Fionn Profile Joined October 2009 United States 3012 Posts Last Edited: 2013-07-12 05:07:55 July 12 2013 02:32 GMT #1

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With the first round of OGN Champions Summer finished, we look back on the sizzling storylines from the first stage of action, and we also dissect the match of the round. Looking forward, we give you a preview of what to expect in the upcoming second round, and we get you set with everything you need to know what is going on currently in the Korean pro scene. If you missed any of the action from the first round of Champions, don't worry! TeamLiquid's got you covered, so sit back and relax with your refresher course from the past week of games.



<div style="text-align: right;">Signing off,

Fionn</div>



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<h2>Table of Contents</h2>

Round One Summary



Round One Headlines



Match of the Round Spotlight



Next Time on Champions Summer!



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<div class="LOLheader" id="partone">Round One Summary

<h2>By: Chexx</h2></div><div class="LOLfeature">



The OGN Summer Season started with the Spring Champions MVP Ozone against a new team, Xenics Blast. In an exciting two games, Blast gave Ozone a hard time but in the end the reigning champion prevailed and began the new season with a 2:0 victory. The second match of the night was the reformed Najin Black Sword against another newcomer, Chunnam Techno University, the latter made famous through their performance in the NiceGameTV League. The new Najin Sword team is favored to win the Summer Season according to Korean pros, but they were unable to gain total victory over CTU and settled for a 1-1 draw.



On Friday, the two supernovas SKT T1 and KT Bullets fought against two newcomers.. Faker showed once again that he is the uncrowned king of midlane, boldly stating “I only had 1200 gold, so I bought Mejai’s,” when questioned about his unusual Kassadin build. His ability to farm on the melee mage in a 1v2 lane impressed crowds as he earned the MVP title for the game. SKT T1 achieved a clear victory against LG-IM #2 in both games. The only one who was potentially sad on SKT T1 would be PoohManDu, who landed many great Aqua Prisons on Nami, but did not get MVP as fans voted for Faker instead. In KT Bullets vs MiG Blitz (a new team coached by Woong), we finally see a Twisted Fate picked instead of banned, but KTB countered the mid laner very nicely with Shen. InSec had his toplane debut and reminded many of a Pokémon NPC due to his tendency to challenge every enemy champion he sighted to a battle. In the second game Twisted Fate was once again left unbanned but this time picked up by KTB, as Ryu demonstrated why Twisted Fate has been banned so consistently in OGN. KT Bullets swept MiG Blitz under the rug with a 2:0 and showed once more that they are a beast - at least in the group stages.



The last day of the first week consisted of two teams who had lost their sponsors recently, looking to advertise the team to potential sponsors by putting on a good performance in OGN.

Now they need to show if they are worthy to have received the Grace from the e-Sports saving Goddess 조현민. Eat Sleep Game (now Green Wings Stealths), the former SKT T1 Terminator, faced off against Xenics Storm who finally managed re-qualify for OGN. A perfect Vladimir ultimate from Miso allowed ESG to win the first game and the second was decided by a strategic mistake from Xenics Storm which gave ESG a 2-0 victory. The second Match of the night was CJ Entus Blaze against Hoon’s Good Day (now Green Wings Falcons). We saw the old Blaze standards in early tower pushes, aggression everywhere, (and nearly perfect minion scores on Flame, Ambition and Cpt Jack). Though MVP Ozone demonstrated in last season’s grand final that Blaze’s early push strategies can be beaten, not every team has the ability to make it happen come crunch time. HGD managed to get a lead in the early game but crumbled under the pressure from Blaze in the mid game both times, giving Blaze a 2:0 victory.



This first week was a meeting of the old guard against hungry newcomers but the veterans made it clear that the newcomers need to increase their skill level if they want to challenge the throne. You can find translated MVP Interviews from Inven on



<a href="#LOLintroheader" style="float: right">▲ Back to Top ▲</a>

<div class="LOLheader" id="parttwo">Round One Headlines

<h2>By: Fionn</h2></div><div class="LOLfeature">



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After a year of despair, Expession looks for his breakout on Black Sword - #LOLintroheaderimage { background: url('http://i.imgur.com/H1eHNLQ.png') no-repeat top center; } #LOLwrap { border: 1px solid #18283e; font-family: Gill Sans, Verdana; color: #dde8e9; text-align: justify; } #LOLwrap a { color: #afe9e8; text-decoration: none; } #LOLwrap a:hover { color: white; } #LOLwrap h1 { margin: 5px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -2px; border-bottom: 1px solid #4a201e; } #LOLwrap h2 { font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 2px; font-weight: bold; margin: 5px 0px; } #LOLintroheader { background: #0a121a url('/staff/Waxangel/lolchampssummer.png') no-repeat; } #LOLback { background: url('http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Waxangel/lolchampssummer.png') no-repeat; padding: 478px 0px 0px 0px; } #LOLintro { float: left; width: 525px; } #LOLcontents { padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; text-align: center; float: left; } #LOLcontents h2 { padding-bottom: 5px; 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color: #444; } .photocredit a { color: #555 !important; } .photocredit a:hover { color: #666 !important; } a.single_image img {border:1px solid #000;margin:2px } Photo: Daily eSports (데일리e스포츠) With the first round of OGN Champions Summer finished, we look back on the sizzling storylines from the first stage of action, and we also dissect the match of the round. Looking forward, we give you a preview of what to expect in the upcoming second round, and we get you set with everything you need to know what is going on currently in the Korean pro scene. If you missed any of the action from the first round of Champions, don't worry! TeamLiquid's got you covered, so sit back and relax with your refresher course from the past week of games. Table of Contents Round One Summary By: Chexx The OGN Summer Season started with the Spring Champions MVP Ozone against a new team, Xenics Blast. In an exciting two games, Blast gave Ozone a hard time but in the end the reigning champion prevailed and began the new season with a 2:0 victory. The second match of the night was the reformed Najin Black Sword against another newcomer, Chunnam Techno University, the latter made famous through their performance in the NiceGameTV League. The new Najin Sword team is favored to win the Summer Season according to Korean pros, but they were unable to gain total victory over CTU and settled for a 1-1 draw.On Friday, the two supernovas SKT T1 and KT Bullets fought against two newcomers.. Faker showed once again that he is the uncrowned king of midlane, boldly stating “I only had 1200 gold, so I bought Mejai’s,” when questioned about his unusual Kassadin build. His ability to farm on the melee mage in a 1v2 lane impressed crowds as he earned the MVP title for the game. SKT T1 achieved a clear victory against LG-IM #2 in both games. The only one who was potentially sad on SKT T1 would be PoohManDu, who landed many great Aqua Prisons on Nami, but did not get MVP as fans voted for Faker instead. In KT Bullets vs MiG Blitz (a new team coached by Woong), we finally see a Twisted Fate picked instead of banned, but KTB countered the mid laner very nicely with Shen. InSec had his toplane debut and reminded many of a Pokémon NPC due to his tendency to challenge every enemy champion he sighted to a battle. In the second game Twisted Fate was once again left unbanned but this time picked up by KTB, as Ryu demonstrated why Twisted Fate has been banned so consistently in OGN. KT Bullets swept MiG Blitz under the rug with a 2:0 and showed once more that they are a beast - at least in the group stages.Now they need to show if they are worthy to have received the Grace from the e-Sports saving Goddess 조현민. Eat Sleep Game (now Green Wings Stealths), the former SKT T1 Terminator, faced off against Xenics Storm who finally managed re-qualify for OGN. A perfect Vladimir ultimate from Miso allowed ESG to win the first game and the second was decided by a strategic mistake from Xenics Storm which gave ESG a 2-0 victory. The second Match of the night was CJ Entus Blaze against Hoon’s Good Day (now Green Wings Falcons). We saw the old Blaze standards in early tower pushes, aggression everywhere, (and nearly perfect minion scores on Flame, Ambition and Cpt Jack). Though MVP Ozone demonstrated in last season’s grand final that Blaze’s early push strategies can be beaten, not every team has the ability to make it happen come crunch time. HGD managed to get a lead in the early game but crumbled under the pressure from Blaze in the mid game both times, giving Blaze a 2:0 victory.This first week was a meeting of the old guard against hungry newcomers but the veterans made it clear that the newcomers need to increase their skill level if they want to challenge the throne. You can find translated MVP Interviews from Inven on Teamliquid ▲ Back to Top ▲ Round One Headlines By: Fionn After a year of despair, Expession looks for his breakout on Black Sword - Photo by inven.co.kr </div> Forever in Agony! The Top Lane of Despair Known As Expession!



