Heroic League - Week 5 Recap
Game 1: PTP vs SWO
Pentakill Teemo Please [PTP] unfortunately had to forfeit their match against Team Sword [SWO], giving SWO the automatic win. However, PTP had requested to see if they could play anyway to fill up the broadcast time. They had SWO King G8r fill in on PTP and began the match.
First blood was taken by SWO Cam in the mid lane, where PTP Pure Llama went for an unnecessary trade at level 3. SWO would continue to grab small advantages in their bot-side after that solokill, including first dragon, and both SWO’s Top and Bot lane receiving kills. The game opened up its first 8 minutes with a score of 5-0 in SWO’s favor.
PTP would be able to recover slightly by taking a few objectives under SWO’s nose, but it wouldn’t go completely unpunished. SWO would find a few fights in their jungle where they would come out on top, despite PTP achieving a few objective advantages. At the 20-minute mark, PTP would gamble for a Baron, which would get spotted out by SWO AmazingApplez. Graviel secures the Baron for PTP, and SWO decides to engage desperately, giving PTP four kills for nothing and a way back into the game.
At 24 minutes, PTP had both mid and bot pushed with no response from SWO, giving PTP full control of the dragon pit. SWO attempted to contest PTP’s third dragon, but a nice engage by King G8r and Graviel allowed Pure Llama to take over the fight and ace Team Sword for the final push.
Sadly, the win doesn’t count towards PTP’s score, and Team Sword has nothing to worry about. But this game was a blast to watch, and I’m excited to see PTP do so well.
Game 2: INT vs BBZ
Our second game of the week was Team In the Trees [INT] versus Blue Bayou Zoo [BBZ]. Regarding draft, INT opted for a Kog’Maw composition while BBZ attempted a Tristana composition with Lulu top as its complement.
A few early trades would take place for the first five minutes, but eventually BBZ NieR was taken down for first blood with a nice gank by INT BoExplode to punish the flash-less Lulu. Moments after, the mid/jungle duos on both teams would finally meet face-to-face. BBZ Lyhtz’s instant Level 6 was able to land a beautiful (stolen) Seraphine Ultimate on the two of INT, giving BBZ two return kills on the board.
Laning phase extended to about 15 minutes, where both INT and BBZ were able to get kills on each other with the help of their junglers. A dive by BBZ in the bot lane explodes the game up. It wasn’t particularly clean, but most Heroic teams don’t go for these types of dives. Let alone, respond well to them. So most of us were pretty impressed.
Both teams played very complementary to each other. Almost as if INT and BBZ were reading each other like a book and accepted that both sides were being read by each other. It just became a matter of who had less paper cuts in the end. A full 5v5 teamfight at 18 minutes explodes where INT finally toppled the scales over to their side.
Like we’ve mentioned before, when teams play at equal pace the entire time, the first team to crack will have a very tough time bringing the game back in their favor. INT played their late game perfectly, taking advantages where they could, and choking BBZ out of opportunities until they finally took down their Nexus.
Game 3: YUBI vs FEC
Our third game of the week was Yuumiversal Basic Income [YUBI] versus Falcons Esports [FEC]. Since FEC took down YUBI in the Qualifiers 2-0, the theoretical head-to-head was 2-1 between these two in the favor of FEC. In the end, final standings are what matter, but small details like this can elevate the game to higher levels.
This game would feature YUBI Freelancer216’s 3rd game on Wukong, and on it, he would claim first blood in a 1v1 up in the top lane against FEC Paytim3. Minutes later, FEC Camelbasil, probably one of the best mid-laners in Heroic, attains a 1v1 SoloKill on Yone against YUBI Sivolock’s Lissandra. A few advantages made by YUBI Utility Monster and FEC WildWestWild kept the early game in a relatively even state.
At 12 minutes, the first big fight exploded around 2nd Dragon, where FEC was able to secure the drake and a few kills on YUBI using their 5v4 numbers advantage. The fight looked good for FEC, but YUBI’s bot-laners were able to keep the fight going long enough for Utility Monster to revive and rejoin the party. Clean kiting and coverage by YUBI JeffGodGamer gave them the chance to completely sweep FEC in one clean ace.
Needless to say, this lead gave YUBI enough firepower to push advantages in all three lanes without the threat of being taken by surprise. Secure vision control by YUBI made it so any opportunities made by FEC would have to be made blind, resulting in a few slip-ups by Falcons Esports, pushing YUBI’s advantage a bit further.
