What we came here to see: Europe's All Stars
Europe's All Star team heads to the rift in Los Angeles this week to show off why their region made up half of the teams in the World Championship semifinals. Just because most of the matches are primarily for fun doesn't mean that they can't give fans a taste of their competitive skill. We've profiled Europe's lineup to reflect on their successes and failures this year.
Top: Heo "Huni" Seunghoon
Everyone who has watched a Fnatic game this year remembers the Huni chants that took over the stadium. Despite some of his over-zealous flaws, Huni won hearts with his dive evasion, jovial attitude, and relentless aggression.
(Source: Game of Legends)
Huni reportedly joined Fnatic after he and other trial members in the Samsung house defeated the previous Fnatic lineup in a pickup game at Worlds in 2014. Jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeujin allegedly also joined Fnatic on Huni's recommendation.
Throughout the year, Huni's champion pool grew as teams attempted to ban him out with as many as three top lane bans against him. Though Huni still has room to grow, several highlight videos have been made from his flashy plays.
During the Summer Playoffs and at the World Championship, Huni received criticism for his Group Stage performance with some fans suggesting he might "tilt" easily. At a fun event like All Stars, however, it's likely Huni will show up to have a good time and preform well in 1v1s. It's a good way for Europe to say goodbye to their Korean darling before he joins a North American team for 2016.
Jungle: Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider
After a 2014 Summer Season with Team SoloMid, Amazing showed he can return to the basics and qualify with another team to the European LCS. Though one could hardly regard Origen's style as "carry jungler centric," the team itself played around the duo of Amazing and support Alfonso "mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez, now regarded as one of the best jungle and support duos in the world.
(Source: Game of Legends)
Amazing left TSM at the end of 2014, lamenting heavy pressure from fans. Many had focused on his champion pool as part of TSM's weaknesses at the World Championship.
When Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez set about building Origen, Amazing was among his first signees. The team qualified for European LCS in Summer 2015 after barely dropping two games in the EU Challenger Series.
Origen's entry into the European LCS came mired with mixed expectations. Martin "Deficio" Lynge, caster of the EU LCS, remembers Origen's dominating entrance into the LCS as one of his favorite storylines of the year. Though individually talented, it took Origen some time to work out kinks in their strategic play, and the team only seemed to really excel when Amazing and mithy established their synergy.
At the World Championship, Amazing faltered during the semifinals against SK Telecom T1, but his top laner, Paul "sOAZ" Boyer told Lol he blamed the team's poor communication during that series rather than Amazing. Fans still have high expectations for him at All Stars.
Mid: Henrik "Froggen" Hansen
Though Froggen definitely had a more successful 2014 than 2015, he still dealt a ridiculous amount of his team's damage this year. Noted more for his team fight play and high-farm laning phase than 1v1 outplays, Froggen can bring his own unique flavor to Europe's All Stars lineup.
(Source: Game of Legends)
One of the most common mantras this year was "Elements needs a shotcaller." Even after several roster changes, Elements, the once-dubbed superteam, barely managed to maintain their spot in the European LCS this year. Froggen's team appeared increasingly disconnected, and he seemed to continuously focus on farming for the late game.
After the promising addition of Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, Elements only narrowly avoided having to play in promotions this spring. The team appeared to learn from their mistakes before the summer, as they overhauled their roster by bringing back their old AD carry Erik "Tabzz" van Helvert to inject the team with more aggression and playmaking. Unfortunately for their fans, Elements once again placed seventh in the summer season.
Froggen still wowed the crowd. He played one of the first strong mid lane Ekkos and challenged the meta by picking 19 unique champions in 39 games. Though Froggen is replacing the first place fan favorite, xPeke, Froggen is in the same group of Europe's "old gods." He has a lot he can bring to the table.
ADC: Martin "Rekkles" Larsson
Win the LCS, and you win Rekkles as your AD carry. Rekkles joined Elements after Alliance won the European LCS in 2014 Summer and then returned to his former team when they secured first place in LCS Spring. Fnatic won again this summer, so it should be no surprise that Rekkles is staying for at least another split.
(Source: Game of Legends)
For much of his time in the European LCS, Rekkles has battled the community perception that he's relatively passive. While he's shown flashes of aggression and daring positioning, Rekkles has often preferred to play it safe.
Rekkles' 2015 began with him expressing discontent with Fnatic's focus in 2014. He joined Froggen's Elements with hopes that his new team would work to improve together. Instead, Elements failed to find cohesion and dropped to seventh place.
Fnatic signed Rekkles again before the summer split, where the team's renewed dedication made him a good fit. The meta allowed Rekkles to play more utility-based AD carries, and the supportive bottom lane helped Fnatic succeed through the semifinals of the World Championship.
In an interview, Rekkles lamented a small feeling of burnout that accompanied his heavy practice routine on Fnatic. He promised to save more of his drive for the end of the season next year, and he's sure to blow off a little steam at All Stars.
Support: Raymond "kaSing" Tsang
It may have taken the two-players-per-team rule to get kaSing in the lineup, but the European All Stars team would feel hollow without a representative from the region's third best team this year. kaSing's less-than-successful sojourn to Team SoloMid has returned him to Europe, and he's ready to represent the support talent of the region at All Stars.
(Source: Game of Legends)
This Spring, H2K didn't start off strong. After losing four of six games in the first three weeks, the team changed their approach and started kaSing. H2K immediately began a steady climb through the standings and earned the designation of "most consistent team in EU LCS Spring."
Much of H2K's play hinged on Teleport plays and synergy between kaSing and top laner Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu. kaSing took over more of the shotcalling responsibilities throughout the year, sharing the burden with Odoamne and AD carry Petter "Hjärnan" Freyschuss.
H2K developed a pick composition style in the spring that transitioned into lane-swap oriented play in the summer. Unfortunately, the team's inability to adapt or maintain vision in the mid game often got them in trouble and made them more predictable. That, and a difficult group at the World Championship, resulted in them failing to make quarterfinals.
In the offseason, kaSing had the opportunity to trial for Team SoloMid to embarrassing results. A few jokers suggested he was "playing for Europe" in TSM's matches against Origen where they lost 0-2.
Before he joins his new team in 2016, All Stars is a stress-free way for kaSing to show off his excellent mechanics. Consider it a preview of his versatility and adaptability.
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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