Before the match between Team BDS (BDS) and Team Whales (TW) took place, Adam was a notable name representing the LEC. This guy not only has great skills but also possesses some unique picks like Garen, Darius, and Olaf in the Top Lane position. His outstanding Garen performance against Golden Guardians earlier helped BDS secure a spot at Worlds 2023.
Immediately in the first game between BDS and TW, Adam showed high form with a convincing Darius performance. However, in the next two games, Adam seemed to be completely decoded by TW, as he no longer had a significant impact as before. So what caused the star of BDS to suddenly lose his magic like that?
Basically, BDS’s playstyle is to leverage Adam’s unique picks to create a snowball effect in the mid-game. Therefore, BDS often chooses a marksman who can “play independently” and allows the support to roam early. This was clearly demonstrated in game 1 when Darius in Adam’s hands continuously took down Sprada and created a significant power difference in both laning and team fights.
TW quickly realized this and made changes to their lineup. For the Top Lane position, K’Sante was chosen to ensure lane stability as well as provide good team fight tools. Additionally, TW banning Darius in game 2 limited Adam’s ability to create surprises. Furthermore, TW also chose a bottom duo capable of dominating opponents to completely control the Dragon pit.
Coupled with BDS’s continuous first pick of Renekton, this prevented the LEC representative from executing their usual strategy. K’Sante in Sprada’s hands did an excellent job of staying alive, playing safely, and not giving Adam a chance to win duels. As a result, Adam’s influence on the game significantly decreased in the next two games.
This greatly affected Adam’s mindset as he didn’t perform well in game 3. The player himself admitted that he couldn’t maintain his composure after being defeated by TW in game 2, affecting his gameplay. Therefore, TW’s overall victory against BDS is entirely understandable.
In conclusion, with timely adjustments to playstyle and Top Lane picks, TW successfully minimized the power of the phenomenon Adam from BDS. We hope that the VCS representative will continue to leverage this strength and achieve more victories at Worlds 2023 this time.