This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　There seems to be a general sentiment within the League of Legends community that LMQ would smash whomever they played against in the Promotion Tournament. The simple utterance of the name LMQ or a faint “lomo” from the distance is enough to strike fear in any team on the brink of relegation. Both Evil Geniuses and Team Coast didn’t feel up to the challenge of taking on these Chinese superstars, leaving them for last pick XDG. The dynamic of this matchup is a story of ups and downs. XDG was a top 3 team last split, eventually making it to the world championship. Now, they are fighting for their right to play in the LCS. On the other side of the stage, LMQ posses an allure unlike any other team in the challenger circuit. They play the game with a certain sense of swagger, and they know it too. Their performance in North American challenger events has been completely dominant, winning NACL season 2 and both Challenger Series Playoffs. While some may feel that an LCS birth for LMQ is set in stone, this match could prove otherwise.

What Went Wrong?

　　“Against DIG we already 4-0’d them in the season, so we knew if we played as bad as we did yesterday we still would win. We were really confident. It was just to be expected. Beating DIG is the best feeling I can get, it would have been nice to beat TSM and be in the finals, but I tried out toplane for DIG and they didn’t want me. So I knocked them out of Worlds, feels great.”

　　While their performance on the world stage went as expected, qualifying for the World Championship gave XDG the attention from fans they had been lacking, despite solid results. Mancloud, Xmithie and BloodWater were all included in the conversation for the best North American player in their respective role. Mancloud and Xmithie’s jungle and mid synergy were noteworthy in almost every game they played. They complimented themselves almost perfectly in the early game, both snowballing off of eachother. In the botlane, you could expect BloodWater to land all of his 'Death Sentences' and set up team fights with ‘Crescendo’ just about every game. He truly carried the bot lane, even in the Season 3 meta.

　　It’s ironic that Zuna displayed so much confidence in the split prior, as the team’s unwillingness to bench him was what cost them the split. His performance at Battle of the Atlantic prompted the team to move him from the AD role to the jungle. He would replace the only person who could come close to competing with Meteos, and move him to one of the least impactful roles in competitive play, AD. This move seemed so illogical and senseless to the public, there must have been a deep hidden reason as to why they would make this clearly outlandish roster change. Citing Zuna’s shot calling ability and Xmithie’s mechanical skill, the team implied that these changes made perfect sense, and would play out better in the long run. In reality, the reluctance to remove a player is clearly lackluster and may stem from a conflict of interest in that the team’s coach was Zuna’s brother.

　　Politics aside, this roster change did more than completely diminish Xmithie’s talent in the jungle and showcase Zuna’s inferior skill as a player, it also caused the team to lose their best player. A little over a month after the roster change, XDG’s support, Bloodwater left the team. Reflecting on the change in an “Ask me Anything” thread post-XDG removal, Bloodwater stated:

　　“I was not happy at all. Everything that Xmithie worked for in the jungle and everything that Zuna worked for as AD basically was rendered obsolete.”

　　One misstep after another caused XDG to end the split at the very bottom, with a record of 7:21.

What’s Left?

　　Mancloud

　　As noted in Thorin and Spellsy’s ‘Over valued or Under valued?’ article, mancloud has been able to post solid results despite his team failing in many different aspects. This is just more evidence that rating mancloud as a top two mid laner last split has a solid bet. His preformance really took a massive hit when Zuna switched to jungle. Playing a style where your jungler tends to gank your lane more often than not, then switching towards a jungler that focuses on top lane ganks, can make a player struggle more than they should have. It’s a shame that XDG crumbled this split, as the North American mid lane talent pool began to grow slightly this season.

　　Xmithie

　　Removing Xmithie from the jungle was an absolute tragedy. In the previous split, he was in the top two junglers with Meteos. Some even considered the two as equals, with a difference in play style setting them apart. After being deprived of the role he was destined for for so long, he hasn’t had long to reacclimate himself. Even so, Xmithie’s raw talent will make him a deciding factor in this match.

　　The Experience

　　The final thing giving XDG a fighting chance is their experience as a top team. Simply put, they've done this before. With two weeks of bootcaming and players in the right roles, they may be able to shock everybody.

All Hail Our (Chinese?) Overlords

　　Ackerman

　　Formerly known as GoDlike, this top laner played with Royal Club in the World Championship Final. This alone would make him an extremely valuable asset to the team, bringing a vast depth of experience and knowledge. On top of that, he is an extremely skilled individual player. His Renekton play has earned him a notoriety that no other top laner has.

　　XaioWeiXaio

　　Not to be confused to Team Word Elite AD carry WeiXaio, XaioWeiXaio is still in the same class of player. His farming is absolutely amazing, as he currently holds the record for fastest to 300 CS in a competitive match. Not only that, but he boasts a 417.40 Gold per Minute in the North American Challenger Series. In second place, Pr0lly holds a GPM of 343.63, traing far behind XaioWeiXaio. He’s also known for his deep champion pool, being able to play anything under the sun.

　　Vasilli

　　Watching Vasilli play reminds me of Doublelift in Season 2, or Vasilli’s former sister teammate Uzi. His raw mechanical talent shines through in almost every game, putting the team on his back when the time calls. Even in a meta where AD carries have a lesser impact, Vasilli still makes it work, and he looks good while doing it.

　　As a Whole

　　In general, XDG will need to adapt their play to deal with LMQ’s hyper aggression in the early game. They’ve played more than 10 weeks of the NA meta, and have only had 2 weeks to adapt to LMQ’s wildly different style. In addition to strong laning phases, these will be the keys to success for both teams.

　　Final Prediction: LMQ 3-2