LCS EU W9

Week 9 in the EU.  DB actually wins one, but they'll need an crazy week 10 to get out of relegation.  GG looks like a soulless robot of win, until the last game against SK, so watch that one if you want to see GG finally look human.  Watch the others if you want to see them slowly dismantle the hopes and dreams of their enemies.  Giants also had one bad game and two really good ones, slowly trying to claw their way up the standings a little.

Gambit Gaming vs Dragonborns
[GG bans: Draven, Jarven, Kayle][DB bans: Thresh, Elise, Nasus]
GG: Shen, Volibear, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Lulu
DB: Zed, Udyr, Orianna, Varus, Sona
Alex goes crazy aggressive on Shushei in mid.  DB drags it out (including a cutesy steal of dragon by Hosan) but the end result is always the same.

Evil Geniuses vs Fnatic
[EG bans: Kassadin, Kha'Zix, Kennen][Fnatic bans: Lux, Renekton, Thresh]
EG: Zed, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Leona
Fnatic: Shen, Nasus, Katarina, Varus, Nunu
Poor xPeke.  EG took TF away from him, then brutalized him with it.

Against All Authority vs Gambit Gaming
[aAa bans: Kha'Zix, Zed, Nasus][GG bans: Jarvan, Diana, Varus]
aAa: Renekton, Volibear, Orianna, Miss Fortune, Thresh
GG: Shen, Elise, Karthus, Ezreal, Lulu
Being in a league with GG must be frustrating.  Like being in the same division as the Patriots.  aAa kept it as close as possible until the fifty-ninth minute, before just giving up out of exhaustion or something.

Giants vs Dragonborns
[Giants bans: Draven, Kayle, Thresh][DB bans: Kennen, Kassadin, Elise]
Giants: Shen, Jarvan, Diana, Varus, Lulu
DB: Zed, Nasus, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Sona
Battle of the bottom two, and only now does DB look like they have it together.  Let's see if this win, snapping an epically long 14 game losing streak, sparks a huge winning streak in super week?  They'll need it.

Giants vs Evil Geniuses
[Giants bans: Lux, Zed, Thresh][EG bans: Kha'Zix, Kassadin, Elise]
Giants: Rumble, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Kennen, Zyra
EG: Shen, Volibear, Ahri, Varus, Leona
Gotta love two teams with crazy early aggression.  Way to amp it up, EG.  But strangely, they don't defend their objectives well, and Giants just steadily pokes down towers when EG's not looking.

Fnatic Gaming vs Dragonborns
[Fnatic bans: Lux, Draven, Thresh][DB bans: Leona, Elise, Twisted Fate]
Fnatic: Jayce, Nocturne, Zed, Twitch, Zyra
DB: Malphite, Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Kayle
Kayle support, right?  Makes a lot of sense.  Invulnerability doesn't depend on AP, after all.  But the same thing as last game seems to happen - when DB groups up to defend an objective or get some revenge kills, Fnatic just goes on pushing towers down somewhere else.

Giants vs Against All Authority
[Giants bans: Thresh, Renekton, Shen][aAa bans: Kennen, Kha'Zix, Elise]
Giants: Olaf, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Varus, Sona
aAa: Diana, Nasus, Kayle, Vayne, Zyra
Complete wreckage from Giants, not even that many kills.

Gambit Gaming vs SK Gaming
[GG bans: Fizz, Varus, Miss Fortune][SK bans: Renekton, Shen, Kha'Zix]
GG: Rengar, Nasus, Zed, Caitlyn, Thresh
SK: Rumble, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Ashe, Elise
It's been so long since I've seen Rengar, I couldn't remember the name to write down for a long time.  What is his story?  I totally forget.  He looks like the love child of Kha'Zix and Warwick.  Whatever happened to Warwick, did he retire from the league, or just due for an overhaul?  Sorry to ramble, there are a few key points that SK must have researched about GG (this is SK's only game this weekend):

1. Diamondprox on Nasus runs ghost, not flash, leaving him with no flash substitutes, and no way out of the Jarvan Cataclysm. 
2. Keeping Alex down is probably a hopeless proposition, so it's better to go after Darien and Diamond.  
3. Going after Darien will cause Diamond and Alex to come up to his lane to help out - if you have to sacrifice your top laner, so be it; at least get Alex's tower, thus hurting Alex's farm.
4. Genja is always protected by Edward, so may as well try to blow up Edward and then disengage before Genja hurts you
5. Speaking of Edward, SK knew about his Thresh flash/lantern engage with Diamond and easily dodged it.
6. If you ARE going to go after Alex, get him alone, and just blow all your ults on him.  Equalizer, Cataclysm, Frost Arrow, Destiny; it's probably necessary, and without Alex, there's likely not going to be a big team fight soon anyway.

