Ovedius

So again, out of curiosity, would the example I've linked below be the level of depth you're looking for? I don't expect you to listen to the whole thing but find a random timestamp and give it a listen. I'd genuinely love to know if you're looking for more depth than the below example, so please don't interpret this as me being condescending or rude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdmRjEWAl5g

Hi there, out of curiosity, what do you define as a real analyst? What exactly is missing from current casting that you wish you had back?

Naturally I take some offense to this when my job is to be an analyst and I was trained by the guy many people love. So I'd really like to know where I'm going wrong.

Out of genuine curiosity, what do you define as a top tier analyst? What is it in your eyes that differentiates them for other analysts?

You don't understand how happy this comment made us.

Jebaited

How dare you. You don't have that power!

Thank you, I appreciate it!

Hi there! LEC caster here and also a big fan of the LCK casters! While I am often open to criticism and feedback, I feel like you base your opinion on old information that hasn't been the case for quite some time! I'll try to answer each point individually and I'll use examples where I can.

1. Give fans analysis they wouldn't know on their own - This is, unfortunately, an extremely subjective subject matter. The vast majority of viewers are Silver players. What they do and do not know varies pretty wildly. This means we do our best to cater as much as possible while also adding extra depth where appropriate. I feel like you exaggerate how much things like "CSD" and "Gold lead" is used in a single cast. It's consistently discussed in every cast, but that's because it's a good tool to check the state of the game. Every caster on the planet uses this. Other analysis also includes matchup discussions, potential item paths, use of rune choices, win conditions, ...

Big Brain Shaka reading Big Brain plays. What's not to love.

That was definitely a game.

Wow I'm such a great dancer holy moly

This is fair, I agree with this :)

They were above them for most of the regular season last split, so objectively speaking that's not true. I'll agree that there's a lot of evidence to suggest that in a bo5, Vitality would lose to these teams, but we're not talking about bo5, we're talking about beginning of the split bo1, so I'm pretty confident in Vitality.

Not sure I'm bought into the linear win conditions argument when Fnatic drafted teamfight comps literally every game. They'd have a pushing bot, they'd save counter pick for top to try and get Bwipo a winning matchup and then they would play to teamfight. They had one style that got heavily exposed by Origen and is largely why they lost so hard at Rotterdam.

I think based on last split Vitality have a lot of flaws, but during the regular season the team was actually very good, sitting in the top spots for multiple weeks before crashing and burning towards the end and getting washed in playoffs. I think the meta will really suit them coming into the split, we've seen creativity be rewarded and a team that can play hard and fast around their solo laners will find success early in the split, which is something I believe Vitality will be good at.

Yeah I think it's possible, just predictable. I think we saw at MSI multiple ways that you can deal with a bot lane focused team. Good vision control and pressure in mid mean it's easier to control the bot side of the map than just having a strong duo bot lane.

All of your points are great ones and good reasons for why FNC and SPY could be above VIT coming into the split. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, that's just not my current expectation. I will say though that I think it's important to remember that Vitality sat at the top of the EU standings for like 7 weeks of the split. As you mentioned, consistency was their biggest issue and they explained that a lot of that was due to their internal health issues. Maybe I'm giving them too much benefit of the doubt, maybe I'm not. We'll find out I guess!

On paper, they could go really far, but honestly I don't know. I think Hans Sama has the most potential on the roster but it's difficult for me to believe in this team right now

I agree! Larssen and Inspired have a lot of potential, but they're a very new roster coming into an experienced league so we'll see how much growth they can make in their first split. The players I'm expecting a lot from though, I think Larssen could fight for top mid spots by the end of the split.

So I'll get in here early and use this as an opportunity for anyone to ask me questions about the list. I will comment on the two things most people are probably curious about.

1. Is Misfits 10? And why are they D tier? - No, they're not 10, but I did put them low down. The list isn't ordered from 1-10, they just happened to get placed like that. I put them in D Tier because I believe they have 5 players that struggle to agree on how to play the game. We saw them attempt multiple styles during spring and the only one that worked was getting bot lane ahead and snowballing, and even that wasn't reliable. While they've made internal changes, I can't assume that they've all suddenly found alignment and agreement on how to succeed as a team in what has only been 2 months with no consistent scrim practice. I also don't think the current meta suits them, which leads me to the next question.

2. Why is VIT above FNC and SPY? - Based on what we saw at MSI, playing ...

Holy Fiddlesticks Poggers. EU is too insane.