Good Evening Readers!

Welcome to the 2nd edition of The Weekly Classic, where we’re going to take a deeper dive into what happened in Week 2 of the Advanced League, what we can expect in next week’s games, and some looks at the general rankings of the teams in this league. My name is Ulrum, and I’ll be taking you all through this bit by bit each week, but feel free to message me in the discord server or hit me up @UlrumLoL on twitter for additional updates throughout the week. 

Joining Ulrum for the predictions and power rankings is me, Guster Posey! I’m excited to contribute to the Weekly Classic! Likewise to Ulrum you can find me on twitter @GusterPosey or here on discord. 

Game Results:

Comfy Gaming Shield 2-1 Oversoul Esports

Game 1: OE Wins

You love to see a team on at least a similar page. The cool thing here is that even though none of OE’s champions other than Sivir are really designed for those big wombo style team comps the way that CGS’s squad is, the tools that they brought still work really well with a Sylas-stolen ultimate from the various members of CGS who do have those big, impactful abilities. Plus, the ability to actually get past the front line of OE in order to kill this Sivir was just clearly not there, allowing Bcuz to rack up kills like a proper right-clicker. 

Game 2: CGS Wins

It takes a lot of confidence to run back a pick right after you go 1-7, so I have to commend SPY 500 for being willing and able to jump right back into the same matchup and make it work. Similarly, I really enjoy the decision to put PUNJABI MUNDA on Morde here, because while someone like Hagen’s Jax could in theory kill him in the 1v1, it seems unlikely that OE could win the 4v4 outside of it with their otherwise somewhat immobile composition. 

Game 3: CGS Wins

It seems like OE were not able to come up with a way to beat this Morde pick, and on top of that, LoL Day was able to walk in as Ahri and wreak some absolute havoc. 

Rant time: I have pointed this out in other leagues, but Ezreal/Nautilus is a very bad bot lane combination. U.gg has 168 bot lane combinations ranked in Diamond+, and Ezreal/Nautilus comes in at 154th for win rate, actually dropping below the win rate of either champion individually, and it has been this way for a long time. For comparison, Xayah/Thresh is number 5. (For those who are curious, Twitch/Rakan is first right now and Sivir/Annie is second). 

BCS Younglin’s Kittens 2-1 TDK Blue

Game 1: BCS Wins

The beauty of the Sett pickup here for BCS is that all of the actual front line options from TDK can be body blocked by this single champion without much actual issue. Plus, the most relevant member of TDK, Vision of Empire, does not have the same range as the Syndra or the Varus in terms of chunking people down and moving into contested territories with their teams. Overall, solid game. 

Game 2: TDK Wins

I am always a fan of watching the boring version of Nocturne lose. 

But to be one hundred percent honest this game was mostly about this absolute unit of an ADC. DuhhDiamond put the entire pair of carry pants on with this Nilah pick, and with the amount of AoE layering that this team has, it’s no wonder that the numbers simply added up. 

Game 3: BCS Wins

One of the things I enjoy about writing for higher levels of League of Legends is that I get to talk about Lee Sin more often. The fact of the matter is that once you’re a certain level of good at this champion, there is always some degree of value you can draw out, because there are tools for most occasions. Great game from Malstixy to close this whole series out. 

The Crabs Radiant 2-1 CB Diamond

Game 1: CBD Wins

There are some team comps that make it incredibly difficult to approach, and this one from CBD is a prime example. Any situation involving a defensible corridor allows this squad to make the other team decide between their health bars and the objectives. The only off-theme champion here was Camille, but with a composition like this and a Camille that fed, split pushing becomes incredibly easy. 

Game 2: CRAB  Wins

Four colorful-haired ladies and a Braum later, CRAB won game 2. 

In this case, I really like the Vi pick because the main carries of CBD do not actually have an answer to being jumped on. Both Varus and Viktor are just too immobile, and while there are some protection options on the team, you really have to get through the early stages of the game in order to make that happen. Clearly that did not work here, so CRAB gets a big win and a bunch of stats. 

Game 3: CRAB Wins

It would be easy for this game to be looked at as simply a “protect the carry” comp from CRAB. In this case, I like that option quite a bit, especially with the relative strength and safety of Xayah as a scaling ADC. Palmgoat did not disappoint, being the only player on either team to really get going in terms of kills. 

Dorado Gaming Alpha 2-1 Nameless Goobers

Game 1: Goob Wins

In a combination that will now lightly haunt my nightmares forever, Goob pulled together a win out of this disgusting Kalista/Swain pairing that dares to take an evil bird man and violently chuck him into the middle of the enemy team where he can drain tank to his heart’s content while d4 adc trash chucks obscene numbers of spears. 

