Dyrus went 3-7 and got placed in Plat I. I am expecting to see Gold I or Plat V is my guess.

lol That list is my way of requesting to play Support if that wasn't clear.  I like the role and know how to play more than one Support champ so I don't mind playing it quite often.

I'm sure I'll get quite a few games as other roles though, since Support seems to be much more popular nowadays and there will be the occasional "We are duo give us bot!" players if I stick to just trying to climb solo.

ah righto

FYI re: fantasy LCS.. can't check the site from work

Attention Fantasy LCS: players out of week 1!

Other thoughts - I kind of wish that Riot didn't allow duo queuing in ranked.  It always feels like it skews things.  I think I'd prefer it it only be solo queue to take out unnecessary variables.  As a preface (as this will sound negative), I'm sure I'll duo queue here and there ofc - but think about this - are you more or less impressed with someone climbing up the ranks as a solo queue guy or someone that duos?  Does anyone really like it when they find out they have a duo queue that must play bot together?  Folks whose best 2 roles are adc/support do not like that so much anyway, so for me in particular its more of a nuisance.  Anyway, I really don't feel like it adds anything other than for the ability to play with a pal at the cost of matchmaking (eg remove duo queues - now I'm grouped with folks of very similar mmrs, probably in similar tiers, etc - NOT Me and my buddy that gold V and I'm plat V are together and hopefully matchmaking was about to find another gold V/plat V duo to put us up against... and also hopefully those gold V's can hold their own against stronger players). 

Look at that example another way - duo queues can essentially allow some weak player into a group of better players.  As the weak player probably doesn't belong there (or he'd already have that rank), he's up against opponents that he can't run with... and as such, has to be carried.  Which, of course, is a disadvantage.  Ideally, the other team will be at similar disadvantage, but I can tell you that is generally not the case as finding spot on equally matched duo queues rarely happens (ex team 1 has gold V/plat V duo, team 2 has the same).  Now its a question of which lower rated player is more of a liability.  Granted, this isn't always the case, but my argument is that its adding an unneeded level of complexity and skewing what would be more even games.  Reiterated.  5 plat V's vs 5 plat V's is better than 4 plat V + 1 Gold V vs 4 plat V + 1 Gold V.  The duo queue example lets people that don't belong (eg HAVE NOT EARNED) their place in a tier play there - often to the detriment of 1 team... as it certainly sounds more fair to have 5 equals or near equals fight it out. 

Last - I'll still duo queue from time to time.  Not against doing it for fun - I just think its an unnecessary concept. 

I don't think I have won a game in ranked in recent memory when two people exclaimed that they had to duo bot. Most of the time when people duo bot in my experience it ends up being some obscure adc pick like kalista or a bizzare support and they lose horribly. I think jungler + whatever is the better duo set up because you can coordinate ganks really really well. Like if me and Karl duo'd Karl could just get me fed every game and it would be ez pz LP.

I don't know.  If I duo'd for a few hundred games with at least a gold level ADC, I'd be plat easy running support.

As it is, I win around 80% of my non-series games playing mostly support at silver 3.  I lose all of my promo games to keep things even and stay where I'm at...

I think the duo bot requests probably end up with like a 25% win rate in ranked for me or so. I typically assume that whoever the duo is with, the lower elo guy is going to try to run support.  I don't typically see awful champ picks though on the duo queue. 

re:the you/karl duo theory - provided 1 semi fed mid is enough to carry ofc.  I like the jungle/mid duo combo best as well, though.  Provided your jungler will gank for you ofc. 

I really don't think there is an ideal duo queue setup, though.  I'm 1st pick, you are last.  We don't have a guarantee on getting Mid/jung.  We can ask for the role, but that's it.  Occasionally you get to work the mid/jung setup.  You can often bully your way or just ask and get an adc/support setup as they are less popular roles atm (imo).  So, you can argue it might be worth to duo IF YOU GET THE ROLES YOU WANT.  If you don't, well super, now at least 1 of you are filling - and you still have the elo offset working against you.

