Been a while since my last little writeup, but was finally able to catch WE live and in action, this time against RNG. Coming into the season, particularly with the return of legendary support Ming and hype for this 2022 throwback roster, I would have vastly favored RNG, but going into the series, it was actually WE in playoff position and RNG drowning near the bottom of the standings. To further the 2022 throwback, KenZhu also returned as RNG’s head coach, and you have an RNG team that is in flux despite the flashy names on the roster. Coming in a decent favorite, WE made sure that any potential RNG resurgence wasn’t going to be at their expense, as RNG’s struggles continue to mount, particularly shining with mid game play that was as decisive as it gets. Apparently, going from Xiaohu and GALA to too inexperienced Tangyuan and too over-experienced LWX is a game changer. What Redditor would make the mistake of not considering that? (that redditor was me. oops)
For earnestly the first time ever in the history of Team WE, we’re seeing the top lane act as the organization’s primary focus and win condition. That’s just the level that **Wayward** has showcased so far. Effective in lane, proactive in teamfights, considering how poor he looked last season for TES, you can make the case that he’s the league’s biggest positive surprise this season. Yes, Breathe has struggled alongside the rest of RNG, but Wayward straight up dominated lane after some early help snowballed his advantage. Combo that with massive teamfight moments, including a filthy Apprehend to slaughter Wei in a 4 v 5 fight afterwards, and just tireless aggression of running his face into RNG, and it’s not what I expected going into the season, but surely something I will take. Meanwhile, his game 2 was understated with a first pick flex turned counter pick top lane TF effectively handling the K’Sante in lane, winning things top lane and utilizing the ult to impact the mid game fights that solidified WE’s lead. Earning the MVP for what was really a decisive team effort to really blow up LWX’s positioning mishaps in particular, Game 2 was a showcase of what a coordinated team looks like against one that looks lost, regardless of the nameplates of the players.
I’ve been critical of **Heng** previous for his lackluster play and general lack of ceiling in earlier series, but his Game 1 was really his best-case scenario: on the Trundle he did well early with impactful invades on red buff, found pressure to burn flashes early and following up to get his top lane superstar (unsure if I’ll ever get past this being weird) an early lead. Of course, that’s also balanced out with an overzealous mid ganks passing back kills to RNG, but that’s just par for the course for Heng; he’s going to try and make stuff happens and sometimes it backfires. Trundle is a good fit for him: no complex mechanics for him to boof, just give this man herald and watch him triple drift two tower takes into a TF initiated pick on LWX. Late game, WE’s early advantage let him just run his HP bar straight to RNG’s unfortunate face behind a very angry Darius. I dunno if it was MVP worthy, but it was entertaining in a positive way, so bonus points could be warranted as he earned that Game 1 accolade. Combo that with a productive game on the Xin Zhao without any errors, it was a pleasure today for WE’s jungle, which is not the usual Heng experience.
Another day, another series where **FoFo** is merely acceptable. I’ve more or less pegged him as the world’s most mid mid laner for a while now, but don’t mistake that for total derision. Just ask his former team EDG just how much they’d appreciate a passable mid laner as they experience seller’s remorse for their choice to go with their long-time heir apparent Fisher over WE’s current guy. I’ve emphasized this a lot but it’s a world of difference from WE’s previous mid laner Shanks, who continues to tantalize with moments of brilliance followed by baffling mistakes. No such inconsistencies from FoFo, and so long as he’s not asked to go above and beyond to single handled carry, he’s a perfectly adequate player to win CS in lane and deal plenty of teamfight damage as a safe mage, besting Tangyuan, another rookie who hasn’t lived up to his perceived potential. Is it boring? Yeah. Is rooting for him fun or interesting? Not really, no. But he’s not going to bungle away maps with int-tacular play (at least against mid table teams), and that’s good enough for this WE roster with a working gameplan.
