we see these long games with extended baron dances and very little happening until finally someone makes a mistake. This is often in itself, a mistake.

The tools are the same as they’ve always been: map rotations, split pushing, vision control and wave manipulation. Given the meta, nuanced understanding of these concepts are now more than ever what separates the good teams from the mediocre – especially if the game is fairly even. It is no longer good enough to threaten a single objective and hope the enemy gives you a favourable team fight. You have to manufacture conditions that give your opponent no good options.

 

Ryze Demonstrating a Fork

In chess, forking is a term used for when you use a piece to simultaneously threaten two of your opponent’s pieces. No matter what your opponent does they are losing one of the two. Their only choice is which.

I first heard the team used in the context of League of Legends by professional coach Nick “LS” De Cesare. In his VOD analysis of Team Solo Mid vs Team Liquid (2017 Spring) he observes Bjergsen and TSM position in such a way that they are simultaneously threatening an inhibitor and baron by using the mobility of Ryze ultimate. Whilst this is a very specific use of forking, I chose it because it demonstrates the concept so clearly.

TSM threaten their opponent’s inhibitor, giving them only poor options. Either rotate back to defend, chase through enemy vision and hope to force a fight or try and force baron. No matter what they do TSM will see and can chose their next move. In this instance they do chose to rotate to defend and as such Bjergsen responds by teleporting his team to an incontestable baron.

Forking is Common in League

Forking however is not unique to Ryze. It is prevalent in many aspects of the game. You could consider neutral objective control a form of forking. Pushing mid before contesting a neutral objective is a common macro rule known as gaining mid priority. It’s also a form of forking. The point of pushing mid is that it allows you to threaten mid lane if the enemy goes to the neutral objective, or you gain position on dragon/baron. This gives your team the options. You can simply opt to trade; this is often desirable if for a less desirable drake. Or you can try to push the opponents off drake without committing to a fight, then resume pressuring mid with superior positioning.

The point is by positioning in such a way that they can threaten two objectives simultaneously a team is dictating choices onto their opponent.

Similarly, merely by having full vision control of baron you are in essence forking. Whilst you’re only threatening a single objective, you can be doing one of two things. It’s Schrödinger’s baron. If your team can’t be seen the enemy team has to presume that you’re simultaneously doing baron or looking for an ambush. They have no option but to venture in to gain vision. However, this is a much stronger play if you’re the superior team fighting composition or ahead. If you’re even with the enemy team, or the weaker composition it is not a strong option because you don’t want said fight. So what do you do?

Well ideally you have an external locus of pressure. Like a split pusher, or even better super minions. . Both put pressure on a lane that demands a response. One gives you a numbers advantage at the objective with the minions functioning as a sixth man. The other allows you to pressure, chipping down the enemy turret which forces the other team into either forcing baron or sending a response – once again giving you the numbers advantage. This turns the situation into a true fork, you’re threatening two different points at once which demands a response.

Getting Creative

That’s all well and good but already having taken an inhibitor is a luxury, as is having a member strong enough to effectively pressure a side-lane. What if you have neither? This occurred in a recent game, Team Liquid vs Optic Gaming. After failing to fully execute on their early game composition, TL find themselves against a composition with both superior team fighting and scaling. In theory, assuming equally skilled players they should lose this game.

After staving off a difficult early game, Team Optic is now confident enough to fend Liquid off from starting baron whilst their ADC secures a mountain drake. There is no way that TL can start baron and whilst they see Cody Sun walk over a ward towards drake, until the sound signifying it’s secure, they cannot be certain where he is. Unable to charge into Optic head on, TL retreats into the enemy jungle and secures vision control.

The team already had a slow pushing wave in top that is now crashing towards the enemy tower. TL is now ideally positioned to threaten both the tower and baron simultaneously as they have denied OPT any vision of their current location.

In between these frames, TL has full vision of Akaadian channelling his recall. As such they begin to manoeuvre some members towards baron. Akaadian then cancels his recall and begins to posture upwards, still in vision of TL. Impact is now positioned above the team which may have led OPT to believe the other members have started the baron. They move up on mass and Xmithie flanks from fog.

Whilst Optic responded less than ideally, the mistake was a result of being under multiple sources of pressure simultaneously. Thanks to creative use of vision and wave manipulation TL to secure a favourable fight, baron and then win a game they should have probably lost.

