On Wednesday the Taipei Assassins defeated the powerhouse M5.BenQ during the delayed semifinal matches for the League of Legends Season 2 World Championships. Despite taking a devastating loss during the first match, TPA went on to dominate M5 to win the series at 2-1. The win takes the Taiwan-based team one step closer to the $1 million first place prize.

"We didn't have anything to lose anymore after the first game, so all we had to do was gamble and put in our everything to win the next two games," said TPA Support Chen 'MiSTakE' Hui Chung.

There isn't a specific way to train for that kind of mental toughness according to TPA Team Manager Erica Tseng, stating that mental toughness was more about letting go and starting each game fresh. She said that she often tells the team to be ready to "own" their opponents to pump them up for the next game while helping get their minds off the last.

One star to come out of the series was the Nidalee played by TPA Top Wang "Stanley" June Tsan﻿. Stanley played against the lane-pushing gravedigger Yorick in games 2 and 3, maintaining dominance and allowing both himself and his team to put pressure on multiple locations at once. That pressure eventually folded M5 as TPA marched toward their Nexus.

"It was interesting to face M5.BenQ, since they are a strong team," Stanley said. "I have not played Nidalee in awhile because she was never compatible with our strategies, so it was great picking her up again in this tournament. I know for the Finals to maintain advantage and be stable throughout the matches.﻿"

Despite play that took down one of the favorite teams of the tournament, MiSTakE said that TPA is reviewing previous replays to study and work out any mistakes they notice. He said that the team's goal going into the Finals is to lower or eliminate any chance of mistakes or miscommunications from happening as they prepare to go against Azubu Frost.

Though he cited no specifics, MiSTakE said that TPA was preparing strategies and figuring out weaknesses for popular Frost team compositions for the Finals. He added that it was unfortunate that CLG.EU didn't take the series away from Frost.

"It was a pity that CLG.EU did not maintain their advantage with the games against Frost, and we will be preparing some strategies to face them in the Finals.," MiSTakE said.

Regardless of the outcome Saturday, Tseng said that TPA's performance this season has been a signal for the world to pay more attention to the Taiwan eSports scene. With other Asian nations such as China and Korea often visibly represented in eSports, TPA's performance will likely turn some watchful eyes to Taiwan as the eSports scene continues to develop there.

"The fans and family of my players are all ecstatic and proud of the team," Tseng said. "I think the team has set a high standard for other competitors back home after beating M5, and after Season 2, there will definitely be more people that will be paying attention to Taiwan eSports.﻿"

The Taipei Assassins face Azubu Frost at the League of Legends Season 2 World Championships beginning at 7 p.m. PST (GMT -7) Saturday.