Scouting Report: JDM
This is the first part of a series. No scheduled time for when these come out, it’ll depend on my time.
2017 has been a rough year for JDM. He never fit into Team Liquid because he needed structure and support as an AWPer, something that was lacking for Liquid throughout 2016 and continued into 2017 despite stanislaw being recruited into the lineup. Things started to change as zews came into the lineup.
As for Team Liquid as a team, I’d say they have become more tactical as the year has gone on. They play a consistent level of CS that focuses on map control and then using one of multiple types of hits to secure the round. The problem was that the roles were wrong. All the roles shifted after the Krakow Major break and Liquid has come out stronger.
As for JDM, his role in the team has remained the same. He has slowly increased his level back up since the disastrous start. For this report, the notable games I picked out were these.
Inferno
TL vs Na`VI ESL Col.
TL vs SK ESL NY
Cache
TL vs nV ELeague Major
TL vs AST g2 ESL NY
Nuke
TL vs FaZe ELeague Major
TL vs OPT ESL PL S5
Train
TL vs G2 DH Austin
TL vs nV g2 ESL PL S5
TL vs FNC g2 ECS S3 Finals
Cobble
TL vs NOR ESL PL S5
What I did was focus on gun rounds and look at the overall patterns of where JDM was getting his impact on these rounds in his best games. I used the analogy of an electron cloud before, which is a percentage chance of where the electron will be at any given moment. In a similar way I rank the types of impact kills he is likely to get. From highest to lowest.
Anchoring a site as the execute comes in on Ct-side (usually 1–2 kills).
Holding a forward position and using transitional defense on Ct-side. (1 pick)
Going out and looking for picks on Ct-side.
Post plant situations on T-side (must have an AWP though).
Within an execute himself either with an AWP or rifle.
Retakes with his AWP.
Opening pick on the T-side.
Hero plays.
In general, what I think about JDM is that he is at his best on the Ct-side where he must have the AWP. But when he does get it, he is a strong addition to the defense, especially in the middle of the rounds and gives an alternative way to bring aggression to the enemy. His best range looks to be mid-range shots. On the T-side, he is used to hold down areas or angles with his AWP, but isn’t the point of contact for the team. His best usage on T-side for me is when he gets into the post plant positions with the AWP. He has a clear weakness in his rifle play, though it has improved a little bit recently. His pistols on pistol round seem good (He had big impact in helping in both pistols against Astralis on Mirage), but it’s not something I pay attention to.
Overall I’d say his most consistent map is Train Ct-side, but the highest peak we’ve seen him at is the Team Liquid vs SK game 1 at ESL New York on inferno. He is especially poor on Overpass. I think it’s because it’s a specialty map, that doesn’t suit his style of taking an angle and holding it without worries of someone flanking him.
So now that I’ve finished this, let’s talk about the points of weakness in my analysis. It’s serviceable for me when I’m writing an article as it goes over broad strokes. But it doesn’t go into the minute details of what makes Counter-Strike, Counter-strike. For instance, I don’t talk about his nade usage, or how he works with teammates, what his preferred routes are, or where he is stationed across all the different maps, or various Ct-sided setups. There are reasons for this, but it’s basically impossible for me to do all of that, and it seems like a bunch of stats are being pushed forward anyway. In addition to that, I don’t think it makes for good written content to break into the minute details like that, and I think there are a few guys who do it at a high level already: Max_melit, seangares, maui_snake, Steel, Ynk, dust, etc.