League of Legends is a game of pressure. You have to pay constant attention to what the enemy can take from you and what you can take from the enemy. If you slip up in one aspect of the game even for a moment, a good team will seize the chance and force you into making very difficult decisions in a very small amount of time. That is the power of the fork.

NA LCS Roster Power Rankings

#1: Team Solo Mid

Top: Hauntzer – Jungle: MikeYeung – Mid: Bjergsen – ADC: Zven – Support: Mithy – Coach: SSong

Both the undisputed kings of North America and an international laughing stock. Winning the region is no longer the goal, it’s the standard, and anything less will be considered a failure for this roster. Reginald hopes to have resolved long standing communication and infrastructure issues by investing in more vocal talent and securing respected ex-Immortals coach Ssong.

TSM was already home to the regions strongest domestic solo lane players. As such they were in the uniquely privileged position to be able to import Europe’s best performing bot lane, winning back to back EU LCS split finals. The hope is that Mithy will do what Yellowstar could not and finally alleviate the burdens of shot calling from the team’s franchise player, Bjergsen. Make no mistakes, this is a super team assembled for but one purpose; to redeem TSM’s international legacy.

Should they fail to escape groups this year one imagines fingers will be pointed at Bjergsen and/or Reginald.

Strengths: Raw Talent, Veteran Players, Legacy.

Concerns: Rookie Jungler, Obtrusive Ownership.

 

#2: Team Liquid

Top: Impact – Jungle: Xmithie – Mid: Pobelter – ADC: Doublelift – Support: Olleh – Coach: Cain

Team Liquid recruited aggressively over the off-season and acquired an abundance of veteran talent. Capitalising on the dissolution of the runner up Immortals roster and adding both Doublelift and Impact to the mix, this is a roster with five players who went to worlds last year, four players who were in the NA Summer finals and proven pedigree. The roster has a balance of role players, shot-callers and stars and looks like it should function on paper. A lot however, will depend on whether the bottom lane can be the focal point the roster requires.

Sadly due to tragedy Liquid lost its first choice in coach. The team has a history of shaky results in spite of cycling through some talented players. It would be a shame if the team fails to provide the infrastructure its roster deserves. There are no more excuses; anything short of Worlds is a definite failure for this roster.

Strengths: Veteran Players, Established Synergy, Balanced Roster.

Concerns: Bottom Lane Synergy, Potentially Binary Team.

 

#3: Counter Logic Gaming

Top: Darshan – Jungle: Reignover – Mid: Huhi – ADC: Stixxay – Support: Biofrost – Coach: Zikz

Counter Logic Gaming perhaps has less raw star power than the two rosters I’ve placed above them. However, the players on this roster have long been underestimated. Darshan and Huhi stepped up in a big way last year and proved they can contend with the best in their positions. These are all good players, but moreover they are coachable players. These are some of the most considered and receptive players in the league. This is the perfect roster for the CLG teamwork philosophy. With Zikz; regarded by many as NA’s best coach, this is a roster that could become more than the sum of it’s parts.

That said with the departure or Aphromoo, CLG lost its franchise player and in game leader. Biofrost, whilst a mechanically sound replacement for Aphromoo was released from TSM primarily because he is fairly uncommunicative. As such, one imagines the responsibilities of in game decision making will have to be shouldered by some combination of Darshan, Reignover and Huhi.

Strengths: Coaching, Ingenuity, Work Ethic.

Concerns: Leadership, Star Power.

 

#4: Cloud 9

Top: Licorice – Jungle: Svenskeren – Mid: Jensen – ADC: Sneaky – Support: Smoothie – Coach: Reapered

Cloud 9 has put together a strong roster. Preserving its core of a reliable bot lane in Sneaky and Smoothie and monstrous mid lane carry Jensen – the team can retain the style that scraped them a spot at worlds. However of the major legacy teams, this is the one I have the most concerns with. Given their status, they should have been able to manage safer acquisitions.

Svenskeren is a huge question mark right now. He was at his best, a phenomenal carry style jungler. At his worst however he stuck out like a sore thumb, fumbling through the early game whilst trying to heed Reginald’s advice of “not dying”. Also his Lee Sin was always a step above the rest of his champion pool and we haven’t seen Sven at his best since the five ban system was implemented. Even if he is a monster Lee, banning it out isn’t a costly as it once was.