When it was announced that Maknoon was leaving Sword and the highly touted Expession was moving from Shield to Sword, the newly named Najin Black Sword were picked by the Korean players and commentators to make the finals and win the entire tournament. While Maknoon was the leader of Sword, leading them to a finals victory during the 2012 Winter season and picking up the season MVP award, their peers and a lot of the Korean community still saw Expession as the stronger top lane player, hindered by the fact that he played on a much weaker than Maknoon on the sister team Shield.



With all the hype behind him and his new team, Black Sword started, for the third straight season, on a slow note, going 1-1 with the rookies CTU, needing the inexperienced university team to throw a sizable lead in the first game to steal a point from the series. A few less mistakes from CTU in the first game and Black Sword are staring at an 0-2 start, still having to face CJ Entus Blaze later in the group stages. Luckily, they secured their point and are still in contention to make it out of the first round, but the expectations of a crushing victory didn't become reality.



Pray decided he wanted to try Draven, putting on one of the worst performances of his Champions career, and the rest of the team seemed entirely off playing together. Expession, who was never the problem on Shield, was again not the problem with his team's problems on their opening night, getting the MVP award for their first set win and playing respectably in their blowout loss in the second game. While he could have played better, hoping to carry his team to a better performance, it was hard to do with how shaky their bot lane and the rest of their positions were playing on the night.



Coming from an average team in the old Shield to a championship contender with Sword, Expession's stock was expected to rise through the roof, but it still seems like wherever he goes, despair and sadness must follow. Even if he plays at his absolute best - for whatever the reason - the team around him doesn't present the same quality, dragging him down in the end. Sword are always slow starters, even when they won the Winter Champions season, so it isn't the end of the world to start off with a split against a sneakily good CTU squad, but if Expession's new team can't get it together before they play the group leaders Blaze, it could be another tragic ending for the King of Despair.





Reapered and Hoon become first class with their partnership with Jin Air - Photo by inven.co.kr



Arrival of the Wings! Falcons and Stealth Take Flight! Reapered and Hoon become first class with their partnership with Jin Air -



Not being able to come to an agreement with SK Telecom T1 for a new contract, Reapered's team left the KeSPA organization, deciding to reform the old Eat Sleep Game squad and pick up two new players in Roar and Miso. Moving to the jungle, Reapered changed the makeup of his entire team, hoping to be able to improve on last season's quarterfinal finish and make it to the top four for the first time since he was on the championship Blaze team in the first season of Champions.



Starting off the season with a strong 2-0 start against Xenics Storm, Reapered's team was rewarded by getting picked up by Jin Air, a company that has supported e-sports in the past by sponsoring one of the final Brood War tournaments. Getting the new name of the Falcons, Reapered will be rejoining KeSPA, the Jin Air Green Wings picking up SC2 team KeSPA 8th team, entering next season's Starcraft 2 Proleague and getting two League of Legends teams for Champions and the upcoming League of Legends Proleague tournament run by KeSPA.



Alongside the Falcons, Hoon's team, formerly known as ahq Korea and then Hoon's Good Day, will hopefully find stability with their pick-up from Jin Air, now becoming known as the Jin Air Stealth. They didn't have the best start to the season, losing to last season's finalists CJ Entus Blaze 2-0 in the first match of the group stage, but with how vulnerable Najin Black Sword looked in their first series, the newly named Stealth have a chance of making it out of the group if they can build on their solid play against Blaze.



The debuts of the new Jin Air teams will be on Friday, both teams taking center stage on the night. The Jin Air Falcons will be facing off against the defending champions MVP Ozone, and the Jin Air Stealth will try to avoid elimination from their group when they face off against the 1-1 CTU.



