riot League of Legends/worlds

TL;DW – LEC Edition: GX Fall Further Behind Against MKOI

ByJB Dennis

Week 5, Day 2 of the LEC Spring Split 2. GX vs MKOI.  GX’s roster is Lot (top), ISMA (jungle), Jackies (mid), Noah (bot), and Jun (support).  MKOI’s roster is Mrywn (top), Elyoya (jungle), Jojopyun (mid), Supa (bot), and Alvaro (support).  GX is 2-4, MKOI is 3-3.

Game 1: MKOI Gains and Early Lead

LEC
Image from League of Legends courtesy of Riot Games
  • MKOI draft a dive comp, which GX seems to counter to some extend.  Between the Taliyah, the Gwen, and the Alistar, it might be rather tricky for MKOI to jump on and stay on their desired targets.
  • During the early game, MKOI starts to take several advantages.  They get several kills and objectives without too much issue.  Their control slips slightly in the mid game, where they loss out on a few Grubs and a Drake but as far as kills go, they continue to dominate.
  • MKOI manage to ACE GX near Baron.  This leads to them steamrolling through the rest of the game and taking the win.

Game 2: GX Fight Back

  • GX draft a standard team comp, though admittedly the Nidalee is a bit different in this day and age.  MKOI picks a strong, heavy burst damage team with strong early game power.
  • The early game is pretty even for both teams, which is not what MKOI want.  GX are able to take turrets quickly thanks to Tristana, giving considerable map control in the mid game.
  • Several team fights break out and, though MKOI are able to sidestep a few engages, GX is able to find more opens and rack up kill after kill after kill.  By the end of the game, GX is at 14 kills, while MKOI only have the 2 they got during the early game.

Game 3: Patience Wins the Day

  • MKOI construct a team comp with a lot of different facets.  They have scale on the ASol, range on the Caitlyn, and 3 different times of engage.  If they can get it to work, their comp will be extremely annoying.  GX, meanwhile, take several common picks while also adding in a Zeri and a Blitzcrank.  The assumption is that the Blitz will be able to help out the Zeri deal with her less than pleasant early game.
  • The early game is dominated by a significant lack of interaction between the two teams.  The first kill doesn’t occur until almost 17 minutes into the game at a fight for Herald.  Before that, the map and its objectives had been split down the middle, with MKOI had been in completely control of the bot jungle, while GX took possess of the top.
  • The game resumes its bloodless state until it’s time for MKOI to take the Dragon Soul.  A massive team fight breaks out, which MKOI win thanks to an excellent The Skies Descend that knock up the back line of GX and allows Elyoya to dive in with impunity.
  • Again, another period of non-combat starts, ending with the spawning of Elder Dragon.  MKOI again obliterates GX during this fight and marches onto their base to claim the win.

Post Game Analysis: Madrid Match Off in the LEC

  • MKOI’s wins come from capitalizing on early advantages and snowballing their leads.  So long as they had map control, they were able to effectively do as they pleased.  They also picked champions, specifically in the 3rd game, that had synergized well.
  • GX were able to pull of a win in game 2 by preventing MKOI from taking advantage of their powerfully early game strength.  In future, they should perhaps work on similar strategies of deny, forcing their opponents to play their game, and not the other way around.
  • After this game MKOI is takes 3rd place in the standings, tied with TH, with a score of 4-3.  GX, meanwhile, continues to languish at the bottom of the heap with Rogue with their score of 2-5.

More Great Content