Lessons learned from TFT Lab Partners

Although the tournament got off to a bumpy start, the TFT Lab Partners event, hosted by  Giant Slayer, produced some great moments over the weekend. Day 1 of the event had to be made audible through a different format due to technical constraints. However, the finals on Day 2 used the Double-Up game mode. With it, TFT Lab Partners produced a fantastic show that will have players, commentators and spectators asking for more. Here are the lessons we learned.

No one can match Ramblin Robin

Team Liquid’s Robin “Robinsongz” Sung has been on an absolute tear in competitive TFT events for over a year now, regardless of the format. The reigning North American champion is also technically the reigning duo’s champion as well. Robinsongz and his good friend and partner “Ramblinnn” came into this event as the Giant Slayer Season 3 champions. Although that tournament didn’t have a legit duo’s mode like this one, “Ramblin Robin” have already proved they were in sync with each other. At TFT Lab Partners, they were the favorites to win the event. It turns out there was no one even close.

In a similar manner to Robinsongz’s last big event, his championship-winning run at the NA Reckoning Regional Finals, Ramblin Robin started off the finals with three straight victories to put them at match point. After only placing second in Game 4, Robin’s team wrapped up the tournament with a win in Game 5, giving them the tournament win and a trip to Hextech Havoc.

Akali, Cho’Gath and Jhin show up big before potential nerfs

With TFT Patch 11.24 being the biggest and longest patch to date, some overpowered champions were bound to slip through the cracks. The live balance team has their finger on the pulse and are already prepared to release a B-patch on Wednesday. TFT Lab Partners showcased which champions may be on the chopping block.

Over the last week, Akali has proven to be a menace in the meta and she was on display over the weekend at TFT Lab Partners. In Game 2 of the finals, Robinsongz utilized the raw power of Akali to a win. In the same game, Robin’s partner Ramblinnn piloted a Jhin three-star to a Game 2 victory as well. Game 3 saw Ramblinnn again win with Jhin three-star, but Cho’Gath nearly won out. Cho’Gath got its time in the golden sun as “mD rue loves you” was able to take a Mutant-centered Cho’Gath comp to a Game 4 win.  Finally, Akali won once again in Game 5, sealing the tournament and her fate come the B-patch.

We need more Double-Up

Since there is no way to hold custom Double-Up lobbies on the live servers, there haven’t been any Double-Up tournaments to date besides this one. Thanks to the tournament server, we finally got a glimpse at high-level double-up tournament play, and it was fantastic. Although the meta compositions were the same as the solo-mode ranked ladder, playstyles were completely different; from teams splitting up into carry and support roles to hoarding three-star champions and, of course, game-saving moments. All of these things gave TFT a breath of fresh air when it came to competitive formats.

Team-based esports have historically dominated the space. With a team-based mode now in TFT, Double-Up gives the auto battler a new avenue to explore. Based on what we saw at TFT Lab Partners, it’s one that has a lot of promise.