Immortals came flying into the second week of the 2016 NA LCS spring split with a perfect 2-0 record after breezing through victories against Cloud9 and Team Impulse. Despite setting NA LCS records for the fastest game ever, Immortals still faced doubts. They had defeated Cloud9 (without Hai) and TIP, a team that may just be one of the worst LCS teams in the world in its current state.
This week Immortals were set to face off against tougher competition. On Saturday they would take on North America’s favorite franchise, TSM, and NRG eSports, one of the strongest rookie LCS teams, the day after. Despite what the standings showed, Immortals would be tested by taking on two of the best teams in the NA LCS.
The Real Test: Tougher Competition
They did not disappoint. The game against TSM went exactly how you would imagine a game with so many mechanically skilled players would go just two weeks into an LCS season. It was a bloodbath, at least by LCS standards. Bjergsen was solid, and Hauntzer played a really great Poppy, even solo killing Huni at one point, but the team fighting by Immortals was too strong for the newly formed TSM. Pobelter’s Lissandra would set up perfect engages over and over while the rest of Immortals charged forward.
Sunday’s game had Immortals up against NRG eSports; a team that was also running hot after wins over Team Dignitas and Renegades, both considered to be middle-tier teams at best. NRG found themselves in a similar situation as Immortals entering week two. They look good, but how good are they?
Loading into the game the casters would remark on how the pick and ban phase had crafted the game into a classic engage versus poke war. NRG would try to deal damage from afar and siege turrets with their superior range. Immortals would have to find a way to get on top of the NRG champions and fight them up close and personal where they are weak.
Thanks to many successful flash engagements by Huni’s Lissandra, IMT were able to flank the NRG team and root them in place long enough for Pobelter’s Zed and WildTurtle’s Lucian to clean up. The game was mostly one sided in favor of IMT with exception to a single overstay where NRG was able to pickup a couple of kills, and the handful of times Huni was caught out, which we have to come expect from the highly talented top laner.
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Upcoming Challenges for Immortals: Consistency
Immortals are clearly the hottest team in the NA LCS right now. They appear to gel with an extraordinary amount of chemistry that other teams would kill for right about now. The team’s upcoming schedule is a cake walk. Their next 4 matches will be against Renegades, Echo Fox, Counter Logic Gaming, and Team Liquid. Based on the results we’ve seen up until this point, it would take a massive regression to drop a game against any of these teams.
Immortals will still complete match preparation and study their opponents, as they should. Still, the next two weeks present an opportunity for the team to spend some time focusing on themselves and correcting some of the mistakes they have been making. Perhaps they try to add a few more unique champions to their playing pool and draw up new strategies to keep their opposing teams guessing.
If you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards. Immortals should continue to focus on improving 1% at a time. Many teams are playing much worse now then they will be 3-4 weeks from now once they have developed chemistry of their own. Immortals are off to a good start but its extremely important for them to not become complacent.
Games Worth Watching
Nobody can predict how long this team will remain immortal. You can predict that their games will be electric. Immortals seem to love creating havoc and inducing team fights, much like a UFC fighter who swings for the fences instead of trying to earn a judges decision. Immortals come to play, and that makes their electrifying games worth watching.
Tune into the NA LCS Week 3 on January 30th 2016 when Immortals take on Renegades.
