Boomer’s Season 5 report:
I try my hand in writing a rough report of one of the most spectacular seasons of League of Legends thus far. It's gonna be long to say the least.
Coming off the back of a noticeable increase in the level of competition during Season 4, with an influx of fast rookies for Season 5, Season 5 proved to be one that exceeded expectations and immediately quashed assumptions of a predictable season. It featured a record number of different race winners, a record number of consecutive different winners, defending and former champions finding Season 5 to be one of if not their most difficult yet, and a three-way fight for the championship that went all the way into the final rounds with no less than six lead changes between the three championship protagonists.
Videos of the races since Season 4 of League of Legends may be found on Luís Frederico Lopes’ YouTube channel here, shot from his point of view:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN9YE2_9nl7FV1DajsQyKHw
Prelude:
Season 5 started off with a number things to watch out for; season 4 champion Mirwi Zerki attempting to defend his title after a sensational run last season full of creative strategies and aggressive, spectacular racecraft, Season 3 champ Andrea Testa trying to wrestle back the championship after finishing a distant second to Mirwi last season, Seasons 1 and 2 champ Jason Chen looking to bounce back from his worst championship finishing position of 4th, and what looked to be the last season of Ross Brawn, League of Legends’ dedicated host from Seasons 1 to 4 and Season 2’s runner-up, losing the championship then by only 9 points to Jason Chen after having led most of the season, the championship having gone down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. If there’s one season where Ross would like to get redemption for his Season 2 loss, Season 5 looks to be it.
Australia, Malaysia, China:
The season however got off to a strange start, with a bug in the race schedule meaning the Australian GP would be held on Sunday instead of Monday. League of Legends races only on weekdays, with weekends being breaks. In spite of attempts to get the schedule fixed and requesting assistance on the forums, no change was able to be done and the field had to make do with racing on Sunday. Big names such as Mirwi Zerki, Andrea Testa, Boomer Kid, and more were unable to attend the race, which meant it was time for the attending managers to, without ill intents and purposes, capitalize on the reduced field with the assumption that the points would not count towards the championship. Ross Brawn starts on Supersofts, compared to most of his competition such as 2-time champ and long-time veteran of iGP Jason Chen from the USA, and quick Albanian manager Danger Speed, who both start on Softs. Running alone for most of the early-to-mid-stages of the race, Ross joins the train in the final stint, eventually going on to win with Jason coming in 2nd and Danger in 3rd. Ross and Jason started the last lap with similar levels of boost, but Ross’ better track position meant he was able to stay in front for his first win in 3 seasons. Despite not attending, Season 3 champ Andrea managed to score a point. The same cannot be said of managers like defending champ Mirwi.
The home race of iGP veteran Boomer Kid comes with the Malaysian GP. Half the field starts on the Softs and half on the Mediums, the Mediums being the starting tyre of Mirwi Zerki during his brilliant last-to-first run in the Malaysian GP last season. Mirwi opts for Mediums this time too, but a bad qualifying like last season, coupled with difficulties making it up the field this time, meant that Mirwi would finish with no points once more, and this time it was those who started on Softs who thrived. Pole-sitter Andrea Testa wins the race, Jason coming in 2nd, Ross in 3rd, with Boomer the leading Mediums starter finishing in 4th. The Chinese GP too had a variety of strategies, the grid being split between Supersofts starters and Softs starters. The race is won by Albanian superstar Danger Speed, the lowest-leveled manager at level 17 but as competitive as anyone. He had started on the Supersofts, getting past Softs starters Jason and Brazilian frontrunner Luís Frederico Lopes in the final laps of the race, the DRS train too close for comfort all the way through. Jason comes in 2nd, with Andrea coming in 3rd sticking to his modus operandi of saving as much boost as possible until the final lap no matter the situation, with Boomer getting another 4th after starting on Supers, and Ross in 5th after also starting on Supers.
After China, Jason becomes the only manager to finish on the podium in every race this season so far. They were all 2nd places, his consistency meaning that he leads the championship after 3 races in a bid for his 3rd title, with results in Australia counting towards the championship without complaints. However, there were definitely some missed opportunities for wins in those close races which could have given Jason a bigger lead in the championship this early on. Jason would be looking to build his lead in the coming races, against a charge from a highly motivated Ross Brawn looking for his first championship, Andrea chasing his 2nd title, Danger at only level 17 making a competitive run, and more.