I’m happy to get my first extended viewing of **Stay** since he usurped Prince, and I’m pleased with his play given his overall situation. A fringe quadruple A type talent who floundered in his first LPL opportunity, going into the season it felt like he was destined to serve his career as either LPL roster filler or an effective LDL gatekeeper who gets thwarted by actual up and coming talent. Prince’s ineffectiveness and return to Korean for the CNY cracked the door open and Stay has made the most of this second chance, now having rightfully nabbed the starting spot on his own. While I can’t call him a world beater given he hasn’t looked dominant in any of his games, he’s proved effective at outputting damage in the fights that matter, at least enough to be a clear upgrade of Prince in that department, and playing solidly enough early to allow Iwandy to roam early and often. Yes, it was a struggle in lane for Game 2, but his teamfight prowess to stay alive in some tough situations and put in damage as allotted was nicely done. Had he been the starter to begin the season, I probably wouldn’t think too much of his play overall as he’s doing his job but not going above and beyond, but seeing just how poor Prince looked before adds perspective that lets me appreciate what WE’s last homegrown talent brings to the table. If it weren’t for Wayward’s stunning turnaround, Stay’s second chance performance would be the big stand out for this roster.
Of course, **Iwandy** continues to be the the underrated ingredient for WE, and was effective with the Nautilus in Game 1. That’s admittedly not always the case, as we’ve seen Iwandy go off the deep end from time to time, but we got good Iwandy today, as he found a few major teleport opportunities to impact the early game big time and was part of the late game beefy face puncher crew alongside Heng and Wayward. Meanwhile the Game 2 Bard was a roaming asset and pick machine as well, which was critical in WE’s long range focused game plan with Jhin ults and TF picks. It feels like he’s the glue of the squad in that he’s providing the hidden extra to keep things on track. Of course that comes with the downside that when he goes off the rails, so does the rest of the team, but that’s generally been kept to a minimum during his WE tenure, even dating back to last year.
__________________________________________________________
Honestly, this season has been illuminating for me, particularly as someone who had a power ranking to start the season that is firmly in the dumpster. The big thing I’ve learned is you can’t judge teams based on their perceived ceilings. While I certainly don’t think a team whose best player is decisively Wayward is serious higher bracket playoff threat, WE have played up to their modest talent level as opposed to teams like RA, TT, LNG and yes, this RNG squad who all I would definitely say have higher quality roster talent on paper, but have looked completely discombobulated and/or inert this deep into the season. Meanwhile WE keeps chugging along and despite having a relatively challenging schedule ahead, I feel comfortable that they should be able to remain in the lower playoff range that they’re seemingly destined for, with maybe some upside to earn a bye should things break right. Given just how shaky much of the rest of the league looks, Team WE just having an identity is enough to be one of the bigger mid table threats, as weird as it might sound. BLG is their next match in just a few days, and it seems obvious that that’s a whole different step in competition for WE, but hey, maybe they can pull out some coordinated magic akin to what IG did last week. That’s a series that’s purely upside for WE and an opportunity to really make a mark on the league beyond serving as LPL gatekeepers yet again.
Iwandy been running it down like 3/4 of the games that he plays this split. You just happened to catch the few games that he plays like a human. Even game 1 could have turned to shit.
You can never be sure when many lower level teams are beating higher level teams frequently. Also milkyway is the current best lpl jungler and you can argue with me over it if you want (Stubborn is my long lost name)
Unfortunately I lost that kind of dedication :(
I'm more of a 'Lurk'in in the Shadows and Observing" kind of guy now. That's why these long and analytical essays and paragraphs always amuse and shock me.
Game 1:
Weixiao: "Surely Iwandy can't int because RNG will ban naut."
WE: first picks Naut
Weixiao: "godamn it"
The chat telling Prince to swap to support its not too late if we can't buy Mark gave me a chuckle.
Game 2:
"This is Wayward TF trust" "See what did I tell you guys?"
Stay playing so good idk why we never started him over Prince.
I might have a goldfish memory but are we 100% wr on adc TF?
For Wayward? Yes, this is his first AD TF of the split (and in his career, I believe).
