MoonBear Profile Joined November 2010 Straight outta Johto 6431 Posts Last Edited: 2015-10-09 22:38:53 September 30 2012 19:28 GMT #1 Photo: Wikimedia Commons





It has come to this. After an entire year, teams have fought their way for the right to attend the Season 2 World Championships. They have fought over Circuit Points. They have fought over Regional Seeds. They have fought for Championship Seeds. Now, twelve teams will arrive in Los Angeles to prove themselves. They come not only to prove that they deserve to stand on the stage as the very best the world has to offer, but to prove something. To prove that they are a winner. To prove that their sacrifices they have made were worth it. To prove that dropping out of school and throwing themselves at the mercy that is the reality of eSports was the right decision. To prove to their fans that their dedication and love has not been misplaced.



But most importantly, to prove their dreams are real.



Never before has this much global talent been concentrated in such a small place. We have seen the long standing rivalries between North America and Europe. We have seen the might that the Koreans and Chinese bring to bear against those who enter their domain. But this represents the first time that the different paradigms each region represents truly clash in open combat. Who can forget the last time we saw the clash of cultures? Azubu Blaze making their mark on American soil and continuing the tradition of



The Season 1 Champions etched their mark into the history and conscience of League of Legends. It destroyed the nascent style of roam and ingrained the AD-Support and zero-cs meta in the brains of players everywhere. It forced upon the idea of Double AP. The Season 2 Championships represents more than just a trophy and money. It is the event that will set the tone for the rest of the year, and into Season 3. Even those who do not watch competitive League of Legends will feels its effects filter down into semi-competitive play, amateur play and solo queue. Just imagine how different League of Legends would have been today if in Season 1 people had approached problems with different solutions. And realise just how important the Season 2 Championships will be on the community hive-mind.



The date has been set. In less than a week's time on October 4th, we shall see the Fields of Justice bathed in blood once more. In the meantime, slake your thirst on our



I also would like to take this opportunity personally thank everyone who's stuck by us since the beginning of the TeamLiquid League of Legends coverage. We've not been the fastest or the most accurate, but I hope you find we're still the best! We have some big things planned for our Season 2 post-Worlds Coverage so stay tuned! TeamLiquid will also have a small press corp at the Championships event in Los Angeles so if you see us, feel free to come over and say hi. We won't bite! (Maybe. )



Signing off,

MoonBear



It has come to this. After an entire year, teams have fought their way for the right to attend the Season 2 World Championships. They have fought over Circuit Points. They have fought over Regional Seeds. They have fought for Championship Seeds. Now, twelve teams will arrive in Los Angeles to prove themselves. They come not only to prove that they deserve to stand on the stage as the very best the world has to offer, but to prove something. To prove that they are a winner. To prove that their sacrifices they have made were worth it. To prove that dropping out of school and throwing themselves at the mercy that is the reality of eSports was the right decision. To prove to their fans that their dedication and love has not been misplaced.But most importantly, to prove their dreams are real.Never before has this much global talent been concentrated in such a small place. We have seen the long standing rivalries between North America and Europe. We have seen the might that the Koreans and Chinese bring to bear against those who enter their domain. But this represents the first time that the different paradigms each region represents truly clash in open combat. Who can forget the last time we saw the clash of cultures? Azubu Blaze making their mark on American soil and continuing the tradition of Koreans taking MLG money . Moscow Five always staying one step ahead of North America at the IEM World Championships. And each time we have seen some of the most spectacular games ever played.The Season 1 Champions etched their mark into the history and conscience of League of Legends. It destroyed the nascent style of roam and ingrained the AD-Support and zero-cs meta in the brains of players everywhere. It forced upon the idea of Double AP. The Season 2 Championships represents more than just a trophy and money. It isevent that will set the tone for the rest of the year, and into Season 3. Even those who do not watch competitive League of Legends will feels its effects filter down into semi-competitive play, amateur play and solo queue. Just imagine how different League of Legends would have been today if in Season 1 people had approached problems with different solutions. And realise just how important the Season 2 Championships will be on the community hive-mind.The date has been set. In less than a week's time on October 4th, we shall see the Fields of Justice bathed in blood once more. In the meantime, slake your thirst on our top five moments from Season 2 . If you're new to competitive League of Legends, check out our Team Overview ! Feel like your pitchfork has been unloved recently? Go start a fight after reading out Power Rank ! Or see which TeamLiquid Editor is going to show just how little they know about the competitive scene in our Editor Predictions I also would like to take this opportunity personally thank everyone who's stuck by us since the beginning of the TeamLiquid League of Legends coverage. We've not been the fastest or the most accurate, but I hope you find we're still the best! We have some big things planned for our Season 2 post-Worlds Coverage so stay tuned! TeamLiquid will also have a small press corp at the Championships event in Los Angeles so if you see us, feel free to come over and say hi. We won't bite! (Maybe.



Table of Contents

Season 2 Top 5 Moments



Team Overview



Power Rank



Editor predictions



Season 2 Top 5 Moments

Watch it happen all over again

5 Empire Wombo Combo



+ Show Spoiler +





Welcome to the first part of our Worlds Coverage: the nostalgic part! Here, we're going to present what we think are the five top memorable moments from Season 2. So, let's get cracking shall we?



It is hard to believe that Moscow Five were once a team no one had heard of before. But video is the first time many of us first met the five players who would soon take over the League of Legends scene. And thus would rise



4 Uszat and League of Legends



+ Show Spoiler +





One of the most memorable moments in League of Legends in Season 2 comes not from the Fields of Justice and Summoner's Rift, but from the floors of Intel Extreme Masters New York. A normal interview slowly goes awry ad poor Scarra is subjected to Carmac Uszat's questioning and spawns a meme.