Defending champion Mirwi finally scored points with a 7th in China, but sits way down in the championship after 3 races, making his title defense difficult from the get go.
Standings after Season 5 China (top 5):
1. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 54 pts
2. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 50 pts (1 win)
3. Andrea Testa, Colorino Motorsport – 41 pts (1 win)
4. Danger Speed, Mercedes AMG F1 – 40 pts (1 win)
5. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 26 pts
6. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 24 pts
Bahrain, Spain, Monaco, Turkey:
Mirwi is sitting at only 6 points after 3 races. While the issue with the schedule is partly to blame, Andrea Testa who also missed the first race is 3rd in the standings, entering the Bahrain GP where Andrea has won in the last 3 seasons at least (I don’t know if Andrea won Bahrain in Season 1). If Mirwi wants to get his title defense back on track, it has to start in Bahrain.
And Mirwi has his work cut out for him, starting 9th behind competitors Danger, Ross, Andrea, Boomer, and more on the Softs. He however starts ahead of Jason who sits a lowly 15th, Jason having started 4th among the Softs starters in Aus, 2nd on the grid in Malaysia, and 3rd among the Softs starters in China. The cars accelerate off the line, and throughout the first stint, Mirwi brilliantly manages to pass the entire field of Softs runners without need for much boost, and pulls out a gap to get out of DRS range. No one is able to catch him, and for his final pitstop, he even pits later than chasing duo Boomer and Jason. Mirwi goes on to win the Bahrain GP in spectacular fashion, with Boomer in 2nd getting his first podium of the season and Jason in 3rd. Andrea and Danger finish in 7th and 11th after a horrible pitstop in the first stint costing them 5 seconds each, being very unusual sluggish stops, while Ross finishes a solid 4th.
However, when Spain came around Mirwi finds himself starting 19th, and after not being able to make it up the field, finishes once again outside of the points. The battle for the lead is fought race-long between Ross, Boomer, and current top Brazilian of the league Luís Frederico Lopes. Ross is aiming to win his home race, while Boomer also hopes to get a victory on the cards, only to clumsily lose DRS multiple times against Luís. Expertly fending off his more seasoned competition, Luís, dubbed by some as the “King of Spain”, goes on to win his first race in League of Legends, making it the 5th season in a row League of Legends has seen a new winner each season. Jason finishes in 5th after starting a lowly 15th once more, his first time outside the podium, making Ross regain the championship lead by only 1 point. With Ross and Jason neck-to-neck in the championship early on, it is becoming reminiscent of Season 2, for now.
Monaco is where qualifying position matters most, and pole is the jackpot. The winner of that jackpot is Boomer Kid, who had won only 2 races in the last 2 seasons and had been struggling to return to his former glory since returning to iGP. Behind him starting in 2nd was Ross, Jason starting in 3rd, another Brazilian Gustavo Uyeda starting in 4th, Danger starting in 5th, and Luís starting in 6th. Jason gets off to a horrible start dropping down to 6th after lap 1. Danger and Gustavo drain boost in the early laps to aim for the lead, only for Boomer to fend off Danger who’s in 2nd causing him to lose DRS, run out of boost early, and finish outside the points. Gustavo after having drained his boost too sits in 2nd for most of the race before being passed by Ross for 2nd, Luís for 3rd, and Jason for 4th. Boomer takes his first win of Season 5, making it 6 different winners in 6 races this season so far. The Italian champs Andrea and Mirwi failed to score points, falling even further behind in the title chase.
Turkey saw Gustavo as the leading Softs starter in 3rd, with Season 4 Singapore race winner Spaniard Armando Siles on pole on Supersofts, Danger also on Supers starting behind him. Boomer gets a rocket start, shooting from 9th to 4th on lap 1, and with Gustavo the two of them would lead the field for most of the race. Mirwi races hard after starting 20th, most likely due to a risky car design that put some focus on Economy early in the season, having another difficult job to make it up the field. This time, however, he successfully manages to negotiate the train and fights all the way to 3rd behind Gustavo, before having championship contender Jason snatch 3rd position away on the final lap. Boomer wins the race with a comfortable gap, being the first multiple winner of Season 5, Gustavo coming in 2nd for the first time. Andrea failed to finish in the points once again, losing DRS multiple times, likely exposing a weakness of his routine of saving boost as much as possible no matter the situation. Regrettably, Andrea would go on to not attend races for most of the season, throwing in the towel on his Season 5 very early on.
