Stratos Cup Round 1: Ozon3 Sodium vs. Ozon3 Carbon
Hello and salutations, everyone, and welcome to the first article in a series that will look to dissect each round of the Stratos Cup and allow anyone who missed the streams a chance to keep up-to-date. The goal of this series will be, first and foremost, news but will also seek to reveal behind the scenes information and thought processes for each round. That said, let’s jump right into it, starting with our first round and our first game!
First game saw us watching Ozon3 Carbon , one of the organization’s premier teams, facing off against Ozon3 Sodium one of the open league teams. Ozon3 Carbon was once known as Radium and finished fairly high in the premier league last season. They have since changed names and have had roster and time issues this season but, despite this, are still a very strong team.
Ozon3 Sodium has had similar roster changes, particularly toward the start of the season, but have now settled into a set roster for the most part. Currently sitting at 6-2 in the open league, they have come along way from their infancy days and have really come together as a strong threat.
Casters and analysts both had a lot of excitement and expectation for this match up and neither team disappointed. Right off the bat, there were bans targeted toward both teams stronger lanes, with a focus on midlane bans from Ozon3 Carbon and bot lane oriented bans coming out from Ozon3 Sodium.
With banning phase out of the way, Ozon3 Carbon settled into a more pick oriented comp with some potential teamfight and late game consisting of Gnar, Jarvan IV, Ahri, Tristana, and Nami. In hindsight, this comp wasn’t the strongest as both the J4, Ahri, and Nami indicate an interest in picking but Gnar and Tristana are both honestly better for sieging or teamfighting.
On the side of Ozon3 Sodium, they opted into a heavy engage, AoE teamfight comp consisting of Kennen, Sejuani, Viktor, Sivir, and Thresh. While more cohesive of a comp than Ozon3 Carbon, Ozon3 Sodium composition was more mid gamey than late, leaving them vulnerable to losing late game they didn’t shut Ozon3 Carbon own early.
The game that followed proved to be explosive and long winded; everyone was constantly biting their nails in anticipation. Much of the game saw Ozon3 Carbon playing on the back foot as they found themselves losing out to the much stronger teamfight from Ozon3 Sodium that was exacerbated by having Ozon3 Carbon’s Gnar fall behind in a clutch early game skirmish around midlane. However, due to some misplays on Ozon3 Sodium’s part, Ozon3 Carbon hung in tooth and nail to the very last fight, making it feel like anytime could be a turning point. After a grueling 55+ minute game, however, Ozon3 Sodium finally came out as victorious, giving them the first win of the Stratos Cup.
Unfortunately, after this first match, the Ozon3 Sodium vs Ozon3 Carbon games end due to a miscommunication error. This leaves Ozon3 Carbon forfeiting the best of three and giving the win over to Ozon3 Sodium.
