DEAN'S LIST WEEK 2 (BOL GOLD RECAP & PREVIEW)

Hello everybody and welcome to week 2 of BOL Gold’s Dean’s List! Before we get everyone prepared for the next round of games, let’s take a look back at the standout players and stories from this past Thursday.

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REV Eternal (1-0) vs REV Regalia (1-0)

Result: Eternal 2-0

Called it.

Eternal vs Regalia only partially delivered on what I promised to be a close series. Despite the dominant g1 from Eternal, g2 was a dominant early game from Regalia that turned into a clawing comeback from their sister team.

One thing is immediately apparent about REV.E; they are clutch. It might be partially due to the baby dragon crutch (thank god for those upcoming nerfs), but Eternal are never out of a game until the nexus explodes. Being able to fight back against a 6k gold deficit is a great sign for a team’s mental resilience, something any hopeful title contender will require come playoffs.

Regalia have some cleaning up to do, but they answered a lot of questions about their play. A missed Baron call here, a missed teamfight there, and a few other macro mistakes ultimately led to their defeat in an otherwise strong g2.

This is only half the story. G1 was an absolute macro and micro stomp from Eternal, plain and simple. Individual kudos are almost impossible for this team - they’re a top tier unit, which is what makes them scary for every other team in the league.

Player of the Series: TheDean0 - Insert the “Obama awarding himself the medal” meme image here, but a series KDA of 8.5 and perfect neutral objective control in g1 is enough to justify this. It will also be the only PotS award I get all season, let me have this.

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BDE Corruption (0-1) vs Nameless Rising (0-1)

Result: Corruption 2-0

Pandorum picked two normal mid lane mages and Corruption won 2-0 as a result. No other notes.

-

Okay fine.

Corruption had a slow mounting gold lead in g1 as a result of some big skirmish wins while g2 was a much closer affair. Two big late game teamfights at the end of g2 saw the BDE squad secure the series and move to 1-1 in the league.

The first BDE team is just scrappy. Gold charts and stats imply that they aren’t particularly explosive in the early game, but they really want to come online together in the late game.

While this win is still a step in the right direction for Corruption, I don’t want to read too far into things based on the substitute situation. XIL was unable to compete last week, so the team made several roster swaps in order to be able to field a roster. Swag played jungle, LostHavok played support, and DarkPython subbed in for top. The team can take the win and run, but this roster will likely not be fielded in this form again.

For Nameless, I will once again commend them for staying close against a team considered to be above them. G1 was within 1k gold up until the 23 minute mark, and they even had a small lead early in g2. Where this team seems to be falling short, however, is mid-late game team fights. In a situation like this, it’s impossible to try and scapegoat a single player as “the problem.” The team needs to improve as a unit (whatever that entails) if they want to be a contender.

Player of the Series: Pandorum - I cannot stress this enough, HE WON ON MAGES! HE BLOODY DAMN DID IT!

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Hyperion Esports (1-0) vs Conduit Prime (0-1)

Result: Hyperion 2-0

Last week, I said that Conduit needed to shut down Hyperion’s mid laner Dione Atlas if they wanted to win this series, which is not something they were able to do super well.

Hyperion has some players that are very intelligent about the game paired with some players with very good hands. Despite what some of their players might say in the Discord, they really are a better unit in official matches than a lot of teams below them.

Ziggie currently stands as the best jungler in the league, as showcased by a very impressive early game on Volibear in both g1 and g2. Pair this with good teamfighting from Dione’s Ahri, and you have an on-paper solid mid/jungle duo.

From the Conduit side, it just doesn’t feel like they were ever able to get a favorable fight throughout the series. Their early objective control was solid enough in either game (NoName traded first objective appropriately), but their mid-late game continues to be an issue. 

At this point, I’m not sure what the immediate issue that requires fixing is with this team. Captain Akovi and whatever coaching staff they have might have better insight than what I can give, but something needs to improve for this team sooner rather than later.

Player of the Series: Ziggie - Series KDA of 10.5 and solid objective control in both games amplified by a slightly stronger carry performance. At this point, Ziggie is at least a top 2 jungler in the league.