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Shy, Flame and Insec make strong opening statements in the first round - When it was announced that Maknoon was leaving Sword and the highly touted Expession was moving from Shield to Sword, the newly named Najin Black Sword were picked by the Korean players and commentators to make the finals and win the entire tournament. While Maknoon was the leader of Sword, leading them to a finals victory during the 2012 Winter season and picking up the season MVP award, their peers and a lot of the Korean community still saw Expession as the stronger top lane player, hindered by the fact that he played on a much weaker than Maknoon on the sister team Shield.With all the hype behind him and his new team, Black Sword started, for the third straight season, on a slow note, going 1-1 with the rookies CTU, needing the inexperienced university team to throw a sizable lead in the first game to steal a point from the series. A few less mistakes from CTU in the first game and Black Sword are staring at an 0-2 start, still having to face CJ Entus Blaze later in the group stages. Luckily, they secured their point and are still in contention to make it out of the first round, but the expectations of a crushing victory didn't become reality.Pray decided he wanted to try Draven, putting on one of the worst performances of his Champions career, and the rest of the team seemed entirely off playing together. Expession, who was never the problem on Shield, was again not the problem with his team's problems on their opening night, getting the MVP award for their first set win and playing respectably in their blowout loss in the second game. While he could have played better, hoping to carry his team to a better performance, it was hard to do with how shaky their bot lane and the rest of their positions were playing on the night.Coming from an average team in the old Shield to a championship contender with Sword, Expession's stock was expected to rise through the roof, but it still seems like wherever he goes, despair and sadness must follow. Even if he plays at his absolute best - for whatever the reason - the team around him doesn't present the same quality, dragging him down in the end. Sword are always slow starters, even when they won the Winter Champions season, so it isn't the end of the world to start off with a split against a sneakily good CTU squad, but if Expession's new team can't get it together before they play the group leaders Blaze, it could be another tragic ending for the King of Despair.Not being able to come to an agreement with SK Telecom T1 for a new contract, Reapered's team left the KeSPA organization, deciding to reform the old Eat Sleep Game squad and pick up two new players in Roar and Miso. Moving to the jungle, Reapered changed the makeup of his entire team, hoping to be able to improve on last season's quarterfinal finish and make it to the top four for the first time since he was on the championship Blaze team in the first season of Champions.Starting off the season with a strong 2-0 start against Xenics Storm, Reapered's team was rewarded by getting picked up by Jin Air, a company that has supported e-sports in the past by sponsoring one of the final Brood War tournaments. Getting the new name of the Falcons, Reapered will be rejoining KeSPA, the Jin Air Green Wings picking up SC2 team KeSPA 8th team, entering next season's Starcraft 2 Proleague and getting two League of Legends teams for Champions and the upcoming League of Legends Proleague tournament run by KeSPA.Alongside the Falcons, Hoon's team, formerly known as ahq Korea and then Hoon's Good Day, will hopefully find stability with their pick-up from Jin Air, now becoming known as the Jin Air Stealth. They didn't have the best start to the season, losing to last season's finalists CJ Entus Blaze 2-0 in the first match of the group stage, but with how vulnerable Najin Black Sword looked in their first series, the newly named Stealth have a chance of making it out of the group if they can build on their solid play against Blaze.The debuts of the new Jin Air teams will be on Friday, both teams taking center stage on the night. The Jin Air Falcons will be facing off against the defending champions MVP Ozone, and the Jin Air Stealth will try to avoid elimination from their group when they face off against the 1-1 CTU. Shy, Flame and Insec make strong opening statements in the first round - Photo by inven.co.kr </div>



The Top Lane Trio: Shy, Flame and Insec Wage War!



You have the player who destroyed everyone he faced at the all-star tournament, making his opponents look foolish going up against him. You have the player who dominated the entire spring season all the way to the finals, carrying his team to thirteen straight victories and continually out farming his lane opposition by 100 CS per game. Then, you have the player who was regarded as undoubtedly the best jungler in the world, but decided to take his talents to the top lane for the summer season.



Even before the season started, there was no question that Korean's deepest position was the top lane. Producing brilliant top laner after another, there has always seemed to be an endless stream of new, upcoming top lane players who make a name for themselves every season. Flame had his breakout season in the spring, evolving from an inconsistent, limited champion pool player to becoming the strongest top lane farmer in the world, expanding his champion pool tremendously, and being able to out duel any opponent 1v1 or hold his own if forced into a 2v1 laning phase. He had his fall in the finals, losing to MVP Ozone and the 29-year-old Homme in the finals, but it was hard to argue that he wasn't the best player of the season before Blaze's disastrous performance in the finals.



Insec, coming off a perfect all-star showing, returned to Korea for a rude awakening, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions Ozone. On point for most of the season, Insec played sloppy in the playoffs, leading to his second consecutive season where he was knocked out in the quarterfinals. KT Rolster Bullets - who were the heavy favorites to take the spring season - decided that their failure to do better than the previous season wasn't acceptable, bringing back Kakao from KT Roster Arrows, moving him back to the jungle where he already had synergy with the rest of the team. Insec, deciding to take on a new challenge, moved to the top lane, allowing Kakao, a high caliber jungle in his own right, to play his comfortable position full-time and giving himself a better position to carry games in the top position.



Shy, who was consensus king of the top lane in Korea before Flame's emergence, had a down season, playing well, but falling off near the end of the season and then getting outclassed by his practice partner Flame in the semifinals. He had no problems against the other top lane players at the all-star tournament, having fun by slicing up everyone he was pitted up against, not breaking a sweat in his countless victories, but couldn't match up against his friend from CJ Entus Blaze when they dueled in the final four of the spring season.



All three players had something to prove heading into this season. Expession, who hadn't accomplished anything compared to the three, was getting all the hype as the next leader of the top lane position, moving to Sword and hoping to finally be able to show his true form on a top level team. Replying to their critics, the three players all had world class opening matches, distancing themselves from the other thirteen top laners in Champions, putting themselves in a league of their own.



With the first round done, let's take a quick look at the standings between what could become the trio that decides who wins this entire season and gets the direct ticket to the world championship.