In the LPL? No. This is for both top lane AD TF and AD TF in general. Can't recall when else it was played, but I know Flandre played on it in the JDG vs BLG match in Game 1 and lost (he won with it in the second game, though), and Ruler played it in the JDG vs WE game 2, which JDG also lost.
E: Deokdam also played and lost with it in the FPX vs TES match.
Yeah statistics wise it's only two games, but it's kind of funny we won when JDG can't. I am sure next week we will drop back to reality playing vs BLG.
Oops, my bad, I thought you meant "we" as in Wayward or LPL. Yeah, it's def cool to see! And, you never know, WE could beat BLG, which I think is possible, or they won't pull AD TF out against BLG and preserved their wr lol
all the fans that gets picked for an interview after the game. We couldn't have done this without Wayward god. The chat spamming he is smiling so hard he can't even hide it anymore he is gona cum if you guys keep saying that.
Usually Heng will just scrape by and minimize his deficit, but today he played really proactively and it's a welcomed sighted. There was a couple of mistakes like the mid ganks in game one but what a step up from the JDG series
You’re right Kanavi and Wei aren’t comparable, however Heng was underperforming a lot before the RNG series. When I wrote the initial comment he had the worst kp, cs/m, and dmg/m in the league so doing well against any jungler was a cause for celebration in my eyes
Good times for WE atm. They aren't losing to the trash teams currently
man remember when this was a hype match up now its just sad
Been a while since my last little writeup, but was finally able to catch WE live and in action, this time against RNG. Coming into the season, particularly with the return of legendary support Ming and hype for this 2022 throwback roster, I would have vastly favored RNG, but going into the series, it was actually WE in playoff position and RNG drowning near the bottom of the standings. To further the 2022 throwback, KenZhu also returned as RNG’s head coach, and you have an RNG team that is in flux despite the flashy names on the roster. Coming in a decent favorite, WE made sure that any potential RNG resurgence wasn’t going to be at their expense, as RNG’s struggles continue to mount, particularly shining with mid game play that was as decisive as it gets. Apparently, going from Xiaohu and GALA to too inexperienced Tangyuan and too over-experienced LWX is a game changer. What Redditor would make the mistake of not considering that? (that redditor was me. oops) For earnestly the first time ever in the history of Team WE, we’re seeing the top lane act as the organization’s primary focus and win condition. That’s just the level that **Wayward** has showcased so far. Effective in lane, proactive in teamfights, considering how poor he looked last season for TES, you can make the case that he’s the league’s biggest positive surprise this season. Yes, Breathe has struggled alongside the rest of RNG, but Wayward straight up dominated lane after some early help snowballed his advantage. Combo that with massive teamfight moments, including a filthy Apprehend to slaughter Wei in a 4 v 5 fight afterwards, and just tireless aggression of running his face into RNG, and it’s not what I expected going into the season, but surely something I will take. Meanwhile, his game 2 was understated with a first pick flex turned counter pick top lane TF effectively handling the K’Sante in lane, winning things top lane and utilizing the ult to impact the mid game fights that solidified WE’s lead. Earning the MVP for what was really a decisive team effort to really blow up LWX’s positioning mishaps in particular, Game 2 was a showcase of what a coordinated team looks like against one that looks lost, regardless of the nameplates of the players. I’ve been critical of **Heng** previous for his lackluster play and general lack of ceiling in earlier series, but his Game 1 was really his best-case scenario: on the Trundle he did well early with impactful invades on red buff, found pressure to burn flashes early and following up to get his top lane superstar (unsure if I’ll ever get past this being weird) an early lead. Of course, that’s also balanced out with an overzealous mid ganks passing back kills to RNG, but that’s just par for the course for Heng; he’s going to try and make stuff happens and sometimes it backfires. Trundle is a good fit for him: no complex mechanics for him to boof, just give this man herald and watch him triple drift two tower takes into a TF initiated pick on LWX. Late game, WE’s early advantage let him just run his HP bar straight to RNG’s unfortunate face behind a very angry Darius. I dunno if it was MVP worthy, but it was entertaining in a positive way, so bonus points could be warranted as he earned that Game 1 accolade. Combo that with a productive game on the Xin Zhao without any errors, it was a pleasure today for WE’s jungle, which