(P.S. We love you Scarra)



3 CC is nothing to CaptJack



+ Show Spoiler +





Korean commentators and big plays. This is what ESPORTS (tm) is about.



2 Misaya's Twisted Bait



+ Show Spoiler +





When you think of "aggressive Twisted Fates", most people generally think of Reginald. They cite his aggressive use of Destiny/Gate (R) and how he 'ports into the other team as a method of initiation. But Reginald has nothing on Misaya's Twisted Fate. There's a really good reason many teams have his TF on permaban status, like HotShot Nidalee once was.



Not only does Misaya incredibly aggressively initiate in the clip above and bait the other team into thinking they can win a fight they actually have no chance of winning, he makes it out taking barely any damage. And did you notice him completely dodging all the CC and Ultimates that were thrown at him? Sheesh.



1 Dreamhack 2012 - CLG.eu v Moscow Five



+ Show Spoiler +





Your back is against the wall. You're facing Moscow Five, the most dominant team that League of Legends has seen. You've been down 30k gold but somehow you've closed the gap to a "mere" 20k gold difference. If history is any precedent, you have absolutely no chance of winning this game. The statistics say you can't beat Moscow Five. The books say that coming back from such a deficit is unheard of. But not for CLG.eu.



No further description is necessary. This video speaks for itself. Welcome to the first part of our Worlds Coverage: the nostalgic part! Here, we're going to present what we think are the five top memorable moments from Season 2. So, let's get cracking shall we?It is hard to believe that Moscow Five were once a team no one had heard of before. But video is the first time many of us first met the five players who would soon take over the League of Legends scene. And thus would rise The European Empire One of the most memorable moments in League of Legends in Season 2 comes not from the Fields of Justice and Summoner's Rift, but from the floors of Intel Extreme Masters New York. A normal interview slowly goes awry ad poor Scarra is subjected toUszat's questioning and spawns a meme.(P.S. We love you Scarra)Korean commentators and big plays. This is what ESPORTSis about.When you think of "aggressive Twisted Fates", most people generally think of Reginald. They cite his aggressive use of Destiny/Gate (R) and how he 'ports into the other team as a method of initiation. But Reginald has nothing on Misaya's Twisted Fate. There's a really good reason many teams have his TF on permaban status, like HotShot Nidalee once was.Not only does Misaya incredibly aggressively initiate in the clip above and bait the other team into thinking they can win a fight they actually have no chance of winning, he makes it out taking barely any damage. And did you notice him completely dodging all the CC and Ultimates that were thrown at him? Sheesh.Your back is against the wall. You're facing Moscow Five,most dominant team that League of Legends has seen. You've been down 30k gold but somehow you've closed the gap to a "mere" 20k gold difference. If history is any precedent, you have absolutely no chance of winning this game. The statistics say you can't beat Moscow Five. The books say that coming back from such a deficit is unheard of. But not for CLG.eu.No further description is necessary. This video speaks for itself.

▲ Back to Top ▲

Team Overview

By: Chiharu Harukaze and MoonBear

If you've always been wondering just how each of the twelve teams compare against each other and who exactly plays on each team, check out the infographic we've put together for you. (Click on the image for a larger version. Warning: Full version is very large.) Also, do check out the





Click on the image above for a larger version.





If you've always been wondering just how each of the twelve teams compare against each other and who exactly plays on each team, check out the infographic we've put together for you. (Click on the image for a larger version. Warning: Full version is very large.) Also, do check out the ggChronicles Season 2 Preview articles . They're well written and are great for people new to the competitive and regular follows alike who want a quick read that gives them the low-down on each team.

▲ Back to Top ▲

TeamLiquid Power Rank

By: MoonBear, Chiharu Harukaze, JBright, Neollusions, TheYango, nyxnyxnyx

TL Power Rank



We here at TeamLiquid have spotted an alarming problem in the League of Legends community: there simply hasn't been any drama recently! We have a reputation as the most childish, casual and immature game to keep up, and while we've all be content to be "mature" and "sensible" the other eSports communities have found ways to keep the soap opera going.



To rectify this glaring issue, we have decided to publish a Power Rank. This is a list where we rank all your favourite teams in a complete unfair and biased way and no one is allowed to agree or get along with each other. In fact, even the TeamLiquid Editors don't even agree on what we even published. It's THAT controversial.



Disclaimer

+ Show Spoiler [DISCLAIMER] + The Power Rank does not represent who we think will win the Season 2 World Championships. Instead, the Power Rank is supposed to represent which teams we feel are the strongest overall, balanced over a range of factors. Who would come out best if they played everyone else in the world a hundred times? Which teams have had good tournament results recently? Have there been any big changes in the teams recently? These are several things we think about coming to these results.



Please note that the Power Rank does not suggest that a higher seeded team is better than a lower seeded team.



The TeamLiquid Staff also deny any and all rumours that we own multiple pitchfork and torch companies and that we are simply trying to make cheap money. We would never stoop that low.



(Maybe)





#12: Saigon Jokers

Some of you may remember Team Xan. They came into the Season 1 World Championships and took a game off TSM with a Kayle + Mordekaiser combo (back when Gunblade-Morde was sleeper OP) but then failed to do anything noteworthy. If you don't remember them for that, then you probably remember them



This is what the Saigon Jokers reminds us of. Sure, they beat the Singapore Sentinels. But this is a team that before the SEA Regional Qualifiers, had never beaten SGS. At the same time, SGS is not the greatest of teams to use as a benchmark for success. They also have an even worse record against the Taipei Assassins and are barely scraping a positive Win/Loss ratio in the Garena Premier League. However, what they have is the advantage of surprise. SAJ regularly practise 1v2 AP bot lane, which sometimes resembles the "suicide off-lane" in DotA. This is definitely helped by the DotA background several of their players, such as their AP Player Nixwater, have. In addition, the SEA server has seen multiple styles of "counter-jungling" cheese. While so far experimentation seems rough and unrefined, it is not out of the question that we see something absolutely ridiculous come out in a similar vein to the Malzahar-Soraka cheese we saw in the Korea Regional Qualifiers.