You have the player who destroyed everyone he faced at the all-star tournament, making his opponents look foolish going up against him. You have the player who dominated the entire spring season all the way to the finals, carrying his team to thirteen straight victories and continually out farming his lane opposition by 100 CS per game. Then, you have the player who was regarded as undoubtedly the best jungler in the world, but decided to take his talents to the top lane for the summer season.Even before the season started, there was no question that Korean's deepest position was the top lane. Producing brilliant top laner after another, there has always seemed to be an endless stream of new, upcoming top lane players who make a name for themselves every season. Flame had his breakout season in the spring, evolving from an inconsistent, limited champion pool player to becoming the strongest top lane farmer in the world, expanding his champion pool tremendously, and being able to out duel any opponent 1v1 or hold his own if forced into a 2v1 laning phase. He had his fall in the finals, losing to MVP Ozone and the 29-year-old Homme in the finals, but it was hard to argue that he wasn't the best player of the season before Blaze's disastrous performance in the finals.Insec, coming off a perfect all-star showing, returned to Korea for a rude awakening, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions Ozone. On point for most of the season, Insec played sloppy in the playoffs, leading to his second consecutive season where he was knocked out in the quarterfinals. KT Rolster Bullets - who were the heavy favorites to take the spring season - decided that their failure to do better than the previous season wasn't acceptable, bringing back Kakao from KT Roster Arrows, moving him back to the jungle where he already had synergy with the rest of the team. Insec, deciding to take on a new challenge, moved to the top lane, allowing Kakao, a high caliber jungle in his own right, to play his comfortable position full-time and giving himself a better position to carry games in the top position.Shy, who was consensus king of the top lane in Korea before Flame's emergence, had a down season, playing well, but falling off near the end of the season and then getting outclassed by his practice partner Flame in the semifinals. He had no problems against the other top lane players at the all-star tournament, having fun by slicing up everyone he was pitted up against, not breaking a sweat in his countless victories, but couldn't match up against his friend from CJ Entus Blaze when they dueled in the final four of the spring season.All three players had something to prove heading into this season. Expession, who hadn't accomplished anything compared to the three, was getting all the hype as the next leader of the top lane position, moving to Sword and hoping to finally be able to show his true form on a top level team. Replying to their critics, the three players all had world class opening matches, distancing themselves from the other thirteen top laners in Champions, putting themselves in a league of their own.With the first round done, let's take a quick look at the standings between what could become the trio that decides who wins this entire season and gets the direct ticket to the world championship. 1. Shy

Shy (Vladamir) vs. LG-IM #1 G1: 0/0/6

Shy (Shen) vs. LG-IM #1 G1: 2/0/8

KDA: 16.00



For most of last season, Flame was known as the Immortal Top Lane, almost never dying and finding a way out of every dire situation. This season, Shy might be the one to take that title, showing out of this world play in the first two games of the season. Being one of the first non-support players to ever win an MVP award without picking up a kill, his Vlad play in the first game was flawless, bullying Smeb's tank Shen and getting over 100 more CS in the first twenty minutes of the match. While he didn't pick up any kills, his split pushing and pressure across the map allowed Frost the freedom to make plays and take a convincing first win of the season.



The second game was more of the same, picking up Shen and being the ultimate team player. Blocking countless fatal shots for his teammates, Shy was always in the right place at the right time to turn the tide of a fight or save one of their carries from dying. Eluding death for a second straight game, Shy exited the night with a 16 KDA and a place at the top of our leader board.



For most of last season, Flame was known as the Immortal Top Lane, almost never dying and finding a way out of every dire situation. This season, Shy might be the one to take that title, showing out of this world play in the first two games of the season. Being one of the first non-support players to ever win an MVP award without picking up a kill, his Vlad play in the first game was flawless, bullying Smeb's tank Shen and getting over 100 more CS in the first twenty minutes of the match. While he didn't pick up any kills, his split pushing and pressure across the map allowed Frost the freedom to make plays and take a convincing first win of the season.The second game was more of the same, picking up Shen and being the ultimate team player. Blocking countless fatal shots for his teammates, Shy was always in the right place at the right time to turn the tide of a fight or save one of their carries from dying. Eluding death for a second straight game, Shy exited the night with a 16 KDA and a place at the top of our leader board. 2. Flame

Flame (Kennen) vs. Jin Air Stealth G1: 4/0/7

Flame (Kennen vs. Jin Air Stealth G2: 5/2/8

KDA: 12.00



Forgetting his falters in the finals of last season, Flame started the season just like he had for most of last season, destroying his top lane opponent and out farming him by over 100 CS. Trace, an above average top lane player, really couldn't handle playing against Flame's signature Kennen, continually getting bullied out of lane and never being given the opportunity to farm, even on a durable champion like Zac. Homme's tank and lane sustain champions were the bane of Flame's play in the finals, but he combated it well on Kennen.



Being given his signature champion twice probably won't happen again for the rest of the season, so Flame made the most of it, not dying in the first game, and being a major factor in the second, helping Blaze start the season on a high note with a 2-0 victory over the newly named Stealth. Pitted against Expession and Black Sword in their next match, it will be a step up in competition and a chance to see if Flame can hold off the player many thought would take his crown as best top lane player heading into the season.



Forgetting his falters in the finals of last season, Flame started the season just like he had for most of last season, destroying his top lane opponent and out farming him by over 100 CS. Trace, an above average top lane player, really couldn't handle playing against Flame's signature Kennen, continually getting bullied out of lane and never being given the opportunity to farm, even on a durable champion like Zac. Homme's tank and lane sustain champions were the bane of Flame's play in the finals, but he combated it well on Kennen.Being given his signature champion twice probably won't happen again for the rest of the season, so Flame made the most of it, not dying in the first game, and being a major factor in the second, helping Blaze start the season on a high note with a 2-0 victory over the newly named Stealth. Pitted against Expession and Black Sword in their next match, it will be a step up in competition and a chance to see if Flame can hold off the player many thought would take his crown as best top lane player heading into the season. 3. Insec

Insec (Shen) vs. MiG Blitz G1: 3/3/20

Insec (Zac) vs. MiG Blitz G2: 5/1/14

KDA: 10.50



Most thought Insec moving to the top lane would mean him going for play making champions, but his debut night consisted of playing on two tank top lane champions in Shen and Zac. Going for more of the set-up man role than the #1 option, Insec racked up the assists, finishing the night with 34 helpers and only dying four times. A lot of people questioned if he would be able to make the transition to the top lane from jungle, but most of those questions were answered with his superb play, being one of the main reasons along with Ryu why the KT Rolster Bullets were able to take a 2-0 win over the very game rookies from Woong's MiG Blitz.



Looking forward, Insec has teased that he might go for a top Lee Sin in his upcoming matches, a lot of the fans patiently awaiting to see what would happen if he brought his signature champion to his new position. With his next match-up being against one of the trio members, Shy, we will see which of the two will get the edge in their first meeting in the top lane.





