How Will Topson Fit In With LGD Gaming?

The Dota 2 world received a shock when LGD Gaming's midlaner, Santiago "TaiLung" Agüero Gustavo, was banned from The International and all future PGL events. The people most impacted by this news were TaiLung's former teammates, who will attend the event without him.

LGD found the best replacement possible; two-time International winner Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen will be there in their hour of need. But how exactly does Topson compare to TaiLung? And will he adapt to LGD or force the team to fit his playstyle?

Topson vs TaiLung: How does each player approach the game?

When it comes to the two players, they are quite different in their approach to the game. Not only in heroes but also in overall play style. To begin with heroes, out of their top 10 most played, only two are shared between TaiLung and Topson. Ember Spirit and Pangolier. Both have higher GPM and XP on TaiLung, though the difference isn't massive.

TaiLung's hero pool includes more late-game heroes, such as Necrophos and Zeus. On the other hand, Topson functions more as a spacemaker for the teams he plays on. This doesn't mean that either play is inflexible. TaiLung can take a step back from being a win condition and focus on enabling his allies, and Topson carried his teams in late-game situations many times.

It's more so that each midlaner approaches the game with a specific mindset. For TaiLung it's to scale, and for Topson it's to enable his other cores.

How will Topson adapt to LGD Gaming's playstyle?

Or will LGD have to adapt to Topson? The fact of the matter is that LGD played a unique style of Dota 2. They often sacked Yuma "Yuma" Langlet and picked space-making carries for him, while TaiLung and Adrián "Wisper" Dobles received the lion's share of the farm and help from the supports. 

While it's easy to assume that Topson will have to adjust and pick up more late-game heroes to fit in with LGD, I'd actually argue it's easier for the team to play more standard drafts to make use of Topson's space-making ability and rely on Yuma again to carry them late-game. Since this is generally how Dota 2 lineups function, it's an easier adjustment for the team to make than to expect Topson to come in and master a mid-lane carry style in under a week.

With The International just a couple of days away, it will be exciting to see how LGD incorporate Topson into their drafts and how far they go in the event.

READ MORE: How To Quickly Gain MMR In Dota 2

Featured Image Source: LGD Gaming