Game 2: DoGA Wins

How does one answer the very powerful ADC player on the other team? One drafts an assassin of course! While kyunghwan wasn’t able to kill d4 adc trash some large number of times, the sheer threat of an Akali changes how the whole team comp of Goob has to be played, and made this game really work. 

Game 3: DoGA Wins

Finally, to finish this one out, we have solo lane supremacy. Hazeem and kyunghwan look great here, and the team overall was able to suppress the win conditions of most of GOOB. d4 adc trash was still able to put up a really solid showing, even for the roughness of the game around them, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure a victory. 

USC JV 2-0 Horizon Gaming Rats

Game 1: USC Wins

I am tired of seeing Zeri. The end has to be in sight. I can’t blame skyo for picking what has just been an excellent pick for a while here, but I would just love for the meta to throw this champion into the trash can and allow me at least a few months without her on the table. Skyo did a great job and put together over 3k more gold than anyone on the opposing team. This was just an adc diff kind of game. 

Game 2: USC Wins

If I had to go through the info for a big Zeri win in game one, I do suppose that it’s slightly more fun to watch the double archery tag team absolutely obliterate some folks in the bot lane. Shoutouts to Little Luck and Hextech Anivia as well, who may not have been able to do as much farming, but still pulled out really great numbers here. I would have liked to see RAT draft a real support here, but I suppose the past is the past. 

Dorado Gaming Tau 2-1 Mint Rocky Road

Game 1: DoGT Wins

Is that a Morgana jungle I see?

I absolutely love it when teams find ways to slip in the more niche picks to grab wins, and this is a great example. A properly timed black shield completely changes the way the game gets played in almost any fight. Even as a big Sejuani fan myself, I imagine that Dwomnibear wasn’t too happy about having to deal with that much negation of cc, but in the end, a counter is a counter. Props to Zohair. 

Game 2: DoGT Wins

At  first glance, one would not necessarily have been able to just guess that DoGT won this one based on the stats alone. After all, a 15-3-10 Zeri is a big deal to have to reckon with, yet with a bit of the power of friendship and a lot of great diving power, that same threatening presence just couldn’t close it out. 

TA Nebula 2-0 Lit Esports Red

Game 1: TAN Wins

This became a battle of Seveer vs Goatbm, and I think there are two real reasons why this would drift in favor of Seveer’s Gwen. There is, of course, the fact that Gwen is better at actually pushing towers than Viktor is, allowing her to sit in a side lane and rain down destruction that dares people to come deal with her, and there is also the fact that in any fight in which the two are both present, she is able in most cases to completely ignore some of the more painful parts of Viktor’s kit. 

Game 2: TAN Wins

This is where the importance of the ability to ban champions is put on full display. Staring down the barrel of an 0-2 loss, Lit Esports was not abe to actually deal with the Gwen that shredded them in game 1, instead running a team comp that still had no answer to the snipping of doom. Great job to TAN! 

TA Blaze 2-0 UR Esports

Game 1: TAB Wins

Nobody likes playing against a fed Darius. There’s nothing even remotely fun about having to deal with this man. However, I do have to give credit where credit is due: HTK777 earned that advantage, then ran amok with it. No one on the side of UR Esports short of maybe a very lucky version of UR Promise’s Tristana could really deal with this pick, and it definitely worked out for TAB. 

Game 2: TAB Wins

Now of course, after what could be considered a closer game, Game 2 comes in to bring the heat. 3 little words pulls out a HUGE AP Shyvana game here, demolishing the competition with fireballs aplenty, and while G1naxi tried to get it together on the Syndra pick, every member of TAB seemed to be ready for this one and closed out this game. 

Vaporwave Resonance 2-0 Akuma’s Katanas

Game 1: VPW Wins

Remember kids, it’s called Mal-FIGHT, not Mal-RUN. A joke that works better in voice comms, but I still felt the need to make. 

I enjoyed the commitment here to teamfighting, with a lot of VPW’s draft revolving around AoE cc and damage. The close range nature of this composition did work largely into Graves’ favor, but in the end, AK needed more than just that Graves pick in order to finish this out. 

Game 2: VPW Wins

It’s rare nowadays to watch a Kassadin manage to get absolutely nothing done, and while I’m sure that sounds like flame directed at Ak, I honestly mean it entirely as a compliment for VPW. This bot lane combo went off, and this team as a whole dealt with all of the threats from Ak with ease. Great way to end out Week 2 for this squad. 

