Welcome to the first edition of the OPL Lowdown for Split 2 2018, a weekly segment right here on Respawn Ninja that will cover what you should be looking for in each week of the OPL. The first edition will briefly recap the offseason as well, but if you want more in-depth offseason analysis be sure to check out our Split 2 OPL Shuffle here.

Schedule

Day One (Friday 8th June):

5:00PM – Mammoth vs Bombers
8:00PM – The Chiefs Esports Club vs Legacy Esports

Day Two (Saturday 9th June):

5:00PM – Tectonic vs AVANT Gaming
8:00PM – Dire Wolves vs ORDER

Mammoth v Bombers

The first game of the season will be the most interesting of the week, as both teams have made significant inroads into improving their performance over the offseason. For Mammoth, they’ve brought in players like Mash, REMIND and former Dire Wolves top-laner Chippys, but for the Bombers they’ve done an extensive boot camp over in North America. Both teams will be looking to one-up their result from Split 1, and many have picked the Bombers as dark horses for Split 2. However, for the most part these teams come in as unknown quantities, especially Mammoth, but it will be a cracker of a contest no matter what.

Bombers squad have been extensively training in NA – Source: Bombers Twitter

Expect fireworks in the botlane as Mammoth’s new AD Carry Mash attempts to make his mark alongside Oceanic veteran Cuden. Tiger and Rosey have had ups and downs so far this year, but if they switch on they can take on any botlane in Oceania and Mammoth should be no exception. If the Bombers are going to fly this season, they’ll need to take this first game by ensuring Tiger gets his hands on comfort champions like his Caitlyn and group around him.

If Mammoth want to win this, Juves needs to be everywhere, boosting his lanes so they can get ahead. They’re strong on paper, however it remains to be seen whether that transfers to the Rift so early in the season. This will be a great series to open up OPL Split 2 2018, and it will definitely go to three games, but I’ll give the pick to the Bombers simply because they’ve got their team chemistry already in place and have experience working as a unit, however do not count out Mammoth by any means.

My Pick – Bombers 2 – 1 Mammoth Esports

Chiefs v Legacy

The second game of Day 1 is the always spectacular El Classico between long-time rivals Chiefs Esports Club and Legacy Esports. The last time these two teams faced off was in the playoffs of Split 1 2018, where the Chiefs pulled out a 3-1 victory en route to a finals clash against Dire Wolves. The only change in the rosters heading into the game is that Only has replaced Sybol in the jungle, so we’ve got a good gauge on how these teams will show up.

This series can go to either team in so many different ways, but the area both teams should be focusing on those team fights. Expect Swip3rR and Mimic to pull out champions like Gnar, Ornn, and Gangplank to enable their team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw the new champions Kai’Sa and Pyke being played by either Raes and Destiny or Raid and Decoy. If the Chiefs are going to take this out, ry0ma will need to kickstart his team’s lead by outplaying the very skilled Claire, so a Galio or a Taliyah wouldn’t go amiss.

Chiefs Esports Ryoma is ready to take on the 2nd split – Source: OPL Twitter

Legacy will need to be on point to take the series from the Chiefs, so look for Mimic and Claire to pick carries and try and close this game out early before the Chiefs can dig their toes in. Only needs to make sure he fits into Legacy’s playstyle as soon as possible, otherwise Babip will walk all over him. With both teams going up against Bombers and Mammoth in the following two weeks, this game is crucial for putting distance up on the standings this early into the season. El Classico never disappoints, and I’m going to give the first battle between these two mighty teams over to the Chiefs, who have looked impressive all year and should eke out the victory here.

My Pick – Chiefs Esports Club 2 – 1 Legacy

And that wraps up Enter the Rift for Day 1 of OPL Split 2 2018! Keep your eyes out for the predictions for Day 2 right here on Respawn Ninja! And always, you can watch the games over on Twitch on Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm AEST.

Watch live here: https://www.twitch.tv/opl