Week 3 of the NALCS is almost upon us. Lets take a look at the most important narratives coming up this weekend.

(Image Credit: Gabriel.gagne)

Counter Logic Gaming VS Echo Fox

Before the start of the split, the consensus was that Counter Logic Gaming would continue to be a top 4 contender in the NA LCS. Losing veteran support player Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black caused doubts within the community due to his highly regarded shotcalling. However, the acquisition of jungler Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin and ex-TSM support Vincent “Biofrost” Wang brought renewed hope to the organization and fans. After a lackluster Week 1 and 2 performance, CLG ended with a 1-3 record. One criticism for their weak showing was Reignover, especially in the mid to late game where he was constantly caught out alone after aggressive play.

Echo Fox was a wild card team that heavily depended on the success of its Top Laner Heo “Huni” Seung-Hoon and jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett. With questions about the volatility of their roster, many believed this team would be a powerhouse, so long as off stage team issues were not a problem. The only team undefeated at the end of Week 2, Echo Fox looks promising. Star performances from the ex-SKT toplaner and strong mechanical plays from Dardoch cements Echo Fox as the strongest team in the league as of this moment

Many fans will remember that Huni and Reignover were an amazing duo in their Fnatic and Immortals days. After the duo split, Huni’s career skyrocketed with SKT while Reignover had a disappointing stint with Team Liquid. With the community hoping Reignover will be back to form soon, this match against his former friend and teammate will be very important, as a win for CLG will help towards breaking out from the middle of an already over saturated pack.

Team SoloMid VS 100 Thieves

Nobody would think by the end of Week 2 that Team SoloMid would be a bottom of the barrel team, having a meager 1-3 record.

TSM as a whole looked disorganized, continually relying on the “win lane win game” mentality and choosing late game scaling comps with very little early aggression for all but one of the games they played. Emphasis on communication was the reasoning on why the organization brought in AD carry Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and support Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez. Widely considered the best botlane in the west, Zven and mithy were meant to create a big splash during their debut week of the NALCS. Unfortunately, they only had a moderate performance.

100 Thieves on the other hand have had great success. With veterans in every role, this team performs as if they have been playing together for a while. Having fantastic shotcaller Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black on 100T has allowed for clean macro play in their mid and late game periods.

Aphromoo Baron Shotcall

One of the possible weaknesses of this roster was the AD carry Cody “Cody Sun” Sun. Having the least experience on the team, many analysts wondered if Cody Sun could continue having the same performances he had on Immortals without support Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung. Dubbed “the suite life of Zaq and Cody”, 100T’s botlane have been firing on all cylinders.

This weekend will be the test for Zven and mithy, with them already losing to Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng and Olleh, they need to show that they can handle, what is statistically, the second best botlane in the NALCS.

Have another match you are looking forward too? Let me know down below what you think is the best upcoming NALCS week 3 storyline!

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