Weekly Vainglory 8 Discussion | November 4-5, 2017
Hello, and welcome to the twenty-first week of Vainglory 8 posts. Just to remind you, these eSport and Vainglory 8 discussion posts will be put up every Friday, replacing the weekly discussion, and will be taken down on Monday for the next weekly discussion. These posts will be an opportunity to catch up on last week’s results before the upcoming matches over the weekend as well as hopefully discuss the Vainglory 8 as it happens, updating you with the results as quickly as the moderator team can! As of now, the posts will only cover Europe and North America.
You can find relevant media concerning these matches below!
Of course, this will contain spoilers for the last week of Vainglory 8 matches, which you can find on YouTube here.
#Relevant Media
Final rosters for the autumn season of Vainglory 8, found here, note that Immortals was not listed directly due to a typo, but that their team is still there
Rundown of last weekend’s matches by Endless55, found here
#Europe
#Calamity Reborn vs. Saltypotatoes: Saltypotatoes Won
Saltypotatoes have been a consistently solid team this season in Europe whereas Calamity Reborn is somewhat of a calamity onto themselves, as they are utterly unable to find success. It is no surprise to anyone, then, that Saltypotatoes took the series 2-0.
#Mousesports vs. Team Qlash: Mousesports Won
Tied for Calamity Reborn in poor performances, Team Qlash has looked pretty bad all season. Last weekend, however, showed a stunning display of skill on the part of a revamped mousesports as they dominated their competition. Given that, Team Qlash looked like they didn’t stand a chance, and they ended up losing out 2-1.
#Dynasty vs. Fnatic: Fnatic Won
A matchup that can be somewhat volatile, as Fnatic have been an up and down team depending on the weekend this season, Dynasty and Fnatic may have given a slight edge to Dynasty for somewhat more consistent performances, but in terms of points the two teams were tied. What followed, however, was a show-up performance from Fnatic, closing out the series for them 2-0.
#G2 eSports vs. SK Gaming: G2 eSports Won
After being unseated last weekend as the undisputed top dogs of Europe, SK Gaming were coming in looking to rebound. However, G2 eSports are stiff competition, consistently being a second place team this season, so the matchup was likely to be tough for SK Gaming. What no one could have predicted, however, were the consistent comebacks G2 eSports made in their matches, leading to them securing the win 2-0 over their reeling opponents.
#Semifinal: Mousesports vs. Saltypotatoes: Saltypotatoes Won
That mousesports dropped a game against Team Qlash was a little concerning, but the team had otherwise demonstrated the weekend before that they were capable of taking the European Vainglory 8 by storm. Saltypotatoes, while consistently good, have not had a totally standout weekend, and the series was tilted in favor of mousesports because of that. Despite expectations, Saltypotatoes showed up to win, aggressively taking leads in the early game and closing out two clean matches in a row, taking the series 2-0.
#Semifinal: Fnatic vs. G2 eSports: G2 eSports Won
Although they won cleanly against Dynasty, it would be foolish to compare Dynasty to G2 eSports, especially given that they were able to 2-0 SK Gaming just the day before and that this series had been seen just the week before. The matchup was assuredly in favor of G2 eSports, and that showed as the second place team secured their place in the finals with a 2-0 win.
#Third Place Series: Mousesports vs. Fnatic: Mousesports Won
After how weak Fnatic looked against G2 eSports, it seemed doubtful that they could pull off a victory against the recently hugely successful roster of mousesports, even given their disappointing performance against Saltypotatoes. Mousesports would eventually take the series 2-0, finally placing Fnatic and Dynasty firmly below them in points.
#Finals: Saltypotatoes vs. G2 eSports: G2 eSports Won
A surprising matchup with neither SK Gaming or the hot new mousesports, Saltypotatoes and G2 eSports have faced off before, with their most recent series actually being a surprising 2-0 sweep in favor of Saltypotatoes. Nonetheless, G2 eSports looked to be in top form last weekend, unlike in that series, and Saltypotatoes, despite showing their stuff, did not seem likely to take the series. They did keep it close, however, taking game one from G2 eSports in commanding fashion before losing out the next two, ceding the victory and weekend to G2 eSports.
