Team Impulse: Champion Break Down

Today, we'll be looking at some interesting statistics about the #4 NA LCS team: Team Impulse.

Each game, Team Impulse had a different last pick--and 9 overall one shot wonders for their team.  Want to learn more?  Leave your questions in the comments below and we'll try to answer them!

Counter Logic Gaming: Champion Break Down

Today, we'll look at some interesting statistics about the #3 NA LCS team: Counter Logic Gaming.

Like the previous posts, there's a lot yet to be analyzed about the champions chosen by this and every other NA LCS team.  Want to know more?  Leave your questions in the comments below and we'll try to answer them!

Cloud 9: Champion Break Down

Today, we'll look at some interesting statistics about the #2 team: Cloud 9.

There's much more to be learned about the champions chosen by this and every other NA LCS team.  Curious about something in particular?  Want to know more?  Leave your question below in the comments and we'll try to answer them!  Thanks to Lysander for asking about the "One Play One Win" category--we'll include that from now on!

Team SoloMid: Champion Break Down

Here are some interesting statistics about the #1 NA LCS team: Team SoloMid.

We also have oodles of more information about champions chosen by this and every other team in the NA LCS.  Want to know a little more?  Leave your questions down in the comments!

Overall Champion Popularity: NA LCS Spring Split 2015 [Infographic]

In the NA LCS Spring Split--92 games and 920 champion selections--we saw 70 champions played on the Rift (roughly 56% of the current champion pool).  Some were incredibly popular (Janna and Rek'sai headed the top of this list) and others were one shot wonders (as you'll see on the infographic).

From the looks of it, if you want to win on red side, you'll need to include Sejuani in your line up.

Look for more infographics in upcoming articles on teams' favorite picks, their highest win rate champions, and their greatest weaknesses.

• Counter Logic Gaming and Cloud 9 picked Nidalee the most--3 times each.

• Lissandra was banned in 58% of all games.  She appeared in 28% of games.  She appeared in either picks or bans in 86% of games.  Next behind her was Rek'sai, who was either picked or banned in 78% of games.

NA Champion Select: Pick and Ban Order [Infographic]

Recently, we dove into Champion Select for the North American LCS and analyzed First Picks, Counter Picks, Winning Team Compositions, and Bans.  Today, we've expanded that scope to look at Pick and Ban order by win rates.

Many matches are won and lost in Champion Select.  Each locked in champion reveals a piece of that team's strategy.  If a team isn't careful, they can give away too much information about their strategy with enough picks left to do something about it.  Here are the most successful picks and bans (in the order they were picked) in the NA LCS.

Apparently, if you want to win on blue side, first ban Irelia and first pick Maokai.

Look for more statistics later this week about each team's favorite picks, highest win rate champions, and greatest weaknesses.

A few interesting statistics:

• Cloud 9 has chosen Maokai 1st pick blue the most (2 times).

• Of those blue first ban Irelias, 5 have been against Team 8.

• Of the red second ban Morganas, 3 have been against Team Liquid.

NA Champion Select (Part 4 of 4): Bans [Infographic]

Over the next week, we'll be taking a hard look at the NA Champion Select in this four part series.

Part 1: First Pick

Part 2: Counter Picks

Part 3: Winning Team Compositions

Part 4: Bans

One can learn almost as much about a team by what they choose to ban as what they choose to play.  There are many reasons to ban a champion: perhaps it's a powerful pick that, if not secured, would be formidable to face; or, perhaps it's a player's niche champion that would hand over the game.

Some other interesting facts about bans:

• Lissandra is the most banned champion (71%), then Rumble (53%), then Kassadin (46%)
• Calitrlolz8's Irelia is the highest frequency target ban (11); Impact's Rumble is next (10)
• Team Dignitas and Team Impulse are consistently afraid of facing Lissandra (8 bans); Team8 really doesn't want to face Rumble (8 bans)

Look for more closer looks into the NA LCS in the weeks to come!

NA Champion Select (Part 3 of 4): Winning Team Compositions [Infographic]

Over the next week, we'll be taking a hard look at the NA Champion Select in this four part series.

Part 1: First Pick

Part 2: Counter Picks

Part 3: Winning Team Compositions

Part 4: Bans

Team synergy is a crucial part of winning a match.  Most team compositions look for abilities that complement each other--for example, the Sivir/Annie bot lane gives Annie the burst of speed to set up an AOE stun, or the Maokai/Zed that combines lockdown power with burst damage.  Here are some of the more successful pair compositions in the NA LCS so far.  It should be noted that in each lane there are usually 5-10 combos that have a 100% win rate; however, most of those combos have appeared three or less times together in the LCS, so a combo that had seen more games and still kept up a good win rate was represented instead.

Look for the next part in the series soon!

NA Champion Select (Part 2 of 4): Counter Picks [Infographic]

Over the next week, we'll be taking a hard look at the NA Champion Select in this four part series.

Part 1: First Pick

Part 2: Counter Picks

Part 3: Winning Team Compositions

Part 4: Bans

What if your opponent gets that one champion that you couldn't ban?  One solution is to throw in a counter pick--a champion who has abilities and a history that counteract whatever that champion brings to the table.  However, a counter pick is really only as good as a player is at playing that champion, so choose wisely.

