Game of the Day: Gambit Gaming versus Supa Hot Crew

By Helmight

            Coming off an 0-4 Super Week, Gambit Gaming knew they were in a pinch. Their poor performance last week dropped them to a game above last place and change needed to happen if they wanted to avoid relegation. In a bold move, Gambit’s management replaced Darien and Diamond with substitute players Kubon and loulex in an attempt to revitalize the team – a reasonable move given how lackluster their toplaner and jungler have been of late. However, simple roster changes weren’t enough to give Gambit the victory. In an anticlimactic, 33-minute game, Gambit would fall once more to the Supa Hot Crew.

            Midgame shotcalling weaknesses and a weak composition are what brought down Gambit this time. Genja was frequently split off from his team when fights occurred, preventing him from dealing damage to the Supa Hot Crew and giving them easy victories. As if that wasn’t enough, Gambit’s composition couldn’t handle the Supa Hot Crew’s. While Kubon’s Yorick could have potentially swung the tides in Gambit’s favor thanks to Omen of Death, the Supa Hot Crew’s displacement spells and area of effect damage were too strong for Kubon to do anything except ult and pray. His prayers were never heard – niQ’s Fizz wasn’t nearly fed enough for him to carry fights, even after he came back to life through the Omen. With these weaknesses, Gambit couldn’t stop the Crew from amassing an almost 10k gold lead and steamrolling them into the ground.

            Of course, we can’t fault Gambit for everything. The Supa Hot Crew looked solid in all parts of today’s game, despite their early game disadvantages. kaSing in particular stood out – and not just because he was playing Gragas. The Crew’s support managed to land his ultimate perfectly almost every time he used it, allowing him to burn Summoners and pick up kills while in lane and displace Gambit’s team in fights. Without his clutch Explosive Casks, it’s fair to say that the Supa Hot Crew would have had a much more difficult time overcoming their early deficits. SELFIE was red-hot as well, annihilating Gambit in multiple teamfights thanks to good knockups from the rest of his team.

            Gambit actually held a lead early in the game thanks to their powerful bullies. Their Caitlyn/Nami botlane held a huge advantage over MrRalleZ and kaSing, resulting in Genja being more than 30 CS ahead of his counterpart at one point. Kubon had a great time top as well – though maybe that’s because Yorick has no counters in the toplane. With their lanes doing well, Gambit was able to take the first dragon of the game without contest and gave them a decent chance against the Supa Hot Crew when they clashed over the second.

However, their decision-making and positioning was ultimately fatal. The Supa Hot Crew took four kills and the dragon to gain the lead. They’d never lose it for the rest of the game as they outfought and out-rotated Gambit at every turn. The final fight near Gambit’s top inhibitor was an absolute slaughter and the Crew managed to take home the win shortly afterwards.

           

GMB bans: Kog'Maw, Ryze, Orianna

SHC bans: Lee Sin, Kassadin, Evelynn

Player	Champions	K/D/A	Minions Killed
Gambit Gaming
Kubon	Yorick	1/3/1	222
loulex	Elise	1/3/4	121
niQ	Fizz	3/5/3	289
Genja	Caitlyn	1/2/1	309
EDward	Nami	0/3/4	17
Supa Hot Crew
Mimer	Shyvana	5/0/8	333
Impaler	Rengar	1/2/8	139
SELFIE	Yasuo	5/1/9	346
MrRalleZ	Corki	2/1/12	292
kaSing	Gragas	3/2/11	69

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!