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BDE Typhoon (1-0) vs Flannel Zephyr (0-1)

Result: Typhoon 2-0

After 10 series and almost 20 games in BOL Gold, the prevailing meta is “hold strong early, win a mid-late game fight, win the game at 29 minutes,” and Typhoon are very proficient at this strategy.

Despite a much quieter week from Kevin and Giraffe, Typhoon was able to find success in week 2 largely off the back of their bottom lane. Kidacus and Rocky looked significantly better this week than in week 1, boasting a combined scoreline of 15/6/23 and 3/8/31 respectively.

Despite rising to a 4k gold lead by 25 minutes in g1, however, the BDE team wasn’t able to close out the game until almost 36 minutes. A few weird picks late kept the Flannel roster in the game longer than they should have.

Typhoon was then able to come back from a consistent 4-5k deficit in g2 to finally win a grueling 40 minute slug fest, much to the dismay of Zephyr. After holding out through two baron pushes, BDE found their fight at 36 minutes to secure both an elder and baron buff to finally take the series.

While falling behind over 5k isn’t something you want from a top team, I can’t give Eternal a pass and not do the same for Typhoon. BDE showed they can win both on their terms and in a rocky game state, which makes them a scarier team in the same vein as the REV squad.

For Zephyr, props have to be given to the entire team. Everybody was ready to write this team off as a bottom 3 team, but they showed that they have the potential to hang with a perceived top squad. Yes, losing from a 5k lead isn’t ideal, but it’s something that can be easily recognized and fixed upon for next week.

If they can match their g2 performance more consistently (except for whatever happened that lost them the game), then they could be a sleeper pick to sneak into playoffs.

Player of the Series: Kidacus - 6.75 series KDA, 39.8k damage in g2, and a whole 35 wards placed throughout the entire series (including 1 whole control ward!) tips the scale in Kidacus’ favor for the PotS nod.

this is also where I address that I messed up and Typhoon is the old TD team and not Corruption okay byeee

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Mystic Cats Gold (1-0) vs Flannel Ethereal (0-1)

Result: MCG 2-1

Well. I was right about this being the closest series of the week. And I don’t like it.

Yet another series where the winning team had some wacky substitutes going on (Klug to top, LiterallyNate subbing in mid), this series saw Flannel taking g1 in classic BOL Gold fashion before losing g2 in a fairly back and forth game and g3 in a total stomp.

Here’s what I liked in this series. As a neutral spectator, both teams had some good fights and adaptations to each other throughout the series, particularly in g2, that made it fun to watch! As a friend of both these teams, WHAT WAS THAT?!?

exhale

MCG are now 2-0 in match score (4-1 in game score), which puts them at the top of the standings (sole 4th place), and they honestly deserve to stay up there. It’s a bold claim since they’ve only played the two Flannel teams, but given how well Zephyr just played against Typhoon, that win looks a lot better for Mystic Cats in retrospect.

Ethereal as well have areas to improve, but at least getting a game against a seemingly playoffs-bound team does show signs of life. Their bot lane still isn’t as bad as they’d want you to believe, and Velses is still a consistent mid laner.

All in all, it was a very messy series, even if it was entertaining. If both rosters can take this week and continue to improve, then they could both end up in the postseason as (not so) sleeper threats.

Player of the Series: Klugscheißer - Klug remains a top 2 top laner in the league. What do you mean he’s the mid laner?

Jokes aside, he had a very good series, being the standout to keep his team alive in g1 and a very big part in their win in g3.

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With last week’s recap done, it’s time to look ahead at next week’s matches!

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BDE Corruption (1-1) vs Flannel Zephyr (0-2)

I continue to have no idea how to actually rate Corruption. They’re now 1-1 by match score, but their win is not equal to their loss. The upcoming match against Zephyr (who just had a deceptively close series with Typhoon) should be another good test for this team, but it’s hard to say what Corruption we’re going to get.

Despite my brain telling me that Corruption is going to win based on the pure potential of their roster, my heart wants to go all-in on Zephyr. Bagoot and FNL Tyler had a solid series last week, so it comes down to those two against Pando and XIL for me.