From being 6th in the standings after China, Boomer unexpectedly finds himself leading the championship after Turkey. But his form was still in question in spite of some good racing and great results, and with Jason and Ross right behind, the three-way fight for the title is only just beginning, with Luís not far behind as the dark horse.
Standings after Season 5 Turkey (top 6):
1. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 107 points (2 wins)
2. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 106 pts
3. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 104 pts (1 win)
4. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 72 pts (1 win)
5. Andrea Testa, Colorino Motorsport – 55 pts (1 win)
6. Danger Speed, Mercedes AMG F1 – 48 pts (1 win)
Great Britain (GB19), Germany, Hungary, Europe:
League of Legends goes into uncharted territory as they arrived in the new configuration of the British GP for the first time ever. As expected, the race would feature a variety of strategies and tyre compound usage. Championship contenders Jason and Ross start on Supersofts, while championship leader Boomer opts to start on the Softs, the same compound as heavy hitters like Mirwi and Danger. Jason and Boomer get off to poor starts, Jason dropping behind a Soft runner early on while Boomer finds himself virtually last. DRS gets activated, and Jason manages to get back onto the tail of the Supers train without need for boost. Mirwi and Danger lead the field of 2 stoppers, Mirwi like most going on Softs for his second stint, but with Danger taking a risk on Mediums. Ross starting on Softs goes for a 3 stop, the same number of stops as Supers starters like Jason. Danger’s Mediums allow him to go longer on fresher rubber later on in his 2nd stint, and on his 3rd stint he manages to catch up to Mirwi after pitting later. Meanwhile, Ross aiming to get to the front of the field suffers from a slow stop, and that means now the win would be contested between Mirwi and Danger. Danger with slightly fresher rubber manages to come out on top for his second win of the season. Mirwi finishes 2nd, a fast-catching Jason with his 3-stopper coming in 3rd. Luís comes in 4th on the same strategy as Jason, Ross 5th, with Boomer finishing down in 8th behind Gustavo and Italian rookie Carlo Ocimmin. Jason leaves Great Britain taking over the championship lead, ahead of Ross in 2nd and Boomer in 3rd.
Germany sees Dome Nico on pole on Supersofts. But everyone behind him would start on Softs, with the top 3 Softs starters being Ross, Danger, and Boomer. After starting last among the Supers runners in Britain, Jason finds himself starting 15th in Germany behind fellow American Josh Perez. The race largely consisted of a long DRS train, completely unlike the race the season before which saw the leading managers pull away out of DRS range from the rest, the field further spread apart. Boomer battles hard with Gustavo for the lead early on, only to drain too much boost and be passed by the train towards the end of the race, finishing in 7th. Ross comes in a solid 3rd, with 4th going to Brazilian rookie Guilherme Ferreira who with his longer stints managed to convert them to his best finish of the season. The top 2 positions would go to the two managers who saved the most boost throughout the race. Josh Perez took the lead early in the last stint with help of some well-saved boost, while Jason would wait to pounce at the end. After a closely-fought last lap, Josh emerges victorious, winning his first race in League of Legends, leading his compatriot Jason home for a USA one-two. Jason spectacularly extends his lead in the championship despite not having won a race, having a 10-point lead over Ross and showing consistent form despite on average qualifying lower than championship contenders Ross and Boomer.
Hungary was the first wet-weather race of Season 5. While the conditions during qualifying favored the Intermediates, with Intermediates starters like Season 4 Japanese GP winner Dome Nico from Italy on pole, Josh in 2nd, Boomer in 3rd, Jason in 10th, but Ross starting 18th on Wets, the Wets would emerge as the faster tyre in the race. Armando Siles rocketed from 22nd to 9th on the first lap on Wets, and took an early lead over Boomer and Dome, Boomer having judged Dome to be on much heavier fuel and boosted past him early on. However, Armando pit early and was soon passed by Boomer for 2nd who was now on Wets. The manager with the most ingenious strategy however was Ross, pitting one stop less than Boomer and Armando to win from 18th on the grid starting on Wets, 10 seconds over second-placed Boomer. Fellow two-stoppers Dome and Spaniard manager Sir Vito finished 4th and 5th after starting on Inters before switching to Wets. With Jason finishing in 7th, Ross overturned Jason’s championship lead in an instant with his second win, leading by 9 points.