Look for the next part in the series soon!

NA Champion Select (Part 1 of 4): First Pick [Infographic]

Over the next week, we'll be taking a hard look at the NA Champion Select in this four part series.

Part 1: First Pick

Part 2: Counter Picks

Part 3: Winning Team Compositions

Part 4: Bans

Who should you first pick?  That's nearly always a dangerous question.  NA LCS teams use the First Pick for all sorts of things--as an extra ban (Gravity vs CLG, first pick Lissandra), securing a powerful open champion (Gnar that whole first week), or as a comfort pick (Cloud 9, first pick Zed).  However, whoever you first pick lets your opponent know a piece of your strategy--that's why many teams opt for a flex pick (Morgana/Lissandra) so that they don't give too much away at the beginning.

This infographic gives a little more insight into that first pick, and why some selections are much better than others.  Overall, these champions appear or are banned quite frequently:

• Lissandra: Appeared (18) or Banned (50) in 97% of games
• Morgana: Appeared (30) or Banned (25) in 79% of games
• Rumble: Appeared (16) or Banned (37) in 76% of games
• Zed: Appeared (18) or Banned (16) in 49% of games
• Nidalee: Appeared (8) or Banned (21) in 41% of games
• Vi: Appeared (26) or Banned (3) in 41% of games

Look for the next part in the series next week!

State of the NA LCS: Team Edition (Week 7) [Infographic]

Here are some interesting statistics about the overall performance of teams in the NA LCS.

This week the NA LCS is taking a week off due to IEM Katowice, where 8 of the top international teams will face off against one another:

WE (for winning IEM Shenzhen)

Cloud 9 (for winning IEM San Jose)

Gambit (for winning IEM Cologne)

YOE Flash Wolves (for winning IEM Taipei)

GE Tigers (top LCK team)

CJ Entus (#2 LCK team)

Team SoloMid (top NA team)

SK Gaming (top EU team)

The matches will be played March 12 - 15.  We'll discuss predictions and performance here on LoL Gamer Statistician.

Week 6: State of the NA LCS

Week 6 brought in a new wave to the NA LCS.  But first, an infographic for Week 6.

Some other interesting facts:

• Hecarim, Viktor, Syndra, and Fiddlesticks all were played for the first time in the NA LCS this past week.  All four only saw defeats this week.

• In 6 games (half of all those played) KEITH has managed to secure more kills than Maplestreet8, CoreJJ, and Mash.

• Team Dignitas's Jungle position has seen the most replacements, from Crumbzz to CloudNguyen to Azingy.

• Exactly 800 towers (not including those put up by Azir) have been brought down in the NA LCS.

• So far, there has been 75 hours, 33 minutes, and 24 seconds of gameplay--and that's just in North America.

Leaderboards (By Position):

TOP LANE:

• Kills: CaliTrlolz8 (45)
• Deaths: CaliTrlolz8 (43)
• Assists: Hauntzer (83)
• KDA: Zion Spartan (4.95)

JUNGLE:

• Kills: Porpoise8 (30)
• Deaths: Saintvicious (49)
• Assists: Santorin (131)
• KDA: Santorin (6.7)

MID:

• Kills: Link (75)
• Deaths: Slooshi8 (43)
• Assists: Bjergsen (85)
• KDA: Bjergsen (9.1)

ADC:

• Kills: WildTurtle (75)
• Deaths: WildTurtle (29)
• Assists: WildTurtle (74)
• KDA: Sneaky (7.8)

SUPPORT:

• Kills: LemonNation (13)
• Deaths: Dodo8 (37)
• Assists: Lustboy (154)
• KDA: LemonNation (5.5)

Week 5: Champion Popularity Contest

After 5 weeks of the NA LCS, let's look at the relative popularity of Champions (and their performance) in LCS matches.

1.  Most Picked Champions.

1st: Jarvan IV, appeared in 31 games.
2nd: Janna, appeared in 29 games.
3rd: Sivir, appeared in 26 games.

2.  Most Banned Champions.

1st: Lissandra, banned in 70% of games.
2nd: Kassadin, banned in 58% of games.
3rd: Rumble, banned in 48% of games.

3.  Most Popular All-Around (Picked + Banned).

1st: Lissandra, picked or banned in 96% of games.
2nd: Jarvan IV, picked or banned in 92% of games.
3rd: Kassadin, picked or banned in 84% of games.

4.  Most Likely to Go on a Rampage (Most Kills).

1st: Jinx, averaging 5.9 kills per game.
2nd: Nidalee, averaging 5.2 kills per game.
3rd: Graves, averaging 5.15 kills per game.

5.  Most Likely to Bite It (Most Deaths).

1st: Orianna, averaging 6.25 deaths per game.
2nd: Swain, averaging 5 deaths per game.
3rd: Azir, averaging 4.125 deaths per game.

6.  Most Likely to Donate to the Cause (Most Assists).

1st: Braum, averaging 10.5 assists per game.
2nd: Renekton, averaging 10.4 assists per game.
3rd: Alistar, averaging 10 assists per game.