Having lost Impact and having used their remaining import slot on Svenskeren the team had to choose from available talent to replace their stalwart top laner. Licorice seemed to fit the bill as probably the best challenger top laner. Moreover Cloud 9 have worked with Licorice before when he was on their academy team.

If this was a new organisation, I’d have nothing but praise for this roster but given this is Cloud 9 I feel like they’ve taken more risk than they should have. If retaining Contractz and importing a European top talent was a possibility, I think that would have been a safer bet. All that said, if Svenskeren can recapture his old form and utilise Jensen’s pressure mid – this team could be scary.

Strengths: Mid Lane, Pre-existing Core, Infrastructure/Coach.

Concern: Jungle Form, Rookie Top Lane.

 

#5: Clutch Gaming

Top: Solo – Jungle: Lira – Mid: Febiven – ADC: Apollo – Support: Hakuho – Coach: David Lim

This one might surprise people. However, I see Clutch Gaming as a very similar roster to Cloud 9. They acquired the best native top laner they could from the NA challenger scene along with a carry jungler with high peaks. They secured one of the best performing bottom lanes (in lane at least) from the prior split and at the centre of it all they have a star European mid laner.

Acquiring the best parts of Team EnVyUs was a really solid plan for a new organisation. Lira is a potential star, although perhaps not the most meta proof. Meanwhile the bottom lane really improved over time, yet remained rather underrated.

This let them focus on acquiring a star mid laner, Febiven. Whilst perhaps not the lane monster Jensen has proved to be, Febiven has had some stand out performances in his career and maintained very solid laning statistics in a significantly more stacked region in terms of skill for his position. Acquiring Febiven gives Clutch the potential to develop the kind of star mid laner that only Team Solo Mid and Cloud 9 can currently boast.

Whilst Clutch gaming has been made fun of a little for their statistics, or about ‘money balling’ – I do think the made very smart roster moves. They should be aiming for playoffs and are well positioned to build up in the future. My biggest concern for this roster would be EnVyUs’ unenviable mid to late game macro and these roster moves don’t necessarily fix that issue.

Strengths: Mid Lane, Potential to Grow.

Concerns: Rookie Top, Mid/Late Shotcalling.

 

#6: 100 Thieves

Top: Ssumday – Jungle: Meteos – Mid: Ryu – ADC: Cody Sun – Support: Aphromoo – Coach: Pr0lly

This is a hard roster to place. Ssumday is arguably the best top laner in the NA LCS. Pr0lly is a very well regarded coach and Aphromoo is a strong in game leader who is good at implementing a coach’s vision into the game.

However, individually Aphromoo has looked shaky for a while and always looks better on engage supports than shield supports. Ryu, whilst a solid mid is I think in the lower half of a now extremely stacked position. Meteos has not been consistently on form for a long time and faded out of the professional scene. Cody Sun looked fairly strong last split but never remarkable and was laning with who many regarded to be the best support.

A potential upside is, the historic Meteos worked very well around a strong top side when Balls was the best in the region. Moreover, I think being a mid-centric team with this roster would probably be a mistake, so stylistically this roster may suit Meteos more than Jensen era Cloud 9. I think if both Meteos and Aphro play even close to their ceilings this roster can do much better than 6^th, especially if they utilise Ssumday well. However, if either or both of these players are unable to find the form that has earned them their reputations, then this will just be a fairly mediocre roster with moments of brilliance.

Strengths: Leadership, Coaching, Top Lane.

Concerns: Mid Lane, Potentially Declining Players.

 

#7: Echo Fox

Top: Huni – Jungle: Dardoch – Mid: Fenix – ADC: Altec – Support: Adrian – Coach: Inero

This is a roster that could make a mockery of this tier list. It’s insanely stacked on paper. However, I value consistency, and going into franchising it looks like Echo Fox are completely happy to play Russian roulette with their roster.

Dardoch, whilst undeniably talented has proven incredibly fractious in a team setting. He’s also a very defined, carry style jungler who wants to put the game on his own back. Huni looked best when he had Reignover; a more supportive style jungler and is also infamously inflexible. Furthermore, both Huni and Fenix are emotional players. This roster has huge potential for both player friction and disagreements in how the game should be played. I can see this roster at its best upsetting any other roster. However, at its worst, I can see this team imploding as the players begin to loathe one another.