No team in Group A can really count SAJ out due to the threat they pose in a Bo1 Group Stage. But at the same time, there's no denying it. SAJ are the weakest team out of the twelve.



#11: Taipei Assassins (TPA)

The Taipei Assassins are on odd bunch. Earlier this year they seemed anaemic at WCG 2011. But then they were incredibly scary and smacking people left and right. And now they're in one of the biggest slumps of their career for almost no apparent reason. While cynically you can match their slump with the release of Diablo III, more realistically it might just be that everyone else around them have gotten better. TPA is still top-dog in their part of the world, crushing their Regional Qualifier and continuing to dominate the Garena Proleague. But the segregation of regional servers seems to be hurting them greatly. At the end of the day, practise is dependant on who you can practise, which matters a lot when many players rely on solo queue to practise.



So where exactly do TPA stand? TPA have been training hard recently, and it's hard to say. On one hand, they have players like Stanley who once stated that the counter to Kennen was Vladimir, and the counter to Vladimir was Kennen. He also enjoys building triple gp10 on Shen, starting with a Philo Stone, getting a Kage and then a HoG. This only works because he's that good at top lane and is not recommended for solo queue. But their teamfights recently have been messy, and their focus has been lax. In their show match against CLG.eu at their Regional Qualifiers, they just couldn't stay as a cohesive unit under pressure. That will be the hurdle they need to cross. But if they can cross it though, they have a wide range of strategies they can run. For example, who even plays Trundle any more? TPA, that's who. And imagine what you can do with max-CDR Trundle who can keep his... Pillar... up permanently. (Please see a doctor if this happens to you however.) They've also been ahead of the curve in itemisation theory, such as getting Spirit Visage on several champions.



Fun fact: Did you know Lilballz, Bigfatjiji and Classick used to be in the same WoW Guild and raid together? Then one day Classick got a job at Riot and told Lilballz and Jiji to come play this game called "League of something". And the rest is history. Lilballz is also



#10: SK Gaming (SK)

SK Gaming has been probably one of the most volatile teams in the League of Legends scene. It's not just their roster, but their performance seems to fluctuate too. They've been showing a good performances since Yellowstar joined but at the European Regionals, they were absolutely crushed by Moscow Five in the finals. Ocelote did say that they "went partying after winning semis so we got stomped against M5 at Gamescom." But SK still have a problem. They haven't proved themselves enough yet to be up there.



SK's game is emotional. They snowball hard when they do well, but they tilt when they do badly. And it reflects itself in their play style. When SK win the laning phase, they go on to make a mess in the midgame. But if they lose the laning phase, they're always struggling. They are a team who decides their own future early into the game. And this is their biggest problem. Many other teams can be flexible in how they want to play their game. SK has far fewer strategies and counter-strategies they tend to run. They have a game plan, they go into a game, and they execute it. And if you only have one plan, you need to be really good at it. Otherwise, your inflexibility means that teams can out-ban and pick you, and then out-play you on virtue of team composition.



While their recent results have been good, SK is still a team that needs to prove themselves. And that's why they're still in the lower half of the power rank.



#9: Counter Logic Gaming Prime (CLG.na)

Counter Logic Gaming is one of the oldest self-made brands in League of Legends. After a brilliant start at IEM Cologne in 2011, we've seen CLG.na just peter out. The world evolved around them, and CLG just couldn't adapt. Individually, they're all very skilled. But that's not enough to hang with the best. So what can we say about CLG then?



CLG's performance is all going to come down to Jiji. Like their brother team CLG.eu, CLG.na can play the late game well. They can split push. They can let Doublelift carry them. All they need to do, is create space for 2xLift. This is where Jiji comes in. As the second position carry, there's a lot of responsibility on him to do well. If he can win his lane, it opens up so much control and presence for CLG. It lets Doublelift farm and it lets HotShot pressure. But when Jiji fails, everything else fails for CLG. They lose jungle and map presence. Chauster and Doublelift get constantly dove. Voyboy falls behind from pressure. CLG.na have a lot of experience in playing from behind, but at this level of play you should not be going into a game assuming your lanes are going to fail. You need to win lanes, and then play from there.



So, it's all up to you Jiji. No pressure.



#8: Dignitas (Dig)

Team Dignitas has been part of the North American Trioka for just about a year now since their 1st place finish at IPL3 in Atlantic City. The team had just been picked up by Dignitas and they took the crown after taking out CLG.na and Epik Gamer. Then they went on a run of five top 3 finishes over the course of the next 6 months to really solidify themselves as one of the best in North America. The team's potential was questioned after the departure of Voyboy and L0CUST, but their replacements Crumbzz and Patoy have more than answered the call when they took 2nd place at the North American Regional Championships.



This is a team that has been known to think up some "cheesy" strats and use them to great effects at major tournaments. Who could forget the Super-Heals mass-Support Kog'Maw strat that they pulled out early at IPL4 to get into the Winners Finals? Or their recent addition of the poke-comp at the North American Regionals? And it would be remiss to not mention the



For Dignitas, a lot of their games are going to come down to the picks/bans. They need to get themselves team comps they are both comfortable playing with, but also give them flexibility. For example, Crumbzz has shown himself to be absolutely dominating on



#7: World Elite (WE)

World Elite were once one of the most feared teams in the world. They beat CLG.na to take first place at IEM Guangzhou. They crushed through the Chinese competition and were so good that they were given a direct invite to the Season 2 World Championships before CLG.eu even competed in their first major tournament. That's how good they were. How the mighty have fallen. World Elite bombed out of OGN Azubu The Champions to CLG.eu 2-0 and couldn't even pass Round 2 of IPL Face Off. What's more, in the last two months they've undergone roster changes, swapping out their Jungler and Support. Yet some how they managed to beat Invictus Gaming 2-0 in the finals of the Ultimate Game Tournament just this week.



