Author:
Connor Coates
Publish Date:
13/10/2024
Welcome to ProVision by ESB. Today, we will discuss LNG and their journey on the LoL Worlds Swiss stage. We will cover what has made them successful in this slightly unexpected run.
Having gone 3-0 in the Swiss Stage, their name is now in contention for making it to the final. LNG are the third seed team out of the LPL. They were expected to have solid Worlds, but maybe not this good. Go back to Worlds 2023 and their year so far. They are now performing at a much higher level.
Let’s examine their journey, starting with their three games across the Swiss Stage.
LNG started this game in a lacklustre fashion. They gave away first blood all too easily, which set them behind early on. Eventually, they recovered from this bad early game. They used good macro play and punished mistakes from TL. This allowed them to find easy picks and win team fights. Ultimately, the greater strength in team fighting accelerated their lead and led to them winning the match. After a slightly underwhelming performance, people expected LNG to offer less quality, as this looked set to be their standard.
Game two rolls around, and they face one of the tournament favourites, LPL first seed BLG. A BLG victory was expected here, especially after that game against TL. The game started in similar conditions. LNG was lacklustre in the early game. BLG Knight was able to gain small advantages in the mid-lane. LNG mid-laner Scout was on the heavily prioritised Yone pick. Meanwhile, Knight was on Orianna, who is a potent lane bully when up against melee champions.
As the game went on, we saw some messy moments from LNG. At around the eleven-minute mark, there was a fight around the Voidgrubs; originally, it was a 4v5 in LNG’s favour. It was a mixture of mistakes and outplays, but BLG came out on top. The game’s turning point came at the fight over the third drake at nineteen minutes. BLG secured the drake, but LNG won the fight. A grand ultimate from Scout on the Yone eliminated the main damage threats on BLG and allowed the rest of LNG to clean up.
From then on, LNG could use their lead to good effect. They picked good fights that they knew they would win. They also found picks that opened the map, as BLG could not cover everywhere. The driving factor behind this win was Scout on that Yone. He was monstrous, and he will probably have Yone banned away for the rest of the Worlds.
Game three brought us a Bo3 series against LCK’s third seed, DK. LNG was unexpectedly in this position, but they were ready to make the most of it. DK had a substantially easier route to reach the 2-0 bracket. They played against a disjointed FNC and easily outplayed FLY in the macro to control that game comfortably. In theory, based on Power Rankings and overall reputation, DK should be easier to beat than BLG.
Game one of this series excited us from the start with the draft. We saw Olaf drafted by DK and Scout picking a Sylas. DK Showmaker had previously put in a game-winning performance on the Sylas. You can read into the Sylas pick as a statement from LNG. Ban the Yone, and we’ll take your Sylas pick. The Sylas pick was an intelligent mover by LNG. DK had two ults perfect for the Sylas to steal: the Alistar ult and the Maokai ult.
LNG started the game well, securing first blood for Zika and putting Olaf behind early. From here, the game was unstable. A tower dive from DK turns into voidgrubs for LNG, but DK denies them one to keep the game interesting. From here, LNG is ahead. The game snowballs, starting with a Baron secured and then team fights. LNG misplays at one point, which allows DK back into the game. LNG then takes the next Baron and the Elder Dragon, which turns the game into the first win of the series.
We see an old team composition pulled out from LNG in game two. We see Camille paired with a Galio. The combo of a Camille ult into Galios’ Heroes Entrance on top of her makes escape impossible for the enemy back line. In this case, it was poor Ziggs. DK took first blood in this one with a tower dive on the top side. LNG quickly responded with a dive of their own on the bot side. The first blood leads to DK having priority over the voidgrubs. DK quickly throws this lead to LNG with two gifted kills and a drake.
The game goes pretty even after this, with both teams winning separate team fights. It looks as though DK might take us to game three. LNG shows better cohesiveness around team fights. They take a good fight that allows them to take Elder Dragon and then Baron. LNG keeps their lead intact, and the final fight comes around the next Elder spawn. LNG uses their dive team comp to significant effect and picks apart DK. This play sends LNG through the Swiss Stage as one of two 3-0 teams.
That is all from this ProVision analysis. Given their performances on the Swiss Stage, how far can LNG go? They have a good chance against any team if they keep up this level. On GG.Bet, they have odds of 17/10 to finish in the top two. (Odds subject to change.) This makes them the fourth favourite to achieve this. After watching them perform, there is a definite belief in them. Check out our dedicated page for any League of Legends Worlds betting tips.