Otter reactions after week 2- By Toxin, Rivered, and ayngenetics

Otter Reactions after week 2

24 teams came into BOL Gold with the aspirations of starting the season off with a bang. This article is to serve as who excelled and who got a wake up call. Let's get into it.

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DISCLAIMER

Please note that alot of the information we have is based off post game screen shots. Also know that this is all meant with a humorous tone and none of it should be taken as flame.

Match Recaps

Literal Monkeys Fire 1 v 2 Aftermath Esports

Bounce Back

Aftermath had a disappoint week 1, Aftermath bounced back and secured their first win of the season. I think this was an important win to get for Aftermath as starting off 0-2 in any league is going to be tough to rebound from. Hopefully we continue to see Aftermath grow and prosper. For Literal Monkeys Fire, I'm not to shocked as the team seems to have a volatile playstyle that if they make mistakes, they falter hard. Good win for Aftermath

MVP: Buckbee

I think the most consistent player in the series was Buckbee, 3 strong performances. In a close series like this, consistency will win out the majority of the time and this was a perfect example of that.

Ace: ADISHAWN

ADISHAWN had a strong showing on 3 unique carries and honestly was nearly able to carry their team to a victory in this one on a fed vayne. I'm hope we see them continue to have strong performances.

Business Time 2 v 1 Revolution Halcyon

Business as Usual

Business Time secured their second win of the season, but again dropped a game during the series. It will be interesting to see if they can find their footing and get more decisive results rather than having a game during each series where they clearly struggle. For Revolution, hopefully they can find some success in the upcoming week, nearly winning the previous each of their previous series.

MVP: Feathers and Fur

A bit of a slow start to the series I'll admit, but having two deathless games on champions who have to be in the fray in order to do damage is impressive. The experience really showed in the final two game of this series.

Ace: Exotic Fox

Exotic Fox couldn't do anymore to help their team come away with the win in this series. Truly played well, as the world burned around them.

TA Day Spa 2 vs 0 Clinical

Hot Start

Division favorites, TA Day Spa continues to show why they are just that. 2 quick games, that saw them do what they do best, strong early game junglers with hyper scaling side lanes. I would of honestly thought with the amount of scouting to be done on the players of spirit that they would of figured it out, however, they remain unscathed.

MVP: 7rux

A great performance by 7rux this series. He had KP's on both champions he played this series, especially, on the uber fed twitch. I hope he continues this level of play!

ACE: Pharma

Although alot of deaths, Pharma was trying to excel the game to counter the excelled side lanes for TA Day Spa. I look forward to seeing this player continue to grow in their role on the team.

NWE Jupiter 2 vs 0 Rivals

Not Rivals

If anything, NWE Jupiter proved that Rivals was not in the same league, with a solid 2-0 series win. That makes a back to back wins to start the season as they get into a more contested portion of their schedule. I'm excited to see if they can keep pace and cause some upsets in this group. As for Rivals,

MVP: NWE Trigger

Alot of positives for the Jupiter team this week, but Trigger was a clear stand out for their team, having an absolute monster start to the series on Lucian. I've been following this player for a few months and they always come to play.

ACE: RVL YjH

There was a very clear ACE in this series, and that was RVL YjH. Two insane stat games as their team could not match the same success around them. They will need to continue this level of play to keep giving their team the best chance to win.

Glacial Void 0 vs 2 CB Ibiza

Melted in Paradise

It’s not surprising that Ibiza managed to take these victories so convincingly, as they continue to show just why they’re the favorites not just for the group, but for perhaps the whole season. Both games showed drafts that drifted away from the current standard ‘meta’ from Ibiza’s side, proving that they’re just as difficult to pin down in draft as they are in game. Despite bot lane 2v2 kills, baron steals, and a solid effort, Glacial Void eventually fell to the unstoppable force that CB Ibiza seems to be.

MVP: iPraiseGod

It isn’t just the impressive scoreline from Ibiza’s jungler that drew eyes, but how they managed it. Whether it’s managing to flame horizon before 21 minutes on top of winning fights around the map in game 1, or cleanly executing ganks and dives in the top lane in game 2 to get fed and deliver another carry performance, iPraiseGod’s series can only be described as dominant.

ACE: Gopamine

Game one showed a solid performance from the Glacial Void bot laner despite what felt like a team-wide collapse. Managing a 2v2 kill on the star-studded combination of Wakka and Wunderworld is an impressive feat, and Gopamine showed signs of brilliance. While game two was nowhere near as good, again there were a few shining moments where Gopamine managed to impress despite a rough lane.

CGA 0 vs 2 Phantoms

Clowns in Training

With both teams looking to bounce back from a rough week one, this matchup was one of the more important ones this week. With Phantoms taking a convincing 2-0 over the Aristocrats, they’re looking to make their resurgence and prove themselves as a contender for the group. The aristocrats however seem to be struggling — and a loss next week will make their race to playoffs that much more difficult.

MVP: Wuponglongdong

Phantoms came out ahead on objectives in both games clearly; something that can be attributed to the sign of a solid jungler. On top of this, all it takes is a glance at the 10/2/5 scoreline in a 19 kill game one to realize just who the driving force in that victory was. Game two seemed to be more of a team effort, but continued to show dominance when it came to objectives.

ACE: Megatr0n

While it’s difficult to tell the story without seeing the games, Megatr0n was the only member of their team to post up even or positive scores in either game. It can be difficult to really make a difference on a utility-based ADC like Ashe without a solid performance from the team surrounding you, so hopefully next week we can see just what an unlocked Megatr0n can do on the tried-and-true carry champions that are strong in the current meta.