In Europe, Ross would take pole starting on Supersofts, but with the Valencia track’s first lap bug, he was 100% sure to be passed on the first lap. He dropped to 3rd by lap one, behind Italian rookies Simone Bacchilega and Carlo Ocimmin. Managers who started from 11th onwards on the Supers like Boomer, Jason, Mirwi, and Danger sought to move up the order, with Jason uncharacteristically boosting hard very early on to go up front early in the race. As the order settled down, Jason fell outside the points having drained his boost early, with Ross battling 3rd-placed starter Luís for the win, Luís’ fellow Brazilian Gustavo close by in third after starting 20th on Softs. At the end, Mirwi got in the mix after a brilliant comeback and managed to steal 2nd place from Ross, with Luís crossing the line in first for his second win of the season. Danger finished 5th, with championship contender Boomer finishing 6th, both going on Supers for their last stint but not making them work as well as those on Softs.
After Europe, Ross leads the championship after having confirmed he will be retiring from racing in LoL after Season 5. With an inspiring run and upturn of form, leading the championship by 24 points, Ross would do his best to keep up his strong rhythm in hopes of bringing the championship home. Jason is not far behind in 2nd while the points gap from Ross to Boomer and Boomer to Luís has now become equal. Defending champ Mirwi enters the top 5 of the championship especially after his two 2nd-place finishes in Britain and Valencia, but only has half the points of Ross.
Standings after Season 5 Europe (top 6):
1. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 169 pts (2 wins)
2. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 145 pts
3. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 143 pts (2 wins)
4. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 117 pts (2 wins)
5. Mirwi Zerki, Kaiser Zlaider – 87 pts (1 win)
6. Danger Speed, Mercedes AMG F1 – 83 pts (2 wins)
Belgium, Italy, Singapore:
Jason comes into Belgium still searching for his first win, but his inexplicable downturn in qualifying form merely continues in Belgium where he starts 21st on the Softs, the only car behind him being one that did not do a setup. Fellow American Josh Perez is on pole on the Supers, but the ones to watch are championship leader Ross starting 7th on Softs, Mirwi in 10th, and Boomer in 14th. Ross and Mirwi break away from the train early on, forming a two-car team leading the field by a significant margin. Behind are hard chargers Boomer and Jason, leading the chasing train going into the final round of pitstops. Boomer however suffers a slow pitstop putting him out not just behind Jason, but a number of other managers within the train that he had been comfortably ahead of. Up front, Mirwi and Ross have drained their boost, and with Jason on a charge and with tons of boost to spare, he rockets to the lead on the last lap. Behind, Boomer has managed to fight back through the field in fury, and on the last lap, also passes Ross and Mirwi after the DRS straight. Jason would finally claim his first victory of the season three seconds over Boomer in 2nd, with Mirwi coming in 3rd and Ross 4th. Ross’ lead over Jason is now cut down to just 11 points. It was a sensational race from Jason which if the one manager without a setup had not made the grid, would be considered a last-to-first victory, a feat Jason had also achieved in League of Legends’ first ever race in Season 1.
