Flash Wolves has been at the top of Taiwan for years, winning four straight titles and attending three straight World Championships, all thanks to the consistent performances of its superstar jungler, Hung “Karsa” Hau-Hsuan. Recently, however, it was announced that Karsa would be pursuing opportunities abroad and leaving the LMS for the first time in his three-year career. All-Star 2017 was Karsa’s last event as a representative of the LMS and he certainly made the most of it, as he prepares for his next challenge overseas.

Karsa has been a big fish in a small pond for some time and All-Star was his last chance to showcase something on the international stage. Dominant performances against the LCK and LPL have the young superstar starting strong on his quest to challenge the world. Karsa will be Taiwan’s first major export and everyone is watching closely.

Karsa represented the LMS at All-Star for the third year in a row © Riot Games

All-Star 2017

The LMS has struggled to deal any serious damage internationally lately, but All-Star is a different beast of an event. Teams are cobbled together by fan votes and often represent the “Dream Team” of a region. The LMS is a smaller region and struggles with talent depth, but once it comes down to a few talented players it can punch above its weight. LMS even made it to the finals , much to Karsa’s surprise.

“I was pretty surprised myself [about the LMS’s performance]. When we first came here, I approached it more like a vacation with a relaxed atmosphere. Being able to get to the finals is a surprise.” He attributes his region’s success to the fact that the LMS is a bit smaller than the other major regions. “I think the reason we're good is that a lot of us already talk together a lot and hang out. Our 5’s relationship with each other is already very good so there isn’t that much pressure when we play together and that's why we were able to perform well.”

Despite being one of the biggest names in the LMS and a consistent presence on the international stage, there still is a bit of that glitz and glam of All-Star for Karsa. It is yet another opportunity to come into contact with players across the world. “Playing at All-Star is pretty awesome because you get to see and play against all these famous people like Ambition or Faker. It’s pretty exciting.” This time, he even had the chance to beat them and that is something that Karsa craves more than anyone else in the LMS.

Karsa is leaving Flash Wolves to pursue a new challenge internationally © Riot Games

Leaving the LMS

Flash Wolves has four titles to its name in the LMS and have been a mainstay at Worlds, but the team hasn’t succeeded at the yearly conclusive tournament since its Top 8 performance in 2015. Karsa has been the uncontested best jungler in the LMS and led the team to dominance of the region, but there is always something that holds the team back when it comes to the big stage. Enough is enough for Karsa and he is ready to do more. “In Season 6 and 7, even though we made worlds, we never had a good performance there. We've always been first in LMS, but we never ended up performing well at Worlds. I want to take this chance to try another region and see how far I can get.”

Flash Wolves has perennially frustrated its fans at the World Championship with its slow adaptation to meta changes and inability to close out games at the highest level of play. Despite being so convincing in its home region, Flash Wolves' continuous flops internationally give the impression that the region is partially to blame. Karsa finds that the aforementioned small stature of the region is a big reason why the LMS has struggled to find success in recent years.

“It's because there aren't that many new players or fresh talent. Folks like J Team’s mid laner, FoFo, who play super well are very rare. It's always us oldies. There aren't many new players who are challenging and pushing us to get better so it's harder to develop and improve.”

Karsa has struggled to find his desired results with Flash Wolves and it is clear why he is leaving the LMS. However, there still isn’t any news of what team or region the superstar jungler will be continuing his journey in. Karsa can’t share what teams he might join, but if language wasn’t an issue, there is one team that he would join before any other. “TSM. TSM is a symbol. When you join TSM, it just feels like you’re very good.”

Leaving Flash Wolves isn't easy for Karsa, but he is ready to move on © Riot Games

Moving on

Karsa and Flash Wolves struggled to put together meaningful results on the international stage the last few years, but the squad was still special. Karsa and his teammates were well-known for cheerfully singing songs together in professional games, no matter how high the stakes. The nucleus of SwordArT, Maple, and Karsa was initially meant to split up in 2015 to pursue opportunities in China, but friendship kept the lineup together despite promises of higher salaries.

There aren’t many teams like Flash Wolves, and Karsa being the first to leave has more than a subtle sadness to it. “[Leaving the team] is very sad. A couple days ago we had a fan meet, and that time, I had already announced that I was leaving so all of my teammates, including me, cried.”

Flash Wolves gave Karsa his big break in 2015 and he has made countless memories with the organization and his teammates. Although Karsa has defeated the likes of Faker and SK Telecom T1, his greatest memory with Flash Wolves is the one that solidified his legitimacy as a pro gamer alongside his teammates. “Season 5 at IEM Taipei [is my greatest memory]. We reverse swept [Taipei Assassins] and it was the first time I played on the big stage.”

Karsa is facing his next challenge

Karsa made his Flash Wolves debut in 2015 and solidified his status as a professional jungler as he dominated the LMS from his very first year. He didn’t only solidify himself as a worthy adversary, but Flash Wolves as well, and set the tone for an era to come. Karse proved himself as a pro gamer in 2015 and has continued to prove why he is one of the best in the world at his position.

His stardom deserves a bigger stage and he hopes that fans of the LMS will support him in his endeavor. “I hope you guys will continue to watch me in my new region and continue to cheer for me.” He might not be in a Flash Wolves uniform anymore, but his electric play and charming personality will surely continue to draw fans as he starts a new journey.