Standings
GG 18-5
Fnatic 18-5
SK 14-9
EG 12-11
CW 9-14
aAa 8-15
Giants 8-15
DB 5-18

LCS NA W9

Week 9 in North America, we may actually one day catch up to live at this rate.

Curse vs Team MRN
[Crs bans: Shen, Vayne, Twisted Fate][MRN bans: Kayle, Thresh, Diana]
Crs: Renekton, Volibear, Karthus, Miss Fortune, Sona
MRN: Malphite, Jarvan, Lux, Caitlyn, Lulu
Crs rolllllll

Team Dignitas vs Counter Logic Gaming
[d bans: Udyr, Lux, Twisted Fate][CLG bans: Gragas, Diana, Shen]
d: Kayle, Elise, Zed, Caitlyn, Thresh
CLG: Cho'Gath, Jarvan, Nidalee, Vayne, Sona
Low kill, 25 minute game?  Games like these seem very strange, like dig wasn't really into it, you know?  As if, "hey, the base is going down."  "Enh, whatever."

Team Complexity vs Curse
[coL bans: Ryze, Miss Fortune, Jarvan][Crs bans: Shen, Zed, Twisted Fate]
coL: Jayce, Alistar, Janna, Varus, Kayle
Crs: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Morgana, Twitch, Thresh
Aw, coL, you kinda had this game won.  Maybe you just don't have that late game, close-out experience.

Good Game University vs Team MRN
[GGU bans: Malphite, Jarvan, Shen][MRN bans: Jayce, Ryze, Twisted Fate]
GGU: Kha'Zix, Nasus, Lux, Twitch, Thresh
MRN: Riven, Nocturne, Karthus, Caitlyn, Lulu
Another game that makes a good case for Twitch.

Good Game University vs Team Dignitas
[GGU bans: Diana, Gragas, Shen][d bans: Twisted Fate, Jayce, Kha'Zix]
GGU: Vlad, Nasus, Karthus, Caitlyn, Thresh
d: Fizz, Hecarim, Zed, Varus, Janna
Very nice game, gold is very even, many 5v5s that go either way.

Counter Logic Gaming vs Team MRN
[CLG bans: Renekton, Malphite, Twisted Fate][MRN bans: Cho'Gath, Nidalee, Shen]
CLG: Nasus, Maokai, Lux, Twitch, Thresh
MRN: Riven, Jarvan, Ahri, Vayne, Sona
Jatt saw the MRN bans and was like, 'what year is this'?  But whew, MRN, making the game boring to watch if there's no Cho or Nid.

Good Game University vs Team Complexity
[GGU bans: Amumu, Zed, Shen][coL bans: Kha'Zix, Thresh, Nasus]
GGU: Jayce, Elise, Karthus, Caitlyn, LeBlanc
coL: Victor, Malphite, Kennen, Twitch, Sona
Support LeBlanc?  GGU's new support is unorthodox, to say the least.  It works, though - I guess DontMashMe doesn't need babysitting, he wants a support that will dive and kill other supports?  Also, coL's champs don't seem to have much synergy?

Curse vs Team SoloMid
[Crs bans: Shen, Karthus, Lulu][TSM bans: Volibear, Jarvan, Brand]
Crs: Akali, Nautilus, Kha'Zix, Varus, Thresh
TSM: Renekton, Nasus, Diana, Miss Fortune, Sona
There's a hilarious standoff at level 2 at the blue buff, when TSM simply will not give up on the jungle invade.  Nobody dies, but it's 4v4 just all standing there trading pot shots for quite some time.  It gives you a good idea that in this matchup, no quarter will be given.

Standings
Crs 18-5
Dig 16-7
TSM 16-7
CLG 11-12
GGU 9-14
MRN 8-15
VC 8-15
coL 6-17

LCS EU W8

Week 8 in the EU.  By and large a bland week, all the games were won by the team higher in the standings; no upsets.  Most of the games were won by steady rollface, too.

