ZWD vs Froggy Fighters Matchup Rundown
by JosepiHack
11/12/22 at 4pm on twitch.tv/laliga0

Introduction

Welcome to the first ever piece of La Liga journalism. If you’re excited for La Liga finals, you’re in the right spot. Please enjoy my thoughts on the ten players in finals and how I think the lane matchups will shake out. Stick around to the end to see my unqualified prediction on which team will claim the LA LIGA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.


Top Lane - The Solo Kill Sensation vs The Unwakable Demon King

This is the lane to watch. Atheists claim an omnipotent God must not exist because he cannot create a stone he is unable to lift. Well, if you’re a fan of La Liga, you get to watch a live rendition of this experiment. XRAY is known by many names—The God King, The Master of the Solo Bolo, The Solo Kill Sensation—but to the average La Liger, he is worldly truth. The question remains; is there a stone so heavy that God cannot budge it? If XRAY is able to defeat Pushin LP—The Unwakable Demon King—then it is true that there is no stone God cannot move.

Despite his Ornn-dimensional champion pool, XRAY has proven himself a formidable laner in this season of La Liga. His opponent—Pushin LP—has been one of the least abusable top laners in the league. Pushin excels within his role for the Froggy Fighters. He’s willing to pick into losing matchups to round out his team’s composition. Hence his role as the rock—and not the little one that David threw at Goliath. I’m talking about the big ass rock those kids dropped on that other kid in Lord of the Flies. What Pushin lacks in tank solo kills he makes up for in team fighting and consistency. It’s no secret that top lane won’t decide this finals matchup, but how these players pilot their champions in the mid and late game could sway it.

Other than a few tank champions, these two players have one thing in common—wanting XRAY’s internet to work.



Jungle - The Soul Harvester vs The Level Two Assassin

For the first time in playoffs, Barretel will face a non-diamond opponent in the jungle. By pathing creatively and aggressively, Barretel has earned his stripes against some of the best. After taking La Liga by storm with his repetitious early ganks, The Level Two Assassin has catapulted himself onto the radar of laners everywhere. Will he claim Nnylek or XRAY as his next victim? Or will laners finally realize that they need to place an early ward against this guy?

Barretel won’t be facing off against a diamond player this time. Instead, he’ll be facing a jungler who is no stranger to cutting down higher ranked opponents. Gyx arguably took down the two best junglers on his path to La Liga Winners Finals. They call this kid The Soul Harvester for a reason. Whether he is literally snatching souls on Viego or sucking them away with Fiddlesticks, gyx has a nightmarish champion pool and a knack for finding success in team fights.

I expect this jungle matchup to go fairly even. If anything, I’d give Barretel the edge in the early game and gyx the edge in the later stages. The truly exciting thing about these players facing off is the possibility of a Taric vs Blitzcrank jungle matchup.



Mid Lane - The Backpack Architect vs The Wristless Mastermind

Nnylek possess something most La Ligers lack—self awareness. He’s on the brink of becoming the first two-time La Liga champion because he fills his role better than any other player. In his own words, “I am carryable because I don’t do stupid stuff.” Nnylek’s champion pool reflects his carryability. His arsenal of supportive mid laners distorts traditional draft strategy and forces ZWD’s opponents into prioritizing weird shit like Zilean mid. If there was an MBLL Award (Most Backpackable La Liger), NNylek would win it. He doesn’t just ride in the backpack. He designs it, constructs it, and hands it to Goblin before hopping in. The Backpack Architect may not  unleash the fiery picks or plays Sparks pulls off, but he knows how to win.

The Bible says that God wanted to give his son—XRAY—a fighting chance to win La Liga, so he took the wrist of Sparks. Unbeknownst to most, there was an 8th day described in Genesis. It reads something like this, “On the 8th day, God decreed that Froggy Fighters would be way too strong if Sparks transitioned from their replacement captain to their fulltime midlaner.” So, as the the story goes, God prepared for this substitution years ahead of time and gave Sparks wrist pain. What God failed to realize and an anonymous La Liger fearfully concluded is that the strength of Sparks lies within his mind for the game—not his hands. In a coveted interview, that same La Liger—who shall remain anonymous—said this, “Sparks—he scares me bro. He’s so fucking smart. It doesn’t matter who you are or who is on your team. He will put in the work and find an angle to crush you.” We’ve seen FF come back from massive deficits with cerebral tactics. ZWD better come prepared, because The Wristless Mastermind never rests—and he never stops thinking.