CJ Frost's new Mid Lane, Ganked By Mom, enjoying his time at the Pro Player Summit - Photo by inven.co.kr



Around the League in 60 Seconds! CJ Frost's new Mid Lane, Ganked By Mom, enjoying his time at the Pro Player Summit -



Ganked By Mom Delivers: Substituting for Rapidstar in their first match against LG-IM #1, Ganked by Mom put on a memorable performance, outplaying MidKing in the mid lane and showing stellar play on Orianna. While it remains to be seen how good he is against a higher level opponent, the starting position in the mid lane between Rapidstar and GBM could be a leading story as the season rolls along.



Ozone Still Pretty Good: The defending champions had little to no trouble dispatching of the newcomers in Xenics Blast in their opening match as champions, looking as strong as ever in their first games back since becoming Korea's kings. We'll withhold judgment on if they're the favorites to repeat until they face off against Reapered's Falcons in the second match of the group stage.



Sturdier Shield: So far, so good for the new look Shield. They split their first games against MVP Blue, but both teams are on the rise this season. Gorilla and Zefer looked good in their debuts in the bot lane, holding their own against Deft and Flahm, a duo that practices daily with the best bot lane in the world, imp and Mata on MVP Ozone. While they might not be title contenders this season, if they continue to develop their new players and create a strong between the seven of them, they could be very scary in a few months time.



Royal Road Down For Construction: After KT Rolster B two seasons ago and SK Telecom T1 last tournament, we're left with slim pickings when it comes to a Royal Road candidate for the summer season. Blast, Blitz, and LG-IM #2 all started their seasons off with rocky 0-2 starts, so right now our best hope for a new challenger getting far in the tournament would be the university boys at CTU. Two of their players, Wolf and Mima, have Champions experience, and they were able to split 1-1 against Black Sword, so keep your eye out on the KeSPA coached university team in upcoming rounds.



<a href="#LOLintroheader" style="float: right">▲ Back to Top ▲</a>

<div class="LOLheader" id="partthree">Match of the Round Spotlight

<h2>By: Atrioc </h2></div><div class="LOLfeature">



Most thought Insec moving to the top lane would mean him going for play making champions, but his debut night consisted of playing on two tank top lane champions in Shen and Zac. Going for more of the set-up man role than the #1 option, Insec racked up the assists, finishing the night with 34 helpers and only dying four times. A lot of people questioned if he would be able to make the transition to the top lane from jungle, but most of those questions were answered with his superb play, being one of the main reasons along with Ryu why the KT Rolster Bullets were able to take a 2-0 win over the very game rookies from Woong's MiG Blitz.Looking forward, Insec has teased that he might go for a top Lee Sin in his upcoming matches, a lot of the fans patiently awaiting to see what would happen if he brought his signature champion to his new position. With his next match-up being against one of the trio members, Shy, we will see which of the two will get the edge in their first meeting in the top lane.Substituting for Rapidstar in their first match against LG-IM #1, Ganked by Mom put on a memorable performance, outplaying MidKing in the mid lane and showing stellar play on Orianna. While it remains to be seen how good he is against a higher level opponent, the starting position in the mid lane between Rapidstar and GBM could be a leading story as the season rolls along.The defending champions had little to no trouble dispatching of the newcomers in Xenics Blast in their opening match as champions, looking as strong as ever in their first games back since becoming Korea's kings. We'll withhold judgment on if they're the favorites to repeat until they face off against Reapered's Falcons in the second match of the group stage.So far, so good for the new look Shield. They split their first games against MVP Blue, but both teams are on the rise this season. Gorilla and Zefer looked good in their debuts in the bot lane, holding their own against Deft and Flahm, a duo that practices daily with the best bot lane in the world, imp and Mata on MVP Ozone. While they might not be title contenders this season, if they continue to develop their new players and create a strong between the seven of them, they could be very scary in a few months time.After KT Rolster B two seasons ago and SK Telecom T1 last tournament, we're left with slim pickings when it comes to a Royal Road candidate for the summer season. Blast, Blitz, and LG-IM #2 all started their seasons off with rocky 0-2 starts, so right now our best hope for a new challenger getting far in the tournament would be the university boys at CTU. Two of their players, Wolf and Mima, have Champions experience, and they were able to split 1-1 against Black Sword, so keep your eye out on the KeSPA coached university team in upcoming rounds.▲ Back to Top ▲ Match of the Round Spotlight By: Atrioc SK Telecom T1 vs. LG-IM #2

Game 1





Ok lets get right into breaking this game down because there is a LOT going on beneath the surface that makes this game a pretty fascinating study in mind games and adaption and shows just how developed these OGN teams have become at countering an opponent before a game even starts:



Drafting:

Image Courtesy of Leaguepedia



The bans were fairly standard - as blue side with first pick, T1 had the freedom to be more targeted with their bans, taking away Lilac's best two junglers, Jarvan and Lee Sin, while LGIM was forced to use two of their bans getting rid of the "god-tier" champions Jayce and Twisted Fate. Nunu, despite his permaban status in both NA and EU LCS, has not been a very hotly contested champion in OGN Summer thus far, and so they spend their last ban on Elise instead.



Kennen and Thresh, both very popular Korean champions, are snatched up right away. Lilac, with Elise, Jarvan, and Lee banned makes a rather interesting pick of Xin Zhao as his jungler - something that has declined heavily in popularity as of late. This could be a byproduct of a shallow champion pool, but to give LGIM the benefit of the doubt it does synergize well with their later picks (in terms of picking and bursting a single target, Gambit style) much better than grabbing something more tanky/supportive might have.



T1, however, has no problem with that style of jungler for their composition and grabs the absolute king of it in Nunu, with a solid/safe AD carry pick in Caitlyn. These are two amazing picks - Nunu is very strong against a jungler like Xin and synergizes so well with Caitlyn by blood boiling her in the late game.



This is where LG IM makes a twist into crazy-OGN-weird pickville by grabbing top-lane Leblanc and Varus. They clearly see Leblanc as a solid pick against Kennen, and the idea of their comp is now pretty solidified as a very "catch-and-kill" style that will rely heavily on the bursting potential of their solos while Xin/Varus/Thresh lockdown and isolate.



