LoL Japan League S2 Preview: Aiming Even Higher Article: ShiroKaisen ShiroKaisen May 22nd, 2015 23:18 GMT LJL team profiles Contents



LJL Chapter 2



DetonatioN FocusMe



RabbitFive



Immortal 7th Heaven



Ozone Rampage



CROOZ Rascal Jester



ApeX R Gaming

Introduction

As a fan of Japanese League of Legends, the International Wild Card Tournament was rough to watch. DetonatioN FoucsMe came in with the hopes of a country draped around their shoulders, and was made to confront a harsh reality: you can only get so strong when you stand atop your own mountain. Weaknesses allowed to exist in their home league were mercilessly exposed, and they were rarely able to play their own game. For a Japanese team to have a shot at Worlds this year, it falls on more than just one team to improve their game. The whole region needs to improve.



Well, no one can say they aren't giving it a shot.



Reinforcements from Within and Without



Like North American and European teams before them, Japanese squads have begun welcoming a few Korean players into the fold. 4th place Ozone Rampage was the first team to move, inviting Doad and Dara from Chunnam Tech University (a pair of Diamond 1 solo queue players) to take over jungle and support alongside a Korean coach. Not to be outdone, 7th heaven brought in Alvingo and SsuN – former members of Xenics Storm – alongside coach JoyLuck, a well-known Korean caster and coach. DetonatioN FocusMe rounds out the acquisitions with Hwang at support, Rokenia, a Master solo queue jungler, and former Hong Kong Attitude support Atu as a coach.



With these acquisitions come the usual worries about communication and team synergy, but they also show how seriously each team is taking the LJL. FocusMe's performance in the Wild Cards was a clear wake-up call for the scene: you can only get so strong in a region without a server to naturally farm talent and without a strong enemy to push you to work harder. The Japanese server may still be “Coming Soon,” but the Japanese community is done waiting. They've switched everything to the Korean server and half the teams have Korean talent bolstering their rosters. This is when things get serious.



For the teams that have elected to remain completely Japanese, they're faced with an ultimatum: get stronger or perish. RabbitFive, last season's runner up, has separated from DetonatioN: obeying Riot's sister-teams rule even though it has yet to be enforced in the Wild Card regions. They brought in Rainbrain at jungle and moved Awaker to support: hoping to land on a winning formula. Rascal Jester's apaMEN moved back to mid, the position from which he led his team to second place in the 2014 LJL. As for ragtag newcomers ApeX R Gaming, they've entered the most competitive League tournament in Japan's history. Unless they're hiding some incredible talent, they'll be fighting tooth and nail simply to avoid being the next Salvage Javelin.

Descending from Heaven



Almost as important as the Korean influx to this season's landscape is the news coming out of 3rd place team 7th heaven. Formed as a team promising “entertainment” above all else, the LJL newcomers turned in an impressive debut performance thanks to their tremendously skilled bottom lane. But they weren't satisfied with 3rd, and made the decision to give it their all. After weeks of teasing an announcement, the team revealed they will be going full-time, moving into a gaming house, and salarying each of their players. This makes them the second Japanese team (after FocusMe) to take this step, and they're doing it without a major gaming organization like DetonatioN behind them.



Though this move comes alongside the exit of NA Challenger support enty, the addition of former Xenics Storm pros will surely be able to make up the difference. After barely losing to RabbitFive 2-3 in the semifinals, this move makes them the clear favorites to challenge FocusMe for the championship. Lucky for us, these two teams are matching up in the first week of play. It'll be an exciting chance to see just how far they've come, and how much further they have to go.

The Curtain Rises Once More



Just about every team is an unknown quantity right now. None of them have played in broadcasted matches since the Wild Cards, and no team is the same as they were last time. This week will tell us a lot about the current state of Japanese League, and how much growing they have to do. FocusMe braved the international stage, and came back battered and beaten. But they weren't broken, and their fight seems to have lit a fire underneath the entire scene. There may be no Japanese server, but Japanese League of Legends gets stronger every day. Let's see how far they can go in the next three months, before one team will walk back into the hellfire and challenge the world once again.