World Elite play a very Chinese DotA style of play, with clearly defined roles for first to fifth position. Misaya is their tempo maker in second position, while WeiXiao is their first position in the 4-protect-1 who will crush the opposition. They are safe, conservative and solid. And that's been the reason for their continued success. In fact, it is perhaps best to draw parallels to CLG.eu and their cold and Chinese play style. The difference however is that Chinese play emphasises positional play very heavily. It focuses on always recognising the problem, and then executing the right answer. This is something that does not fair well for top lane and jungling. (Which is rather amusing, given that the top lane in LoL has many parallels to the mid lane in DotA. But that is a discussion for another time.) The Chinese server also has a distinct lack of good junglers to learn and adapt from. Jungling is one of the positions that is most dependent on experience and game sense, compared to mid or bot lane where a lot of the emphasis is on mechanics. It's then perhaps unsurprising that WE's strengths lie in its carries.



If WE manages to get the right experience to bring CaoMei and ClearLove to the same level as Misaya, the world should be very afraid. But for now, the two new additions are solid, but not quite good enough to break into the top half of the power rank.



#6: NaJin Sword

NaJin Sword combine with World Elite to represent the half-way mark. It's the point at which you become more than just a contender, but a big enough threat that you walk around with a target on your back and people try to trip you over as you walk down the corridor.



Bad analogies aside, NaJin Sword can be summed up in one word: Maknoon. He has definitely been the driving power behind Najin Sword's performance this season, being an unstoppable force in lane and a great play maker overall. Maknoon left his old team Najin Shield in the hands of Mokuza and started up a new one after the summer season. And together with AP mid player Ssong it has been nothing but ups. Sure the other players on his team perform well, but that is due to his leadership. He controls his lane and can comfortably command the rest of the team, as well as pulling out surprising new champions. He played Rengar several times in the Korean Qualifiers and won. He's played Nidalee in Skarner team comps where the AP should be instead, and won. And if he doesn't feel that these are sufficient he can always play Malphite, Jayce, Shen or Irelia. But Maknoon is also the Achilles Heel of NaJin Sword. If he underperforms, his team under-performs. Najin Sword is the team where "win lane, win game" applies most to.



#5: Counter Logic Gaming Europe (CLG.eu)

Counter Logic Gaming Europe is one of the biggest success stories in Season 2. After Wickd and Snoopeh split from SK Gaming, they picked up several players from a little-known team called Infused (who are familiar to DotA watchers) and then proceeded to smack face. Again, you really have to ask yourself: Where exactly to players like Froggen hide unknown despite being so damn good?



CLG.eu are perhaps the closest thing to a Chinese DotA Team we have seen in League of Legends tournaments, despite being not Chinese. Their cold and efficient style of play revolves around Froggen an Snoopeh controlling the temp of the game, before curving out into the late game and crushing people. Their teamfights are excellent, their positional play is strong. And it shows, as they are still the only team to take a finals from under the nose of Moscow Five and launch one of the biggest comebacks in League of Legends.



CLG.eu are out to prove themselves after a reverse sweep at OGN Azubu The Champions Summer 2012, and the blow they took from SK Gaming. But like CLG.na they have one key advantage over every other team in the tournament. They have two practise partners in the form of their compatriot CLG team in the World Championships, and also CLG Black. That gives them the unique opportunity to test against and with lots of strategies as well as plan out picks/bans long before they even arrive in on stage. And they have a good grasp over League of Legends theory too. Snoopeh was one of the first players to really start



CLG is going to be prepared, and they're going to make a mark at Worlds. So Froggen,



#4: Invictus Gaming (iG)

Invictus Gaming come into the World Championships with the pressure of their DotA team having swept Valve's The International 2012. They will have seen the lavish parties their billionaire team owner threw for the DotA team, with celebrities and fanfare all around. And they will likely want a piece of it too.



iG are the dark horse for the tournament. They have many similarities to modern Chinese DotA (unsurprisingly) which gives them a unique edge against every other team. They have a massive amount of flexibility and unpredictability thanks to their deep champion pools, especially on their mid player zz1tai. He can play Lee Sin, Jayce, Master Yi, Mordekaiser and Viktor. How many other mid plane players can even play half of those champions at a competitive level? The fact he plays Viktor alone gives him a TL seal of approval due to our rabid fascination with Viktor (who also ruins a lot of the push meta, although several conditions need to be met).



iG are going to play something incredibly cheesy. Except to them, they will be playing Standard. If that even makes any sense. The fact they could play a wildly different team composition or ten games straight shoots them up the Power Rank.



#3: Team Solomid (TSM)

Once known as a perennial second place team in North America behind CLG Prime, Team SoloMid has shown us that hard work (and some talent) can take you to the top. Soon after the announcement of the $5 million Season 2 prize pool, TSM was the first team to invest in a gaming house. They also decided it should be in New York so they could practice against both North American and European teams. The first few months of this venture was not successful at all as they didn't make much of an impact at IEM New York or IPL3.



Look forward a few months and TSM is now the hottest NA team, dominating other North American teams at every offline tournament. They decided that they would practice the fundamentals of the game rather than go for crazy strategies that would throw off their opponents and that has worked in their favour against other NA teams. But now they need to face the world. TSM were completely wiped by Azubu Blaze, and have never won a series against Moscow Five. Being the best in your region is all dandy, but this is the World Championships, not the North American Championships.



