What we came here to see: China's All Stars
While Chinese teams are busy licking their wounds after a disappointing World Championship, the rest of the world is moving on. The squad has taken to bootcamping for this week's Los Angeles extravaganza at Snake's gaming house and are prepared to show that, even if their teams collapsed in Paris and London, their popular players have talent worth celebrating.
Top: Tang "Koro1" Yang
Plagued by injury, Koro1 didn't have nearly as much of a chance to show his versatility this year as he would have liked. All Stars gives the toplaner a shot at showing he's a formidable foe, even in a 1v1.
(Source: Game of Legends)
Koro1 had an impressive spring. He developed beyond the top laner who constantly lost early in 2014 and became a self-sufficient monster capable of flexing his muscles on a variety of champions from Kassadin to Hecarim. He became most notable for Gnar, with Chinese casters often prompting opponent teams to "ban Gnar" in EDward Gaming games.
Going into the 2015 Summer Season, rumors that he had a dispute with EDward Gaming over his contract resulted in the signing of top laner Shek "AmazingJ" Waiho. During the summer, Koro1 also contracted problems with his back, resulting him seeing less and less play time.
Even so, going into the playoffs, EDward Gaming were on a strong 21 game win streak with Koro1 before the dropped 0-3 to LGD Gaming. Koro1 in particular faced heavy criticism.
Then, when he played during the quarterfinals at the World Championship after not participating in professional games since the LPL Playoffs, EDward Gaming showed a high level of discomfort playing around a top laner. Jungle pathing was off, and EDG frequently lost skirmishes in Koro1's lane.
It's not clear what kind of form Koro1 will show at All Stars, but he's a player known for taking even trivial games seriously. If he has something to say, now is the time.
Jungle: Ming "Clearlove" Kai
Anyone who thought there was a chance of Clearlove not getting the fan vote for All Stars was delusional. With a whopping 62% of the Chinese jungle vote, Clearlove's time playing on WE and winning the Mid-Season Invitational with EDward Gaming has cemented him as the most popular player in China.
(Source: Game of Legends)
'I keep playing for my dream' has become Clearlove's mantra, repeated inalmost every interview this year. Clearlove has said time and again that he is single-mindedly bent on winning Worlds, and testimonies of his friends and colleagues have confirmed that his dedication borders on obsession.
Halfway through the year, it appeared that Clearlove's dreams might come true. EDward Gaming's new additions helped transform the team into a more aggressive group, but Clearlove himself brought the biggest change. Long noted for his carry style play and frequent ganking in solo queue, Clearlove finally was able to channel his identity into competitive play.
After winning the Mid-Season Invitational, however, EDward Gaming showed quite a few hiccups in the LPL Summer Season. The team began to rotate out its solo laners, putting increased pressure on Clearlove. While he usually came through, keeping the team in first, he showed signs of sweating when teams began to ban three jungle champions at a time.
Clearlove's difficulties shone through even more in the World Championship quarterfinals. His pathing didn't adapt to a top-centric meta, and Clearlove still has a lot more room to grow. All Stars should be a time to revel in the accomplishments of this year and allow Clearlove a chance to indulge in a little fan attention.
Mid: Song "RooKie" Euijin
As the only Korean voted on to China's All Star team, RooKie will have to show off his highly acclaimed Chinese language proficiency to communicate. After Wei "GODV" Shen's collapse at international events and Yu "Cool" Jiajun's reputation was dragged through the mud, Chinese fans have looked to one of their favorite Korean players to represent LPL mid laners at All Stars.
(Source: Game of Legends)
RooKie's entry into China accompanied concern. Lee "KaKAO" Byungkwon and RooKie were the first big name Koreans to announce that they would join a Chinese team, but few could confirm which team. Several fans jokingly suggested they had become coal miners.
When RooKie joined Invictus Gaming, he had a Korean top laner and a Chinese mid laner to compete with. After carrying the team with proficient assassin play, it became apparent that the team prioritized his synergy with KaKAO over the possibility of a carry top laner.
Though sometimes appearing passive in games, RooKie eventually won over fans by learning Chinese quickly and streaming frequently. He was the clear MVP of Invictus Gaming and eventually transcended KaKAO as a fan favorite, something he didn't manage to achieve in Korea.
With Viktor victory, Invictus Gaming qualified for Worlds, but floundered in Group Stage. RooKie provided the best showings of LPL mids and retained his popularity, but all of Invictus Gaming's inconsistent play is a headache. All Stars is the time for RooKie to bring his most proactive playstyle and do his new fans proud.
ADC: Jian "Uzi" Zihao
One of the most puzzling storylines of 2015 is the collapse of Chinese team, OMG. Had they succeeded, the entire roster would likely have been voted into All Stars this year with the two-players-per-team rule allowing for concessions. As it stands, China's poor performance at Worlds has left fans hoping for their only two-time finalist to return to the international stage.
(Source: Game of Legends)
OMG's signing of Uzi came with more fanfare than EDward Gaming's winning MSI. The two-time World Championship finalist would join the team many regarded as the best in top, jungle, and mid among Chinese players.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Despite maintaining first place for the first half of LPL Spring, OMG began to expose cracks in their play. They lost their creative flair and tried to overpower opponents, but as they lost, dissent began.
Individually, Uzi had his most consistent season. Instead of going for the ill-conceived outplay, he excelled pushing out lanes with Sivir. His fans began to blame the rest of the team for OMG's losses.
According to an interview with Chinese journalist Ryan Luwei, OMG lost their usual way of dealing with loss and argued more internally. Eventually, Uzi was temporarily benched for rookie Yan "North" Hong until the final week of LPL, where his re-appearance lit the crowd.
A second wind came and went. OMG dropped out of Summer Playoffs against Vici Gaming, placing seventh. Rumors suggest Uzi will join another team next year, and All Stars is a good time to begin his renaissance.
Support: Chen "Pyl" Bo
Though they didn't show it at the World Championship or Intel Extreme Masters San Jose, LGD Gaming had the best grasp of minion control, early game roams, and lane swapping in the LPL this year. Many have attributed that to Pyl's shotcalling and ability to control the map in the early game.
LGD has had a strategic edge over other LPL teams for some time, which allowed them to place top four last year despite having less talent than some of their competitors. With upgrades to top and jungle, LGD fans looked at 2015 with optimism.
For a while, they had a good reason for it. LGD's alleged Oscar Night performances gave them a good seed in the Spring Playoffs, and they almost managed to wrestle EDward Gaming's Mid-Season Invitational birth from them.
When ranking LPL supports, those who value roaming, team fight plays, and a strong grasp of peel over flashy engages will put Pyl near the top of their list. Though Pyl could often grab the ideal engagements, he was outshone by the likes of Tian "meiko" Ye. His roaming map play, however, often allowed LGD Gaming to end games faster than their competition, even with a weaker jungler.
After winning the LPL, Pyl admitted LGD Gaming went into the World Championship overconfident. Without practicing enough, they collapsed and failed to recoup before Intel Extreme Masters San Jose.
If Pyl wants a shot at redemption, he'll have to up his flashy play game at All Stars. His easy-going demeanor should allow him to fit into the China squad with minimal wear and tear.
Nic Doucet is a News Editor for theScore eSports. You can follow him on Twitter.
Home Page http://ouo.io/scAWed
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