SK Gaming vs Fnatic Gaming
[SK bans: Varus, Nasus, Kassadin][Fnatic bans: Shen, Jarvan, Thresh]
SK: Olaf, Volibear, Diana, Twitch, Sona
Fnatic: Elise, Nocturne, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Lulu
Twisted Fate clinic by xPeke?  With games like these, you wonder why everyone doesn't always run Twisted Fate, with the gold advantage on top of the global presence, ganking potential, and stun.

Gambit Gaming vs Evil Geniuses
[GG bans: Anivia, Cassiopeia, Jarvan][EG bans: Zed, Elise, Thresh]
GG: Shen, Nasus, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Sona
EG: Malphite, Malzahar, Akali, Varus, Lulu
You hardly need to watch the game: afterwards, in the interview with Edward and Alex, they were asked what they thought when EG decided to jungle Malz.  Alex said: "We all laughed out loud".  And then they were given one line to promote themselves for the all-star voting, and Alex said: "I did pentakill. Vote for me."  That's about all you need to know, I guess.

Giants vs Copenhagen Wolves
[Giants bans: Zed, Varus, Kha'Zix][CW bans: Kennen, Elise, Kassadin]
Giants: Rumble, Hecarim, Diana, Miss Fortune, Zyra
CW: Shen, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Graves, Thresh
Whew, quick game, surrendered at 22 minutes, with 23 (!) kills from CW.  Another strong argument for Always Play TF strat.  And some extreme puns from both commentators.

Against All Authority vs Dragonborns
[aAa bans: Draven, Jarvan, Nasus][DB bans: Shen, Diana, Thresh]
aAa: Elise, Volibear, Lux, Miss Fortune, Janna
DB: Kha'Zix, Udyr, Kayle, Tristana, Zyra
Your games make me sad lately, DB.

SK Gaming vs Evil Geniuses
[SK bans: Anivia, Malphite, Zed][EG bans: Kassadin, Jarvan, Shen]
SK: Rumble, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Varus, Thresh
EG: Akali, Nasus, Lux, Miss Fortune, Lulu
I love to see Wickd on Akali, but this is another Always Play Twisted Fate strat.

Fnatic Gaming vs Gambit Gaming
[Fnatic bans: Shen, Renekton, Thresh][GG bans: Varus, Jarvan, Leona]
Fnatic: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Lulu
GG: Elise, Nasus, Fizz, Ezreal, Sona
Very odd game.  7 kills in the first five minutes?  Fish, bear, spider, dog?  Card player, music player, pirate hunter, forest fairy, cave explorer? These are by and far the top two teams, and they have either both gone completely mad, or this is their planned strategies, clashing into one another.

Dragonborns vs Copenhagen Wolves
[DB bans: Kha'Zix, Twisted Fate, Lux][CW bans: Draven, Jarvan, Zed]
DB: Jax, Nasus, Ahri, Graves, Thresh
CW: Shen, Xin Zhao, Kassadin, Varus, Zyra
Every individual on DB seems like a good player, but they have no plan?  Hire me as your coach/manager, DB!  I will give you a plan to follow.  The first part of this plan might involve not letting Bjergsen have Kassadin, too.

Against All Authority vs Giants
[aAa bans: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Kennen][Giants bans: Kayle, Jarvan, Elise]
aAa: Renekton, Nasus, Orianna, Tristana, Thresh
Giants: Shen, Dr. Mundo, Kassadin, Miss Fortune, Zyra
How on earth is aAa's new support player able to land all those Death Sentences?  Crazy.

Dragonborns vs Evil Geniuses
[DB bans: Lux, Malphite, Shen][EG bans: Jarvan, Draven, Elise]
DB: Lulu, Nunu, Kog'Maw, Nidalee, Janna
EG: Zed, Volibear, Anivia, Miss Fortune, Thresh
DB, you know I love your unorthodox champ choices, but I also want you to not get relegated.  Four supports and a Kog'Maw was like watching a train wreck.  You knew that EG knew the answer: split push and over-occupy Kog's lane.  Anywhere the Kog was not, it was dive-time to consume a delicious support player.  EG was totally unafraid of even the Kog, to say nothing of a Lulu vs Zed.  The commentators wondered the whole time what DB was thinking, and discussed amongst themselves after the game, too.

Fnatic Gaming vs Against All Authority
[Fnatic bans: Shen, Renekton, Lux][aAa bans: Kha'Zix, Twisted Fate, Katarina]
Fnatic: Rumble, Nasus, Ahri, Varus, Leona
aAa: Elise, Jarvan, Orianna, Ezreal, Lulu
More boring champion choices, but closer game.