TSM's greatest strength continues to be the fact that every lane is solid and has the potential to carry. That's possibly all they need. But at the same time, a lot of their initiation relies on Reginald. Even on champions such as Karthus, he will be happy to Flash right into the middle of his team and just die in order to initiate and then



#2: Azubu Frost

The Koreans are the classic terror in Starcraft. They turn up to tournaments, they win tournaments. It's a fact of life. And now, they look to take out prize money in League of Legends too.



We all saw what Azubu Blaze did at MLG Summer Arena. (If you haven't, check out our analysis



Azubu Frost's play is always about having control. Even when behind, they always try to exercise control in some form or another. Whether its through positional play, influencing the methods and opportunities for initiation to occur, or just straight up controlling the entire game, they play like their Starcraft brethren do: always be doing something. Many foreign teams have a weakness where they will faff around, not quite sure what they want to be accomplishing. Azubu Frost however have immaculate communication and game sense, which means they're always at least achieving something no matter how mundane or small. Their ability to understand game pacing is what really pushes them into the top three of the power rank. And this is what will make or break their games.



#1: Moscow Five (M5)

Moscow Five is a name that is known world wide in the League of Legends scene. Changing from Empire to the M5 brand in December 2011, they have only lost one final at a LAN event and have only been beaten in a Bo3 at a LAN by CLG.eu. They've also had no lineup changes. They're an extremely stable, successful and scary team.



In many ways, Moscow Five live up to the reputation that Russian and Ukrainian DotA has set for them. When we think of successful Western DotA teams, often teams like Natus Vincere or Virtus Pro are mentioned. In some respects, Moscow Five continues the tradition. They are erratic, chaotic, aggressive, enigmatic. And they win. A lot.



The World Championships represents the first time they will face off against the Asian teams. And the Asian teams are raring to face Moscow Five. But as far as we are concerned, Moscow Five go into this tournament as the strongest team. And they rightly deserve their number one slot in the Power Rank.



