Hotline League

00:00:00 Intro / Welcome, Tim! + Rumors overview 00:24:23 redfactor3's take: as a 100T fan, I would rather they not even try to compete for Perkz 00:38:09 Wafflefoot's take: the new LCS format will either kill the bottom 2 teams of the LCS, or force them to take big risks on new players 00:53:58 WH Pieman's take: There will always be a tenth place team in the LCS, but it is not healthy for the league for any org (CLG) to stay in tenth place consistently. 01:07:52 Mahmoud returns to say: C9 Perkz would allow C9 to regain dominance in NA and internationally. 01:26:07 bluefrost asks Tim: do you think preseason and the changes to itemization have driven the search for data/stats-driven people like LS, and do you think analysts will have a much higher premium this offseason? 01:33:40 Cistara's take: ESPN letting go their esports journalists is a huge loss for not only ESPN for also the esports scene in general 01:45:46 whitetigress's take: If Perkz goes to C9, the LCS will turn into a two-team region like LEC, but with TL & C9. 01:53:25 Cap Ahab's take: League of Legends statistics will never be prescriptive enough so they make weak arguments and can push way more harmful narratives than helpful ones 02:03:15 Outro

00:00:00 Intro / MarkZ's pitch to EU free agents 00:19:18 Praedor's prediction: Perkz/Caps going to FNC would result in LEC winning either MSI or Worlds next year. 00:28:38 Bluejay calls in to suggest a new LCS format for next year 00:42:35 Mahmoud calls in to discuss the T1 LS "leak" / rumor. 01:03:25 Alienware break~ 01:05:29 McKalen's take: Cloud9 is making some of the worst roster moves of the off season 01:20:29 Skillshotmaster420 swears he is a genius and has constructed the best budget roster of all time-- no joke! 01:25:51 lilchester27 says Bin is the best top laner in the world. 01:37:08 Jourdan's take: NA needs to stop trying to perform well internationally 01:52:15 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:16:04 Tim of Oracle's Elixir joins HLL to reflect on Bjergsen's career 00:39:38 Danan of Golden Guardians joins HLL to mourn 00:47:30 MagiMik's take: though Bjergsen retiring is sad, its actually good for the league and can bring in a new era 00:58:21 KingEvander's take: With Bjergsons retirement, and the likes of Faker, Perkz, Jankos most likely being the latter part of their career. We are approaching a new ERA for the scene. 01:04:37 Alienware break~ 01:06:59 mhtruz14's take: If the TL roster rumors are true, the rest of the league needs to level up too. 01:15:29 Bluejay's take: If the off-season rumors surrounding DIG are true, they are losing the off-season. (This is more of a Sneaky and Johnsun take.) 01:29:52 Slackercat's take: even if DWG win it all this still doesn't mean we are moving away from LPL>EU>LCK ranking 01:39:30 Draftbuff shoutout! 01:43:02 Noblesse's take: North American teams are doomed to lose their fanbases to other regions if they fail to invest in franchise players and start building a brand that people can get hyped over. 01:56:46 Invert arrives to talk DIG and the future of LCS 02:11:41 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:17:35 Gengariffith wants to discuss Ashley Kang's tweet: "Was Group A the secret Group Of Death?" 00:25:35 Facundinho wants to discuss Europe's record against Korea 00:43:40 Alienware~ 00:46:38 Dakton's take: NA players are NOT overpaid, and the salary discussion is distracting from the actual problems with NA competing internationally 01:00:04 Bluejay's take: The most likely destination for Licorice this offseason will be Team Liquid, but there are many other possible teams to discuss as well. 01:18:30 Dhairyam's take: LCK teams lack Bo5 experience due to the format of LCK playoffs and this holds them back in the knockout stage of Worlds. 01:24:40 Draftbuff for Worlds! 01:28:20 rotateorafk's take: EU as a region is not good, the only reason that the region is so succesful is because of Caps and Caps alone.  01:40:57 DilapidatedPeanut's take: Player salaries are too high; the money could be better spent in other areas in the league. 01:53:22 Pre Never Stops's take: Everyone shitting on FNC is insane, since they clearly out performed expectations. 02:02:05 Outro

00:00:00 Intro - What happened to NA at Worlds? What happened to OPL?! 00:22:13 Human Boy, yes-yes's take: NA did fine. 00:39:10 Blitz470 The issues of NA should not be accepted, as they will only weaken the region and prevent improvement. 01:03:13 Alienware break! 01:07:30 Sakowitz's take: Odoamne's tweet was not cool (he apologized tho) 01:28:46 Bluejay's take: With OCE players being non-imports for the LCS, the LCS WILL improve, but this will not contribute to a better Worlds performance 01:41:30 Draftbuff break! 01:45:16 Tuckinlee's take: Quarters draws were terrible... 2 inter-regional matches. 02:01:12 FULLMETAL337's take: TL or FLY would have made it out of TSM's group 02:08:01 Outro