Giants vs SK Gaming
[Giants bans: Kayle, Jarvan, Nasus][SK bans: Kennen, Elise, Miss Fortune]
Giants: Rumble, Volibear, Kassadin, Vayne, Alistar
SK: Zed, Shen, Fizz, Varus, Thresh
Fun and exciting level 1 brawl that SK comes out slightly on top.  The rest is as you'd expect.

Copenhagen Wolves vs Gambit Gaming
[CW bans: Elise, Shen, Thresh][GG bans: Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Kassadin]
CW: Singed, Xin Zhao, Zed, Varus, Zyra
GG: Renekton, Nasus, Kayle, Miss Fortune, Lulu
Dismantlement, is the word used most often by the commentators here.

Standings
Fnatic 17-4
GG 16-4
SK 13-9
EG 11-10
CW 9-14
aAa 9-13
Giants 6-14
DB 4-16

LCS NA W8

Week 8 in the NA, and you know it's crunch time, because roster swaps have started flying around.  A lot of the league is pleasantly modeled after other professional sports leagues, and let me tell you something from years of watching the NFL: benching has it's desired effect, long-term, perhaps 10% of the time.  Even if one player is truly better than another, you should have made that determination before the season started - changing now and having no time to develop synergy is a mostly losing proposition.  But, corollary to that knowledge, the spectator also has to know that the team HAS to do something, to at least feel like they tried everything to turn their season around. So that's the intricacies behind benching, food for your thought as you assess how the new players are doing this week.

Team Complexity vs Counter Logic Gaming
[coL bans: Vayne, Malphite, Lulu][CLG bans: Rumble, Zed, Caitlyn]
coL: Kha'Zix, Shen, Ziggs, Varus, Zyra
CLG: Udyr, Jarvan, Lux, Twitch, Thresh
Wow, big fight in the first minute.  Oddly, both teams stayed in and tried to fight it out - usually at least one of the teams will try to disengage the level 1 fight immediately.  Anyhow, coL gets the best of it and comes up 4-1 at 1:15, and then keeps killing HotShot top.  It's the kind of game any of us would surrender at 20 minutes, but CLG pretty much has no choice but to grind it out as best as they can.  And we should all watch this game to learn how it's done.  If you can't watch the whole thing (it's actually pretty long!) watch the part right around the 34 minute mark of the game (53:30 in the vid).

Good Game University vs Curse
[GGU bans: Jarvan, Renekton, Twisted Fate][Crs bans: Jayce, Akali, Kayle]
GGU: Kha'Zix, Nasus, Ryze, Caitlyn, Elise
Crs: Irelia, Volibear, Veigar, Miss Fortune, Thresh
Double-wow, another huge 5v5 at level 1?!  This one is even crazier, as both teams alternately engage, disengage, re-engage, try to pick each other off, and keep coming back for more death.  Is this a symptom of all the new players?  Well it's a little more even, 2-3, so it doesn't make the rest of the game crazy.  Clearly, that's left for the Veigar to do - have not seen a Veigar in pro play.... ever, I think.  I hate that little bugger.  Doesn't everyone?  He makes the teamfight even more insane - now there's spirit fire, rappel, rune prison, Veigar stun, and Thresh prison, completely obscuring vision, while MF ult blasts across everyone's face.  It's crazy to watch, and I can only assume that Crs gets the edge because their circles are the more dangerous of that mess, combined with MF ult.

Vulcun Command vs Team SoloMid
[VC bans: Draven, Malphite, Caitlyn][TSM bans: Nidalee, Diana, Lulu]
VC: Vladamir, Nasus, Karthus, Tristana, Sona
TSM: Shen, Xin Zhao, Xerath, Varus, Thresh
Interesting thought, pairing Vlad's ult with Karthus'.  And Vlad held his 2v1 lane very successfully.

Team MRN vs Team Complexity
[MRN bans: Zed, Amumu, Zyra][coL bans: Renekton, Twisted Fate, Shen]
MRN: Malphite, Evelynn, Kha'Zix, Vayne, Lulu
coL: Rumble, Cho'Gath, Jarvan, Caitlyn, Thresh
Whee, close games.  At one point, MRN overstay their welcome in coL's base and gets mostly wiped out, then coL immediately overstays their counter-base-attack, and gets ruined in return.  Fun times!  It's more entertaining for the spectators when you valiantly refuse to disengage.