Huni was a hell of an acquisition. He may have fallen short of being what SKT wanted, but he still was good enough to win a Season of LCK, MSI and reach the finals of Worlds. He’s also proven he can play his carry style against the best international competition.

The question-mark hanging above Echo Fox is why they replaced Froggen with Fenix. Sure, he’s a solid player and has a great Azir. However, Froggen just came off an incredibly strong individual split with basically nothing to work with.

If you’re set on gambling on Dardoch; why not keep the guy that is famously reliable and can accrue his own advantages in a very controlled manner whilst you pressure through top with Huni? Even if you ignore Fenix’s temperament being riskier combined with Dardoch, I think Froggen is the better player. I’m unconvinced by Echo Fox’s internal decision making and that is also a concern when you have a roster that’s going to need a very strong hand on the tiller.

Strengths: Explosive Players, Raw Skill.

Concerns: Player Mentality, Questionable Infrastrcture.

 

#8: FlyQuest

Top: Flame – Jungle: AnDa – Mid: Fly – ADC: WildTurtle – Support: Stunt – Coach: Robert Yip

Flyquest is a roster that looks like it was put together with left over parts. Flame was one of the best top laners of the last split; he has a lot of experience and is a proven entity. The rest of the roster however is a giant variable.

WildTurtle at his peak has been a fairly explosive team fighting AD Carry. However he’s prone to over aggression and getting caught. His laning has been sub-par for a long time and I find it unlikely that pairing him with Stunt will be enough to remedy that. Equally AnDa is also untested at this level of play. If North America does have a native talent pool for a position, it is the jungle, so hopefully AnDa joins the list of solid NA jungle rookies.

Fly has played at the LCK level and may prove to be better than I expect, but in the challenger scene finals he looked less impressive, about on par with Ryu (on Corki) who I think will be in the lower half of the mid laners this split. He’s known to be a solid roamer. So perhaps he can help out the map, maybe play a top focused style. Utilise Flame’s laning to crack the map, because it’s hard to see this bot lane making an early impact. However, on the whole I think this roster has either inconsistent or unproven players and that’s why they are 8^th on this list.

Strengths: Top Side.

Concerns: Leadership, Team Identity, Inexperienced Jungler.

 

#9: Golden Guardians

Top: Lourlo – Jungle: Contractz – Mid: Hai – ADC: Deftly – Support: Matt – Coach: Locodoco

On paper this roster is perhaps the weakest mechanical roster. Lourlo, with the addition of many challenger top laners will be a middle of the pack top laner. Contractz might be a bright spot, he’s still fairly unseasoned but he looked capable enough on Cloud 9.

Hai whilst ever praised for his leadership ability, has been in a steady individual decline ever since his wrist injury and has a lot to prove against some incredibly mechanically gifted opponents.

Deftly is untested at this level of play and Matt has had confidence issues, but looked solid at times. When given Doublelift I think he actually looked pretty strong as a laner, but that is a pretty huge advantage. All that said, unlike a few other rosters, there is a logic to this roster.

First of all, they are all North American natives, so as far as expansion goes, this team can pick and chose to swap out whatever parts prove least effective. Secondly, both Hai and Locodoco have proven very good at getting the best out of rookie players. If they can work in tandem this roster may be able to become more than the sum of its parts. Maybe Deftly develops into the next big NA talent for instance, this is a great team to be on if you’re a rookie looking to develop.

However, realistically just reaching play offs will be a big accomplishment given the calibre of some of the other rosters.

Strengths: Leadership, Potential to Grow.

Concerns: Talent Level, Rookie Roster.

 

#10: Optic Gaming

Top: Zig – Jungle: Akaadian– Mid: PowerOfEvil – ADC: Arrow – Support: Lemonnation– Coach: Zaboutine

Aptly named because whoever put this roster together probably needs glasses. Whilst this team may have some more individually talented players than say Golden Guardians, I cannot figure out any kind of internal logic as to why you would assemble this cast of players.