Roster

Top: Keisuke “Bonzin” Oda

Jungle: Jun "Rokenia" Yeongdae

Mid: Kyohei “Ceros” Yoshida

ADC: Yuta “Yutapon” Sugiura

Support: Hwang “Hwang” Youngsik Keisuke “Bonzin” OdaJun "Rokenia" YeongdaeKyohei “Ceros” YoshidaYuta “Yutapon” SugiuraHwang “Hwang” Youngsik

Message to fans We won last season, and represented Japan at the IWCI. The results were unfortunately painful, but we used the experience we earned to rebuild our team as one made to compete with strong teams all throughout the world. We would like to start by winning here again, and then aim for the rest of the world. Please cheer for DetonatioN FocusMe this season.







Roster

Top: Yuta “Yutorimoyashi” Noguchi

Jungle: Shin “Rainbrain” Iwasaki

Mid: Sho “Estelim” Takanashi

ADC: Shotaro “Zerost” Ikeda

Support: Kentaro “Awaker” Hanaoka Yuta “Yutorimoyashi” NoguchiShin “Rainbrain” IwasakiSho “Estelim” TakanashiShotaro “Zerost” IkedaKentaro “Awaker” Hanaoka

Message to fans We finished last season as the runners-up, but we are not a team that will satisfy. We have continued to train, and revised our roster. We swear that this season we will grasp victory, and stand atop Japan. We hope that our fans will be able to burn our victory into their eyes. Please cheer for us!







Roster

Top: Junya “ThintoN” Matsuoka

Jungle: Oh “SSuN” Yeong-gyo

Mid: Choi “Alvingo” Byung-cheol

ADC: Kento “Mueki” Ojima

Support: Kazuhiro “Clockday” Suzuki Junya “ThintoN” MatsuokaOh “SSuN” Yeong-gyoChoi “Alvingo” Byung-cheolKento “Mueki” OjimaKazuhiro “Clockday” Suzuki

Message to fans

Everyone's of course aiming for the top. The entertainment we promise doesn't end with what we've shown you so far. This time we promise to show more than strength: we promise to show you something far exceeding your expectations. Please cheer on 7th heaven, for the greatest play, and the greatest entertainment! We restart here with you, our fans!







Roster

Top: Takashi “AMUSE4” Otsuka

Jungle: Lee "Doad" Moonyong

Mid: Suzuto “tei” Shimizu

ADC: Kiichi “MMeron” Watanabe

Support: Jeon "Dara" Jeonghoon Takashi “AMUSE4” OtsukaLee "Doad" MoonyongSuzuto “tei” ShimizuKiichi “MMeron” WatanabeJeon "Dara" Jeonghoon

Message to fans We have added two Korean players and an analyst with the help of Chunnam Techno University, and so our team has completely changed. As a result, our members' motivation and unity have increased, and our environment is even better. We are aiming for victory this season, with a strength we didn't have before. We would like to work hard to give the viewers a more entertaining LJL to watch.







Roster

Top: Ryohei “Cogcog” Matsuda

Jungle: Hiroki "Hiroki" Tadokoro

Mid: Ryo “apaMEN” Odagiri

ADC: Rikiya “Rkp” Yusasa

Support: Yoshiaki “Lillebelt” Koka Ryohei “Cogcog” MatsudaHiroki "Hiroki" TadokoroRyo “apaMEN” OdagiriRikiya “Rkp” YusasaYoshiaki “Lillebelt” Koka

Message to fans We would like to turn the frustration at our inability to show results last season into a spring, propelling us into new challenges and new success. We will become a team that can always change, and will aim for the top. Please cheer for us!







Roster

Top: Ryosuke "AyasK" Ohashi

Jungle: Aiitiro "Ai" Oshima

Mid: Kazuki "Utautai" Asai

ADC: Hiroto "H1RoN" Ito

Support: Shohei "Lilly" Yokomitsu Ryosuke "AyasK" OhashiAiitiro "Ai" OshimaKazuki "Utautai" AsaiHiroto "H1RoN" ItoShohei "Lilly" Yokomitsu

Message to fans ApeX R Gaming is a team that's come this far built on a relationship of trust. We will try hard to communicate through our matches the team's atomsphere and special characteristics, and show off the kind of coordination that will make you say “It's because they're ApeX that they can do that!” We will start by focusing on getting our first win, and take it one step at a time to get closer to the position our team name represents. Please cheer for us.



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