Team SoloMid vs Curse
[TSM bans: Miss Fortune, Jarvan, Volibear][Crs bans: Diana, Twisted Fate, Nasus]
TSM: Shen, Nocturne, Karthus, Draven, Thresh
Crs: Renekton, Udyr, Ryze, Kog'Maw, Sona
TSM gets an early first blood, and rides that and their long-range ults to easy victory.  I've said it before, even the top-ranked team can be made to look bad by a random off game.

Vulcun Command vs Team Complexity
[VC bans: Amumu, Kha'Zix, Zed][coL bans: Nasus, Diana, Jarvan]
VC: Vlad, Hecarim, Karthus, Miss Fortune, Sona
coL: Darius, Shen, Annie, Varus, Kayle
Yeah, you read that right, that's an Annie on coL's new mid, pr0lly.  And a support Kayle.  The element of surprise gives them an early lead, and though they stay ahead of any comeback VC tries to make, the game has several interesting engages.

Team MRN vs Good Game University
[MRN bans: Jayce, Elise, Ryze][GGU bans: Malphite, Twisted Fate, Shen]
MRN: Renekton, Nasus, Diana, Miss Fortune, Lulu
GGU: Rumble, Nocturne, Karthus, Caitlyn, Thresh
Classic Karthus game, despite a very fine Renekton game.  All my dire warnings about benchings are going for naught - all the new players are doing fine.

Curse vs Vulcun Command
[Crs bans: Diana, Nidalee, Shen][VC bans: Renekton, Twisted Fate, Sona]
Crs: Katarina, Volibear, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Thresh
VC: Rumble, Nasus, Zed, Varus, Lulu
Pretty decisive, even within each engagement.

Standings
Crs 16-4
dig 16-5
TSM 15-7
CLG 10-11
MRN 7-13
VC 8-15
GGU 6-14
coL 6-15

LCS EU W7

Week 7 in the EU, piled into two somewhat low resolution vids.

Giants vs Gambit Gaming (00:44:00)
[Giants bans: Kayle, Thresh, Zed][GG bans: Kennen, Kassadin, Shen]
Giants: Rumble, Elise, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Zyra
GG: Renekton, Nasus, Diana, Ashe, Janna
Ashe-Janna is like throw-back uniforms.  I love it.  But, alas, GG loses, which is not what you'd expect, eh? This is the second time Giants has upset GG, this time from really far away on the leaderboard. 5-11 now, and two of those are against GG?!  Interesting...

Against All Authority vs Fnatic (02:36:00)
[aAa bans: Nasus, Leona, Thresh][Fnatic bans: Renekton, Shen, Sona]
aAa: Elise, Volibear, Zed, Ezreal, Alistar
Fnatic: Kha'Zix, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Varus, Lulu
It seems to have been a bad few weeks for aAa.  Even the Lulu was on a killing spree.

Copenhagen Wolves vs SK Gaming (03:45:00)
[CW bans: Volibear, Kayle, Kassadin][SK bans: Zed, Kha'Zix, Thresh]
CW: Shen, Jarvan, Orianna, Graves, Lulu
SK: Irelia, Nasus, Ahri, Varus, Sona
It's one of those classic questions: big choke, or impressive comeback?  Can't even tell you for sure how SK managed it, but you can watch that one for yourself.

Dragonborns vs Against All Authority (05:09:00)
[DB bans: Nasus, Volibear, Twisted Fate][aAa bans: Draven, Jarvan, Thresh]
DB: Elise, Xin Zhao, Lux, Varus, Lulu
aAa: Diana, Shen, Kayle, Ezreal, Sona
Why would DB ban those three champs, you ask?  Why, for early game cheese, of course!  They kill the Ez in the river at about 49 seconds.  Unfortunately they don't... press their advantage?  I like you DB, I'll be sad if you get relegated.

SK Gaming vs Gambit Gaming (00:59:30, second vid)
[SK bans: Thresh, Zed, Kha'Zix][GG bans: Nasus, Volibear, Kayle]
SK: Shen, Jarvan, Ahri, Graves, Sona
GG: Elise, Hecarim, Kassadin, Miss Fortune, Lulu
SK made it pretty respectable, but it never really felt like anything but a foregone conclusion.

Copenhagen Wolves vs Against All Authority (01:59:00)
[CW bans: Karthus, Sona, Elise][aAa bans: Jarvan, Thresh, Zed]
CW: Singed, Xin Zhao, Kha'Zix, Varus, Lulu
aAa: Diana, Volibear, Shen, Ezreal, Alistar
CW continues their upward trend, aAa continues their downward spiral.

