Team Dignitas NA LCS Week 2 Preview: DIG vs. TSM/ Echo Fox
Team Dignitas continues their 2017 NA LCS Spring Split campaign with Week 2 matchups against TSM and Echo Fox.
Following Week 1, Team Dignitas will look to carry momentum over from impressive debut performances, with a 2-1 victory against Phoenix1 and a nail-biting 1-2 defeat against Cloud9. Despite many pundits expecting apparent growing pains for the newly constructed DIG roster, Team Dignitas showcased laudatory patience, resilience, and sound understanding of its champions' win conditions. After six days to further polish their ability to work as a unit, Team Dignitas will face in Week 2 Team SoloMid (TSM) and Echo Fox (FOX).
Top Left to Right: TSM Bjergsen, FOX Akaadian, and DIG LOD. Photographs courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr.
#DIGTSM Game Preview - January 27, 2017
Battle Theater (NALCS1) 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET
Game Summary
Team Dignitas (1-1) will resume their 2017 Spring campaign on Friday evening when they face off against TSM, the reigning NA LCS champions. The best-of-three series takes place in Battle Theater (NALCS1) approximately 6:00 p.m. (PT) following FlyQuest vs. Counter Logic Gaming.
The last time these two teams squared off was in 2016 Spring, when a previous iteration of Team Dignitas defeated TSM 1-0.
In just two matches, Chan-Ho "Ssumday" Kim proved to be a bona fide carry threat in his brand new team. With two player of the games awarded by the NA LCS broadcasting team, Ssumday asserted exceptional pressure with team fighting tanks (Maokai) as well as split-pushing carries (Fiora), averaging 2.7 kills, 1.7 deaths, and 4.7 assists per game in his inaugural week.
TSM (1-1), similar to Team Dignitas, is also coming off a 1-1 opening week as they lost 0-2 to Cloud9 and won 2-1 to Immortals.
In his 2017 Spring debut against Cloud9, Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, the 2016 NA LCS Summer Split MVP, appeared especially ineffective, averaging 1.5 kills, 5.5 deaths, and 5 assists per game. However, Bjergsen bounced back against Immortals, most notably with a 10/1/11 performance in Game 1.
With TSM's AD Carry Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng on hiatus for 2017 Spring, all eyes will inevitably fall on Jason "WildTurtle" Tran as he will attempt to step in for Doublelift. As such, the bottom lane matchup between Benjamin "LOD" deMunck and WildTurtle will serve as an early season barometer to gauge the initial regular season strength of both teams.
#DIGFOX Game Preview - January 28, 2017
Battle Theater (NALCS2) 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET
Game Summary
After facing the reigning North American champions, Team Dignitas will face off against Echo Fox to begin the Saturday NA LCS Saturday broadcast. DIG's next best-of-three series will take place in Battle Theater (NALCS2) approximately 3:00 p.m. (PT) following Phoenix1 vs. Team Envy.
In Week 1, Lae-Young "Keane" Jang led Team Dignitas' backline statistically; against Phoenix1 for example, Keane averaged 6.6 kills, 1 death, and 6.3 assists. LOD, Team Dignitas' AD Carry, also showcased his mechanical aptitude and exceptional reaction time, with myriad flashes countering enemy skill shots in his first week. While averaging 3.2 kills, 2.7 deaths, and 5.7 assists in both Phoenix1 and Cloud9, LOD's statistical figures expect to rise with more favorable matchups later on this season.
Echo Fox (0-2), during Week 1, suffered consecutive 0-2 defeats against Phoenix1 and Immortals. Despite going 1-17 last split, Echo Fox has acquired compelling individual pieces that elevate the team's skill floor.
While not their most high-profiled acquisition, rookie jungler Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham has been one of the league's most notable surprises. In four games, Akaadian averaged 8.5 kills, 3.5 deaths, and 6.8 assists per game. In addition to Akaadian, Echo Fox now field Season 4 World Champion top laner Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok, as well as former Phoenix1 support Austin "Gate" Yu.
With Echo Fox's most relied upon player last season, Henrik "Froggen" Hansen back for the 2017 Spring Split (evident with a league-leading 36.1% damage share in losses), the mid lane matchup between Keane and Froggen will serve as the initial test between Team Dignitas and Echo Fox. Beyond the mid lane, the performances of both teams' surrounding players will ultimately dictate who ends up victorious in this series, especially if they are able to accrue advantages for their respective carries.
Where to Catch the Action
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