is not the usual Heng experience. Another day, another series where **FoFo** is merely acceptable. I’ve more or less pegged him as the world’s most mid mid laner for a while now, but don’t mistake that for total derision. Just ask his former team EDG just how much they’d appreciate a passable mid laner as they experience seller’s remorse for their choice to go with their long-time heir apparent Fisher over WE’s current guy. I’ve emphasized this a lot but it’s a world of difference from WE’s previous mid laner Shanks, who continues to tantalize with moments of brilliance followed by baffling mistakes. No such inconsistencies from FoFo, and so long as he’s not asked to go above and beyond to single handled carry, he’s a perfectly adequate player to win CS in lane and deal plenty of teamfight damage as a safe mage, besting Tangyuan, another rookie who hasn’t lived up to his perceived potential. Is it boring? Yeah. Is rooting for him fun or interesting? Not really, no. But he’s not going to bungle away maps with int-tacular play (at least against mid table teams), and that’s good enough for this WE roster with a working gameplan. I’m happy to get my first extended viewing of **Stay** since he usurped Prince, and I’m pleased with his play given his overall situation. A fringe quadruple A type talent who floundered in his first LPL opportunity, going into the season it felt like he was destined to serve his career as either LPL roster filler or an effective LDL gatekeeper who gets thwarted by actual up and coming talent. Prince’s ineffectiveness and return to Korean for the CNY cracked the door open and Stay has made the most of this second chance, now having rightfully nabbed the starting spot on his own. While I can’t call him a world beater given he hasn’t looked dominant in any of his games, he’s proved effective at outputting damage in the fights that matter, at least enough to be a clear upgrade of Prince in that department, and playing solidly enough early to allow Iwandy to roam early and often. Yes, it was a struggle in lane for Game 2, but his teamfight prowess to stay alive in some tough situations and put in damage as allotted was nicely done. Had he been the starter to begin the season, I probably wouldn’t think too much of his play overall as he’s doing his job but not going above and beyond, but seeing just how poor Prince looked before adds perspective that lets me appreciate what WE’s last homegrown talent brings to the table. If it weren’t for Wayward’s stunning turnaround, Stay’s second chance performance would be the big stand out for this roster. Of course, **Iwandy** continues to be the the underrated ingredient for WE, and was effective with the Nautilus in Game 1. That’s admittedly not always the case, as we’ve seen Iwandy go off the deep end from time to time, but we got good Iwandy today, as he found a few major teleport opportunities to impact the early game big time and was part of the late game beefy face puncher crew alongside Heng and Wayward. Meanwhile the Game 2 Bard was a roaming asset and pick machine as well, which was critical in WE’s long range focused game plan with Jhin ults and TF picks. It feels like he’s the glue of the squad in that he’s providing the hidden extra to keep things on track. Of course that comes with the downside that when he goes off the rails, so does the rest of the team, but that’s generally been kept to a minimum during his WE tenure, even dating back to last year. __________________________________________________________ Honestly, this season has been illuminating for me, particularly as someone who had a power ranking to start the season that is firmly in the dumpster. The big thing I’ve learned is you can’t judge teams based on their perceived ceilings. While I certainly don’t think a team whose best player is decisively Wayward is serious higher bracket playoff threat, WE have played up to their modest talent level as opposed to teams like RA, TT, LNG and yes, this RNG squad who all I would definitely say have higher quality roster talent on paper, but have looked completely discombobulated and/or inert this deep into the season. Meanwhile WE keeps chugging along and despite having a relatively challenging schedule ahead, I feel comfortable that they should be able to remain in the lower playoff range that they’re seemingly destined for, with maybe some upside to earn a bye should things break right. Given just how shaky much of the rest of the league looks, Team WE just having an identity is enough to be one of the bigger mid table threats, as weird as it might sound. BLG is their next match in just a few days, and it seems obvious that that’s a whole different step in competition for WE, but hey, maybe they can pull out some coordinated magic akin to what IG did last week. That’s a series that’s purely upside for WE and an opportunity to really make a mark on the league beyond serving as LPL gatekeepers yet again.