The only advantage FEC had was two dragons compared to YUBI’s zero. With the third drake spawning, FEC could hold soul-point, which would force YUBI to have to consider the final dragon as a potential threat for a comeback. FEC Paytime3 and Camelbasil pushed Utility Monster away from a potential smite steal, but a fortunate/unfortunate Morgana pool by YUBI Brian Tsang stole the dragon, and FEC was forced to play a fight in split positions. One final teamfight went in the favor of YUBI in the Baron Pit and they ended the game out at 22:44.
Game 4: SPE vs TAS
Game 4 of our 5th week featured Team Spear [SPE] versus Team Asorth [TAS]. With the playoffs right around the corner, these two teams need any win they can get to receive the best possible seeding. For SPE, it could mean a potential break into the top four, while for TAS, it could mean entering the playoffs in general.
Right off the bat, a 1v1 in the top lane brews at Level 1, where SPE Orphic was able to get a solo kill early onto TAS K1zZ. A moment later, K1 decides to teleport right away and attempt to 1v1 Orphic, despite being a level down. Nice patience by K1zZ allows him to get a return kill onto Orphic, keeping the game from spiralling too early. A few jungle exchanges and some 2v2 kills in the bot lane kept this game at an even state for the first 15 minutes.
The first big blowout happened in the midlane, where SPE Orphic and SPE BigBrain were able to engage on a 3v3, taking down TAS Hismee and Shadows21 instantly. This explosion led SPE to take two more kills into TAS’s jungle, pushing the game immediately in their favor with a 4k gold lead. With the map now opened up for SPE, they were able to rush it down mid to keep their pressure up. A few blunders by TAS also didn’t help.
The final fight occurred at 30 minutes in the mid lane, where SPE Leshy was allowed to just free-fire onto TAS with the support of SPE Orphic. A beautiful quadrakill by Leshy and an instant path to the enemy Nexus closed the game out in just under 32 minutes.
Game 5: SWO vs FEC
Our first game of Day 2 was Team Sword [SWO] versus Falcons Esports [FEC]. Like I’ve mentioned before, every win counts in the final weeks. With their win against INT and BBZ, FEC has the opportunity to secure 2nd Seed going into the playoffs, as long as they don’t drop any games with INT right behind them. For SWO, a win here would put them 3 wins higher than TAS, securing their spot in the Playoffs.
Very little action would occur in the early game. A lot of trading won out by FEC would show the audience their individual prowess, but SWO was able to hang on for about 9 minutes without giving away anything. That was, until FEC was able to score first blood when WildWestWild took down SWO Elk Milk in a top-lane gank. However, instant teleports from both mid-laners would keep this fight going. SWO Jovie and AmazingApplez were able to get a ton of damage on the three players of FEC, but a slightly overambitious shift from Jovie spelt his death, giving FEC a 2-0 lead. SWO Jovie was SO CLOSE to getting nearly a triple kill, but he didn’t have to worry. SWO’s bot lane ended up winning out on a 2v2, keeping them in the game.
Aside from the first 2v2 bot lane, the game would move forward with very minimal 1v1s or 2v2s. Small advantages made by both teams were created by having someone sacrifice a wave or camps to form some kind of opening. A few fights occur that go in both sides’ favor, keeping the score 12-11 with even gold leads at the 20-minute mark.
A 5v4 fight in favor of SWO would begin in the mid lane. However, SWO’s timing may have been off, as they hesitated long enough for FEC to look for a counterattack. FEC HAPHS arrived to the field right on time and FEC was able to delete SWO Elk Milk immediately, turning the 5v4 situation in their favor and taking out three members of SWO.
The game would continue for nearly another 15 minutes, where FEC was able to slowly seal the deal with their newfound advantages. An easy Mountain Soul and Baron pickup allowed them to push their gold lead even further, but SWO would hold on for as long as they could. The final fight was forced by SWO with a Sion Ulti, and FEC was just strong enough to shut their engage down and end the game just under 38 minutes.
Game 6: YUBI vs INT
Our second game of Day 2 was Yuumiversal Basic Income [YUBI] versus Team In the Trees [INT]. YUBI had secured themselves 1st Seed regardless of this game’s outcome, but for INT, winning here means keeping the opportunity for 2nd Seed alive.