00:00:00 Intro: Groups talk, Travis's NA spinner 00:23:35 PretentiousFly's take: UOL is the most exciting and impressive team at Worlds this year. 00:31:32 Pippiopi wants to talk about how much Broxah contributed much more to TL's win over G2 than it seems, both on and off the stage. 00:43:00 Alienware! Woohoo! + How to fix NA theorycrafting 00:51:49 bluefrost's take: Knight's stats in the Group Stage haven't been too hot compared to his mid lane counterparts.  00:58:52 Bluejay's take: G2 as a team is overated and fans shouldn't be surprised if they make an early exit. 01:08:20 pakrat predicts TL will go 3-3 but not get a chance for a tiebreaker game. 01:22:10 Mr. Despair's take: TSM will make it out of groups 01:32:50 Draftbuff break! Draft your Groups predictions! 01:36:31 Shiansc's take: This year has been amazing for esports, and reddit's complaints about advertising is just stupid. 01:48:12 Treethan (formerly ghosthan) thinks FLY is definitely gonna make it out of groups. 01:56:58 Hutigwul wonders if this is the worst Worlds meta yet. 02:04:49 Outro

00:00:00 Intro 00:25:10 Omniscient's take: Play-ins showed us that Bo1's are worse than Bo anything else. 00:46:20 Shammyl predicts: ALL NA TEAMS ARE GETTING OUT OF GROUPS!! 01:03:00 Alienware is Awesome~ 01:04:55 Kaciarama's take: Mad Lions losing could have a negative outlook on how rookies are viewed competitively in EU. 01:14:47 Clent's take: The last 3 World Championships have shown that teams with good solo lane prowess/priority are the ones that do well at worlds and go deep. 01:25:55 Luminescent_Echo's take: Major regions should not take imports from the wildcard regions and should improve local talent. 01:37:55 Draftbuff! Join us and predict your Worlds teams! 01:40:30 Astrosparkle says:  it's not that Jankos has struggled to play carry junglers, it's that G2 struggles to play carry junglers. 01:47:25 bmorris predicts TSM and GenG will make it out of Groups due to their strong top sides. 01:54:31 Outro

00:00:00 Intro 00:16:43 Ghosthan thinks Gen G can win Worlds 00:27:10 Dr Manhattan's take: the West won't make semis and G2 will be the only western team to leave groups 00:35:30 Keddage's take: if this is Deft's last shot at a world title, DRX might come out swinging and have a shot at a title. 00:43:10 Alienware! 00:45:00 Bluejay's take: the LPL adopting a salary cap system will have a significant effect on the league and possibly other regions 01:00:43 iAmZeGinger's take: China is overhyped as a region because of the strength of the top 2 teams (TES and JDG). 01:18:30 Nick Mattas asks LS: What is the most underrated team/darkhorse at Worlds? / FlyQuest is the best hope for NA?! 01:28:01 Wafflefoot asks LS for his perspective on Korea's transition in playstyles 01:38:30 Draftbuff is back baby!! 01:46:00 alphabet's take: too much credit is given to the average Chinese laners. Unless given a favorable matchup in quarters, only 1 chinese team will make it to semifinals. 01:57:45 stolp3 asks: Who is the best coach at Worlds?  02:12:17 Outro

00:00:00 Intro 00:42:40 revive thinks TL will get Group A and make it out of groups. 00:56:06 TheOGCush says TSM's group is perfect for them to make it out of groups. 01:11:06 bluefrost asks HLL to rank these from least likely to most likely: 1. Pool 1 region rep drops in play-in. 2. One of TES, DWG, G2 drop in groups. 3. NA goes winless in main group stage. 01:20:48 bluejay doesn't think FlyQuest should be written off. 01:33:05 shayok thinks Jack made a good choice in letting Reapered go. 01:48:18 Omniscient's take: Only 1 Western team will make it out of groups and that will be most likely be G2 form the group of life or TL if they get lucky. 01:58:43 Skips35 predicts a non-LPL team will win Worlds this year B) 02:08:40 Outro

00:00:00 Intro - Is the World Ending?? 00:36:25 Gengariffith's take: TL getting put in the play-in stage is the best outcome for NA if we hope to have 3 teams in groups. 00:47:11 Human Boy says NA will do fine at worlds and people need to calm down. 00:57:00 ALIENWARE HYPE! 00:59:59 Barbanator24 says that while Bjergsen won the player of the series in the finals, he would argue that Biofrost or Brokenblade should have won it. 01:14:33 Bluejay disguised as Savzy calls back to discuss: TL Broxah mentioned that NA fans look for the worst in winning teams, in an interview. 01:33:56 Mugiwara's take: Cloud 9 keeping the full roster is a worrying sign, and their Academy team needs to be a contingency plan for player failures. 01:49:04 Nidhin's take: It's time to say that if TL kept DL, they would have won this season. 01:59:09 OP_TSM_FAN says TSM playing towards BB reminds him of how C9 have played around their rookies, and this will bode well for TSM at worlds. 02:09:20 Outro