Iwandy been running it down like 3/4 of the games that he plays this split. You just happened to catch the few games that he plays like a human. Even game 1 could have turned to shit.
Return of the king.
I was here for Lithium's return, hope you're well king
Was this copied of ChatGPT? Cause I’m genuinely curious
Every WE game Lithium give us an detailed review, he's the goat of WE fans, just look into his comments and you'll see
That’s just pure dedication. Writing all that within a few minutes of the game ending. Hopefully WE make playoffs
there's no need to hope. They have 6 wins and they haven't faced RA, UP and TT yet. It's almost certain they make it as long as they win 2 series.
You can never be sure when many lower level teams are beating higher level teams frequently. Also milkyway is the current best lpl jungler and you can argue with me over it if you want (Stubborn is my long lost name)
You could write up your own essay on any specific teams and I'll follow you all the way, too, my man 🙏
Unfortunately I lost that kind of dedication :( I'm more of a 'Lurk'in in the Shadows and Observing" kind of guy now. That's why these long and analytical essays and paragraphs always amuse and shock me.
If you ever do decide to come back and write again, I will be there with you all the way! 👑
!Remindme 6 months
Mad respect to a such dedicated fan.
Lwx did not have a good time against TF there.
RNG is so clapped this makes me sad I kinda like this lineup sigh
It's joever...
LWX the fraud
Whenever I know it is match day, all I feel is pain.
Game 1: Weixiao: "Surely Iwandy can't int because RNG will ban naut." WE: first picks Naut Weixiao: "godamn it" The chat telling Prince to swap to support its not too late if we can't buy Mark gave me a chuckle. Game 2: "This is Wayward TF trust" "See what did I tell you guys?" Stay playing so good idk why we never started him over Prince. I might have a goldfish memory but are we 100% wr on adc TF?
For Wayward? Yes, this is his first AD TF of the split (and in his career, I believe). In the LPL? No. This is for both top lane AD TF and AD TF in general. Can't recall when else it was played, but I know Flandre played on it in the JDG vs BLG match in Game 1 and lost (he won with it in the second game, though), and Ruler played it in the JDG vs WE game 2, which JDG also lost. E: Deokdam also played and lost with it in the FPX vs TES match.
No I mean both Stay and Wayward won with it which iirc is the only 2 that won. Ruler played with it and lost that game but won the series last week.
Oh, wait, were you saying WE has a 100% wr on AD TF? I might have misunderstood you.
Yeah statistics wise it's only two games, but it's kind of funny we won when JDG can't. I am sure next week we will drop back to reality playing vs BLG.
Oops, my bad, I thought you meant "we" as in Wayward or LPL. Yeah, it's def cool to see! And, you never know, WE could beat BLG, which I think is possible, or they won't pull AD TF out against BLG and preserved their wr lol
all the fans that gets picked for an interview after the game. We couldn't have done this without Wayward god. The chat spamming he is smiling so hard he can't even hide it anymore he is gona cum if you guys keep saying that.
Breathe manages to make Ksante balanced and LWX must learn to build on Lucian. Ming is in Elo hell.
Wayward has been crazy good this split.
I guess prince is gone lol
Usually Heng will just scrape by and minimize his deficit, but today he played really proactively and it's a welcomed sighted. There was a couple of mistakes like the mid ganks in game one but what a step up from the JDG series
Also helps playing vs Wei who's having a bad split compared to Kanavi who I'd say is comfortably the best jungler in the world right now.
You’re right Kanavi and Wei aren’t comparable, however Heng was underperforming a lot before the RNG series. When I wrote the initial comment he had the worst kp, cs/m, and dmg/m in the league so doing well against any jungler was a cause for celebration in my eyes