It's depressingly common in the LCS for one team to gain an advantage, even a large advantage, and either slowly let it dwindle or throw the game in trying to force and unnecessary global objective (ie Baron). Anyone who's watched Tasteless and Artosis cast Starcraft will know the phrase "When you're ahead, get more ahead." This also holds true in League and is essential to consistently closing out games. This is one of the factors that makes Cloud 9 so dominant and lets them avoid than getting a reputation for throwing like Dignitas or Vulcun.

In C9 vs Dignitas, the difference in decision-making quickly becomes clear. Crumbz ganked successfully several times, but Dignitas never manages to turn a successful gank into an objective. At 8:30, KiWi transitions down to the middle of the map, but he decided to gank Zed instead of possibly moving for an objective. The kill on Zed got turned around, and though C9 lost their bot turret (it had been low from the 1v2 lane anyway) they picked up Dragon thanks to the double kill. As the game progressed, even though Dignitas was mostly even in kills, C9 got ahead by manipulating side lane creep waves to get superior farm while having more presence in the mid lane. Off only a 3k gold lead, they orchestrated a perfect flank onto Dignitas at Dragon, and then once they took that teamfight 3-0, they looked to further their advantage by taking both Dragon and Baron and more than double the gold lead up to 7k. With Baron, they recalled together and then move into a 4-1 split push there they once again outplayed Dignitas putting down free turret damage and backing up their teammates with a counter engage when Dignitas tried to engage.

For other teams to emulate this, they need to keep their eyes on the objectives, and remember, "When you're ahead, get more ahead."

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Bans:       

85.5k        TSM        27
vs.
85.6k        Crs        28

Bans:       

Curse and TSM battled it out in an action-packed slugfest, replete with solid plays and facepalms for both teams. Curse took a page out of Cloud 9's playbook and picked up the Ashe and Zyra Bot lane. Shen, Zac, and Ryze rounded out the composition, giving Curse strong map pressure and team fight control. TSM however, managed to grab comfort picks with Karthus and Rumble and doubled down on the AoE ultimates with Sona, Jarvan, and Graves.

Curse initiated a lane swap, but TSM were the first to take a tower, as Jarvan/Rumble managed to push against Zyra/Ashe. However, Curse demonstrated the power of their picks when used Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Stand United, and Elastic Shot to grab a quick first blood on Graves. Curse immediately rotated to take the first Dragon, and Edward stopped TheOddOne's attempted steal with a quick application of Vine Lashers and Stranglethorns. TSM reacted quickly and pushed Mid with the remainder of their team. Curse had two to defend, but Saintvicious launched himself at TSM, allowing Xpecial to catch him great Crescendo and give up a free kill. TSM took down another tower and tied up the kills. Curse continued to play to the strengths of their draft, finding picks with Flash-Rune Prison or Enchanted Crystal Arrow followed by Stand United-Shadow Dash.



However, TSM responded with better wave control and map rotations, quickly chipping at Curse's inner towers. TSM feigned Baron in an attempt to catch Curse, but despite attempting to hard engage with Flash over the Baron wall, could only trade evenly. TSM again pressured Baron and while Curse took the scenic route, quickly switched to shove down Mid. TSM claimed the inhibitor tower, but Enchanted Crystal Arrow found Graves straight in the face. Curse took the ensuing teamfight 3:0 and picked up Baron. Equipped with Baron buff, Curse laid siege to TSM's Top inhibitor tower. Enchanted Crystal Arrow initiated a fight, and Curse took out Rumble almost immediately. However, this time Cop mispositioned, and TSM collapsed back onto Ashe and their inhibitor tower. With a 4:2 power play on the map, TSM rushed back up Mid to take down the open inhibitor.

TSM attempted to close out the game by pushing top, but Ashe Arrow and Let's Bounce netted Curse free kills on Karthus and Jarvan underneath their their tower. However, Nyjacky overextended as Curse disengaged, and thus Curse could not completely alleviate the tower pressure. Nevertheless, Curse were able to position for Baron shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Equalizer and Crescendo allowed TSM to go 2:1 at the Baron fight and rush Top inhibitor tower.

Rather than use their member advantage to take down the structures, Reginald dove past the tower in an attempt to secure a kill in the remaining Curse members, but Ryze, Shen, and Zac were simply too tanky and Regi died for free. This bought enough time for Cop and Edward to respawn with Homeguard, and Curse aced TSM. It was then Curse's turn to overplay their advantage. While knocking down the last HP bars of Mid inhibitor, Zac was picked off by the combined magic shred of Karthus and Rumble. Even with Enchanted Crystal Arrow and Shurelia's Reverie, Curse could not disengage from the power of Equalizer and Flash-Cataclysm. TSM retook the lead and wiped out two of Curse's inhibitors.

TSM once again moved to the bush behind Curse's Red Buff and baited Baron. The awkward positioning around that area of the jungle nullified some of TSM's powerful AoE combo, and thus they traded evenly 3:3. However, Wildturtle immediately cleared Mid, allowing TSM's Super Minions to push, and with Curse stuck defending their base, he took down Baron with the help of Xpecial. TSM regrouped Mid, and Saintvicious launched Zac far into the TSM lines. Equalizer prevented Curse's back line from closing the gap created by Elastic Shot/Flash/Let's Bounce, and TSM easily swept the teamfight to take commanding control of Curse's structures and close out the game.

