Catching up with IEM Katowice

We’re a long way from the 2015 World Championships, but thanks to the Electronic Sports League (ESL), we’re getting a taste of international League of Legends action. The Intel Extreme Masters is an elaborate series of tournaments, is ESL’s flagship competition platform and has been running for 9 years now. League of Legends was first humbly incorporated into IEM in 2010 and has since grown into one of its biggest attractions.

Now we stand at the cusp of the IEM Global Championship. It is in Katowice, Poland where teams that have won regional IEM events clash together with other invited teams for fame, glory and a sizable spot of cash. But more than mere spectacle, IEM is a great opportunity to see how the regions initially stack up against each other within the season.

Of course, there will be more opportunities for head-to-head displays such as the Mid-Season Invitational in May, but for now the top dogs of each major LoL region will do battle. Let’s meet the teams who will be slugging it out on Summoner’s Rift this weekend:

THE TEAMS:

Team WE

Top: Peng “Aluka” Zhen Ming

Jungle: Lee “Spirit” Dayoon

Mid: Su “xiye” Han Wei

AD Carry: Jin “Mystic” Seongjun

Support: Daerek “LemonNation” Hart

Though they qualify as the champions of IEM Shenzhen, this World Elite squad isn’t the same as the team that won that event. Back then, WE still had their mainstay top and AD carry players in Wei “CaoMei” Han Dong and Gao “WeiXiao” Xue Cheng — huge factors to their success. They are far from their heyday, captained by the Twisted Fate master Yu “Misaya” Jing Xi as well.

The current World Elite squad is anything but elite, sitting around the bottom of China’s LPL and struggling to contend with their peers. Though they imported Samsung Blue’s star jungler, Spirit, he is far from enough to turn this team’s uncoordinated play around.

Now their appearance at IEM is more for practice than prize money, as they bring in two new players in xiye and Mystic. The goal for WE is to gain as much experience facing the top teams in each region to take back to China and hopefully improve their game.

The Verdict:

While it’s regrettable that out of all the great Chinese teams currently running around, we’re left with a struggling World Elite in this tournament, someone has to be the fall guy. Not to say that they can’t possibly do better, but it’s difficult to see them making it out of last place given that any other attending team is faring much better in their respective regions.

Cloud 9

Top: An “BalIs” Van Le

Jungle: William “Meteos” Hartman

Mid: Hai “Hai” Du Lam

AD Carry: Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi

Support: Daerek “LemonNation” Hart

Cloud 9 comes in as the champions of IEM San Jose. Their claim to fame would be their reputation as the most dominating LCS team in history thus far. They came in straight from the Challenger scene in the Summer of 2013 and proceeded to dismantle the rest of North America with tight, innovative rotational play, with their rookie split win/loss record at a staggering 25-3.

They were the first NA team to really strive to pattern themselves after teams in the Korean scene, and off this strategic edge earned bracket stage berths in back-to-back World Championships.

They are also one of the most stable professional League of Legends rosters of all time, sporting the same five players for a record four splits straight. Counting their time in the challenger scene, they’ve been together for over two years now!

Stability and past glory aside however, the All-American team has gone through one of their worst slumps this season. They started the year at the bottom of the standings and slowly regained their form, most recently climbing back to 3rd place overall. They certainly have the pedigree, and Hai has shown to be an exceptional strategist and shot caller. But will their recent sloppiness be their downfall in such a heavily stacked tournament?

The Verdict:

Cloud 9 was once a force to be reckoned with, and they did give Samsung Galaxy Blue a run for their money in one epic match at the 2014 Worlds. With other teams looking on their game however, Cloud 9’s chances look less than stellar. Let’s place them at the 5th position.

Gambit Gaming

Top: Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet

Jungle: Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov

Mid: Felix “Betsy” Edling

AD Carry: Kristoffer “P1noy” Albao Lund Pedersen

Support: Edward “Edward” Abgaryan

Gambit Gaming, the champions of IEM Cologne, was once the legendary Moscow 5, aka the Russian Overlords. Their stranglehold on Season 2 and the days predating the League of Legends Championship Series in the West earned them the reputation of the best team on their side of the globe at the time.

Fast forward to present day however and Gambit has been far removed from their glory days. They narrowly avoided relegation last year and looked to be headed for the bottom of the European standings this year until they buckled down to blast through the opposition on a surprise 7-game win streak.