#Seasonal Standings
| Teams | Points |
|---|---|
| SK Gaming | 30 |
| G2 eSports | 26 |
| Saltypotatoes | 16 |
| Mousesports | 15 |
| Fnatic | 14 |
| Dynasty | 12 |
| Calamity Reborn | 2 |
| Team Qlash | 2 |
#Regional Hero Statistics
Grace
Picked: 28.6% of all streamed matches
Banned: 28.6% of all streamed matches
Winrate: 50%
Notes: seeing fair use, although not nearly the ubiquitous pick Grace had been in the past, this paladin seems to have relatively consistent performances
Ardan
Picked: 42.9% of all streamed matches
Banned: 7.1% of all streamed matches
Winrate: 50%
Notes: a consistent and flexible pick seen in a good amount of matches last weekend, Ardan seems a staple in the European meta
#This Weekend
#Day 1
#SK Gaming vs. Fnatic
Match 1: SK Gaming Won
Match 2: SK Gaming Won
Notes: SK Gaming 2, Fnatic 0
#Calamity Reborn vs. Team Qlash
Match 1: Team Qlash Won
Match 2: Team Qlash Won
Notes: Team Qlash 2, Calamity Reborn 0
#Dynasty vs. Spacestation
Match 1: Spacestation Won
Match 2: Spacestation Won
Notes: Spacestation 2, Dynasty 0
#Mousesports vs. G2 eSports
Match 1: G2 eSports Won
Match 2: G2 eSports Won
Notes:G2 eSports 2, Mousesports 0
#Day 2
#Semifinal: G2 eSports vs. Spacestation
Match 1: G2 eSports Won
Match 2: G2 eSports Won
Notes: G2 eSports 2, Spacestation 0
#Semifinal: SK Gaming vs. Team Qlash
Match 1:
Match 2:
Match 3:
Notes: SK Gaming 2, Team Qlash 1
#Third Place Series: Team Qlash vs. Spacestation
Match 1:
Match 2:
Match 3:
Notes:
#Finals: G2 eSports vs. SK Gaming
Match 1: SK Gaming Won
Match 2: G2 eSports Won
Match 3: G2 eSports Won
Notes: G2 eSports 2, SK Gaming 1
#North America
#Tempo Storm vs. Tribe: Tribe Won
Tempo Storm has looked beyond week every weekend thus far, failing to score a single point for themselves. Tribe is a good league above them, and it showed in the series as they won 2-0 rather cleanly.
#Rogue vs. Gankstars: Rogue Won
Similar to Tempo Storm, Gankstars has looked, frankly, quite bad, which is a far call from what they were at the beginning of the summer season. Rogue, in sharp contrast, has never looked better and were in a good position to claim the title of third best North American team, not to mention one of the most consistently good ones. However, Gankstars did manage to put up a fight, even winning a match and managing to put a point on the board for themselves before ceding the series 2-1 to Rogue.
#Cloud9 vs. Nova eSports: Cloud9 Won
Nova eSports has had some pretty big highlights for themselves this season, even defeating Cloud9 in their last matchup. Given that Cloud9 also lost the weekend before last to Tribe, they did look a bit shakier coming into the series, lending some doubt as to how the matchup would go. However, Cloud9 would not be cowed, and, though the series ended up being close, eventually won 2-1.
#Hammers vs. TSM: Hammers Won
Under normal circumstances, Hammers winning a series against TSM would be a pretty big surprise at this point, but luckily for Hammers, VONC had just had his wisdom teeth pulled and was incapacitated. Given that, FlashX moved to the jungle and LuckyBread took over as the captain for TSM. While this sub roster would prove somewhat proficient, managing to take a game off of Hammers, they eventually lost out 2-1.
#Semifinals: Cloud9 vs. Hammers: Hammers Won
Having looked rather shaky recently, Cloud9, despite their win against Nova eSports, had some doubt in their corner as to whether they could close out against the talented roster of Hammers. Nonetheless, things were looking good for Cloud9 right out of the gate as they took the first game in commanding fashion. Things soured afterwards, however, as Hammers rebounded and won the next two matches in equally convincing form, leading to a 2-1 victory.