The key mistake here by LG-IM #2 was not expecting what came next - the Kassadin pick out of Faker. Either they didn't think he was practiced enough on the champion to bring it out in a tournament game or they simply didn't have it on their radar, it completely threw a monkey wrench into their entire plan. Had Faker picked something like Karthus, which he has done frequently in the past, they would have had a lot more freedom to do what Ozone has done it the past to beat Faker - ignore him!. Simply picking safe mid laner against him and farming off while making plays elsewhere would drastically limit his potential to snowball the game on that type of champion. Kassadin, however, was the absolute perfect pick here - he demands that you commit heavily to shutting him down early. You cannot let Kassadin farm peacefully or he will take control of the game - this forces LGIM into very specific lanes as explained in the next section.



The final picks are Nami for T1, which ManDu proves is practically ban worthy in his hands, and Gragas for LGIM, who are sensing that they now need both someone who can 1v2 effectively (Leblanc certainly cant, and they cant risk letting Faker 1v1) and some sortve displacement to mitigate Kennen in teamfights. Gragas fits the bill on both counts and is actually a very clever pickup here.





Lane Swaps:



This is where things get interesting. LG IM now has three specific lane matchups they MUST achieve to make their picks worthwhile: They need to 2v1 Faker, have Leblanc take on Kennen, and put Gragas in the 1v2. Any other situation is immediate disaster for them and would guarantee a loss. They do manage to get all of these lanes exactly as they want at the start of the game, but only momentarily. Leblanc, rather than dominating Kennen as they would expect - is quickly put behind by not one but two early ganks, both of which result in a kill. (Kennen's unique runes: 2.3 AD, 8.1 Apen, 12 Mres, 13 Armor, 4% lifesteal, and 5.5 Mpen combined with his 5 potion start also help him stay at full hp constantly against Leblanc's harass).



The second mistake I think that LGIM makes, which may be considered sacrilege in the Korean scene, is taking the mid tower too early. They drop Faker's tower at 7:19 game time, with his cs only slightly down from the other 1v2 lanes. This gives them a slight gold bonus but completely takes the pressure off of Faker - he now has free area to farm and changes from laning against a huge threat (Varus/Thresh) to a nonexistant threat (an already behind Leblanc). He picks up a mejais soon after and begins taking control of the game.





Item Builds:



Three members of SKT1 showed amazing adaptation in terms of items during this game, and their decisions in this area contributed heavily to their win:



While Faker building Mejai's on Kassadin (and getting 19 stacks!) draws the most attention, whats really impressive here is what else he built. Generally Kassadin is not a safe competitive pick exactly because of situations like these - when 2v1'd he loses the ability to get very much farm, heavily delaying his core build (Tear->Rod of Ages) and never allowing him to get off of the ground. Faker, in a move I have not seen before, bypasses this weakness completely by grabbing the cheapest possible items that kick in fast, double dring into tear into mejais, sacrificing all of the survivability the standard build would give him (instead relying on his excellent positioning) for the ability to kick in way earlier (even with reduced gold from being 2v1'd) and start snowballing.



Impact's Kennen forgoes the standard 2x dblade -> haunting guise -> zhonyas start, knowing how important it is that Leblanc never gain any sort of lead on him in lane. Instead, he starts a super safe cloth 5 potion opener and builds straight into abyssal and then zhonyas before anything else. He buys 0 lower tier items (including boots!) that would slow down these two core components, knowing that once he has those he will be able to both survive their deadly solo laners's burst and prevent himself from being displaced during a teamfight by Xin or Gragas.



Finally, Bengi on Nunu has one of the most interesting builds of all: he rushes ruby sightstone as his very first item and takes complete vision control of the opposing jungle for nearly the entire game. Not only does this give T1 an awesome mobile vision advantage, it allows ManDu on Nami to delay her own ruby sightstone and buy items like philosopher stone and pink wards, giving them an advantage in lane (by contrast look at BBuing on Thresh, who ends the game with solely a regular sightstone and level 1 boots)



Overall:



SK Telecom T1 entered this game with a lot to prove, with a lot of people saying (after their defeat to Ozone 1-3 in Champion's last season) that they were a purely solo-queue style team that needed to stomp lanes in order to win. This game showed that they are also a very intelligent team at responding (both in drafting and in game) to what their opponent is attempting to throw at them, and turning it right back in their face. All credit to LG-IM for thinking out of the box, however, and against a lesser team their strategy may have gone far better. A great game overall, and definitely worth watching!



<a href="#LOLintroheader" style="float: right">▲ Back to Top ▲</a>

<div class="LOLheader" id="partfour">Next Time on Champions Summer!

