I mean they already qualified for champs but what the fuck is going on are they trolling or what?
0
Is EDG saving strats
posted in
General Discussion
Comments:
Threaded
Linear
I don't follow China closely, but isn't EDG's whole thing that they show up when they need to? They're in Champs already, so they don't really need to do anything for Split 2, other than try to get back whatever they've been missing at internationals all year. I wouldn't say they're saving strats, but officials probably feel like scrims for them.
All of the above is speculation, I would love to be informed if I'm missing something.
Also don't watch much china, but that's just...not true.
EDG has pretty much never lost in China but lost to FPX twice now if I recall and bombed out of Shanghai looking really bad. It honestly wasn't too surprising that they would perform bad in stage 2, they even made roster changes out of desperation. They fell off and China caught up.
Also, first/second seed grants a bye in playoffs which removes the risk of single elim. Season games are still not a joke for them, if they don't want to enter champs as China's #4 seed.
I get that they've dominated China for a long time, but China's only been franchised this year, which I would believe changes up the ecosystem, and the loss to FPX in Stage 1 was rectified by them winning the finals, which got them a bye in playoffs in Shanghai. Seeding in Champs means nothing, because all the teams are in the group stage at the beginning, I'm pretty sure, so 1st seed or 4th seed, it's the same starting board: the group stage.
I agree that the advantage of first seed in Champs probably won't be huge, as the format is probably (and should be) 16 team swiss, but it still makes little sense to not try to qualify for Champs through playoffs. EDG's whole thing has been that they dominate China, not that they show up when they need to. They've been losing more and more and playing worse and worse throughout the season, and its probably because of both coaching changes and that the team was single-handedly carried by one player which is finally no longer working as other teams improve.
I agree that EDG is regressing, with respect to their competition, but there is literally no advantage for the first seed in Champs, everyone starts from the group stage, and because they've dominated China so much this year, they're already guaranteed Champs, and so they're trying to shake up their system, which I agree was centred heavily around KangKang's moments.
Improvement is characterized by dips and bobs, so they'll look shaky even against teams that they should roll, but the Stage 2 losses carry too much weight in people's minds, I think.
You can't convince me that EDG didn't want to win at least 1 game in Shanghai. They've needed to show up for awhile and they haven't. There's been too many role/playstyle changes and the coaching/igling is not good at all. The players look lowkey washed as well. None of them except KangKang are shooting like they were in 2023. They've also been playing almost nonstop for awhile now and the players look burnt out.
Oh, no no no, they shit the bed at Shanghai and Madrid, I'm just referring to their Stage 2 games when I say they haven't needed to show up. They looked good at Tokyo and LA, and fell off internationally, but I still believe that China's in their pocket, they just don't need to win in Stage 2, which I believe is what's bothering most people who are interested, that they're losing regionally.
I think EDG hit the panic button too late. Ditching your IGL for a new player in the middle of Split 2 is a risky move and I don't think they would've done it if they weren't qualified for Champs already. There's very little time for them to rebound in time for Champs and the coordination is at an all-time bad for them. Watching them play Haven right now as opposed to when they were so close to eliminating LOUD is DEPRESSING.
Discord