Regardless, I think it’ll be a close series with the winner being decided almost entirely by stability. If Corruption are able to throw off Zephyr’s vibe through some wacky picks, then I think they’ll be able to take it. If Zephyr can hold strong and force Pando onto something more standard, then the Flannel team should have a shot. It’s a tossup so.

Uh.

flips coin

Prediction: Zephyr 2-1

Player to Watch: Pandorum

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REV Regalia (1-1) vs Nameless Rising (0-2)

Regalia are a better team than their record. I know it’s week 3, but the point stands. Bias aside, this team just functions so insanely well and is very well coached, which isn’t something I know if I can say about Nameless.

I can say with confidence that every weakness that got exposed in their series last week has been addressed, so this week should very much be a return to form. While Ball Slap has been branded as the lifeblood of the team, the sleeper pick for best player on the roster is definitely top laner Cook, who simply refuses to ever lose lane. At worst, he goes even. At best, he legit 1v9 hard carries the game.

If Nameless want to win this series, they have a lot of work cut out for them. The first thing they need to address is early grub control, which seems to be where they want to play. If they can catch Regalia off guard there, then they might have a shot at taking them down.

Call me biased here, but I don’t think this is controversial.

Prediction: Regalia 2-0

Player to Watch: Cook

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BDE Typhoon (2-0) vs Flannel Ethereal (0-2)

We’re really making Typhoon go through the Flannel gauntlet, huh?

All jokes aside, this match has the potential to either be a gigastomp for BDE or a very tight series. While I do think that BDE has a slight advantage in ADC and jungle, Ethereal’s carries cannot be counted out at all.

What I want to see from Typhoon this week is a strong mid/jungle showing. Giraffe and Kevin had a quieter series last Thursday, so for week 3, I want to see them back in form.

For Ethereal, I simply want to see less mistakes. Like, less flashing into a Yasuo. Less losing lane to Senna/Naut. Less flashing blind over a wall into four of the enemy team. They made a bunch of silly mistakes in g3 last week that they should be able to clean up, and if they do, they can really look to push this series to be a banger.

Prediction: Typhoon 2-1

Player to Watch (not be silly with the flash button): PrismaSire

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Mystic Cats Gold (2-0) vs Conduit Prime (0-2)

This series needs to be a statement one way or another. Either MCG need to get a clean 2-0 to put their name in the conversation as a genuine threat, or Conduit need to get a win to prove that they can really hang in this league.

While I really want to give Conduit some slack, as their two losses so far have been against arguably the top two teams in the league, the quality of their losses have been very alarming. Simply put, they weren’t as close as you’d want from a team looking to be a title threat. In the same breath, however, MCG’s wins haven’t been as dominant as you’d want from a true contender either.

Either Conduit makes a change that launches them way up on people’s team tier list, or Mystic Cats get the statement win they need. I’m not a gambling man, but if I was, I know where my chips would be.

Prediction: Mystic Cats Gold 2-0

Player to Watch: Klug

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REV Eternal (2-0) vs Hyperion Esports (2-0)

This is it. The big one. The clash of the titans, the battle for the throne, the rumble in the jungle, the showdown at the mountaintop…

So why do I feel like I shouldn’t say anything here?

Do I have opinions on this matchup, oh absolutely. For my money, Ziggie and myself are the two best junglers in the league. For as much hype as Indigo and Dione have, LeperKoopa and M4ddness have proven more than capable of either losing gracefully or outright negating more explosive playstyles. These bot lanes are incredibly different, though neither is the type that you can sleep on.

There are two real keys to victory for either team. First is vision control. Whichever team can secure proper defensive and offensive vision to establish early tempo will be set. Second is responding to plays. Objectives will likely be traded, but pushing a lead into a full snowball will be crucial for this matchup. Lastly, comms. Effective transmission of information is important for all leagues and all matches, but that really is the x-factor for this matchup in particular.

I know who I think is going to win (tee hee), but there’s no way for me to say it without sounding unbiased. So you know what? Let’s embrace it.

Prediction: REV Eternal 3-0

Player to Watch: ALL of us

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That’s it for this week’s edition of The Dean’s List. Remember, this is all meant to start discussion and to be taken with a grain of salt. If you disagree or if you have any notes on things I may have missed, please be civil and respectful. With that in mind, good luck, have fun, and we’ll see you on the rift!