We here at TeamLiquid have spotted an alarming problem in the League of Legends community: there simply hasn't been any drama recently! We have a reputation as the most childish, casual and immature game to keep up, and while we've all be content to beandthe other eSports communities have found ways to keep the soap opera going.To rectify this glaring issue, we have decided to publish a Power Rank. This is a list where we rank all your favourite teams in a complete unfair and biased way and no one is allowed to agree or get along with each other. In fact, even the TeamLiquid Editors don't even agree on what we even published. It's THAT controversial.Some of you may remember Team Xan. They came into the Season 1 World Championships and took a game off TSM with a Kayle + Mordekaiser combo (back when Gunblade-Morde was sleeper OP) but then failed to do anything noteworthy. If you don't remember them for that, then you probably remember them for this interview This is what the Saigon Jokers reminds us of. Sure, they beat the Singapore Sentinels. But this is a team that before the SEA Regional Qualifiers, had never beaten SGS. At the same time, SGS is not the greatest of teams to use as a benchmark for success. They also have an even worse record against the Taipei Assassins and are barely scraping a positive Win/Loss ratio in the Garena Premier League. However, what they have is the advantage of surprise. SAJ regularly practise 1v2 AP bot lane, which sometimes resembles the "suicide off-lane" in DotA. This is definitely helped by the DotA background several of their players, such as their AP Player Nixwater, have. In addition, the SEA server has seen multiple styles of "counter-jungling" cheese. While so far experimentation seems rough and unrefined, it is not out of the question that we see something absolutely ridiculous come out in a similar vein to the Malzahar-Soraka cheese we saw in the Korea Regional Qualifiers.No team in Group A can really count SAJ out due to the threat they pose in a Bo1 Group Stage. But at the same time, there's no denying it. SAJ are the weakest team out of the twelve.The Taipei Assassins are on odd bunch. Earlier this year they seemed anaemic at WCG 2011. But then they were incredibly scary and smacking people left and right. And now they're in one of the biggest slumps of their career for almost no apparent reason. While cynically you can match their slump with the release of Diablo III, more realistically it might just be that everyone else around them have gotten better. TPA is still top-dog in their part of the world, crushing their Regional Qualifier and continuing to dominate the Garena Proleague. But the segregation of regional servers seems to be hurting them greatly. At the end of the day, practise is dependant on who you can practise, which matters a lot when many players rely on solo queue to practise.So where exactly do TPA stand? TPA have been training hard recently, and it's hard to say. On one hand, they have players like Stanley who once stated that the counter to Kennen was Vladimir, and the counter to Vladimir was Kennen. He also enjoys building triple gp10 on Shen, starting with a Philo Stone, getting a Kage and then a HoG. This only works because he's that good at top lane and is not recommended for solo queue. But their teamfights recently have been messy, and their focus has been lax. In their show match against CLG.eu at their Regional Qualifiers, they just couldn't stay as a cohesive unit under pressure. That will be the hurdle they need to cross. But if they can cross it though, they have a wide range of strategies they can run. For example, who even plays Trundle any more? TPA, that's who. And imagine what you can do with max-CDR Trundle who can keep his... Pillar... up permanently. (Please see a doctor if this happens to you however.) They've also been ahead of the curve in itemisation theory, such as getting Spirit Visage on several champions.Fun fact: Did you know Lilballz, Bigfatjiji and Classick used to be in the same WoW Guild and raid together? Then one day Classick got a job at Riot and told Lilballz and Jiji to come play this game called "League of something". And the rest is history. Lilballz is also hilarious btw.SK Gaming has been probably one of the most volatile teams in the League of Legends scene. It's not just their roster, but their performance seems to fluctuate too. They've been showing a good performances since Yellowstar joined but at the European Regionals, they were absolutely crushed by Moscow Five in the finals. Ocelote did say that they "went partying after winning semis so we got stomped against M5 at Gamescom." But SK still have a problem. They haven't proved themselves enough yet to be up there.SK's game is emotional. They snowball hard when they do well, but they tilt when they do badly. And it reflects itself in their play style. When SK win the laning phase, they go on to make a mess in the midgame. But if they lose the laning phase, they're always struggling. They are a team who decides their own future early into the game. And this is their biggest problem. Many other teams can be flexible in how they want to play their game. SK has far fewer strategies and counter-strategies they tend to run. They have a game plan, they go into a game, and they execute it. And if you only have one plan, you need to be really good at it. Otherwise, your inflexibility means that teams can out-ban and pick you, and then out-play you on virtue of team composition.While their recent results have been good, SK is still a team that needs to prove themselves. And that's why they're still in the lower half of the power rank.Counter Logic Gaming is one of the oldest self-made brands in League of Legends. After a brilliant start at IEM Cologne in 2011, we've seen CLG.na just peter out. The world evolved around them, and CLG just couldn't adapt. Individually, they're all very skilled. But that's not enough to hang with the best. So what can we say about CLG then?CLG's performance is all going to come down to Jiji. Like their brother team CLG.eu, CLG.na can play the late game well. They can split push. They can let Doublelift carry them. All they need to do, is create space for 2xLift. This is where Jiji comes in. As the second position carry, there's a lot of responsibility on him to do well. If he can win his lane, it opens up so much control and presence for CLG. It lets Doublelift farm and it lets HotShot pressure. But when Jiji fails, everything else fails for CLG. They lose jungle and map presence. Chauster and Doublelift get constantly dove. Voyboy falls behind from pressure. CLG.na have a lot of experience in playing from behind, but at this level of play you should not be going into a game assuming your lanes are going to fail. You need to win lanes, and then play from there.So, it's all up to you Jiji. No pressure.Team Dignitas has been part of the North American Trioka for just about a year now since their 1st place finish at IPL3 in Atlantic City. The team had just been picked up by Dignitas and they took the crown after taking out CLG.na and Epik Gamer. Then they went on a run of five top 3 finishes over the course of the next 6 months to really solidify themselves as one of the best in North America. The team's potential was questioned after the departure of Voyboy and L0CUST, but their replacements Crumbzz and Patoy have more than answered the call when they took 2nd place at the North American Regional Championships.This is a team that has been known to think up some "cheesy" strats and use them to great effects at major tournaments. Who could forget the Super-Heals mass-Support Kog'Maw strat that they pulled out early at IPL4 to get into the Winners Finals? Or their recent addition of the poke-comp at the North American Regionals? And it would be remiss to not mention the Double-AP Skarner strategy that Dignitas loves to run. In the case of the World Championships, all eyes will be every single game during the playoffs and any cheese will be figured out very quickly. Dignitas can use multiple surprises to make it out of the group stage, but in the end they will need to rely on their mechanics if they want to go even farther. This is where they're going to run into problems. Scarra is notorious for getting camped mid lane, and Crumbzz has shown shaky performance top lane, especially on Rumble. That places a lot of pressure onto Qtiepie and Patoy to carry the team.For Dignitas, a lot of their games are going to come down to the picks/bans. They need to get themselves team comps they are both comfortable playing with, but also give them flexibility. For example, Crumbzz has shown himself to be absolutely dominating on Jax , but often shut down on Rumble when he's not bee supported. This is the weakness teams will be looking to exploit against them.World Elite were once one of the most feared teams in the world. They beat CLG.na to take first place at IEM Guangzhou. They crushed through the Chinese competition and were so good that they were given a direct invite to the Season 2 World Championships before CLG.eu even competed in their first major tournament. That's how good they were. How the mighty have fallen. World Elite bombed out of OGN Azubu The Champions to CLG.eu 2-0 and couldn't even pass Round 2 of IPL Face Off. What's more, in the last two months they've undergone roster changes, swapping out their Jungler and Support. Yet some how they managed to beat Invictus Gaming 2-0 in the finals of the Ultimate Game Tournament just this week.World Elite play a very Chinese DotA style of play, with clearly defined roles for first to fifth position. Misaya is their tempo maker in second position, while WeiXiao is their first position in the 4-protect-1 