You have a potential star in Arrow, who has in the past shown to be an incredible AD Carry. This said, his laning phase has looked particularly vulnerable and pairing him with Lemonnation is going to do very little to help with that.

Akaadian had a strong opening with Echo Fox but has looked less and less impressive with time. Zig may have some promise, he’s probably third pick after Licorice and Solo for native challenger scene top laners. Then there’s PowerOfEvil, a talented European mid lane with a slightly unconventional play-style. He’s looked incredible at times on good rosters, but failed to make an impact on weaker rosters like Origin. Seeing as this roster can be described as weaker, I don’t think he will be enough to redeem this team.

Strengths: Carry Positions.

Concerns: Roster Cohesion, Rookie Topside.

A Look at Liquid

With the advent of franchising the North American LCS has gone haywire. Every off-season teams scramble to secure the players they think will serve them best in the coming season. With the injection of big money backers and security from relegations, never has this been truer.

In this time fans have been waiting in apprehension to hear what moves their favourite teams are making, or to where their favourite players will now be homed. As such debate in this time period is common. Some fans are upset and some are excited but all are speculative about how changes will affect the state of the league. In this time a phrase is often bandied around, ‘winning the off-season’. Where fans and pundits alike give their opinion on who has made the smartest choices for the coming year. I believe this year; Team Liquid has won the off-season.

This does not mean I necessarily think Liquid has the strongest roster. That may well be Team Solo Mid. However if you consider that one of these teams wins nearly every season and the other has been in relegations twice over the last two years, to even be in contention for a top spot is a sign of seriously good roster moves. Not only do I think Liquid has acquired an upgrade in every single role, it’s also already a proven formula.

 

Acquiring Immortals – Solid Foundations

Four out of five members of the roster were NA LCS Summer finalists and all five went to Worlds. On paper this roster is already; just based on individuals, one of the strongest in the league.

However when you put together a new roster, there are many intangibles. Even if you get the best individuals available in every role there is no guarantee they will work well as a unit. Who would have predicted anything but domination for the Yellowstar iteration of Team Solo Mid?

Liquid then is already off to an advantage. Salvaging three of the five members of last year’s runner up roster, we know that Xmithie, Pobelter and Olleh can already play together and play together well. This is especially important when you consider the roles of these players. If there are two roles I want to know my jungler can work with, it’s mid and support.

Jungle/support is essential for a team to have solid macro. Together able to invade and secure vision in places that would be unsafe to ward alone – vision control is crucial at every point in the game. Early, solid river control allows for easier roams both to and from the mid lane. It allows your jungler to make more informed moves based on tracking his opponent and it keeps your lanes safe. We all know how paramount vision control is for securing neutral objectives, early drakes can put you in good stead to win the entire game and either securing or baiting baron can end you the game.

Then there’s mid, often referred to as the second duo lane. If the jungler is the most flexible player on the team, in regards to what decisions he can make to impact the map. Mid is definitely second. As the spine of the team, it is essential your mid lane is strong. A mid with advantage can roam to assist any part of the map, or secure the enemy mid turret. When the enemy turret falls mid, a team gains a huge advantage. It opens up the enemy jungle and allows you to secure increasingly deep vision control. By denying the enemy vision on their own half of the map, you can dance between turrets forcing rotations that will either be too slow and netting a turret or too dangerous and killing your opponent.

None of this can be achieved if your mid and jungle do not work in tandem. Jungle position dictates how aggressive the mid laner should play. Likewise mid priority dictates how safe invading the enemy jungle is. Whilst Pobelter may not necessarily be Xmithie’s focal point, the two have shown they work well together playing in accordance with what the other wants to do and roaming to the side lanes as a unit.

 

A Strong Identity

Alongside rookie AD carry Cody Sun, Olleh was able to elevate himself to a place where most considered him the strongest support in North America. Now he will be laning alongside Doublelift, who has long been considered the best ADC in the region. It’s undeniable that this roster has a lot of star power coming out of its bot lane, but is also probably the biggest question mark on the roster. Will these players synergise? Known for his roaming and play making, Olleh in many ways mirrors an on form Aphromoo and we all know that Rush Hour was an incredible laning force. If he can switch to a slightly more laning focused style this roster should be an even stronger version of last years Immortals.