INT FishFishMagish came out from the bench swinging… Swinging straight into YUBI Freelancer. With Freelancer having basically 1 HP, an overzealous flash-dive by FishFish would actually spell disaster for him, as Freelancer was able to safely retrieve the kill without dying. A few more ganks by Utility Monster to punish the flash-less Sett would keep FishFish behind for a large chunk of the game.
The first big teamfight occurred in the dragon put at 10 minutes, where all teleports and players were called to battle. A nice Galio Ulti from YUBI Sivolock would make the fight look like it was going in YUBI’s favor, but excellent kiting by INT KennyHammerspike ended up killing every single members, giving him a Pentakill, and INT a lot of extra power 11 minutes into the game.
At 15 minutes, YUBI would get a beautiful catch onto three members of INT in the bot lane, utilizing four out of their five members to retrieve it. Going for plays like this is exactly what you should expect when behind. YUBI was able to re-neutralize the game for a few minutes, however INT FishFishMagish’s engage onto YUBI’s top side, along with a response from all INT members, put both a Baron and the game back in INT’s hands.
The final fight occurred right outside YUBI’s base, where INT HeWhoSlopps was able to get a beautiful hook onto YUBI JeffGodGamer and immediately removed him from the equation. The rest of INT was given the green light to go full throttle onto YUBI, and gave them their first loss of the entire season.
Game 7: PTP vs SPE
Our third game of Day 2 was Pentakill Teemo Please [PTP] versus Team Spear [SPE]. PTP is officially out of the running for Playoffs, so for SPE, this win would just mean an opportunity to push their Seed higher if everything goes their way.
PTP drafted for three ADC champions with Lulu as the compliment, and Rumble as an alternate source of damage. Maybe it’s the comfort of not having to worry about seeding, but PTP Rat Autocrat and Karrots were able to score the first two kills of the game in a simple bot lane 2v2. PTP Graviel and their bot laners were able to style on their opponents well enough to give themselves an advantage moving into the midgame, but a few return-plays by SPE kept the game in an even state.
At 17 minutes, PTP would look to shift all their players to the mid lane and take down the mid tower, but a beautiful engage by SPE Didle and Orphic removed PTP Lets do Vaynal immediately. PTP Sizzzle was able to secure a kill before dying, but SPE had such a good engage that they took down four members of PTP in an instant, leaving only PTP Graviel to defend objectives.
The advantage SPE got from this fight allowed them to add more pressure into PTP’s inner-jungle, successfully allowing them to pick of members from PTP one-by-one. SPE played the mid and late game relatively well, pushing their pressure without giving away too many picks. Since PTP took the first two dragons, it was up to SPE to keep the third away from them. A fight breaks out into the dragon pit where a nice Spray and Pray by SPE Leshy scored him his first Pentakill in his FoF career.
At 33 minutes, one last Baron pick-up by SPE and one final base rush forced the game to end at 33 minutes, giving SPE one win away from tying with BBZ and breaking into the top four.
Game 8: BBZ vs TAS
Game 4 of our Day 2 featured Team Blue Bayou Zoo [BBZ] versus Team Asorth [TAS]. TAS has three opportunities left to make it to the Playoffs, but it would be determined on if they could beat BBZ, and if either Team Sword or Spear runs it down in the following week.
First blood was achieved by the BBZ Lyhtz/Dakks duo where they were able to catch TAS Hismee in the river, followed up with another kill onto TAS Gua. With such a lead in the mid lane, BBZ Dakks and Songo were able to roam up and take a few more advantages, while BBZ Red scored himself a 1v2 solokill onto TAS’s bot lane.
A big fight happens in the bot lane just before 15 minutes, where TAS Hismee attempted to go for a gank, but BBZ was ready to respond immediately with all five members. A beautiful flash forward by Lyhtz pressed his advantage even further in this 5v3 fight. Moments later, an incredibly clean four-man dive into the top lane took down three members of TAS while BBZ Red took ANOTHER 1v2 solokill onto TAS GodOfGay.
Most long-time viewers recognize that this BBZ looks like what we’re used to, where they look to just beat down their opponents early. The early advantages gave BBZ a 10k gold lead by 23 minutes, making it a near-impossible situation for TAS to find a comeback. The final fight was a forced dive-into-stasis by BBZ Nier to bait the rest of TAS forward, allowing BBZ to shut them down and close the game out in 26 minutes.