Game of the Day: Supa Hot Crew versus SK Gaming

By Helmight

            Rare and unusual picks were the theme of today’s match between the Supa Hot Crew and SK Gaming. I don’t think we’re ever going to see a game with Kassadin, Kayle, Ashe, and Yorick in it again for a long time. In a drawn-out, farm-heavy game, the Supa Hot Crew seemed like the underdogs after a few indecisive plays cost them the lead. However, smart plays and a few missed ults by CandyPanda allowed the Crew to take the victory at the end of an hour-long game.
            The banning phase was a game of chicken between the two teams that eventually led both Kassadin and Kayle through. With one powerful midlaner secured for each team, SK and the Supa Hot Crew knew that the game would be a long one to allow time for the Voidwalker and the Judicator to scale up. Because of this, their other picks were also good late-game champions. The Supa Hot Crew opted to take Ryze into the toplane, along with the powerful-but-vulnerable Kog’Maw as their marksman. Meanwhile, SK went back to Season 3 and drafted the Ashe/Zyra botlane that was so successful in the hands of NA’s Cloud 9, in addition to an oddball Yorick pick.
            SK’s strategy was simple – with Omen of Death, Intervention, and Stranglethorns, their comp could easily deal with enemies trying to engage on them and turn teamfights around. Meanwhile, the Supa Hot Crew had more flexibility in their comp. Though Kassadin and Jarvan IV would need to dive into SK’s team to get damage down, Kog’Maw could sit safely on the sidelines and dish out tons of damage due to the lack of assassins or divers opposing him.
             Because of the lategame champions that both teams had drafted, the match was slow moving and immensely drawn out. Both sides put up record CS numbers as they farmed to their maximum potential, each one hoping to get there before their opponents. That’s not to say that early aggression never happened. Impaler and Svenskeren were both on effective ganking champions and they tried to make the most of their power in the laning phase. Impaler would prove to be the most successful by securing first blood for Mimer in the top lane, but his presence there would give SK Gaming the first dragon of the game. On top of their stronger lanes, the global gold secured SK’s advantage in the early game.
           SK might have grown too comfortable in their lead, however. While pressuring the Supa Hot Crew’s mid inner tower, CandyPanda tried initiating onto Selfie with his Enchanted Crystal Arrow. This drew SK into a spread-out, drawn-out teamfight that they weren’t prepared to fight and which would eventually result in the Supa Hot Crew taking three kills and a midlane tower. A few minutes later, it was once again CandyPanda that brought ruin to his team near the dragon pit. After firing his ult and failing to hit anyone, CandyPanda would get hit by a clutch Flash-Q by kaSing and almost instantly go down. With the enemy marksman dead in exchange for their support, the Crew took the fight to SK, taking four kills and a midlane tower in addition to the dragon. Suddenly, the Supa Hot Crew wasn’t just back in the fight – they were on top.
            Despite these victories, the Supa Hot Crew could only stay on the aggressive until the inner towers all fell. Diving SK under their inhibitor towers was exactly what they wanted, and it certainly wouldn’t go well for the Crew. However, SK couldn’t push back in the face of the Supa Hot Crew’s gold lead. The impasse ground the game to a halt while both teams simply farmed and hoped their lategame scaling was better than their opponents. However, SK kept their eyes out for Baron – the buff was their key to getting back the gold lead and returning to the offensive. As luck would have it, the Supa Hot Crew’s infamous indecisive play returned just as SK made their move for the objective – Selfie’s Teleport came in far too late for the Supa Hot Crew to stop SK. Buff in hand, SK Gaming pressured the Supa Hot Crew’s base, eventually tearing down a pair of towers and an inhibitor.
             It appeared as though the Supa Hot Crew’s indecision had cost them the game – however, they weren’t out yet. When SK made a return trip to the Baron pit to finish the game, the Supa Hot Crew was ready for them. Selfie’s Teleport came in on time and with MrRalleZ safe in the back of his team, the Crew aced SK in a convincing teamfight. Half a minute later, the Supa Hot Crew tore down SK Gaming’s Nexus to take the victory.
  
SHC bans: Ziggs, Aatrox, Orianna
SK bans: Yasuo, Elise, Evelynn

Player	Champion	K/D/A	Minions Killed
Supa Hot Crew
Mimer	Ryze	2/1/12	377
Impaler	Jarvan IV	3/4/16	174
SELFIE	Kassadin	4/2/11	589
MrRalleZ	Kog’Maw	11/1/6	396
kaSing	Morgana	1/2/13	68
SK Gaming
fredy122	Yorick	4/4/4	437
Svenskeren	Lee Sin	1/5/7	159
Jesiz	Kayle	1/3/7	552
CandyPanda	Ashe	3/5/5	360
nRated	Zyra	1/4/8	38

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!