<h2>By: manisier </h2></div><div class="LOLfeature">



Ok lets get right into breaking this game down because there is a LOT going on beneath the surface that makes this game a pretty fascinating study in mind games and adaption and shows just how developed these OGN teams have become at countering an opponent before a game even starts:The bans were fairly standard - as blue side with first pick, T1 had the freedom to be more targeted with their bans, taking away Lilac's best two junglers, Jarvan and Lee Sin, while LGIM was forced to use two of their bans getting rid of the "god-tier" champions Jayce and Twisted Fate. Nunu, despite his permaban status in both NA and EU LCS, has not been a very hotly contested champion in OGN Summer thus far, and so they spend their last ban on Elise instead.Kennen and Thresh, both very popular Korean champions, are snatched up right away. Lilac, with Elise, Jarvan, and Lee banned makes a rather interesting pick of Xin Zhao as his jungler - something that has declined heavily in popularity as of late. This could be a byproduct of a shallow champion pool, but to give LGIM the benefit of the doubt it does synergize well with their later picks (in terms of picking and bursting a single target, Gambit style) much better than grabbing something more tanky/supportive might have.T1, however, has no problem with that style of jungler for their composition and grabs the absolute king of it in Nunu, with a solid/safe AD carry pick in Caitlyn. These are two amazing picks - Nunu is very strong against a jungler like Xin and synergizes so well with Caitlyn by blood boiling her in the late game.This is where LG IM makes a twist into crazy-OGN-weird pickville by grabbingand Varus. They clearly see Leblanc as a solid pick against Kennen, and the idea of their comp is now pretty solidified as a very "catch-and-kill" style that will rely heavily on the bursting potential of their solos while Xin/Varus/Thresh lockdown and isolate.The key mistake here by LG-IM #2 was not expecting what came next - the Kassadin pick out of Faker. Either they didn't think he was practiced enough on the champion to bring it out in a tournament game or they simply didn't have it on their radar, it completely threw a monkey wrench into their entire plan. Had Faker picked something like Karthus, which he has done frequently in the past, they would have had a lot more freedom to do what Ozone has done it the past to beat Faker - ignore him!. Simply picking safe mid laner against him and farming off while making plays elsewhere would drastically limit his potential to snowball the game on that type of champion. Kassadin, however, was the absolute perfect pick here - hethat you commit heavily to shutting him down early. You cannot let Kassadin farm peacefully or hetake control of the game - this forces LGIM into very specific lanes as explained in the next section.The final picks are Nami for T1, which ManDu proves is practically ban worthy in his hands, and Gragas for LGIM, who are sensing that they now need both someone who can 1v2 effectively (Leblanc certainly cant, and they cant risk letting Faker 1v1) and some sortve displacement to mitigate Kennen in teamfights. Gragas fits the bill on both counts and is actually a very clever pickup here.This is where things get interesting. LG IM now has three specific lane matchups they MUST achieve to make their picks worthwhile: They need to 2v1 Faker, have Leblanc take on Kennen, and put Gragas in the 1v2.other situation is immediate disaster for them and would guarantee a loss. They do manage to get all of these lanes exactly as they want at the start of the game, but only momentarily. Leblanc, rather than dominating Kennen as they would expect - is quickly put behind by not one but two early ganks, both of which result in a kill. (Kennen's unique runes: 2.3 AD, 8.1 Apen, 12 Mres, 13 Armor, 4% lifesteal, and 5.5 Mpen combined with his 5 potion start also help him stay at full hp constantly against Leblanc's harass).The second mistake I think that LGIM makes, which may be considered sacrilege in the Korean scene, is taking the mid tower too early. They drop Faker's tower at 7:19 game time, with his cs only slightly down from the other 1v2 lanes. This gives them a slight gold bonus but completely takes the pressure off of Faker - he now has free area to farm and changes from laning against a huge threat (Varus/Thresh) to a nonexistant threat (an already behind Leblanc). He picks up a mejais soon after and begins taking control of the game.Three members of SKT1 showed amazing adaptation in terms of items during this game, and their decisions in this area contributed heavily to their win:While Faker building Mejai's on Kassadin (and getting 19 stacks!) draws the most attention, whats really impressive here is what else he built. Generally Kassadin is not a safe competitive pick exactly because of situations like these - when 2v1'd he loses the ability to get very much farm, heavily delaying his core build (Tear->Rod of Ages) and never allowing him to get off of the ground. Faker, in a move I have not seen before, bypasses this weakness completely by grabbing the cheapest possible items that kick in fast, double dring into tear into mejais, sacrificing all of the survivability the standard build would give him (instead relying on his excellent positioning) for the ability to kick in way earlier (even with reduced gold from being 2v1'd) and start snowballing.Impact's Kennen forgoes the standard 2x dblade -> haunting guise -> zhonyas start, knowing how important it is that Leblanc never gain any sort of lead on him in lane. Instead, he starts a super safe cloth 5 potion opener and builds straight into abyssal and then zhonyas before anything else. He buys 0 lower tier items (including boots!) that would slow down these two core components, knowing that once he has those he will be able to both survive their deadly solo laners's burst and prevent himself from being displaced during a teamfight by Xin or Gragas.Finally, Bengi on Nunu has one of the most interesting builds of all: he rushes ruby sightstone as his very first item and takes complete vision control of the opposing jungle for nearly the entire game. Not only does this give T1 an awesome mobile vision advantage, it allows ManDu on Nami to delay her own ruby sightstone and buy items like philosopher stone and pink wards, giving them an advantage in lane (by contrast look at BBuing on Thresh, who ends the game with solely a regular sightstone and level 1 boots)SK Telecom T1 entered this game with a lot to prove, with a lot of people saying (after their defeat to Ozone 1-3 in Champion's last season) that they were a purely solo-queue style team that needed to stomp lanes in order to win. This game showed that they are also a very intelligent team at responding (both in drafting and in game) to what their opponent is attempting to throw at them, and turning it right back in their face. All credit to LG-IM for thinking out of the box, however, and against a lesser team their strategy may have gone far better. A great game overall, and definitely worth watching!▲ Back to Top ▲ Next Time on Champions Summer! By: manisier Clash of Titans! Who Falls First?



Few will deny that tonight's match-up of the reigning kings of Korea MVP Ozone and the reformed Jin Air Falcons is the most important one of the week. The most conspicuous element of this match is that it is the first match of Champions Summer to have been played between two teams who are sitting at 2:0. The first loss of a tournament is crucial for a team's development, and with two in-form teams looking to keep their loss counter at zero, nothing will be held back in this group stage match.



The most interesting story in this match-up, and potentially the entire week of Champions is the duel of junglers that will take place between MVP's DanDy and Jin Air's Reapered. In Ozone's corner, we have a jungler who unleashed his potential after seasons of suffering losses with less-than-ideal teammates and changing metagames. DanDy has tapped into his abilities as a counter-jungler, using his uncanny knowledge of the opposing jungler's position in order to place his opponents in a checkmate position. MVP Ozone agreed that he was the MVP of their season despite dade winning the official award and imp earning the adoration of fans. With his absolutely ridiculous performance on Lee Sin against Xenics Blast, it is not difficult to see why DanDy's name is now being mentioned in the conversation for the best jungler in the world.



As inSec announced his drastic move from the jungle to the top lane, Reapered announced an equally significant move as he donned a Doran's Blade in his debut as the Falcons' jungler. There are no doubts as to his abilities as a player, especially his shotcalling and macro play. The switch appears to have been comfortable for him, as he performed well on Lee Sin against Xenics Storm. Though a few moments of dominance by Xenics Storm stretched out the Falcons' games, Reapered's intelligence and decision making won the day as Jin Air played a double AD composition featuring Ezreal and Vayne with incredible discipline and deliberate map rotations.



Though it may seem like an overreaction to place such emphasis on the second group stage match for these two teams, Yongsan will be the proving grounds for MVP Ozone and Jin Air Falcons. The reigning champions will have their steel tested against a team that is admittedly on a higher level than their first opponents Xenics Blast, while Reapered's squad will take the stage in their new Greenwings uniforms for the first time in an effort under the watchful eyes of their new sponsors. Both teams are highly regarded, making this match - the first true clash of titans in Champions Summer - a potential spectacle.







