Jan 28 – Feb 3
2015
January – 12th – 18th · 19th - 27th
Patch Notes
Patch 5.2 released.New Legendary skin teaser: Sona.
Riot talks about player rewards.
Read about the ongoing NA server infrastructure improvements.
Riot launches the a new Refer-a-friend program.
Esports
Highschool Scholarship for League of Legends.
Azubu announces 1-vs-1 tournament with the KeSPA players.
Intel Extreme Masters IX – Taipei
Summary
Though Avant Garde and the GPL representatives showed some sparks of life, it was ultimately the Taiwan show, with the yoe Flash Wolves taking home the gold over the Taipei Assassins, and ahq splitting the 3/4th slot with the Saigon Jokers. Every series besides the grand finals was a clean sweep, and even though many wished to see a slightly different result, it would appear that the GPL remains a class below the top LMS squads at this time.
Since the tournament took place in Taipei, it was only fitting that the finals gave stage to a domestic dispute. TPA sits on top of the LMS with an unblemished 7-0 record, but has found itself under increasing pressure from the rising challenge of 2nd place YFW. Eager to quell any thoughts of usurpation, TPA took a commanding 2--0 lead in fairly dominating fashion. Perhaps overzealous in attempting to close out the series, TPA let game 3 slip, giving YFW some breathing room. Wanting no party to TPA’s reign, YFW took that one game and turned it into a fantastic 3-2 comeback.
YFW were understandably ecstatic following their victory, while the TPA squad looked dazed. Despite the early lead, TPA played with a lack of focus and cohesion which ultimately proved fatal. TPA had multiple chances to close out the series during the last three games, but failed to execute properly. YFW must be commended for having the focus of strength of will to capitalize on TPA's missteps despite the 2 game deficit. Chawy and friends might need to do some soul-searching before the LMS re-commences next week, lest they suddenly find themselves subjects of a new ruler of the LMS.
With this win, YFW also secures a spot to the IEM Global Championships to be held later this year.
North America League Championship Series
Week 2 Day 1
GV 1 – 0 DignitasTeam 8 1 – 0 CST
Cloud 9 1 – 0 Team Liquid
TiP 0 – 1 CLG
TSM 1 – 0 WFX
Week 2 Day 2
CLG 1 – 0 Cloud 9Dignitas 0 – 1 WFX
Team Liquid 0 – 1 TSM
TiP 1 – 0 Team 8
CST 0 – 1 GV
Game of the Week: TiP vs CLG
TiP picked a poke/disengage composition while CLG opted for the full frontal engage with Aphromoo on Blitzcrank. When two opposite compositions meet each other, action is guaranteed. While CLG had a small gold lead from the beginning, the game was on a knife's edge because one bad engagement from CLG would allow TiP to reverse the situation. It was a game with great plays from both sides and definitely one of the more action packed games in this week's NA LCS.
Europe League Championship Series
Week 2 Day 1
H2k 1 – 0 MYMUnicorns of Love 1 – 0 Giants
Fnatic 1 – 0 Roccat
SK 1 – 0 Gambit
Elements 1 – 0 Copenhagen Wolves
Week 2 Day 2
Gambit 0 – 1 FnaticGiants 0 – 1 H2K
Elements 1 – 0 Roccat
SK Gaming 1 – 0 Unicorns of Love
MYM 1 – 0 Copenhagen Wolves
Game of the Week: Elements vs Roccat
Elements features in another EU LCS Game of the Week. While Elements didn't have the cleanest play, their games still had a sort of novelty. The game was a slugfest and both teams fought hard over every inch of the battlefield. The game hit a lull during the early late game as both teams were wary of making a catastrophic misstep, but ultimately proved interesting. The gold values were nearly identical over an hour long game with more than one Baron and a fully charged Dragon buff. You will either love it or hate it but there won't be something in between.
SBENU Champions Spring
Week 4 Day 1
IM 2 – 1 Jin AirWeek 4 Day 2
CJ Entus 2 – 0 SamsungGE Tigers 2 – 0 KT
Week 4 Day 3
Jin Air 2 – 0 SKT T1Incredible Miracle 0 – 2 Najin
Game of the Week: JinAir vs SKT T1, Game 1
Week 4 of Champions Spring 2015 brought us many long, intense games, but the best of the bunch was brought to us by Jin Air once again. Chaser's jungle dominance was on show again as he anticipated Bengi's every move and leveraged his knowledge to catapult Jin Air to a kill lead. Yet, SKT T1's lanes still prevailed despite Chaser's efforts, and with Marin's Renekton looking nigh unkillable, Jin Air found themselves in a dire situation. In the end, Pilot's Corki proved to be the biggest threat in the game, as he, well, piloted Jin Air to a slow win with some brilliant teamfight positioning. If any of your friends think the AD Carry position has trouble carrying a game in 2015, show them this game.