If Froggy Fighters has a chance to break open the game from any lane other than the one everyone is thinking of—it’s mid lane. Look for Sparks to be the difference maker in this series.



Bot Lane - The Carry vs The Commander

Many see Goblin as the best in La Liga to have never won the championship. As the winner’s bracket victor, he is poised to claim his first title. What stands between him and the trophy is a proven winner and a very large man—Sparatikk. The botlane will determine this series. One of these players will live up to the name of their role better than the other. Sparatikk may have a lighter load to carry than Goblin, but he already has enough back problems. Regardless of outcome, both of these players are guaranteed to wake up with back pain on Sunday morning.

Some may expect this matchup to slant heavily in favor of ZWD. I don’t think it will be one sided, but I do expect Goblin to find early leads. Even if lane goes the way of ZWD, all it takes is a few custom games with Sparatikk to realize the reason he has found consistent success in La Liga. His ability to lead a team is unmatched. After XRAY used his psychic powers to twist around Sparatikk’s spine, Barretel publicly spoke on the importance of Sparatikk to the Froggy Fighters as a leader and a shot caller.

Comparing Goblin and Sparatikk is challenging because they bring different skillsets to the same role. One is a hypercarry who plays and drafts with the intention of putting his teammates on his back every single game. The other plays exclusively to win as a team through communication, objective control, and shotcalling. No matter how this one shakes out, The Carry vs The Commander will be a battle to remember.



Support - The Ringleader vs The Giggling Grabber
I heard a rumor that Halloseve and Goblin have a psychic link. Apparently the only words Halloseve has ever said outloud to Goblin were, “You flashed away from me,” which reflects the ZWD playstyle. If Goblin is Bill Clinton, Halloseve is the secret service in the 1990s—fantastic at keeping Clinton alive while being otherwise silent. Goblin may be the star of the ZWD show, but Halloseve makes it possible. In the mayhem of teamfighting ZWD, most teams are screaming something about diving on Goblin. But when you take a step back and analyze the fight, you’ll see the one standing calmly behind the chaos—orchestrating it all—is The Ring Leader.

If you told me at the start of the season that the two supports in finals would be known enchanter players, I wouldn’t be surprised. If you told me that one of those players would have swept the semifinal by picking Blitzcrank three games in a row, however, I would be taken aback. Fl33s was on a rampage against the crocs. And when The Giggling Groper—I mean Grabber—locks in Blitz, the last thing you’ll ever hear before being pulled into certain death will be “teehee.”

These two players have the most similar champion pools and playstyles. When casting ZWD vs MIN, Fl33s consistently pointed out nuances in laning against Halloseve’s enchanters. If there is any support in La Liga that can stand against the dominance Halloseve has displayed all season, it’s Fl33s. And if both players opt into enchanters, their positioning could easily decide the fate of this series.



The Series as a Whole - ZWD Wins 4-2

Because of the format changes to playoffs giving the winner’s side an extra win, I favor ZWD in this series. The score of 4-2 is essentially a 3-2 in a best of five, which is what happened the last time these teams met. But let’s be honest, that series was a cluster fuck. Who knows what will go down in La Liga finals. Either way, for the sake of entertainment and avoiding pauses, let’s hope the toplane matchup is an unstoppable force versus an immovable object instead of a stoppable internet connection vs a wakable watch partier.

No matter who you’re rooting for or who wins, this series will be a banger. The production team is planning some fantastic things and the casters will put on the show of a lifetime. Please tune in to the most anticipated event of the year—The La Liga World Finals—Saturday, November 12th at 4 pm.




Thank you for reading.

-Josepi “The Slim Reaper” Hack


If you want to read more of my writings click here. Unfortunately, most of my essays convey my thoughts on absurdism through personal narrative and are not about La Liga.


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