That's another gripe on ranked as it stands.  Everyone is subject to needing to fill, which often puts weaker players in roles they aren't as good at.  If I carry my way to diamond as adc, I'm probably not going to carry as hard out of mid with an ap champ.  Champ select forces us to rely on other folks letting us get the roles we request unless we are fp).  Again, not ideal, but at least everyone is in the same boat (though again... completely arguable that a game where a diamond adc forced to play mid (for bad example) fighting against a diamond mid, well, that diamond adc is a disadvantage and its not as fair a setup... ALL completely dictated by luck of pick order.  I guess I don't find champ select that fun of a game...

Which brings me to RANKED teambuilder.  This I'm excited about and hope we see some iteration on PBE soon.  As its been described, you go through the standard ban phase but you select your roles (likely before queuing up - just not the champions).  I'd simply see a screen saying the role I want and off I go to get grouped.  They need to make sure I can't leave queue based on looking up some players stats and deciding they are crap (without a pentality) and ensure that folks play the role they said they wanted.

THAT is going to make ranked something I'd really enjoy - though I'd be super happy if it was, in fact, ranked SOLO queue. 

Sounds like a way to not really improve all that much, though.  Even my shenanigans work pretty well when I play with some lower elo pals.  Definitely less frustrating, though. 

Didn't Riot claim that Duo Queue winrate stats were under 50%?  So, in a statistical sense, they are helping you (more likely to be on other team than your team) and they aren't helping themselves.  Of course, that is a statistical statement so there are plenty of exceptions (people inappropriately inflated due to duo queueing), but whatever.

yeah - I don't really know and don't recollect reading that, but I believe that's the case.  I'd be quite interested in seeing the actual stats. 

that's the 1st thing I typically think of when I hear about people duo queueing up in rank.  Case in point is me in season 2.  I duo queued to gold playing 10-11 games for the season or something like that (or season 3... can't remember honestly).... imo, those games hardly proved I belonged in gold.  Anyway, thoughts like that are what drive me to prefer solo queue.  If I duo queue up to diamond, it doesn't "feel" to me like I really earned it on my own, which is what makes it feel like an accomplishment to me. 

Also - where is swan?  Anyone hear anything?

In other news, Pacov's fantasy LCS toplaner pulls the first negative score of the season!  Luckily, pacov's ADC makes up for it by scoring 3.5 points.

PS - Neither of these are good things pacov...

Swan picked me up from the airport when I got back from Hawaii which was on the 9th of January. I recall talking to him another time since then but not this week.

Oh and the Elements hype train has hit a wall. The were annhilated by the new Fanatic. I was quick to snatch up there new ADC for one of my alternates; he put up nearly 40 fantasy points in that game. Rekkles got a measly 10. HA

Ill have to watch that game Karl is refering too, must of been even more brutal than Elements vs Fanatic.

yeah! My toplaner guy is doing great.  Also, I apparently have a top laner.  I'm doing it brah!

Yeah, Jungler + Support/Mid is the highest potential for advantage IMO.  Thresh lanterns to Karl for free LP in Season 5?!  I feel that Hedgie and I had some good communication and pick synergy at times in the past for bot lane, but for the most part I think people overestimate the advantage of having someone in TS3 pointing out how great it would have been if you had only hit that hook.

Duos can be a bummer sometime but for the most part I think that allowing the people who have more fun playing with their friends in Ranked is worth the price. Riot did what they could with nixing the Kaceytron/Diamond style duoing but anything more wouldn't be in anyone's best interest.  If Riot took out duoing, a lot more people would quit Ranked than those that would play more because of the change.

Also, I some people are able to get higher in Ranked than they could alone but not what the big deal is.  If someone has a talent for finding people who can play way above their current MMR and can ride them to a higher league then more power to them.  You can only get so far that way before your horse reaches the MMR where they belong.

Except for Pete.  Have him play Malz but tell him he needs to practice other roles/champs in Ranked while you're not around.  Boom, Diamond.