We know Doublelift makes a strong backline with Pobelter, they can work together. This team whilst three fifths IMT, is also three fifths Counter Logic Gaming’s 2015 championship roster. It is probably the most known quantity roster going into next year and should be a real contender.

The final piece of this puzzle is former World Champion and renowned tank player, Impact. Whilst he hasn’t played with any aspect of this roster before, the beauty of Impact is he demands nothing in terms of resources. If left alone he’ll get by, absorb pressure and always be relevant in team fights. Anything you do give him, he’ll pay you back for ten fold come mid to late game. Whilst it’d be disingenuous to ignore his slumping period on C9, never has he failed to step it up when it really mattered.

Together, this roster has clear strengths. Neither solo laner demands much in terms of jungle attention and is happy to make sacrifices to help the team. Both are able to stand up to the incredibly stacked players that share their positions on other teams. Xmithie has in the last year proved himself perhaps the greatest jungler in North America and certainly ranks amongst the smartest. He’s a shot caller with a very strong idea of what to do in the early game, reliably winning his team advantages game after game.

Finally we have the Doublelift/Olleh bot lane. This duo has the potential to be the strongest laning force in North America. On a roster of flexible team players, this is your point of pressure. No longer sharing the spot light with Hauntzer and Bjergsen, much of the carry responsibility now falls to Doublelift. With less resource hungry team-mates, it’s likely that Doublelift will be enabled to play to his natural tendencies. Namely a desire to smash lane.

I can see this roster being a bot-centric team. Constantly pressuring bot lane, forcing opponents to fight for every CS and acquiring leads in a way that demands a response. With smart warding and a good early game understanding, things Xmithie has in spades – I expect to see a lot of five man fights in the bot lane and teams losing their tower early. From there, Doublelift and Olleh can rotate around the map with a lead, knocking down tower after tower or forcing the team to take the fight to them. A style some may recognise as reminiscent of Forg1ven era H2K.

 

Conclusion

I believe Team Liquid has finally utilised Steve’s bottomless wallet to put together a roster that should place in the top two.  Anything short of Worlds should be considered a failure. On paper this roster is stronger than Cloud 9 or Counter Logic Gaming. It has clear role players; it has at least two players capable of shot calling.

There are only two concerns I have. One is meta, if the highly aggressive junglers are meta, Lee Sin, Nidalee and Kha’zix then I believe there are potentially stronger mechanical players in the league than Xmithie. Likewise, if the bot lane shifts toward a utility carry style like we saw early in the series with heavy emphasis on Ashe, Jhin and Varus – this could also potentially hurt Doublelift’s ability to carry.

The other is infrastructure. Over the years Liquid has had its share of great players and done very little with them. It has not always used its resources wisely and one has to question how big a role in house decision making and coaching has played. Fortunately this roster has a lot of innate strength and experience. However, a poor coaching staff could mean that as the year presses on other teams find edges over Liquid and they fail to meet their potential.

Dropping Doublelift

Everyone was shocked when Doublelift joined Team Solo Mid. As the long time poster boy of historic rival org Counter Logic Gaming, it was difficult for many fans to initially adapt to the change. Now two years later, many Team Solo Mid fans are finding it hard to watch him go. This is testament to the rare kind of player that Doublelift is. Dominance, longevity, personality and yes bowl cut – he really has it all. With more highlight plays in a season than many players make in a lifetime and a backstory befitting an anime, it’s no wonder why he’s such a fan favourite. Nonetheless his tenure at TSM has come to an end, replaced in favour of stable European veterans, Zven and Mithy.

Whatever you think of the move, it’s hard to criticise Reginald for making it. If he did nothing, he would be torn apart. He’s kept his roster unchanged for two straight world championships and received exactly the same results from his investment. Whilst nearly everyone expected some kind of shift both in coaching staff and in the jungle, it’s unsurprising to me that the bottom lane is also being cut loose.

 

Team Solo Mid’s Philosophy

Bjergsen era Team Solo Mid has never endorsed non-standard play. They value flexibility because it allows them to play to the meta as usually defined by the top Korean teams of the time, most notably SKT. As such, players like WildTurtle and Svenskeren who have more clearly defined, aggressive, high-variance play styles are constantly reigned in and reprimanded. Not that this is necessarily a criticism of vision, more a criticism of misuse of talent. If you want a standard jungler who doesn’t focus on invading, don’t keep using Svenskeren. Likewise if you don’t want a volatile but sometimes clutch ADC, don’t use WildTurtle. This is exactly what TSM has done.

