The Best and Worst LCS Split Starts and their Correlations By Duncan “Thorin� Shields, on 2015-01-31
After the first four split games of the European LCS have been played, only two teams (SK Gaming and FNATIC) have emerged undefeated. With the North American teams set to finish their first four games tonight, now is the perfect time to look back on the history of LCS starts, good and bad, over the previous four splits in each region. As well as looking at how teams began, one can look for correlations between who finished well or poorly, based on the nature of their start. Best starts Eight teams in the history of LCS have started a perfect 4:0 in a split. Excluding those this split, that leaves the following six: Team: Cloud Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 25:3 (1st) Team: ALTERNATE Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 13:15(tied 2nd)
Summer
9 4:0 2013
Summer
4:0 2013
Team: MYM Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 8:20 (8th) Team: fnatic Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 17:11 (2nd) Team: Curse Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 19:9 (2nd) Team: LMQ Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 18:10 (2nd)
Summer
4:0 2013
Spring
4:0 2014
Spring
4:0 2013
4:0 Summer 2014
Correlation: Only two teams have ever started the split 4:0 and finished outside of the top four at the end of the play-offs, as MYM finished in dead last in LCS Summer 2013 and ATN placed sixth the same split. 14 teams have recorded a 3:1 start, but rather than list all of them I've picked out some from each end of the spectrum in terms of their finishes.
Team: Gambit Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 14:14 (5th)
Team: ROCCAT Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 15:13 (4th) Team: Team Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 15:13 (4th) Team: Alliance Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 21:7 (1st) Team: Cloud9 Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 24:4 (1st)
Spring
3:1 2014
Spring
3:1 2014
Summer
Dignitas 3:1 2014
Summer
3:1 2014
Spring
3:1 2014
Correlation: Only three teams (Gambit Spring 2014, Dignitas Summer 2014 and Millenium Summer 2014) have begun the split 3:1 and failed to finish top four at the end of the play-offs of the split. Worst starts Six teams have recorded a winless first four games in a split. Excluding Gambit this split, here they are:
Team: Alliance Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 16:12 (3rd) Team: Copenhagen Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 13:15 (6th) Team: Ninjas Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 15:13 (tied 2nd) Team: SK Record:
Spring
0:4 2014
Spring
Wolves 0:4 2013
Summer
Pyjamas 0:4 2013
in
Gaming 0:4
Split: LCS Regular split finish: 13:15 (tied 6th) Team: Evil Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 11:17 (7th)
Summer
2013
Summer
Geniuses 0:4 2014
Correlation: Interestingly, no team to lose their first four games has ever finished in eighth place in an LCS split. 11 teams have recorded a 1:3 start, so again I've selected some specific examples.
Team: XDG Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 7:21 (8th) Team: Curse Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 13:15 (tied 4th) Team: Velocity Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 5:23 (8th)
Spring
1:3 2014
Summer
1:3 2013
Summer
1:3 2013
Team: ROCCAT Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 12:16 (6th) Team: Curse Record: Split: LCS Regular split finish: 13:15 (tied 4th)
Summer
1:3 2014
Summer
1:3 2014
Correlation: No team to start the split 1:3 has ever finished top two at the end of the play-offs of the split.