Diamondprox has seen a resurgence in his level of play, hearkening back to his early days of innovation and aggressive invading. Betsy has been a breath of fresh air in the mid lane, recently moving in as the permanent mid laner over Sebastian “niQ” Robak. With heavy assassin-focused play evoking shades of Moscow 5’s old captain Alexei “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin, Gambit look revitalized — a serious contender once more.

The Verdict:

While Gambit Gaming certainly isn’t a weak team in their region, they are still far from the best, and this tournament is a gathering of the best. They sit at 4th place in Europe at the moment, and if they failed to best the top talent in their own region, them doing well in this tournament is a bit of a stretch. Look for them around the 6th to 7th position by the end of this.

yoe Flash Wolves

Top: Chou “Steak” Lu Hsi

Jungle: Hung “Karsa“ Hau Hsuan

Mid: Huang “Maple” Yi Tang

AD Carry: Hsiung “NL” Wen An

Support: Hu “SwordArt” Shuo Jie

The most recent addition to the IEM winner’s circle are the yoe Flash Wolves, champions of IEM Taiwan that just concluded at the end of January. They hail from one of the regions lumped under the Garena Premier League banner; a region that has been historically overlooked in terms of strengths and prospects.

The first time teams underestimated Southeast Asian teams, the Taipei Assassins won the Season 2 World Championship from out of nowhere. Since then, the rest of the world has, sad to say, rightly underestimated GPL teams. None could again recapture the form of Season 2 TPA.

The Flash Wolves are looking to turn all that around. When Taiwan split from the rest of the GPL regions to create the Legends Master Series, the Flash Wolves management took this as an opportunity to fill a power vacuum. They picked up most of the Gamania Bears Roster, the GPL representatives at the Season 3 World Championships, and transformed them into a top team.

Now the Flash Wolves stand at the top of the LMS, inching out the current Taipei Assassins, the old TPA members on HK Esports, and even ahq e-Sports Club who put up valiant showings at Worlds 2014. With only 1 loss to their name this season, the Flash Wolves come into IEM as the undisputed kings of their region.

The Verdict:

It was once folly to underestimate teams coming from SEA, and IEM may be the first stark reminder of that old cautionary tale. While nothing great has ever come out of the GPL regions in recent years, the Flash Wolves remain more consistent in their own play than some of the other teams in attendance, so they could definitely place as high as 5th. That and they have one of the most dominating records in their home region, second only to…

GE Tigers

Top: Song “Smeb” Kyungho

Jungle: Lee “Lee” HoJin

Mid: Lee “kurO” Seohaeng

AD Carry: Kim “PraY” Jongin

Support: Kang “GorillA” Beomhyeon

When Korea’s best and brightest talents moved to China in search of bigger paychecks, the Korean scene was forced to downsize. Many organizations who held sister teams consolidated their remaining players and coaches into a single squad, and in more severe cases, had to go bargain hunting for fresh talent from solo queue.

Enter Chinese social media giants YY. They decide to sponsor a pro team using their Korean subsidiary GE Entertainment and the GE Tigers are born. Molded from a smattering of wayward ex-Najin and ex-Incredible Miracle players, this new organization has skyrocketed to the top, filling the void of Korea’s power vacuum with nothing but utter dominance.

Nobody could have predicted that this mix of players would perform so well together, but their mix of precision and innovation has cemented them at the top of the most competitive region on the planet. As of this writing, they have not dropped a single series in their home circuit.

Credited for creating the Jugger’Maw strategy, centered around Kog’Maw surrounded by a full support team of shields, heals and peel, the Tigers may not only have superior standard play to dish out at IEM, but more tactical curveballs than any other team can handle.

Their bot lane could also be considered the best in the world right now. PraY was considered the best AD carry in all of Korea for a time, winning the All-Star Shanghai Bot Lane showdown along with MadLife in 2013. GorillA was undoubtedly the breakout Support of Worlds 2014. His Janna play at the Korean regionals catapulted the champion to the forefront of competitive play, setting the standard for disengage supports for the rest of 2014.

The Verdict:

It’s hard to go against GE Tigers for the number one spot, so that’s not what we’re going to do. It would be a complete shock for them to not vanquish any and everyone they face at IEM. What remains to be seen is just how much of a thrashing the Tigers will give their opponents, what strategies they will use… and what funky costumes they will don.