OC Esports 2-0 NWE Penguins

Game 1: OCE Wins

I am not surprised to see an ADC pumping out damage and kills. I am, however, a bit surprised to see Garen getting some play at this level, especially with this level of success. However, since Garen currently has a 53% win rate against K’sante in Diamond+, I suppose I should be less surprised overall. Shoutout to ProjectPanda for really getting around and putting in the work on this Blitzcrank as well. 

Game 2: OCEWins

Having snubbed AJOSU2 in Game 1’s analysis only to scroll down and see them do it again in Game 2, I suppose now is the time when I should say that especially on a very skill-expressive adc like Kai’Sa, watching this many kills come out in one series is a great reason to watch for this particular player going into week 3. No one likes being on the opposing team here, because it feels like there’s this incredibly squishy champion that should be 100% killable, and yet no matter what you do, the Kai’Sa will just evade you, and you will be sad. Life is hard. Ban this ADC’s Kai’Sa. 

Next Week’s Predictions

Group A Games:

Game 1: Dorado Alpha vs Vaporwave Resonance - VWR 2-0 

Vaporwave has hit Group A like a tidal wave, being the only unbeaten team in the group to this point. I don’t see much of a reason for this to change. When Dorado falters it’s because their botlane isn’t successful, and Knightmare and Sai haven’t had much trouble yet.

Game 2: Akuma’s Katanas vs TA Blaze - TAB 2-0 

TA Blaze has looked very good so far, and I expect this to continue, there is a spot where AK could find some success if LeGoatJames and Diox find a way to set ElucidatorsLight behind.

Game 3: OC Esports vs Nameless Goobers - OCE 2-1

AJOSU has been on a warpath in the early goings in the league, and look for this to continue, but NG’s botlane are no slouches. This matchup should be a good one, expect this series to revolve around botlane.

Game 4: NWE Penguins vs TDK Blue - TDK 2-1

Vision of Empire has been an absolute rock for TDK to this point, and he’s just a sub. I’m looking for the midlane of TDK to be that rock that the team needs to play around. NWE likes to play Support style champions mid, even playing Soraka, so the mid matchup and what TDK can get out of it are going to matter a lot here.

Game 5: UR Esports vs BCYK - BCYK 2-0

Malstixy has been Bing Chilling so far this split, having pop-off performances on aggressive champions like Lee Sin, but when he’s not able to be that playmaker the team struggles. I look for them to get Malstixy into a matchup that can influence the game from the get go. UR hasn’t had a lot of success yet so they need to find a way to get a foothold in a game and push it together for their first W. 

Group B Games:

Game 1: TA Nebula vs The Crabs Radiant - TAN 2-0

Scouting and preparing against TA Nebula is like playing a game of whack-a-mole, people are swapping positions and having great performances. Dallas for example has played a different position in each of their first 4 games. Meanwhile for the crabs they have a constant, Palmgoat. The path to victory for this match for The Crabs lies through Palmgoat, and if I’m Olly I’m getting the marshmallows and graham crackers ready for this botlane.

Game 2: CB Diamond vs Oversoul - CBD 2-1

CB has their greatest success when top is snowballed, buying G1ory and Aqauluma some breathing room. This is a spicy matchup for this style because Hagen does not shy away from the carries toplane. Look for this toplane matchup to explode as we get some good old fashioned carry vs carry toplane. The volatility of playing carry vs carry tells me this is going to game 3, but in the end I think CB is going to take it.

Game 3: Dorado Tau vs Lit Esports Red - DoGT 2-0

Tau has been on a tear so far this season, and it doesn’t look to me that Lit is going to be the team to stand in their way. Sev3rd and Arch have both had great performances so far and I look for that to continue. Lit is going to need a lit performance here to take this one.

Game 4: Mint Gaming Rocky Road vs Horizon Gaming Rats - MINT 2-1 

While neither of these teams have picked up a win yet, they both have run into the buzzsaws of the early frontrunners Dorado Tau and TA Nebula, and they can only go up from here. I’m giving the edge to MINT here because I expect some interesting drafts from them.

Game 5: Comfy Gaming Shield vs USC Esports - USC 2-1 

USC is the last unbeaten team in terms of game score, but Comfy Gaming Shield is right behind them ready to jump ahead. The key here for Comfy Gaming Shield is to give LolDay some space to operate. When LolDay gets rolling it opens up the map so much for them. USC isn’t going to make it easy on them however. I’m expecting a close series but USC takes it in the end. 

Players To Watch Out For

Here we’ll take the opportunity to discuss some players who have had standout performances, or who may be important to watch out for in the upcoming week’s games. 

Standings and Power Rankings

Group A Standings/Power Rankings

Group B Standings/Power Rankings