Predictable Strategy
It can be said that in the second game of the match between Team Flash and Percent Esports, the moment the defending champions chose Kai’Sa in the first pick made the fans of this team extremely excited. However, this was merely a morale boost, as the choice was more of a desperate gamble by Team Flash. They openly declared that they would play around Slayder, and revealing their strategy too early was extremely dangerous.
Even against a newly promoted team like Percent Esports, they had the capability to find ways to counter this champion. Their next two picks were Syndra and Leona, one providing explosive damage that couldn’t miss, while the other excelled at locking down targets, effectively countering Kai’Sa. Furthermore, the picks of Trundle and Wukong were extremely smart choices to counter the satellites around Kai’Sa.
Thus, simply through the banning phase, Percent Esports made more reasonable moves compared to Team Flash itself. They played into the psychological pressure of needing to win and countered Team Flash’s favorite strategies.
Letting Wukong Slip Through
It is unclear what Team Flash was thinking when they let “The Monkey King” go to Percent Esports, as this champion is incredibly strong, versatile, and capable of performing exceptionally well under pressure. Remember that yT’s item build in the recent match was Blade of the Ruined King + Death’s Dance, providing immense sustain and survivability. In summary, no matter how behind he might be (in reality, he wasn’t behind at all during the match), Wukong still had an impact.
Meanwhile, Team Flash made a very risky choice in the top lane with Renekton for Stark. This crocodile god differs significantly from Wukong, as he needs to be strong early and dominate the lane to be effective in mid-game. With just one intervention at the beginning of the match, Stark lost all advantages to the opponent. Choosing such a risky playstyle while the opponent received a “sure win” matchup, it’s no surprise that the top lane of Team Flash was completely crippled.
Slayder Cannot Outplay Bigkoro
One of the common scenarios during the spring season of VCS is that Slayder has an incredibly comfortable laning phase, receiving jungle support, and powering up early, turning advantages into objectives like towers or Dragons, and ultimately victories. This stems from Slayder’s skills, which are superior to his peers in the VCS spring season, allowing him to either tie or win almost every matchup.
However, in the summer split, specifically in the match against Percent Esports, Slayder seemed unable to maintain his “superior” status anymore. Indeed, during the first engagement, Percent couldn’t take down Slayder, but they forced him to go home due to low health. Prior to that, we must mention Bigkoro’s well-timed movements that pressured Kai’Sa, causing her to lose health. It can be said that it was actually “The Crazy Dog” who dominated the bot lane, not Slayder.
Slayder’s performance inadvertently prevented Team Flash from executing their usual strategy. When Bigkoro could match up evenly with the ADC from Team Flash, they couldn’t secure early towers or Dragons, snowballing the match. By the time of team fights, Slayder was even unable to play effectively due to the opponent’s numerous dangerous skills. When the core player cannot shine, it’s understandable that Team Flash loses direction and faces defeat.
