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If you had to bet your life savings on a team to be undefeated atop the standings after two weeks of LCS action, you probably wouldn’t have gone all-in on OpTic Gaming. But heading into week three, OpTic, a team that finished ninth in their inaugural split and placed seventh in the two splits since then, are 4-0 after beating Clutch Gaming, 100 Thieves, FlyQuest, and CLG.
OpTic have shown remarkable resilience in the middle of their organization being bought out by Immortals Gaming Club. And with their organization on a timer before Immortals returns next year, OpTic have had a worthy beginning to their farewell season. Four wins and sole possession of first place is no mean feat and it’s even more special when you look at the teams they’re ruling over in the standings. For a team that’s never even made the playoffs, this is massive for OpTic—and now, all they have to do is continue this run.
Their strong macro play has led to a focus on objectives, with OpTic placing emphasis on Rift Herald and drakes, taking the former three times out of their four games and often moving their team to grab dragons when they’re available. Although OpTic have only taken down the first turret once, they’ve been able to use the Herald to create advantages and run their opponents around the map. With these small advantages, they take inch after inch until a teamfight appears where they overrun their opponents and take the game.
Mid laner and 2017 world champion Lee “Crown” Min-ho has been a major contributor to OpTic’s blistering start. He’s been reliable game after game, with a KDA of 11 so far this split and stellar performances on Sylas and Vladimir.
A special mention, however, needs to go to his Twisted Fate. He’s played the Card Master twice and commanded incredible presence on the champion, aiding his team’s rotations and always being able to get to a play. His synergy with jungler William “Meteos” Hartman has been a joy to watch as the veteran jungler is more than happy to make sure his star mid laner can crush his lane. Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer and Nicolaj Jensen are a cut above the mid laners Crown has faced already, and his team will be relying on him to try to minimize their impact on the game.
While the wins have been falling OpTic’s way, they’ve settled into a little bit of a rut. Their draft follows the same formula for the most part: Give Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon a scaling ADC, Terry “Big” Chuong a hard engage champion, and make sure Niship “Dhokla” Doshi and Meteos are on tanks while Crown can carry from the mid lane. In three of OpTic’s four games, Arrow has played Xayah (the other game was Sivir), Big was on Nautilus, and Dhokla used Poppy. All it could take to bring down OpTic is make sure they don’t get to use these comfort champions.
But this may be a masterstroke from coach Thomas “Zaboutine” Si-Hassen since OpTic haven’t been forced to show anything new two weeks into the split. By this time, teams have been forced to adapt and start showing off their entire repertoires to pick up wins. But OpTic found a playstyle that works for them and should have plenty of backup in their arsenal that they can unleash when an opponent forces them off their traditional gameplan.
That’s the most surprising thing about OpTic’s run—none of their opponents have wavered from taking away power picks. As a result, OpTic swoop in and give themselves the champs they want. OpTic found a strategy that doesn’t rely on champions like Aatrox and Irelia, who are dominating the meta, and they’re finding success because they aren’t limited to them.
This weekend will be a true test for OpTic, however. Even though they’re undefeated, they haven’t taken on any of the “big three” LCS teams yet. Matches against Cloud9 today and Team Liquid tomorrow will be a trial by fire to determine whether OpTic are here to stay or simply be a flash-in-the-pan team that found their run of success right at the beginning.
These teams have the skill level to beat OpTic at their own game. Even if they get their comfort champions, the individual strength of their opponents will be a tier above the teams they’ve already faced and will pose significant threats to OpTic’s undefeated streak.
Win or lose this weekend, OpTic have already shown that they can play the game. And in two days, we may even see a new contender for the LCS title.