Dragonborns vs Giants (03:01:00)
[DB bans: Kennen, Kassadin, Twisted Fate][Giants bans: Draven, Kayle, Thresh]
DB: Shen, Jarvan, Ahri, Ezreal, Sona
Giants: Rumble, Elise, Diana, Miss Fortune, Zyra
It does seem like DB is a team made of individually awesome dudes, but they don't stay together in team fights and focus down single targets / tightly defend carries. Just one thought, in continued hope they don't get relegated.

Gambit Gaming vs Copenhagen Wolves
[GG bans: Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Singed][CW: Miss Fortune, Kassadin, Thresh]
GG: Elise, Hecarim, Twisted Fate, Kog'Maw, Lulu
CW: Shen, Xin Zhao, Zed, Varus, Zyra
Good try, CW, but GG's a machine.  Even though you were up on kills and close in towers, they still had a load more money, in that robotically meticulous kind of way that they have.

Standings
Fnatic 15-3
GG 13-4
SK 11-8
EG 10-8
Giants 6-11
CW 7-13
aAa 6-12
DB 4-13

LCS NA W7

Week 7 in the NA.  Idea of the week: Riot should include a practice mode - you know, in Street Fighter and other fight games, when you want to perfect your craft, you test out your combos in an isolated practice chamber, where the damage you do is reported meticulously?  I think a lot of teams would like to specifically practice a 'come from behind' situation, or a 'late game 5v5' practice, without playing 40 minute games of 10 friends to set up such a situation?

Team Solomid vs Counter Logic Gaming
[TSM bans: Vayne, Evelynn, Taric][CLG bans: Rumble, Thresh, Malphite]
TSM: Shen, Xin Zhao, Diana, Draven, Lulu
CLG: Nasus, Nunu, Lux, Caitlyn, Janna
CLG has looked bad the last few weeks, and TSM has looked really good with WildTurtle.  I typically support 'protect the super carry,' but the commentators seem to have a point - one mistake mid to late game, and it's over.

Curse vs Team Dignitas
[Crs bans: Rumble, Diana, Elise][d bans: Miss Fortune, Ryze, Lux]
Crs: Gragas, Volibear, Karthus, Varus, Sona
d: Renekton, Nasus, Kayle, Caitlyn, Lulu
Big-time matchup between powerhouses in the NA, but as always, one team just gets an edge and makes the other one look bad - at least, not as good as they are. Still a number of good engagements, though.

Good Game University vs Vulcun Command
GGU: Jayce, Nasus, Ryze, Caitlyn, Lulu
VC: Elise, Volibear, Diana, Kog'Maw, Thresh
They must have had a restart and then restarted the vod, so we didn't get to see bans.  It was a nice close game until late, the best kind, really.

Team Complexity vs Team MRN
[coL bans: Twisted Fate, Renekton, Irelia][MRN bans: Zed, Kayle, Kha'Zix]
coL: Rumble, Amumu, Diana, Caitlyn, Sona
MRN: Udyr, Nasus, Anivia, Varus, Thresh
Odd fights, near the end.  It didn't seem like coL was that much ahead, but they would win the fights in a really definitive way - as if MRN didn't have appropriate damage to go toe to toe with them.

Team SoloMid vs Team Dignitas
[TSM bans: Elise, Kayle, Lulu][d bans: Draven, Caitlyn, Shen]
TSM: Rumble, Volibear, Diana, Varus, Sona
d: Renekton, Nasus, Gragas, Ezreal, Thresh
Many large creatures involved on both teams?  Also, they should make a 'fisherman' Thresh skin, because of the way he throws the hook and reels in his targets.  Somehow, dignitas is up in kills, but TSM is up in gold? They must be ignoring kills in favor of objectives and towers.  They go back and forth with who seems to be in the winning position, which makes for a good game, if not high in kills.

