Rogue vs Astralis

We've seen two of Rogue's games and we're still not quite sure what to expect from them. There's really no other way to put it. We like what we're seeing, but it's still too meagre a sample size to really draw any conclusions with confidence. They're good, though. Perhaps, at times, even really good. Whether it'll be enough for them to eventually leave a mark still remains to be seen, but right now, as things stand, they're amongst the better and more capable teams in the LEC, and their 2W-0L record attests to the fact as well.

They haven't been clean in execution nor did they blow anyone's mind. But for a team that downgraded in the most tremendous of fashions they're playing pretty darn well. They're also a fair bit feistier and more threatening -- far from the rather meek Rogue of the past, the one that prefers scaling and late game teamfighting. We're not gonna say that they've grown much, but these are nonetheless impressive results from a team has just lost two of its biggest catalysts.

So, credit where credit is due. They might not be able to challenge for the throne any time soon, but they'll still pose one heck of a threat -- and that's all we wanted. We didn't want Rogue to now regress back to their bottom-dweller status, and while such a fear was ever so slightly irrational, it was by no means an impossible outcome given their history and just how important Hans Sama and Inspired were in their rise to prominence.

Comp has been a ton of work lately and his Jinx play has definitely garnered a lot of attention. Malrang has been both hot and cold, but it's way too early to pass judgement -- he'll surely improve now that his very first LEC games are in the "history books" as they say. Perhaps the least impressive player thus far has been Larssen. His play current level of play *is* somewhat underwhelming given what he's capable of, but he, too, should be able to improve and deliver over the coming weeks and months. A shoddy start is by no means a reason to sound the alarms.

All in all, we're glad that Rogue have been able to weather the proverbial storm, and we can't wait to see them back in action! Their next opponents are pretty darn flawed, so Rogue could very well end up with a perfect 3-0 record to start things off.

Astralis is still winless two games into the split, but they've been a fair bit more competitive than expected. Their last loss came at the hands of G2 Esports, but they sure did put up a fight. Whether that's a good sign for Astralis or a bad one for G2 still remains to be seen, but they're not to be underestimated. They're still one of the worst and least capable teams in the LEC, but they can still pack a punch whenever the star align.

Rogue are not perfect by any means, but they've thus far done more than enough to warrant our benefit of the doubt. If they play as well as they can and deliver to the best of their ability, they should definitely be able to get the "W" and improve to a 3W-0L record.