In the same vein, Doublelift whilst less extreme is also a player who thrives being aggressive and has variance to his game. Sometimes he will mis-position as he is always trying to push the limits of his own safety allowing him often to output a lot of damage in a fight. Likewise, he is an incredibly accomplished laner and he can beat out most opponents through sheer pressure of skill. However, unlike players who share this style, say Forgiven and Uzi – Doublelift is a little more prone to push the lane too far and can be punished as we saw at worlds. His style demands some jungle resource, which can strain a team who values carrying out of every lane.

As such, the acquisition of Zven and Mithy is entirely in line with what TSM value. Zven is incredibly reliable, he positions impeccably and is happy to put a game on his shoulders in the late game. However, he doesn’t necessarily command leads, he and Mithy whilst accomplished are not actually all that lane dominant. Their strength comes in their consistency. They aren’t going to necessarily carve you out a huge lead, but neither will they put you behind. This is perfect for a team that likes to play defensively, playing around objectives, mid-game macro and most notably team fighting.

With the addition of potential rookie star Mike Yeung, it will be the job of the new jungler to choose which part of the map will be the focal point of TSM in any given game and the other lanes will play accordingly and is in theory a very solid set of roster moves.

 

Doublelift on Liquid

To the best information available it seems like the 2018 Team Liquid roster will be; Impact, Xmithie, Pobelter, Doublelift and Olleh. This is over half of the incredibly successful Immortal roster from last split. It’s also over half of the 2015 NA LCS champion squad of CLG. Add on top of that, Impact the ever solid 2013 world champion and it’s hard to see this team doing anything worse than decently.

However, in the context of Doublelift – this is a drastically different team to TSM. No longer a star amongst stars, here he would be the focal point of the team. Xmithie is an incredibly knowledgeable early game force. Impact is a stalwart top lane tank player and Pobelter is a solid rock and NA’s best native mid laner.

However, on their own none of these players are true “star” players. They’re extremely accomplished role players. They will perform their requisite tasks and they will do them well but they are not going to mechanically dismantle the opposition. Doublelift can and with the incredibly hyped support carry Olleh, this has the potential to be the most explosive and dominant bottom lane in North America.

Now, Doubelift doesn’t have to worry about sharing resources. Impact is willing to take the backseat and just do his job in team fights. He doesn’t demand Xmithie’s presence; he doesn’t need to demolish his opponent. Hauntzer, whilst an incredibly accomplished low economy player clearly has higher ambitions. Having tasted the role of carry and shouldering responsibility in Doublelift’s spring split absence, it was clear that returning to the team there was a resource balance issue on his return. With Hauntzer, Bjergsen and Doublelift all wanting to be ‘stars’ there was very little room left and Svenskeren was forced to compromise his style, albeit not very well and was diminished into a shadow of what he once was.

Moreover, whilst a great support holistically, Biofrost was never particularly lane dominant. He was serviceable and a huge upgrade in terms of synergy with Doublelift than Yellowstar, but was not on the level that rush hour had once been. In truth ever since Aphromoo and Doublelift split up, neither has looked close to as lane dominant. With Olleh, there is a real chance we see Doublelift’s laning strengths back at the fore. Strengths we saw glimmered in his breath stint with Matt when he saved Liquid from relegation. Strengths largely neglected by TSM particularly at Worlds.

If you think Zven is a flat upgrade over Doublelift, I think some fans will be in for a rude awakening when Doublelift and Olleh face off against his replacements in lane. Which team will prove superior however, remains to be seen.

 

Conclusion

This has the potential to be one of those rare mutually beneficial roster moves. Team Solo Mid trades potentially some laning strength for a more rounded bottom lane which should grant them greater strategic flexibility.

Meanwhile Doublelift will now have more resources at his disposal. He will be a focal point and given the strengths of the roster, a more bot lane centric style is almost necessitated. He will be allowed to try and smash his opponents and shoulder more of his own destiny. Without Bjergsen he once again shoulders what it truly means to be the star player, which also means he will shoulder a lot more of the responsibility of Team Liquids results.