Jason’s qualifying woes would continue in Italy, where he would start in 19th in front of other big names such as Mirwi and Danger. Ross did not qualify much better in 15th, leaving Boomer to start comfortably up front relative to his competition in 6th. As the cars speed off, Ross soars to 10th after lap 1, while Jason, Mirwi, and Danger would languish behind for most of the race. Boomer and Ross race nose to tail at the midpoint of the race, but just before their final pitstops, Boomer uses a dab of boost to pull away from DRS range from Gustavo and Ross chasing him, both using more boost, and after the stops, Boomer comes out with a 3 second lead. However, without a DRS partner up front, Boomer’s early lead in the last stint would mean nothing in Italy, and the train soon catches up to him with quite a number of laps to go. The worst lap to be leading the Italian GP on iGP Manager would undeniably be the penultimate lap. Boomer is the leader of the penultimate lap, the train using boost and never letting him escape, swarming him on the DRS straight. Italian rookie Simone Bacchilega had saved his boost masterfully, and even with Boomer dumping all his boost behind him, Simone emerges with a popular first win in League of Legends on his home track, also breaking the league record for the most different winners in a season with 9 different winners in 13 races, with the Italian GP also being the 7th consecutive race with a different winner. Boomer finishes in 2nd, with another Italian manager Marco the Ace in 3rd, Marco having had a rather poor early half of the season but starting to regain his form that’s made him a consistent upper-midfielder in the championship. Ross however could only manage to settle for 7th in the DRS fest, while Jason had been unable to make up ground, finishing outside the points. Another noteworthy result is 4th by Lolita after having started attending races since only the European GP, where she finished in 9th. In spite of that, she would be aiming to outperform the rest of the rookies Simone, Guilherme, and Carlo in the coming races, and hopefully grab a podium soon.
Having led the championship midway after the German GP, and after having had a brilliant win in Belgium, Jason now finds himself trailing Ross and Boomer in the points, but not by much, still just 17 points behind Ross.
Boomer enters the Singaporean GP 8 points behind Ross, having slowly clawed his way back in the championship hunt after poor races in Britain, Germany, and Europe. Dome Nico once again got pole for the race, starting on the Supersofts, with Boomer and Jason also opting for the Supers starting in 4th and 6th respectively. Ross would start 9th on the Softs, quite high up and looking to keep or extend his lead in the championship. The green flag falls, and all of a sudden, Ross’ car plummets down the order all the way to a shocking 19th, and he faces a difficult comeback. Boomer goes for an aggressive race plan, boosting to get the lead early on and pitting earlier than his competition on each stint, staying in front throughout the race having the lighter car most of the time. Jason behind opts to stay within the train, saving boost for the end in spite of managers all around him trading boost usage back and forth. The laps count down, and Ross shows little signs of making it back into contention, sitting below 15th and outside of the points. Boomer’s lead would gradually be cut down by polesitter Dome Nico in the last few laps, the Italian having saved his boost while Boomer has only very little left for the end. Jason lies in a comfortable 3rd, with quite a bit of boost left, but whether that’s enough to make an attack on Dome and Boomer, he’ll have to see on the final few laps. With the chance to be the tenth different winner of Season 5, Dome drains his boost on the last lap and charges for the lead, Jason also boosting behind but immediately looking too far away to catch up to Dome and Boomer. With Dome reaching Boomer’s rear wing, Boomer defends with what little boost he has left in the final few corners. Boomer’s boost runs out, but he crosses the line first to take a highly crucial third victory of the season, Dome right behind in 2nd and Jason a second behind in 3rd, with Josh in 4th, and Lolita 5th after pulling off a 2 stop that included stints on the Mediums.
With three races to go, the championship looks set to go down to the wire. The lead has swapped numerous times, and now it is Boomer with a promising but nowhere near safe championship lead of 17 points over Ross and 19 points over Jason. With momentum on his side, Boomer’s hopes for his first championship look bright, but Ross remains hungry for his first championship too, ready to pounce whenever the opportunity arises, and Jason is looking to turn the tide for his third crown, having had to fight from behind due to low qualifying positions since midway in the season. Each contender would be looking for opportunities to take, mistakes or weaknesses from one another to take advantage of, or just for the race to come to them. It’s three to go, and it’s not over until it’s over.
Standings after Season 5 Singapore (top 6):
1. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 204 points (3 wins)
2. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 187 pts (2 wins)
3. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 185 pts (1 win)
4. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 126 pts (2 wins)
5. Mirwi Zerki, Kaiser Zlaider – 103 pts (1 win)
6. Danger Speed, Mercedes AMG F1 – 83 pts (2 wins)
Japan:
UK manager Matt Watchorn joins the league in Japan. With his reduced design, this means that this will not be the first season where all managers in League of Legends have scored points during the season; all 22 managers who were in the league from the beginning of the season were able to score points. We look forward to racing with Matt in Season 6.
We now move on to the race.