Tencent LoL Pro League
Week 3 Day 1
OMG 1 – 1 SnakeSHRC 2 – 0 King
WE 0 – 2 LGD
EDG 2 – 0 iG
Week 3 Day 2
EP 1 – 1 GTLGD 1 – 1 Snake
WE 1 – 1 VG
M3 0 – 2 OMG
Week 3 Day 3
M3 1 – 1 GTVG 2 – 0 King
iG 0 – 2 Snake
EDG 2 – 0 SHRC
Game of the Week: iG vs Snake, Game 2
Snake continues to assert its dominance in the LPL, splitting 1-1 with OMG and LGD before destroying iG 2-0. KRYST4L has proven to be the true successor to the top-notch, aggressive ADC play that China is known for. After crushing iG with his signature Draven in game 1, KRYST4L forced iG to draft an anti-ADC comp, with Gnar/Vi/Lissandra looking to nullify the high damage Draven. Undeterred, Snake drafts Draven yet again, and complements the pick with a Nunu-Thresh double Crucible line-up, leading to yet another dominating performance from KRYST4L and cementing Snake as the team to beat in this year's LPL.
League of Legends Master Series
Week 4
Week 4 had no games because of IEM Taipei.
No Game of the Week
See you next week!
League of Legends Japan League
Week 2
DetFM 1 – 0 O. Rampage
Rascal Jester 0 – 1 DetRF
Salvage J 0 – 1 7th Heaven
Game of the Week: DetonatioN FocusMe vs Ozone Rampage
Who says Ezreal has to build blue? Yutaproid shows off a new approach to the champion, going Brutalizer->Sheen->Essence Reaver to become a midgame powerhouse, leading to a dominating 9/1/16 finish. Rampage attempts to fight back, but now two games into the season it's already become difficult to imagine anyone but FocusMe taking home the Season 1 Championship. Start paying attention now, so you all can be hipster Yutaproid fans when he shows up at the IWCI later this year.
Circuito Brasileiro de League of Legends
Week 3 Day 1
Kabum O. 2 – 0 DXTCNBeSports. 2 – 0 JAYOB
Week 3 Day 2
paiN Gaming 1 – 1 Kabum B.kStars 1 – 1 INTZ
*Kabum! Black was punished and are therefore lower in the rankings.
Game of the Week: INTZ vs. Keyd Stars, Game 1
Previously, INTZ e-Sports was featured as a team that needed to beat JAYOB in order to prove that they could best the teams that they, on paper, were expected to beat.
This week, INTZ faced their toughest challenge yet in Vivo Fibra Keyd Stars, aiming to prove that they are not simply a "good bad team" only able to accrue wins over lesser competition. Splitting the set 1-1, INTZ not only demonstrated that they could hang with the likes of Keyd Stars, but made a strong case for themselves as the best team in Brazil.
The match highlighted here is not the match that INTZ won, but rather one that they lost in dramatic fashion following an hour-long slugfest. It showcases glaring weaknesses on both teams – mid-game shot-calling on the side of INTZ and communication on the side of Keyd Stars – but also provides a roadmap for how each of these teams could grow. INTZ's Revolta makes his own case as one of the best players in Brazil, playing his heart out from the game's start to its climactic finish.
News
Giants!players aren't able to train because of bad management
Community Articles
frdrk discusses different pick and bans.
Slayer91 wins this week: Scipaeus jungling challenge on LeeSin.
v3lv3t wih his week 2 power rankings based on math.
LPL Winner interviews
Week 3 Day 1
Gogoing speaks about the weaknesses in OMG's game one.Zero addresses the difficulties he faced with adjusting to Support.
Week 3 Day 2
WE won their first game in LPL, and Spirit got a chance to introduce himself to the Chinese audience.Tale speaks about the problems the team faced in game 1 after a disagreement in the Pick&Ban phase.
Week 3 Day 3
Tale on getting a pentakill and carrying Gamtee to victory.
VG takes the game with a clutch Baron play and HeTong discusses the team's shot-calling.
OGN Winner interviews
Week 4 Day 1
Winner Interview IM: Wisdom talks about his carpal tunnel problems
Week 4 Day 2
Winner Interview CJ: Ambition and Shy assesing their next enemy Jin Air Greenwings
Winner Interview GE Tigers: Pray teases that Draven is an option.
Week 4 Day 3
Winner Interview Jin Air: GBM is sure "If I’m with my teammates, I can surpass Faker."
Winner Interview Najin: Duke doesn't think highly of the GE Tigers "they are just the old NaJin e-mFire”
Other
Azubu interviews TiP ImpactAwesome
TeamLiquid's Top 5 Plays from Week 1.AcidReniX created champion backgrounds for smart watches.
Polycount announces the winner of the graphic contest.
FORG1VEN is the best AD Carry "by far."
Pokemon meets League of Legends by Chrishohl.
SKT T-LoL Special Match with Faker, Easyhoon, Marin, Wolf, Bang and Bengi.
It's getting hot in the kitchen. Imp and Clearlove have a cook off.
KaKAO and Zzitai face off against Koro and Mouse in a devilish variant of pictionary
Humor
Cohenbby makes a Bronze or Challenger video.Another Fun/Fail compilation from LCS week 2 by dodgedlol.
Qtpie has a pussy problem.
Thinkcard tries to avoid the p-word.
ESEX hacks Nick Allen's Gmail account.
Piglet forgot to use his masteries for his match against Cloud9.