Game of the Day: Supa Hot Crew vs Gambit Gaming

By Hemight

            Everyone who’s played League of Legends knows how scary a 50-minute game can be. One small slip up – a single missed skillshot, a misplaced ward, or a whiffed ulti – can result in a sudden and immediate loss. The Supa Hot Crew were brutally reminded of this today in their game against Gambit. Despite GMB gaining an advantage early, the SHC’s chaotic, splitpushing play let them draw out the game to a point where they could win fights against Gambit. Unfortunately for the Supa Hot Crew, one single mistake by Impaler and Selfie at the 50-minute mark cost them the game and allowed Gambit to take home the victory.

            The draft phase showed the Supa Hot Crew picking an AD-heavy comp based around Selfie’s Yasuo and Mimer’s Jax, allowing them to both splitpush and teamfight effectively. Meanwhile, Gambit’s team was built solely for teamfights thanks to the AoE damage that niQ’s Karthus and Darien’s Renekton could put out. However, Gambit’s strategy would only work if they won by midgame. If the Supa Hot Crew could push the game past 40 minutes, their terrifying lategame Jax and armor penetration would be too much for Gambit to handle

            As if to keep Gambit from ramping up early, the SHC opened with an aggressive laning phase, stealing away Gambit’s blue buff and securing the first dragon. Though first blood would go over to Gambit after a three-man gank took down Selfie, the Crew’s midlaner managed to take Diamond down with him. A few minutes later, Impaler and Diamond would both head up to gank their 2v2 lane. Though niQ’s Requiem brought all three of the Crew’s members low, they still managed to take the kill on EDward and back off safely.

            Gambit was far from out of the game though. A handful of picks, in addition to some questionable decisions from Impaler and Mimer in the midlane, allowed them to secure three towers, a pair of dragons, and a 5k gold lead. With an advantage established over the SHC, Gambit began to more aggressively pressure towers, knowing that they were stronger for the moment.

            And yet, the Supa Hot Crew refused to go quietly. The waveclear of their comp allowed them to swiftly push Gambit away from any tower that they tried to pressure, while Mimer and Selfie ran interference by constantly splitpushing. Even Baron didn’t give Gambit enough of an edge to finish off the Supa Hot Crew – the threat of kaSing’s Tidal Wave made tower diving a risky proposition at best and forced them to squander most of the buff. Meanwhile, the SHC continued to chip away at Gambit’s lead, slowly shrinking their gold deficit from 5k to 4k, then to 3k. By 37 minutes into the game, it was getting difficult for Gambit to win teamfights, and they knew it.

            So, Gambit fell back to the Baron, first trying to bait the Supa Hot Crew into facechecking it to grab a pick, and then trying to burn it down before the SHC could respond. Neither strategy worked, and after a poor teamfight forced EDward to back the Crew was able to swiftly burn down Baron’s health and take the buff for themselves. Another teamfight shortly afterwards resulted in catastrophe for Gambit, as four of their members went down thanks to a great Last Breath by Selfie. The Supa Hot Crew picked up an inhibitor immediately afterwards, and while Gambit still held a slight gold lead, all of the momentum was with the Crew.

            But even in their moment of triumph, SHC stumbled. As Gambit tried to pull out of mid after a failed siege on the Supa Hot Crew’s inhibitor tower, Impaler and Selfie leapt ahead of their team to initiate a fight on Darien – one of Gambit’s tankiest members. Predictably, the fight went south for SHC and resulted in the loss of 4 team members for no kills. It was a fatal mistake that gave Gambit an opening. Shrugging off the minor damage from MrRalleZ, Gambit was able to charge down mid and take down the Nexus in a game that they otherwise should have lost. 

*Author’s note: Yerrow changed his screenname to kaSing since last week. Same guy, different name.

            SHC bans: Ziggs, Evelynn, Braum

            GMB bans: Kassadin, Kayle, Twisted Fate 

Player	Champion	K/D/A	CS
Gambit Gaming
Darien	Renekton	3/2/10	272
Diamond	Elise	6/4/12	146
niQ	Karthus	10/3/13	398
Genja	Lucian	3/3/8	410
EDward	Thresh	2/3/18	74
Supa Hot Crew
Mimer	Jax	2/3/4	297
Impaler	Jarvan IV	2/8/10	117
SELFIE	Yasuo	5/7/3	486
MrRalleZ	Corki	6/3/4	363
kaSing	Nami	0/3/11	18

      

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!