With Boomer not only taking the lead of the championship but also looking to have gotten into a confident rhythm, Ross and Jason go into Japan knowing that they cannot let Boomer extend his lead any further. With the entire field starting on Softs save for one non-attendee, the only difference in strategy being the length of the stints, the race is looking to mostly be a straight fight of tactics. Ross and Boomer qualify 10th and 11th respectively, while Jason once again starts all the way down the grid in 18th. With tensions rising, the green flag falls and the engines roar, Ross rocketing up to 7th with Boomer falling down to 15th by lap 3. Jason, in what looks to be an exercise in desperation, once again like in the European GP uncharacteristically dumps his boost early in the race, boosting up to 8th by the end of lap 3 and using more boost in an effort to get towards the front end of the train, led for the most part by Marco The Ace who shot to the lead after starting in 3rd. The train however begins to break up, with Boomer and the rest of the managers behind having to use boost to stay within DRS range. With Ross and Jason in the top 5 and Boomer just outside the top 10, the first round of pitstops come and Ross is the earliest of the championship contenders to pit, followed by Jason, with Boomer pitting latest of the three and coming out inside the top 10 positions. A few managers take on Mediums, notably defending champ Mirwi who pitted early and rookie Lolita who started all the way down in 20th still languishing behind, and rookie Carlo who also started up front, with most of the field opting for Softs. Jason has run out of boost and eventually falls out of contention, Marco still at the front of the field while Ross now sits around 7th just 2 positions ahead of Boomer, the latter with much fresher tyres. The second round of pitstops come and Ross once again pits with the group of early-pitting managers, followed by more of the field on the next lap, then Marco from the lead and some of the Mediums runners behind, with Boomer running one lap later than everyone else being the very last car to pit. Boomer has used more than half of his boost, and now comes out in the lead of the train thanks to the overcut but with Marco just behind with more or less a full charge of boost left. Ross lies in 6th or 7th also with a healthy charge of boost almost double that of Boomer’s. But Boomer with his fresher tyres and faster pace breaks from the train along with Marco who uses boost to keep up, the two now outside of DRS range from the chasing pack. Ross has an important decision to make: stay within the chasing pack, or use boost to catch up to Boomer and Marco, Boomer having less boost than Ross. With the championship on the line, Ross decides fast. He boosts to the front of the chasing pack, gets DRS off its leader, then boosts for the leading duo. He comes to the tail of Marco and Boomer, Ross now with a similar level of boost as Boomer, sitting in 3rd with a healthy gap to the chasing group.
Boomer, in a display of cunning arguably more impressive than even his 3 wins this season, pulls out one of his old tricks. Not content with letting Ross settle in 3rd, while swapping the lead with Marco due to DRS, Boomer boosts both while in the lead and while in second in an effort to induce Ross to dump his boost to stay with the leading duo. Ross has to react, boosting while Boomer boosts away with Marco following with boost of his own too to stay with Boomer. They keep boosting, Ross managing to stay with the leading duo lap after lap, but it is difficult with Boomer and Marco both having fresher tyres. A couple laps to go, Ross’ boost finally runs out, losing DRS with the duo of Marco and Boomer pulling away. Having had easily more boost than Boomer for the entirety of the race, Marco would go on to win his first race of LoL, being the 10th different winner of Season 5, with Boomer finishing in second. But the most important thing to watch out for on the last lap is whether Ross could maintain third and if not, how many positions he would lose. The train filled with racers still with boost to spare catches Ross on the DRS straight on the last lap, Lolita shooting into 3rd for a spectacular first podium after starting all the way down in 20th, Danger into 4th, Ross’ fellow Spaniard Marco Sosa into 5th, another Spaniard Armando Siles into 6th, and it goes on all the way until the final corner where Luís passes Ross for 9th, Ross coming home with only 1 point, Jason with 0, and Boomer bagging a highly valuable 18 points.
In just two races, the championship has swung strongly in favor of Boomer, the veteran in prime spot to clinch the title in Brazil. Still, Ross and Jason are not mathematically out of it yet. If they want to steal the championship from Boomer’s hands, they would need to have two magnificent races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, and hope Boomer falters.