Counter Logic Gaming vs Curse
[CLG bans: Gragas, Volibear, Twisted Fate][Crs bans: Vayne, Xerath, Urgot]
CLG: Cho'Gath, Jarvan, Lux, Twitch, Lulu
Crs: Elise, Xin Zhao, Orianna, Varus, Sona
CLG has been doing so bad lately, but right before the game started, in the interview with Crs, someone said that CLG has been playing well in scrims, but comes out to gameday and 'chokes'.  In the athletic sport world, we call that 'bulletin board material', and it only serves to poke the sleeping bear.  Even though you're at the top of the league right now, Crs, you don't want to poke bears.  After the game, we get more flashbacks to the early days of media focus on sports, when HotshotGG talks about how the community is influencing him.  When you grow up heading to pro sports these days, you learn fast to ignore the community.  I mean, Dwight Howard has to keep on living his life, HotShot.  Sorry there's hecklers and expectations and disappointment.  Even the Kardashians have to learn to ignore it.  You're doing just fine, I'm sure. Also, at about 56:46, they admit to KDA-hoarding, purposefully killing Cop to decrease his league-leading KDA.  Hahahaa.

Team MRN vs Vulcun Command
[MRN bans: Nidalee, Diana, Elise][VC bans: Akali, Renekton, Twisted Fate]
MRN: Rumble, Nasus, Lux, Varus, Janna
VC: Singed, Volibear, Kha'Zix, Caitlyn, Lulu
A weekend that proves that even high ELO teams can be made to look like noobs by equally high ELO teams.  MRN got rocked by coL earlier, and they rock VC in turn.

Team Complexity vs Good Game University
[coL bans: Orianna, Nasus, Akali][GGU bans: Amumu, Zed, Thresh]
coL: Rumble, Shen, Kha'Zix, Caitlyn, Sona
GGU: Jayce, Elise, Twisted Fate, Tristana, Lulu
Close game - even kills and less than 500 gold difference at 44 minutes!! Of course, that means that at 44 minutes and 37 seconds, the whole game is decided in one five-second fight.

Team MRN vs Team Dignitas
[MRN bans: Diana, Gragas, Kayle][d bans: Twisted Fate, Irelia, Renekton]
MRN: Rumble, Trundle, Jayce, Caitlyn, Janna
d: Shen, Nasus, Zed, Varus, Elise
dignitas runs a somewhat strange strategy near the end of double pushing both side lanes at once.  It's kind of interesting.

Counter Logic Gaming vs Team Complexity
[CLG bans: Rumble, Shen, Caitlyn][coL bans: Vayne, Evelynn, Twisted Fate]
CLG: Malphite, Jarvan, Lux, Twitch, Lulu
coL: Zed, Amumu, Kayle, Ezreal, Elise
I miss Nidalee.

Good Game University vs Team SoloMid
[GGU bans: Malphite, Thresh, Shen][TSM bans: Elise, Akali, Jayce]
GGU: Kha'Zix, Trundle, Twisted Fate, Kog'Maw, Sona
TSM: Renekton, Nasus, Zed, Caitlyn, Lulu
Smush.

Vulcun Command vs Curse
[VC bans: Gragas, Janna, Twisted Fate][Crs bans: Nidalee, Diana, Rumble]
VC: Kennen, Jarvan, Quinn, Miss Fortune, Sona
Crs: Renekton, Nasus, Ryze, Kog'Maw, Lulu
Well, there's your chance to see Quinn in action at a high level. It's a losing effort, though.

Standings
Crs 14-3
dig 16-5
TSM 14-6
CLG 10-10
VC 7-13
MRN 6-12
GGU 5-13
coL 4-14

LCS EU W6

Week 6 in the EU, happening in Lille, France, apparently.

SK Gaming vs Giants
[SK bans: Kennen, Elise, Kassadin][Giants bans: Kayle, Jarvan, Shen]
SK: Zed, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Lulu
Giants: Kha'Zix, Nasus, Ryze, Trist, Zyra
Solid win from SK.  Nothing really exciting

Against All Authority vs Evil Geniuses
[aAa bans: Lux, Anivia, Zed][EG bans: Sona, Elise, Jarvan]
aAa: Nasus, Shen, Kayle, Varus, Taric
EG: Renekton, Cho'Gath, Cassiopeia, Miss Fortune, Thresh
Low kill game, controlled all the way through by EG

Gambit Gaming vs Fnatic Gaming
[GG bans: Leona, Nunu, Elise][Fnatic bans: Shen, Renekton, Thresh]
GG: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Kayle, Kog'Maw, Lulu
Fnatic: Jayce, Nasus, Twisted Fate, Varus, Blitzcrank
Fnatic plays a beauty of a game, and after the loss, we start to get a better picture of the underlying relationships.  GG are apparently not here to play.  I guess, in Soviet Russia, game play you?  Racist memes aside, GG is apparently did not get a gaming house in Germany, preferring to fly in every weekend to smoke fools and then fly home, and they do not socialize or make nice with other teams.  They are only here to dominate and take their money, thanks.  Losing is apparently excruciatingly unacceptable, and you can see it on their faces afterwards - even though they played a solid game and only lost because Fnatic played a flawless one, they are royally pissed. It's interesting and worth keeping an eye on. After all, it is a game, GG. Chillax.