CJ Entus

Top: Park “Shy” Sangmyeon

Jungle: Kang “Ambition” Chanyong

Mid: Shin “CoCo” Jinyeong

AD Carry: Seon “Space” Hosan

Support: Hong “MadLife” Mingi

The CJ Entus organization and its players are very much loved in Korea. Through their time in Azubu, they’ve fostered some of the biggest names now synonymous with the Korean LoL scene. They were once one of the favorites to win the Season 2 World Championships along with Moscow 5 and enjoyed an illustrious OGN Champions career in Korea as the sister teams of Frost and Blaze before uniting under new rules.

While they are currently fourth in their region, that region is Korea, and that means CJ Entus is still a top contender. Having played against the likes of GE Tigers alone gives them an edge on top of their wealth of experience working together as a team.

Yes, they’re not at the top and yes, they’ve lost key personalities over the years, including Lee “CloudTemplar” Hyunwoo and more recently, the top lane god Lee “Flame” Hojong, but CJ Entus is still a veteran Korean team that has weathered many storms. They shouldn’t have much trouble placing well in this tournament.

The Verdict:

Not being at the top of Korea’s power rankings doesn’t matter too much for CJ Entus. They have the storied pedigree, the sound play and the talented roster to do the work. In fact, their biggest challenge may just be from their own region. They’re almost a shoo-in for 2nd, unless they’re upset by the likes of these last two teams.

SK Gaming

Top: Simon “fredy122” Payne

Jungle: Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen

Mid: Hampus “Fox” Myhre

AD Carry: Konstantinos “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou

Support: Christoph “nRated” Seitz

SK Gaming has always been relevant in the European scene, but historically they’ve never been at the top — until now. Gone are the days of losing to epic backdoor plays, or being passive in lane and relying on late game shot calling. This time, SK Gaming comes in as the undisputed rulers of the European LCS, fresh from a good thrashing of their rivals, Fnatic.

This eclectic mix of players from 5 different countries come together to form a well-oiled squad of pure lane dominance, often crushing teams and accruing substantial gold leads before the 10-minute mark. FORG1VEN is a force to be reckoned with as the self-proclaimed best AD carry in Europe by far, and has some of the best numbers ever posted by someone at his position in the West.

SK Gaming do has the unfortunate bad habit of not purchasing as many wards as their opponents. Though to their credit, their raw skill and smart calls have saved them from the ill effects most of the time. Against top teams, however, this could prove to be their downfall.

The Verdict:

Undeniably strong, SK is making a case for Europe in this tournament. Their play is balanced, their shot calling crisp, and if only they bought and placed more wards, their bid for the top would be all the more solid. As it stands, their lapses in vision could rob them of glory. Around 3rd place is where they’ll most likely end up, possibly slipping to 4th.

Team Solo Mid

Top: Marcus “Dyrus” Hill

Jungle: Lucas “Santorin” Larsen

Mid: Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg

AD Carry: Jason “WildTurtle” Tran

Support: Ham “Lustboy” Jangsik

Where there is League of Legends, there exists the TSM chant, even if TSM themselves are not present. Team Solo Mid is one of the oldest organizations in League, and they are the perennial fan favorites of North America.

After vanquishing their rivals, Counter Logic Gaming, prior to Season 2, they went on to rule NA unopposed until Cloud 9 showed up, and even then trailed right behind their newer rivals until they managed to take the crown back late last year.

Now TSM is once again squarely on top of their home turf, owing much of their success to the best mid laner in all of North America in Bjergsen. Oftentimes, simply feeding this phenom is enough for TSM to chalk up the automatic win, something jungler Santorin works tirelessly to do every game.

It will be a delight to see how TSM’s mid laner matches up against top international talent but hopefully the old trends of teams camping top lane and destroying Dyrus will not come back to haunt TSM, because it has proven to be so effective against them.

The Verdict:

TSM has no glaring weaknesses, which is why they rule NA with an iron fist. Perhaps you could run the tried and true top camp against them, or there’s the possibility that Bjergsen will falter as he is now matched against mids that can actually fight him head on. Either of these strategies are still easier said than done and no doubt TSM will be preparing for both scenarios and more. Still, they cannot simply brute force each opponent, so they should be happy to finish 3rd at best.

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