who will crush the opposition. They are safe, conservative and solid. And that's been the reason for their continued success. In fact, it is perhaps best to draw parallels to CLG.eu and their cold and Chinese play style. The difference however is that Chinese play emphasises positional play very heavily. It focuses on always recognising the problem, and then executing the right answer. This is something that does not fair well for top lane and jungling. (Which is rather amusing, given that the top lane in LoL has many parallels to the mid lane in DotA. But that is a discussion for another time.) The Chinese server also has a distinct lack of good junglers to learn and adapt from. Jungling is one of the positions that is most dependent on experience and game sense, compared to mid or bot lane where a lot of the emphasis is on mechanics. It's then perhaps unsurprising that WE's strengths lie in its carries.If WE manages to get the right experience to bring CaoMei and ClearLove to the same level as Misaya, the world should be very afraid. But for now, the two new additions are solid, but not quite good enough to break into the top half of the power rank.NaJin Sword combine with World Elite to represent the half-way mark. It's the point at which you become more than just a contender, but a big enough threat that you walk around with a target on your back and people try to trip you over as you walk down the corridor.Bad analogies aside, NaJin Sword can be summed up in one word: Maknoon. He has definitely been the driving power behind Najin Sword's performance this season, being an unstoppable force in lane and a great play maker overall. Maknoon left his old team Najin Shield in the hands of Mokuza and started up a new one after the summer season. And together with AP mid player Ssong it has been nothing but ups. Sure the other players on his team perform well, but that is due to his leadership. He controls his lane and can comfortably command the rest of the team, as well as pulling out surprising new champions. He played Rengar several times in the Korean Qualifiers and won. He's played Nidalee in Skarner team comps where the AP should be instead, and won. And if he doesn't feel that these are sufficient he can always play Malphite, Jayce, Shen or Irelia. But Maknoon is also the Achilles Heel of NaJin Sword. If he underperforms, his team under-performs. Najin Sword is the team where "win lane, win game" applies most to.Counter Logic Gaming Europe is one of the biggest success stories in Season 2. After Wickd and Snoopeh split from SK Gaming, they picked up several players from a little-known team called Infused (who are familiar to DotA watchers) and then proceeded to smack face. Again, you really have to ask yourself: Where exactly to players like Froggen hide unknown despite being so damn good?CLG.eu are perhaps the closest thing to a Chinese DotA Team we have seen in League of Legends tournaments, despite being not Chinese. Their cold and efficient style of play revolves around Froggen an Snoopeh controlling the temp of the game, before curving out into the late game and crushing people. Their teamfights are excellent, their positional play is strong. And it shows, as they are still the only team to take a finals from under the nose of Moscow Five and launch one of the biggest comebacks in League of Legends.CLG.eu are out to prove themselves after a reverse sweep at OGN Azubu The Champions Summer 2012, and the blow they took from SK Gaming. But like CLG.na they have one key advantage over every other team in the tournament. They have two practise partners in the form of their compatriot CLG team in the World Championships, and also CLG Black. That gives them the unique opportunity to test against and with lots of strategies as well as plan out picks/bans long before they even arrive in on stage. And they have a good grasp over League of Legends theory too. Snoopeh was one of the first players to really start jungle Karthus and once played jungle Blitzcrank in the old jungle too.CLG is going to be prepared, and they're going to make a mark at Worlds. So Froggen, Charm Me Maybe? Invictus Gaming come into the World Championships with the pressure of their DotA team having swept Valve's The International 2012. They will have seen the lavish parties their billionaire team owner threw for the DotA team, with celebrities and fanfare all around. And they will likely want a piece of it too.iG are the dark horse for the tournament. They have many similarities to modern Chinese DotA (unsurprisingly) which gives them a unique edge against every other team. They have a massive amount of flexibility and unpredictability thanks to their deep champion pools, especially on their mid player zz1tai. He can play Lee Sin, Jayce, Master Yi, Mordekaiser and Viktor. How many other mid plane players can even play half of those champions at a competitive level? The fact he plays Viktor alone gives him a TL seal of approval due to our rabid fascination with Viktor (who also ruins a lot of the push meta, although several conditions need to be met).iG are going to play something incredibly cheesy. Except to them, they will be playing Standard. If that even makes any sense. The fact they could play a wildly different team composition or ten games straight shoots them up the Power Rank.Once known as a perennial second place team in North America behind CLG Prime, Team SoloMid has shown us that hard work (and some talent) can take you to the top. Soon after the announcement of the $5 million Season 2 prize pool, TSM was the first team to invest in a gaming house. They also decided it should be in New York so they could practice against both North American and European teams. The first few months of this venture was not successful at all as they didn't make much of an impact at IEM New York or IPL3.Look forward a few months and TSM is now the hottest NA team, dominating other North American teams at every offline tournament. They decided that they would practice the fundamentals of the game rather than go for crazy strategies that would throw off their opponents and that has worked in their favour against other NA teams. But now they need to face the world. TSM were completely wiped by Azubu Blaze, and have never won a series against Moscow Five. Being the best in your region is all dandy, but this is the World Championships, not the North American Championships.TSM's greatest strength continues to be the fact that every lane is solid and has the potential to carry. That's possibly all they need. But at the same time, a lot of their initiation relies on Reginald. Even on champions such as Karthus, he will be happy to Flash right into the middle of his team and just die in order to initiate and then Press R . However, if he falls behind, their options rapidly shrink in number and they become increasingly reliant on either their other lanes crushing their opponents, or the opposition to make a mistake and dive them under tower. Admittedly, it's not a bad strategy. Chaox and Xpecial plays a solid bottom lane, Dyrus is 1hp juke master and for some reason, people really like diving TSM under their inhibitor towers. (See: MLG Summer Arena, North American Regionals)The Koreans are the classic terror in Starcraft. They turn up to tournaments, they win tournaments. It's a fact of life. And now, they look to take out prize money in League of Legends too.We all saw what Azubu Blaze did at MLG Summer Arena. (If you haven't, check out our analysis here .) Azubu Frost right now are probably the stronger of the two Azubu teams. Which doesn't bare well for everyone else. They're a very no-nonsense sort of team, that tends to play standard but also has a lot of flexibility in their team comps. MadLife in particular is going to be the biggest threat. He is quite possibly the best support player in the world, and one of the few support players whose champion pool expands outside of the traditional choices. What's more, he makes things like Lux and Zyra support work.Azubu Frost's play is always about having control. Even when behind, they always try to exercise control in some form or another. Whether its through positional play, influencing the methods and opportunities for initiation to occur, or just straight up controlling the entire game, they play like their Starcraft brethren do: always be doing something. Many foreign teams have a weakness where they will faff around, not quite sure what they want to be accomplishing. Azubu Frost however have immaculate communication and game sense, which means they're always at least achieving something no matter how mundane or small. Their ability to understand game pacing is what really pushes them into the top three of the power rank. And this is what will make or break their games.Moscow Five is a name that is known world wide in the League of Legends scene. Changing from Empire to the M5 brand in December 2011, they have only lost one final at a LAN event and have only been beaten in a Bo3 at a LAN by CLG.eu. They've also had no lineup changes. They're an extremely stable, successful and scary team.In many ways, Moscow Five live up to the reputation that Russian and Ukrainian DotA has set for them. When we think of successful Western DotA teams, often teams like Natus Vincere or Virtus Pro are mentioned. In some respects, Moscow Five continues the tradition. They are erratic, chaotic, aggressive, enigmatic. And they win. A lot.The World Championships represents the first time they will face off against the Asian teams. And the Asian teams are raring to face Moscow Five. But as far as we are concerned, Moscow Five go into this tournament as the strongest team. And they rightly deserve their number one slot in the Power Rank.