Standings after Season 5 Japan (top 6):
1. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 222 points (3 wins)
2. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 188 pts (2 wins)
3. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 185 pts (1 win)
4. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 128 pts (2 wins)
5. Mirwi Zerki, Kaiser Zlaider – 103 pts (1 win)
6. Danger Speed, Mercedes AMG F1 – 95 pts (2 wins)
Brazil:
Brazil has come, Boomer with a healthy 34-point lead only needing to not lose 10 points to Ross and 13 points to Jason to clinch the title.
Last season’s winning strategy by Andrea Testa had him start on Supers while the majority of the field started on Softs. This time, most of the managers have opted to start on Softs as usual, but in front of the grid lies Ross on pole on the Supers, Boomer alongside him on the same tyres, with Jason the last of the Supers starters in 5th, all seeming to have the same idea going into this race. The engines rev, before taking off as the lights go off, and Boomer shoots into the lead on lap one, managing to pull a gap to Ross and the chasing Supers pack outside of DRS range, but only just. Behind, Gustavo who started on Softs has gotten to the back of the Supers runners with the aid of a little boost, far ahead of the rest of the Softs starters, notably Mirwi who dumps all of his boost early on in an extreme attempt to separate himself from the chasing pack but still seconds behind Gustavo, trusting his race pace to take him all the way. Featuring in the chasing pack are Japanese GP winner Marco and Japanese GP podium finisher Lolita.
There are a variety of strategies and tactics in play and no idea which one would come out on top. The Supers runners pit first, Boomer pulling a healthy gap to Ross and Jason with the use of boost, while Jason and Ross find themselves stuck in traffic, not breaking away from each other. Soon after, Gustavo also pits, confirming he is also on a three stop, then laps later, Mirwi, Marco, Lolita, and the rest of the 2 stoppers come in. Boomer uses most of his boost early, pulling an eight second gap to championship rivals Ross and Jason, who were soon passed easily by Gustavo as the stints played out. However, Boomer also loses touch with the leading 2 stoppers, and before the last pitstop is also passed by Gustavo who has much more boost left compared to Boomer who’s almost out of boost. It is the last stint and the leading 3 consists of two-stoppers Marco and Lolita, Lolita once again making great use of the Mediums, and Gustavo who pits latest on his three-stopper. Mirwi settles in a lonely 4th, while Boomer sticks with Luís in 5th and 6th. Ross and Jason are far behind them, with boost left but too far behind to make ground while being stuck in traffic all race long. The 3 leaders engage in a back-and-forth boost battle, and Lolita is the first to lose out running out of boost. Now it’s between Marco and Gustavo for the win, Marco showing strong form since his maiden win in Japan but Gustavo hungry for his first win too and on home soil. With his fresher tyres and solid use of boost, Gustavo gets ahead going neck-to-neck with Marco, crossing the line in first for a popular home victory with Marco in 2nd. Lolita gets her 2nd podium in a row with 3rd, Mirwi coming in 4th. Ross and Jason are languishing in 10th and 11th respectively, and the moment Boomer crosses the line in 5th, he is crowned the Season 5 champion of League of Legends!
Words of congratulations for Gustavo and Boomer pour in the league chat, but there are also parting words for the league’s beloved Ross who will leave the league after Abu Dhabi. Ross is responsible for being one of the key players who put this esteemed league together, going around scouting for managers interested to join, taking care of the league with dedication and passion, and thus, many see Ross as a champion too. Even though the championship is wrapped up with one race to go, the managers are ready for one final spectacle of Season 5 before sending Ross off.