Mata and DanDy were voted MVPs of MVP, and must hold nothing back against the Falcons - Photo by inven.co.kr Mata and DanDy were voted MVPs of MVP, and must hold nothing back against the Falcons -



Few will deny that tonight's match-up of the reigning kings of Korea MVP Ozone and the reformed Jin Air Falcons is the most important one of the week. The most conspicuous element of this match is that it is the first match of Champions Summer to have been played between two teams who are sitting at 2:0. The first loss of a tournament is crucial for a team's development, and with two in-form teams looking to keep their loss counter at zero, nothing will be held back in this group stage match.The most interesting story in this match-up, and potentially the entire week of Champions is the duel of junglers that will take place between MVP's DanDy and Jin Air's Reapered. In Ozone's corner, we have a jungler who unleashed his potential after seasons of suffering losses with less-than-ideal teammates and changing metagames. DanDy has tapped into his abilities as a counter-jungler, using his uncanny knowledge of the opposing jungler's position in order to place his opponents in a checkmate position. MVP Ozone agreed that he was the MVP of their season despite dade winning the official award and imp earning the adoration of fans. With his absolutely ridiculous performance on Lee Sin against Xenics Blast, it is not difficult to see why DanDy's name is now being mentioned in the conversation for the best jungler in the world.As inSec announced his drastic move from the jungle to the top lane, Reapered announced an equally significant move as he donned a Doran's Blade in his debut as the Falcons' jungler. There are no doubts as to his abilities as a player, especially his shotcalling and macro play. The switch appears to have been comfortable for him, as he performed well on Lee Sin against Xenics Storm. Though a few moments of dominance by Xenics Storm stretched out the Falcons' games, Reapered's intelligence and decision making won the day as Jin Air played a double AD composition featuring Ezreal and Vayne with incredible discipline and deliberate map rotations.Though it may seem like an overreaction to place such emphasis on the second group stage match for these two teams, Yongsan will be the proving grounds for MVP Ozone and Jin Air Falcons. The reigning champions will have their steel tested against a team that is admittedly on a higher level than their first opponents Xenics Blast, while Reapered's squad will take the stage in their new Greenwings uniforms for the first time in an effort under the watchful eyes of their new sponsors. Both teams are highly regarded, making this match - the first true clash of titans in Champions Summer - a potential spectacle. Rookies Shine Too! Seeking the Royal Road!



The best performance by a rookie team in the first round was of Chungnam Techno University, as they split 1:1 against Najin Black Sword. The royal road is not out of reach for them, but as LG-IM #2, Xenics Blast and MiG Blitz fell in 0:2 sets, hopes of a rookie performance along the lines of SK Telecom T1 Terminator in Champions Spring (in which they achieved an impressive 3rd) look dim. However, some of the rookie teams will have their chance to grasp victory this week and keep their hopes alive.



CTU faces off against the team formerly known as Hoon's Good Day - Jin Air Stealth. Hoon and his comrades put up an admirable fight against the team that stomped over everyone in Champions Spring until burning out near the end, CJ Entus Blaze, and they will have an easier team against the collegiate team. However, said collegiate team took a game off Najin Black Sword, even when they were equipped with their very own Excalibur in Expession. The amount of hype that this team has received has looked to be entirely justified so far.





CTU pensive in their match against Najin Black Sword - Photo by inven.co.kr CTU pensive in their match against Najin Black Sword -



MiG Blitz also have their chance at gaining a win this season for their coach Woong as they play against the suffering LG-IM #1. Though Incredible Miracle did not look bad against CJ Entus Frost by any stretch of the imagination, nothing looked impressive earlier. They lost in two incredibly well played games by the Champions veterans and to guess at their future performance would be unwise. The match between MiG Blitz and LG-IM #1 may carry more weight than as first appears, as LG-IM #1 have their pride on the line, dealing with a rookie team who has not had much success either. A 0:2 loss here would be a massive blow to the organisation.



Individual rookies also have a lot to prove as the group stage continues. Najin White Shield's mid laner GGOONG had an impressive run, tying 1:1 against MVP Blue. Though a Brood War veteran, the man formerly known as Grape has adjusted well to League of Legends and is an example of how far raw mechanical talent can take someone in League of Legends. Other rookies to watch out for include CTU's Mima and Riris, MiG Blitz's Apple and Jin Air Falcons' Roar.



This edition of the TeamLiquid LoL write-up was brought to you by manisier, Chexx, Atrioc, Fionn and Mafia.

The best performance by a rookie team in the first round was of Chungnam Techno University, as they split 1:1 against Najin Black Sword. The royal road is not out of reach for them, but as LG-IM #2, Xenics Blast and MiG Blitz fell in 0:2 sets, hopes of a rookie performance along the lines of SK Telecom T1 Terminator in Champions Spring (in which they achieved an impressive 3rd) look dim. However, some of the rookie teams will have their chance to grasp victory this week and keep their hopes alive.CTU faces off against the team formerly known as Hoon's Good Day - Jin Air Stealth. Hoon and his comrades put up an admirable fight against the team that stomped over everyone in Champions Spring until burning out near the end, CJ Entus Blaze, and they will have an easier team against the collegiate team. However, said collegiate team took a game off Najin Black Sword, even when they were equipped with their very own Excalibur in Expession. The amount of hype that this team has received has looked to be entirely justified so far.MiG Blitz also have their chance at gaining a win this season for their coach Woong as they play against the suffering LG-IM #1. Though Incredible Miracle did not lookagainst CJ Entus Frost by any stretch of the imagination, nothing looked impressive earlier. They lost in two incredibly well played games by the Champions veterans and to guess at their future performance would be unwise. The match between MiG Blitz and LG-IM #1 may carry more weight than as first appears, as LG-IM #1 have their pride on the line, dealing with a rookie team who has not had much success either. A 0:2 loss here would be a massive blow to the organisation.Individual rookies also have a lot to prove as the group stage continues. Najin White Shield's mid laner GGOONG had an impressive run, tying 1:1 against MVP Blue. Though a Brood War veteran, the man formerly known as Grape has adjusted well to League of Legends and is an example of how far raw mechanical talent can take someone in League of Legends. Other rookies to watch out for include CTU's Mima and Riris, MiG Blitz's Apple and Jin Air Falcons' Roar. https://twitter.com/FionnOnFire