#Semifinals: Tribe vs. Rogue: Rogue Won
If this series were in a live championship, Tribe would potentially be favored in this matchup, but without their infamous “live buff” and with Rogue’s consistently excellent seasonal performance, I doubt many would have predicted a Tribe win in this series. Indeed, while Tribe managed to keep it close, Rogue eventually won out and closed the series 2-1.
#Third Place Series: Tribe vs. Cloud9: Tribe Won
Fresh off of a demoralizing loss, Cloud9 could not have been in a good place mentally given just how often in the past few weeks they have failed to reach their previously demonstrated potential. In contrast, Tribe sometimes finds themselves struggling in the regular season, and a third place spot after just barely losing to a team that was more likely to beat them than not certainly wouldn’t have been a bad deal. With those factors in mind, the series that followed would be somewhat believable, as Cloud9 failed to show up once again and lost out 2-0 to Tribe.
#Finals: Rogue vs. Hammers: Hammers Won
Non-TSM or Cloud9 finals are rare, but the stars aligned for this weekend to bring Hammers and Rogue to the top of the weekend. Rogue’s seasonal performance has been stellar all around, certainly better than Hammers. However, Hammers somewhat volatile roster lends it strength in some cases, allowing them to win in matchups unfavorable to them. Indeed, in this series, it would be that volatile and highly skilled roster that would decide things, with Hammers coming back together after losing game one to Rogue and, from the brink, pushing the now first place team by points back. The two games that followed were rather close, with Hammers losing out in early leads before eventually making a comeback as the game wore on, securing the series 2-1 and, with it, the weekend.
#Split Standings
| Teams | Points |
|---|---|
| Rogue | 24 |
| TSM | 23 |
| Cloud9 | 23 |
| Hammers | 19 |
| Tribe | 15 |
| Nova eSports | 14 |
| Gankstars | 1 |
| Tempo Storm | 0 |
#Regional Hero Statistics
Alpha
Picked: 25% of all streamed matches
Banned: 18.8% of all streamed matches
Winrate: 50% of all streamed matches
Notes: with the rise of Aftershock as a very strong item, Alpha has finally seen more competitive play, but with the prevalence of Reim and, to some degree, Krul, she remains suppressed
Kestrel
Picked: 43.8% of all streamed matches
Banned: 56.2% of all streamed matches
Winrate: 28.6% of all streamed matches
Notes: a pick or ban hero for the weekend in North America, Kestrel’s record was remarkably atrocious in terms of wins and losses, but constant priority has been put on her regardless
#This Weekend
#Day 1
#Tribe vs. Nova eSports
Match 1: Tribe Won
Match 2: Tribe Won
Notes: Tribe 2, Nova eSports 0
#Gankstars vs. Tempo Storm
Match 1:
Match 2:
Match 3:
Notes: Tempo Storm 2, Gankstars 1
#TSM vs. Cloud9
Match 1: TSM Won
Match 2: TSM Won
Notes: TSM 2, Cloud9 0
#Hammers vs. Rogue
Match 1: Hammers Won
Match 2: Rogue Won
Match 3: Rogue Won
Notes: Rogue 2, Hammers 1
#Day 2
#Semifinal: Tempo Storm vs. Rogue
Match 1: Tempo Storm Won
Match 2: Rogue Won
Match 3: Rogue Won
Notes: Rogue 2, Tempo Storm 0
#Semifinal: Tribe vs. TSM
Match 1: Tribe Won
Match 2: Tribe Won
Notes: Tribe 2, TSM 0
#Third Place Series: Semifinal 1 Loser vs. Semifinal 2 Loser
Match 1:
Match 2:
Match 3:
Notes:
#Finals: Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner
Match 1:
Match 2:
Match 3:
Notes:
What are your thoughts on some of the exciting matches in last weekend’s Vainglory 8? What are you looking forward to this weekend and do you have any predictions? Have some suggestions? Drop all of those in comments below!
Posted Nov 4, 2017, 12:27 AM UTC · edited