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Editor Predictions

By: MoonBear, Chiharu Harukaze, JBright, NeoIllusions



MoonBear:

Group A - Azubu`Frost, iG

Group B - NaJin Sword, CLG.eu



Top 4: Azubu`Frost, M5, iG, CLG.eu



Group A is very interesting. CLG.na have a real shot of making it out of the group, but will need to rely on cheese. I can't see them beating Frost or iG in a straight up game. They do have the advantage of two practise partners to create, refine and practise cheese with however. If they choose to cheese, they will have something prepared which they know works. SK on the other hand have no such luxury. They're strong, but I don't think they're strong enough to beat the teams from Asia. This really is a Group of Death though and the teams are going to fight to the bitter end.



In Group B the more solid and stable teams have the edge here. SAJ are the most interesting team surprisingly. They likely will be going all-out with cheese and non-standard play since they probably have no chance of advancing. If they take a single game off any team, it will likely ruin their chances of advancing or at the very least force a tie-breaker round. That means no team can afford to count them as a free win and will still have to work for their points. But that's a good thing.



Top 4 is honestly a mess. I've honestly just drawn names out of a hat from the top half of the Power Rank lol.



JBright:

Group A - Azubu Frost and iG

Group B - CLG.eu and NaJin Sword



Top 4, I'll say 1) Frost, 2) M5, 3/4) NaJin/CLG.eu.



With Frost playing in the groups, the 4 teams I predict to get out of the group stage look better than the 4 teams with the byes. In my opinion, only M5 could have a good chance of getting through to the semis without knowing who they will face in the first round. TSM tends to play better as the tournament goes on but their first match will be the quarterfinals so their chances of making top 4 will be low. World Elite and Taipei Assassins haven't made a splash for a few months so I almost expect their opponents to walk over them. If there is a team that could make a surprise run for 1st place, it would be iG. They are probably anxious to match their Dota 2 teammates at winning $1 million and they have shown that they can dominate NA teams even with a ping disadvantage.



As much as I would love for NA teams to do well, they just don't seem to have the dedication like teams from other regions. If there is one time I want my predictions to be completely off, this would be it.



NeoIllusions:

Group A: Azubu Frost + CLG.na

Group B: CLG.eu + NaJin



Top 4: M5, CLG.eu, Frost, NaJin



For Group A, Frost should have the easiest time making it out of group stage. They impressively reverse killed CLG.eu during the OGN The Champions Summer Finals and look to be the stronger Azubu team at the moment. The second seed, I'm going with my heart and say CLG.na. However, Group A has the biggest dark horse team, iG. Possibly the hottest "unknown" team right now, iG fans (especially those who know the team because of their DotA2 background) are just waiting for them to break out on the biggest stage this year.



Group B is a little more predictable, so I'm going with CLG.eu and NaJin. CLG.eu performs above average, regardless of where they play, online or off. They need to clean up their early game and allow Snoopeh to establish some sort of early game momentum. NaJin Sword, MAKNOON. This guy is big.



Top 4 is based off of consistency for this entire season, which means the finals should be M5's to lose. Koreans have impressive teamwork and synergy but I believe the Europeans are still a sliver ahead of the curve.



Chiharu Harukaze:

Got to get all my predictions right. No pressure.



Group A - iG, Azubu`Frost

Group B - CLG.eu, NaJin Sword



Top 4: M5, Azubu`Frost, TSM, NaJin



The group stages will likely turn out the same way everyone else has said. There are two clear favourites for each group, and in a Bo1 scenario it's best just to pick who you think has the resiliance to withstand cheese and keep on slugging it out.



Top 4 is where it gets interesting. If my group predictions stay correct, we're left with a scenario where every team has a legitimate chance to make it to the Finals (with the possivle exception of TPA). With Moscow Five, TSM and World Elite seeding directly into the bracket, it means that the earliest they have to face each other will be in the semifinals (aka top 4). But depending on how the pairings turn out from the group stage results, we could very well have one of the top teams eliminated before they even get there. A CLG.eu v Moscow Five pairing for instance could lead to a repeat of Dreamhack and see Moscow Five eliminated almost immedately. That's honestly pretty scary.



I have gone with gut instinct in placing my top 4. There's really no science behind it. If anyone can legitimately name who will make top 4 before even seeing what the bracket will look like and can justify it, I tip my hat off to you. It's not like The Inernational, where it was clear that the Chinese and Na`Vi were going to roll everyone, even before the event. Quite honestly, everyone in the top half of the Power Rank plus World Elite has a really good shot at making top 4, especially if they've been seeded into the Bracket and get a good pairing (e.g. Moscow Five facing CLG.eu who they know, as opposed to getting cheesed out by an Asian team).

So far, only Chiharu has been able to correctly predict the top three at every single event, although admittedly in the wrong order. Can Haruharu keep up the hot streak? Will JBright pull a Fionn again and accidentally curse a team into losing again? Or can NeoIllusions finally pick three right?

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Art by Caulo (Deviantart) This edition of the TeamLiquid LoL write-up was brought to you by NeoIllusions, JBright, MoonBear and Chiharu Harukaze with special thanks to TheYango and nyxnyxnyx.



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