7.  One-Hit Wonders.

All these champions have appeared only once on Summoner's Rift in the NA LCS: Alistar, Draven, Elise, Malphite, Nocturne, Swain, Veigar, and Yasuo.

8.  They Should be Banned.

These champions have only appeared as bans: Kennen and Pantheon.

9.  Most Total Kills.

1st: Sivir (115)
2nd: Graves (98)
3rd: Corki and Ahri (87)

10.  Most Total Deaths.

1st: Jarvan IV (97)
2nd: Rek'sai (78)
3rd: Maokai (67)

11.  Most Total Assists.

1st: Jarvan IV (299)
2nd: Janna (272)
3rd: Morgana (214)

12.  Win Rates (the Top Ten Most Valuable Champions).

1.  Nidalee (4 games, 100% win rate)
2.  Jax (2 games, 100% win rate)
3.  Alistar, Nocturne, Veigar (1 game each, 100% win rate)
6.  Lissandra (13 games, 92% win rate)
7.  Zed (10 games, 80% win rate)
8.  Renekton (5 games, 80% win rate)
9.  Jinx (8 games, 75% win rate)
10.  Vi (20 games, 70% win rate)

Week 5: The NA Top Lane

This week, we're going to analyze how things have been going in the NA Top Lane.

I've always found the top lane intriguing, probably because it's the one lane that I understand conceptually but rarely excel at in practice.  The top lane provides that necessary missing component that makes the team composition work, and yet top lane is usually that quiet lane and unsung hero that did a whole lot, but doesn't get much credit for it.  Today, let's look at the impact (or the lack thereof) that the top lane has had on games this last week.

1.  Kill participators, kill enablers, those least likely to share, and the notably absent.  Two players this week had an extraordinary 100% kill participation: Cris from Team Coast (against Team SoloMid on Kassadin), and Impact from Team Impulse (against Gravity on Morgana).  Cris also gave over all those (2) kills, while Impact gave 86% (12 kills).  Across the two games, Impact had the highest KP (89%), followed by a two way tie between Hauntzer and Zion Spartan (80%); Balls was close behind them at 79%.

Avalon stood out as the one most likely to help and least likely to take the kill, taking an assist in 93% of the 14 kills he was involved in.  Dyrus was next, handing 89% of the 9; then Balls, who handed over 83% of the 23.

Impact, back in his SKT T1 regalia, now on Team Impulse.

Impact also took all three kills he was involved in against Cloud 9 on Dr. Mundo, and Quas didn't share too well in the game against Winterfox on Fizz, only giving over 1 kill he was participated in.  Overall, Quas was least likely to give over a kill (61% of his KP was assist--he went 7/7/11 this week).

Dyrus was notably absent in team fights, only participating in 29% of his team's 31 kills.  The next lowest participation was Quas, who was involved in 60% of his team's kills.

Gamsu, from Team Dignitas.

2.  Damage dealers.  Three top laners this week gave more damage than they took: Gamsu on Rumble against CLG, Balls on Rumble against CLG (noticing a trend?), and Impact on Morgana against Gravity.  Overall, Impact was the most likely champion to give as much damage has he took across his two games.

Balls, from Cloud 9.

3.  Indestructible tanks.  In individual performance, Balls took the cake by eating 34.5k damage without dying (against Team Impulse on Maokai); he was followed by Zion Spartan, who endured 18.3k against Team Dignitas.  Overall, the most indestructible tank was Balls (13.2k damage/death), followed by Zion Spartan (11.6k), and Gamsu (10.9k).

Dyrus, from Team SoloMid.

4.  Farmers.  Dyrus overall had the best farm (no doubt due to the waves of super minions in their game against Team Liquid) at 7.7 CSM.  Next was Gamsu at 7 CSM, and then Quas at 6.8.  In individual performance, Gamsu had the highest CSM numbers with 8.8 CSM against Winterfox on Renekton.  Gamsu was also the most likely to take a jungle camp while traveling from sides of the map, netting 5.6% of his CS from the jungle.  Next was Quas at 4.96%, and then Balls at 4.3%.

Haunzter, from Gravity.

5.  Damage mitigators.  Part of staying alive is mitigating the damage that you take; one way this is accomplished is by looking at overall damage healed.  Hauntzer stands out, with an overall 38% mitigated (on Dr. Mundo and Maokai).  Next was Avalon at 31% (on Maokai and Sion--although, well over half of that came from his game on Sion, where he died 5 times), and finally Impact at 28% (on Morgana and Dr. Mundo).

Zion Spartan, from Counter Logic Gaming.

6.  Warders.  Some top laners stand out because of the vision control that they contribute to the team--and with the new buffs to the Greater Stealth Totem, it's much easier for top laners to contribute to the vision war.  Zion Spartan leads this category, with .76 wards per minute.  2nd was Quas with .75, and 3rd Gamsu with .66.  Zion Spartan is especially good at utilizing the trinket ward, since he spent around 4.6% of his total gold on trinkets, but managed to place an average of 30 wards per game.