Copenhagen Wolves vs Dragonborns
[CW bans: Draven, Zed, Xin Zhao][DB bans: Renekton, Caitlyn, Lux]
CW: Singed, Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Graves, Thresh
DB: Rumble, Volibear, Kayle, Varus, Taric
This game is inside the vid for the following game, but it cuts off partway through, so don't bother starting it up.

Gambit Gaming vs SK Gaming
[GG bans: Jarvan, Kayle, Volibear][SK bans: Renekton, Shen, Darius]
GG: Elise, Nasus, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Thresh
SK: Jax, Vi, Twisted Fate, Graves, Lulu
GG takes it's towering ire out on SK, and AlexIch shows Darian how Kha'Zix is really played.  With brutality.

Evil Geniuses vs Giants
[EG bans: Elise, Kassadin, Jarvan][Giants bans: Lux, did not ban 2nd or 3rd]
EG: Zed, Nassus, Anivia, Miss Fortune, Thresh
Giants: Kha'Zix, Mundo, Twisted Fate, Ashe, Lulu
Giants was apparently late to the stage, and their punishment was the loss of two bans.  So guess who gets Zed and Anivia and then rolls face starting from minute one?  I guess their real punishment was to sit through an entire game, even though they basically lost it in a level 1 team fight very early.

Against All Authority vs Copenhagen Wolves
[aAa bans: Lux, Singed, Twisted Fate][CW bans: Elise, Sona, Karthus]
aAa: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Rumble, Vayne, Thresh
CW: Renekton, Jarvan, Zed, Varus, Lulu
What's going on, aAa?  Don't you have home field advantage in France?

Dragonborns vs Fnatic
[DB bans: Leona, Kassadin, Elise][Fnatic bans: Draven, Lux, Jarvan]
DB: Renekton, Xin Zhao, Gragas, Ezreal, Janna
Fnatic: Shen, Nasus, Zed, Varus, Nunu
DB has two substitutes this week?  I didn't hear why, but they weren't the most cohesive team before this, either.

Against All Authority vs SK Gaming
[aAa bans: Jarvan, Nassus, Kha'Zix][SK bans: Sona, Elise, Thresh]
aAa: Kennen, Udyr, Zed, Caitlyn, Lulu
SK: Shen, Volibear, Kayle, Graves, Taric
Seriously, aAa?  Is it because you've been banned from using Sona lately?  Is your whole comp dependent on Crescendo?  Is Karalius prone to getting caught in the jungle if he's not Sona?  Despite the magical matchup of  every lane (ninja v ninja, bear v bear, mask v mask, guns v guns, and purple v purple) I can't recommend this game, too much of a roll.

Copenhagen Wolves vs Evil Geniuses
[CW bans: Anivia, Elise, Thresh][EG bans: Singed, Kha'Zix, Kassadin]
CW: Shen, Xin Zhao, Zed, Varus, Lulu
EG: Renekton, Jarvan, Lux, Graves, Alistar
This game was magnificently even all the way to the end, and basically was a wacky nailbiter that felt like it was in sudden death for nearly half an hour. A good one to watch.

Fnatic vs Giants
[Fnatic bans: Ryze, Elise, Kassadin][Giants bans: Blitzcrank, Shen, Twisted Fate]
Fnatic: Zed, Nasus, Katarina, Varus, Nunu
Giants bans: Kha'Zix, Jarvan, Zyra, Kennen, Sona
xPeke makes a strong case for the following: 1) split pushing is the true path to victory, 2) Katarina is, in fact, a split pusher, and 3) xPeke for president.

Dragonborns vs Gambit Gaming
[DB bans: Shen, Renekton, Kayle][GG bans: Draven, Jarvan, Gragas]
DB: Zed, Xin Zhao, Lux, Sivir, Lulu
GG: Elise, Nasus, Evelynn, Miss Fortune, Thresh
DB gets a cheese first blood very early, and it seems to make GG mad...

Standings
Fnatic 14-3
GG 11-3
SK 10-7
EG 10-8
CW 6-11
aAa 5-10
DB 4-11
Giants 4-11