Standings after Season 5 Brazil (top 6):
1. Boomer Kid, Silberkugel Boom Tech – 232 points (3 wins)
2. Ross Brawn, Scuderia Ferrari – 189 pts (2 wins)
3. Jason Chen, Swift Attack – 185 pts (1 win)
4. Luís Frederico Lopes, Puma Racing – 136 pts (2 wins)
5. Mirwi Zerki, Kaiser Zlaider – 115 pts (1 win)
6. Gustavo Uyeda, Uyeda iGP Motorsports Team – 101 pts (1 win)
Abu Dhabi:
Abu Dhabi has been the domain of Boomer who has won here in LoL every time he has attended the race, that being in Seasons 1, 2, and 4. While the championship is over, some managers are here racing for pride, such as Lolita still chasing her first win having consistently finished towards the front of the field since the Italian GP, Brazilian Guilherme looking for his first podium and starting up front among the Softs starters alongside fellow Brazilian Luís leading the Softs train. Only 3 managers start on the Supers in the desert, notably Boomer on pole and Jason in third. Ross starts 15th, but gets up to 11th by the end of lap one, while Boomer pulls away beyond DRS range in the lead ahead of 2nd placed starter Marco Sosa and Jason in 3rd. Boomer pits earliest, coming out within the Softs train, and Sosa and Jason do the same a lap later. As the stops play out, Lolita once again makes use of the Mediums, while Japanese GP winner Marco The Ace goes longest of the 2 stoppers. In the 2nd of 3 stops, Boomer pits later than Sosa and Jason, and uses boost to stay up front in the train with Marco. In the final stint, Marco The Ace and Boomer like in Japan have broken away from the chasing pack consisting of managers like Ross, Lolita, Luís, and Jason. Both Marco and Boomer have only tiny splashes of boost left, and Marco The Ace runs out when he uses it to stay within DRS range of Boomer. Boomer with fresher tyres is able to pull out of DRS range once he gets ahead, and crosses the line to take a 4th victory in Abu Dhabi with Marco The Ace in 2nd. Lolita gets her third podium in a row with 3rd, while Ross finishes his last race in League of Legends in 4th, Luís in 5th, Italian GP home race winner Simone in 6th, Jason 7th, Danger 8th, Guilherme 9th, and Armando 10th.
This season has broken a number of league records:
- Record for the greatest number of different race winners in a season with 11:
1. Boomer Kid: 4 wins (MON, TUR, SING, ABU)
2. Ross Brawn: 2 wins (AUS, HUN)
3. Luís Frederico Lopes: 2 wins (SPAIN, EUR) (Now I know why people in Luís’ league call him the King of Spain with him winning in Barcelona and Valencia)
4. Danger Speed: 2 wins (CHI, BRI)
5. Jason Chen: 1 win (BEL)
6. Mirwi Zerki: 1 win (BAH)
7. Marco The Ace: 1 win (JAP)
8. Gustavo Uyeda: 1 win (BRA)
9. Simone Bacchilega: 1 win (ITA)
10. Josh Perez: 1 win (GER)
11. Andrea Testa: 1 win (MAS)
- Record for longest streak of consecutive different race winners, see link:
https://imgur.com/a/bBBU3D5
- In spite of a highly competitive season with many different winners, Boomer gets the record for the largest championship-winning margin, scoring 56 more points than runner-up Ross for the championship. The previous record was held by Season 4 champ Mirwi Zerki, who finished the season with 35 points more than runner-up Andrea Testa.
Boomer goes into Season 6 looking to defend his championship against a hungry, blisteringly quick and competitive field of managers. Former champ Jason will be looking to regain his championship-winning form, and things like better qualifying positions compared to the previous season would definitely help, but Jason’s consistency can never be underestimated. Mirwi unfortunately also leaves the league without fanfare, looking to return during the summer. An eye is kept on the lookout for Andrea, seeing whether he’ll return to the live viewer, while every manager can be proud of their strong showings in Season 5, and look forward to hopefully a more successful and more fun and exciting Season 6. Despite losing 2 very strong managers in Ross and Mirwi, the league looks forward to more great races and championships in the future.
Final standings of Season 5:
https://igpmanager.com/forum-thread_3/18975#137254
For those looking for a challenge in one of the most competitive and exciting leagues in this game, this report from my limited point of view is only a snippet of the action, drama, struggles, and rewarding sensation of victory you could expect in League of Legends. If you have over 9000 reputation and are interested in 75% distance, 2x speed, 1 car racing with some of the best managers in this game, League of Legends might just be for you. Message either our current league host Boomer Kid, or former league hosts Ross Brawn and Andrea Testa for the password of the league if you're interested in joining us.
And to Ross, our dedicated, passionate league host for over 4 seasons, I know we’re both fans of Michael Schumacher, so I’ll share you this picture of Schumacher’s last helmet that he raced in Formula One:
We're glad to have been able to share your passion for this league. Take care, friend, and see you next time!