00:00:00 Intro - CAN C9 STILL GO TO WORLDS? Hypotheticals, predictions and more... 00:18:00 How HLL works 00:21:46 John's take: The new playoff format saved NA from sending C9 to worlds and making it extremely difficult for TL to qualify. 00:38:24 Tempo Thomas predicts: Flyquest will perform well at worlds and TL / TSM wont 00:46:42 ALIENWARE Intel Gamer Days 00:49:40 tb0neski predicts TSM will 3-0 TL, FQ vs TSM will be 3-2 either way 01:07:49 Orochi's take: TL losing to TSM is the only way they can perform well at worlds 01:21:29 barbanator24 thinks Brokenblade is the best Top lanner in NA and has a chance at playoffs MVP; Bjergsen is the only other one performing at that level  01:33:19 Shadowspectr, an attorney, says that due to the Immortals announcement, the NA League scene needs more legal analysis and a more open/inclusive spread of contract information in order for the LCS to better thrive. 01:49:20 Etienne Escobar's take: TL will 3-0 TSM and FLY next week cause last week was an off phase and they were using the match against fly to limit test stuff 02:00:16 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:23:12 brandywine's take: the GG-TSM matchup reveals the big problem with this style of double elim. 00:31:46 kon calls back to predict that TSM is going to beat c9 this week, pretty handily leading to one of the biggest chokes/180s of league of legends history 00:49:22 Alienware break~ 00:51:44 Truz's take: LCS players shouldn't complain about backlash they need to learn to deal with it or they will never succeed 01:14:42 Bluejay's take: Biofrost going in for Treatz was for sure an upgrade and Bio didn't get enough credit for hisd Bard because of the Soul ultimate 01:28:14 lilchester27 calls back to gloat and give a take: Blaber is a system jungler and C9 has to play around him to succeed. 01:43:40 TheGreatClockwyrm predicts FLY will beat TL and book a spot in the finals. 01:56:01 Barbanator24 thinks that  coaching staff and styles are the reason lcs is bad and will not go anywhere in worlds 02:05:42 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:31:24 xspiritusx says Damonte to GG is the best roster move of the split. 00:42:31 Vienna's take: We're hurting ourselves and our growth as a region with extensive expectations based on short term results 00:59:33 Alienware.com/travis is a good place to be : ) 01:02:48 Thew predicts that TL matches up better against FLY, but is focused more on taking TSM out early to not let them gain momentum. 01:11:09 Zackkuiper1923's take: GG will rematch TSM in the losers bracket and the result will be the same, thus eliminating TSM from worlds again which might blow up the roster 01:29:08 Indy Skies who is actually bluejay's take: Jensen, PoE, solo and Aphro should all be in the conversation of getting robbed in the all-pro voting 01:46:46 TomSoloMid's take: flyquest will beat C9. 01:54:40 Dairy Cat's Hot take: GG will beat TL this weekend as they have shown an ability to play the proactive early game which is TL's weakness. 02:05:05 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:25:50 Wheelz thinks that GGs will upset TSM and C9 but fall to TL, still taking 3rd Worlds spot over FLY 00:37:49 SandyToez's take: Santorin deserves to be in the discussion for MVP, and at the least should be voted 1st Team All-Pro Jungler. 00:51:30 Alienware! 00:53:30 Pleeko's take: TSM overall played better than TL and only lost because of small mechanical misplays 01:03:19 Ezstaysafe says the takes that CLG should be relegated despite it being a franchised league are stupid. 01:28:34 Warden's take: Jatt should be coach of the split 01:43:53 TomShoe's take: IMT has a good foundation for the future and shouldn't blow it up 01:58:10 Zeenithu's take: 100T is going to run through the lower bracket for the 3rd place seed to begin their dynasty of NA talent on the back of their NEXT program  02:07:50 Outro

00:00:00 Intro  00:20:44 Mikael's take: Golden Guardians will take the 3rd spot at worlds beating out TL since TSM will get 2nd seed 00:31:39 Syck's hot take: TL will NOT make worlds 00:41:03 Xanadu's take: C9 will not be going to worlds. 00:50:59 Alienware is great! :D 00:53:42 Fracture's hot take: C9 will not drop a single game in playoffs 01:03:01 BaldySenpai says EG needs to bench Bang to make room for Jiizuke AND Huni. 01:12:50 Doctor 's hot take: FLY is going to Worlds along with C9 and GGs 01:27:00 McKalen's take: TSM will win Summer 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021 01:48:44 S1eptking's take: LoL can look at what the UFC did with Fight Island as way to do worlds 02:00:23 Outro