Both teams demonstrated smart decision making, with Curse getting the picks they needed, while TSM showcased strong map control. However, both teams also revealed why they are still in the middle of the pack, as this game was also full of positioning errors and questionable strategic moves. Both sides made mistakes, but it was ultimately Curse's last mistakes that cost them the game.

7th place, the position no team wants to be in. So close to making the playoffs and avoiding instant relegation, and yet so far. Two teams currently sit right on the edge of this spot, 6th place Curse and 7th place Team Coast. Both teams hold the same 9-14 record, but Curse leads the overall head-to-head series 2-1. Week 9 is arguably the most important for these teams as they playoff hopes are on the line. Dignitas and TSM could also slip if either team have a particularly bad week, but with a two game lead it's likely the 7th place spot will belong to either Curse or Coast. Let's take a look at what each team needs to do to rise above the competition.

First up is Curse. Week 8 was rough for Curse as they had to face the top 3 teams and they didn't manage to pick up a single win. They had a real chance to win against TSM, but several poor engagements from Saintvicious allowed TSM to take back control of the game and eventually take the win. In general, Saint's play has been suspect for much of the split. He will often times get way ahead of his team and try to catch enemies out of position, but his team is so far behind there is no followup. While Saint is the shot caller on the team, he needs to be a little smarter in when he tries to make plays. While this is not Curse's only problem at the moment, it stands out as the most apparent.

Coast also have their share of issues. After finishing the Spring Split in second place, Coast has had a hard time recreating that success. One issue they face is teams have done a really good job of shutting down ZionSpartan. He pretty much single handedly carried his team into the finals last split and he hasn't been nearly as dominant this split. Nerfs to champs like Jayce certainly haven't helped matters easier. The rest of Coast need to step up to fill the void, especially DontMashMe who's favorite ADC Twitch is very strong on the current patch.

Looking at the match-ups, Curse has an easier Week 9 schedule than Coast. Curse does not have to play against first place Cloud 9, and they also have a game against last place Velocity. With this advantage Coast will need to play out of their minds and pull of some upsets if they want to overtake Curse in the standings. That said, Curse is no stranger to imploding in the final week of the LCS as their Week 10 record last split was 0-5. The best part of it all is both team's final match of the split is against each other. While unlikely, it's possible the final spot in the playoffs could come down to one head-to-head match.

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Bans:       

22        TSM        68.0
vs.
26        dig        75.2

Bans:       

After losing their game against Cloud 9, Dignitas looked to take a win off of Team SoloMid and preserve their chances of going positive for the week. With the standings so close between Dignitas and TSM, this game was critical from a standings perspective as a win for Dignitas would mean they lead the overall series 3-1 in the event of a tie. After banning out three of TSM's favorite comfort picks, TSM fell back on Jayce and Reginald's current go to pick, Kassadin. Scarra also pulled out a comfort pick we haven't seen in a while with Diana.

Dignitas struck first with a nice rotation from KiWiKiD and Crumbz to the Mid lane which transitioned into a three man tower dive to kill Regi. Dignitas also managed to take the first Dragon and prevented TheOddOne from soloing it with Nasus' Fury of the Sands. Dignitas continued to dominate the early/mid game going up eight kills and 6k gold. But, WildTurtle wouldn't let TSM go down without a fight. In several key engagements he cleaned up several kills which allowed him to get very powerful

This became very important when Dignitas tried to engage on TSM, but the fight was turned around on them and TSM pulled off an ace for two. WildTurtle skirted on the edge of the fight and did a lot of damage to the members of Dignitas and set them up perfectly to be cleaned up by the rest of his team. After another poor engagement from Dignitas, TSM seemed to be in control of the game, closing the gold lead slowly and eventually overtaking it. But like so many NA games, the great equalizer, Baron Nashon, would rear his ugly head. Dignitas started off Baron and TSM came to contest. But instead of staying on Baron, Dignitas peeled off and got a Crescendo onto Dyrus which allowed them to blow him up and pop his Guardian Angle before he was even a factor in the team fight. Then imaqtpie sealed the win for Dignitas with some excellent low health kiting against TheOddOne and Xpecial


While Dignitas might have a reputation for throwing games, TSM managed to out throw them despite having a chance to close out the game.

The super week ending the Spring season would have been a non-affair, had Curse and Dignitas not flubbed and finished 0–5 and 1–4 while TSM rose to the challenge with a 5–0. The only question which of the bottom 4 teams would finish in 7th. One of those bottom 4 clinched a 2nd place playoff finish, and the other now stands with a solid 2nd place season standing. Now, the powerhouses of last season, TSM, Curse, and Dignitas must battle with CLG and Coast in a close race out of 7th place. TSM seem to be the safest, playing 3 teams they hold a winning record against, while CLG are the most precipitous, playing 4 teams they hold a losing record to. With momentum from last week, Dignitas are poised to secure a top 6 finish, but given the volatility of the last few weeks, either Coast or Curse could show up with their A game. Mostly likely, 6th and 7th place will be separated by only one match, and the loser will be left in relegations wondering which throw cost them their playoff chances.