So, I actually ended up taking a day off work and woke up early enough to watch the IEM Grand Final match between Team Solomid (TSM) and Counter-Logic Gaming (CLG). I have to admit right off the bat that I am a CLG fan. A friend of mine that I met in-game (thanks Daggrosh) introduced me to General Wiser‘s youtube channel, and I would like to say I’ve learned quite a bit from watching HotshotGG play (even though I certainly wouldn’t be able to say that I’ve been able to put that learning into practice).
Before the games started, I was worried that CLG would repeat their performance from Dreamhack even though they completely dominated Group B. I was also afraid that Reginald would end up with yet another reason to be the stout dickweed he’s proven himself to be. I wish I could find a quote, but I read on the forums that, when asked about the outcome of the IEM tournament, he actually had the gall to say “Anyone can win, except CLG”. Like what kind of douchebag would say that kind of thing publicly?
Anyway, this is not a blog about Reginald McHomotron.
After the first match, I was disappointed. TSM came out strong (they always do, I will give them that) and showed why they were able to sweep Group A. TheRainMan’s Irelia was especially strong and made an amazing initiation on HotshotGG at the dragon late in the game that (I believe) clutched the match for them. The push that followed would not be repelled. Chaox’s Kog’maw had blue and was spamming his ulti all day long.
The second match left me in higher spirits, however. CLG baited TSM into a fight at baron and I believe the match really turned around with HotshotGG’s clutch flash/ult combo with Galio. As a some-time Galio player myself, it was especially fun to see him in high-ELO action, at his very finest.
During the break between the second and final match, I had a chance to sit on my porcelaine throne and consider what kind of bans I would like to see CLG make. My reasoning was as follows: XSpecial with Alistar is just too silly to think about, so he had to get banned. I also wanted to see Janna get banned, because Reginald was just scary with her in the first match. And TheOddOne was particularly vicious with Nocturne, so I wanted to see him get banned as well. But these bans would make Zilean available (which is also something I don’t want to think about, the vulgarity of it causes me to wretch — Reginald is just that good wtih him). When it finally came time to see the bans/picks, I have to admit, I laughed out loud at HotshotGG’s Eve troll. I was also relieved to see Nocturne get picked up for SaintVicious, forcing TheOddOne to jungle with Gangplank.
At the start of the match, I was concerned for Salce. Vlad had no way to whittle down Udyr. I was also relieved to see Reginald take top with Nidalee vs. HotshotGG’s Cho’Gath. Sure, Nid is a tough top lane, but Reginald belongs in mid and TheRainMan belongs up top. The position switch (I honestly believe) is part of what caused TSM’s eventual loss. It’s clear to anyone that watches that Reginald is the team captain. From his vantage point in mid, he can organize and rally the team. Being in top lane, tied up by Cho’Gath’s inexorable push was a detriment to the team’s perforamance in general.
The game went on without first blood for the first 15 minutes, and the first team fight (and subsequent push up mid by TSM) caused my heart to sink in my chest. Even though the gold and CS was fairly even, the 3-0 score and huge turret advantage put (in my eyes) CLG in a bad place. But just as quickly, CLG made a great comeback and evened out the score at 4-3 and their own push up the mid-lane. And that was it. From that point on, CLG had firm control of the map, lanes and buffs. As far as I’m concerned, TSM was in a bad place, and it was all but over. And then the stand-off that caused stopped the hearts of nearly 100,000 fans on the stream. Bot inhib was down, mid turret and inhib were just taken out and then… Nothing. Silence.
Would they give the match to CLG? Would they remake after a 45-minute nail-biter? No one knew, and everyone was furious.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Or rather, not seeing. CLG, so close to winning the IEM Grand Final, was in position to be stymied by a hiccup in the interwebs. During those moments I think I started gnawing on my finger flesh, since the nails had already been chewed off. What was going to happen? Would CLG be stripped of a clear and undeniable victory?
And then, just as quickly, the stream was live again. All had been saved and the game was in a similar state (not exactly, but definitely better than the alternative) than it had been when the stream died. A quick teamfight near baron ensued and a clutch ultimate from Urgot saved the day for CLG.
Well, after all that, I’m happy for CLG and the outcome of the IEM Grand Finals. A well-deserved and hard-won victory for HotshotGG and his teammates.
Thanks for a great show, to both TSM and the rest of the teams that competed.
-V.
Terminal Paradigm 