RPG 2 vs 0 CGJ

Clowns in Training pt 2

Red Panda Gaming continues to perform with a solid performance from the jungle-top duo of Drakenus and RPG X to really thrust the team ahead and carry. Despite the best efforts of Diamandis, this combination seemed to run over the best that the Jesters could offer in order to find their second win of the season.

MVP: Drakenus

Game one seemed to tell the story of the monkey king in full effect with a massive lead from Drakenus — and game two didn’t seem any different. With an overall score of 25/5/14 on Wukong through the series, it’ll be difficult to justify not sending a ban the top laner’s way in future games; especially when both games were against champions that don’t necessarily lose to Wukong early.

ACE: Diamandis

The Jesters weren’t without hope in the series, with a strong showing from Diamandis in both games giving somewhere to look at in both games as they outdid their opponent in RPG Soulwolf on Veigar and Viktor respectively. All it takes is someone else stepping up in order to make the Jesters a team worth watching out for.

NWE Mercury 2 vs 0 Rawr

In Orbit

As my personal game to watch this week, this matchup went… just about exactly as I expected. Rawr continued to play musical chairs to no avail, with two esubs causing them to only end up with a single ban to their name. Despite this, game two did end up far closer than expected, taking 31 minutes for Mercury to finish in a tight 31-24 kill game. Mercury continues to stamp their name into the contenders field, while !Rawr… might want to go back to the roster drawing board.

MVP: NWE Kaylor

Kaylor showed up before the game in the trash talk channel— and then proved that it wasn’t empty words on the server. Two solid Lillia games mark Kaylor as one of the junglers to watch out for in the Mountain division. If Kaylor continues to be able to propel NWE forward through strong jungle play and enabling laners, this may be the team I’m looking at to compete with Ibiza in the future for topping this group. ACE: Dévonté

!Rawr’s Ace actually comes in the form of one of their two e-subs for this week. While everyone was contributing in game two, Dévonté seemed to be the only one to show up for both games ready to play. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them coming on as a more permanent addition to the roster after this week— but with the way !Rawr works, that may just be wishful thinking.

AK Jasmine Dragons 2 vs 0 GSG Gamma

Fire Re-lit

Like I speculated in the preview article, it was clear going into this series that the former GSG players had something to prove against their former org. This led to a series that finished first on the night with AK Jasmine Dragons taking home the 2-0 win.

MVP: Dxbs, BaaMMM, Vandrahl

Usually I'll only single out one player on the winning team when it comes to an MVP, but for this matchup I'm going to make an exception. All three former GSG members absolutely popped off in the two games last night. Both Dxbs and BaaMMM took turns carrying the team, with Vandrahl being a large part of both of their success.

ACE: Finch

I think Finch had a pretty good performance this week with all things considered. I know that last split, he was playing ADC in the IBS league, so in addition to transitioning to the gold he is also learning a new role. Despite all these factors working against him, I think he is doing a good job of being a positive impact for his team

CB Rangers 1 vs 2 Literal Monkeys Water

Rangers caught drowning

In a bit of an upset, Literal Monkeys Water turned heads by taking down the CB Rangers 2-1. Remember what I said in week one where the CB Rangers tend to just drop random games to teams that play on the same page? While it didn't happen that week, it certainly came to fruition here in this one. Their bot lane got exposed pretty heavily by former BOL Champion Hide in Shrouds and his new partner Verszia, but I think they will use this beatdown as motivation for the rest of the season.

MVP: Verszia

Like I said above, it was bot diff throughout the entire series. I think Verszia played extremely well on multiple different picks throughout the series, culminating in a Game 3 pop off performance on Jinx

ACE: BuhRock

BuhRock looked scary as ever on probably the strongest mid lane pick in the game, that being Corki. In both Game 2 and Game 3, he had double digit kills and was the main factor keeping the Rangers in the game. Hopefully as the Red Ranger he can rally the troops and get them back on the same page for next week.

SON Goku 0 vs 2 Conduit Esports

All Charged Up

After a disappointing start to their season, Conduit definitely needed this win in order to bounce back and get into the driver’s seat for the rest of the season. Luckily, they drew the lowest rated team in the division in terms of soloq ranks, and they were able to capitalize on it with two very clean wins.

MVP: JJH

From these games, it seems clear that this team wants to play around the Mid/Jungle with JJH as the main carry on this team. Considering that he traditionally has been more of a set up man in seasons past, this has been a nice breath of fresh air for him.

ACE: SON Berries

The one thing I will say about this SON team is that they are doing everything they can to catch up to their competition. I think I have seen some of their team members active in some of the in-house servers that have been starting up recently. That work is starting to show how well SON Berries played in this series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much these guys develop.

Imperial Gaming 2 vs 0 Oasis Maelstrom

Imperial reign supreme in Ocean

With their victory this week, Imperial takes sole possession of the number 1 spot in the Ocean Division, and their victory was dominant. Across the board, Imperial Gaming was the better team in this series and were able to limit Oasis to single digit kills in both games.

MVP: Sibel

What I find very interesting as well is that Sibel is finally getting what he’s always wanted: becoming a starting mid laner. For split now, he’s been sniffing around, trying to get a chance to role swap into this role, and finally the chance has presented itself. He played extremely well in both games last week, and I'm excited to see his ceiling in the role.

ACE: LostTimes

I think that despite the skill gap between these two teams, LostTimes aka Drakana did a good job of keeping himself relevant in both games in the series. If this team wants to challenge for the top of the division, they are going to need him to continue this level of performance; if not, the team is going to struggle mightily.