Wildcard all stars - the best of IWCI
Riot·4/22/2015, 8:55:36 PM·1 votes·10,602 views
Article co-written by Alex Manisier, Cameron Gilbert, Emily Rand and James "Obscurica" Chen
We know it’s tough to follow all the different Wild Card regions, so we thought we’d introduce you to some of the top players from each team.
Stars are born in every region. No matter where you go, there will always be that one player who rises above the competition to set themselves apart. Each of the regions taking part in the International Wild Card Invitational have given birth to their own aces, and it’ll be this weekend at IWCI when we see just whose star players shine the brightest. A win here will earn them a ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational, and a chance to compete with the brightest stars of all.
Following CNB e-Sports surprising loss to KaBuM! e-Sports in the 2014 Brazilian Regional Final, Revolta’s future was uncertain. He landed on Keyd Stars for a few months after leaving CNB, before both player and team decided on an amicable parting. While his skill was recognized, criticism was levied at Revolta for a presumed lack of grace under pressure.
On INTZ e-Sports, he has had not only grace, but poise, passion, and determination. In transforming INTZ from a more passive, standard style to a dynamic and aggressive group, Revolta has proven all of his naysayers wrong. Hailed as the best player throughout the CBLoL 2015 first split, Revolta controls the pace of INTZ’s games in an intelligent and decisive manner. He has risen to every challenge this past season, and now finds himself ready to break out on an international stage.
Although Besiktas’ bot lane duo of Tomas ‘Nardeus’ Marsalek and Mustafa ‘Dumbledoge’ Gokseloglu are usually pegged as being the Turkish team’s strongest asset, top laner Thaldrin is the consistent, reliable force pushing them to success. As team captain, Thaldrin carries a lot of responsibility both in and out of the game, but it’s when the first Teleport comes down that his skills really begin to shine.
Thaldrin’s Teleport play characterises Besiktas’ intelligent early game plans, as he is often found with his bot lane duo facilitating early objectives or picking up kills to accelerate Nardeus into the game. This high-level decision making transitions well into the rest of the game, and Thaldrin’s value to his team is on full display when Besiktas are outsmarting and outrotating their opponents.
We’re sure a lot of you will be surprised to not see AD carry Derek 'Raydere’ Trang’s name here, but Swiffer is arguably the ace of Chiefs eSports Club. He's the in-game and emotional carry, and the team's performance often depends on how confident and vocal he is as a leader. Swiffer is the most complete mid laner in Oceania in terms of playstyle, and has developed a nice synergy with jungler Samuel ‘Spookz’ Broadley after years of playing with him across various rosters.
Opponents will find Swiffer an extraordinarily difficult mid laner to prepare for, due to his seemingly limitless champion pool. If there's a single reason for Chiefs' winning or losing, it's Swiffer -- whether this is a blessing or a curse for Chiefs remains to be seen.
Watch any one of FocusMe’s games throughout the League of Legends Japan League, and you’ll immediately understand why Yutapon was chosen. Though only 19 years old, and the only team member to remain in school, he’s nearly universally hailed as the strongest player in the country. Bringing both world-class mechanics and a unique approach to his play, Yutapon boasted a monstrous 9.88 KDA across the entire LJL season and was named the 2015 Season 1 MVP.
Hailing from the Imp school of aggressive AD Carry play, Yutapon is never content to sit back and farm safely. Instead, Yutapon will always try to force the issue early, get himself ahead, and start split-pushing on his own as soon as he can while the rest of his team 4v5s to keep the enemy distracted. If they make the mistake of sending only one member to stop him, Yutapon shows off why he takes Exhaust over Heal by dueling without a moment’s hesitation. And unafraid of putting a personal spin on his builds, Yutapon is known to pick up unconventional items like Essence Reaver or Ghostblade on his Ezreal if the situation calls for it. Though this is his first overseas tournament, he enters Turkey with the world’s eyes on him. It’s time to see if Japan’s “prodigy” can live up to the hype.
What does it take for a team with Bangkok Titans’ history of disasters to make it to the top of the Garena Premier League? It takes a mid laner like Nuttapong Menkasikan to teach them to fly like a G4. Over the course of the last year, he’s been the main driving force behind the Titans’ revival, dragging them from the depths of last place to the Spring 2015 Finals.
G4’s lane dominance and depth of play figures well into the Titans’ teamfight-oriented strategies, with a preferential pool of assassins that lends well to snowballing his accrued early-game advantages. It’s expected, in fact, for the Titans to build their team compositions around the explicit goal of getting G4 fed -- bad news for other mid laners that were hoping for a peaceful early game.
While the other mid laners on this list are featured for their depth of play and leadership ability, Kira is Hard Random’s MVP for a different reason -- his incredible 1v1 prowess. There isn’t a single player in the Commonwealth of Independent States that can stand up to Kira in terms of dueling, and to compound matters, he’s capable of outplaying his opponents on just about any champion.
Slippery, versatile, and insanely aggressive: these are the hallmarks of Kira’s play, and Hard Random’s strategies often revolve around playing catch-up with Kira’s antics. Yet, Kira’s aggression has propelled them onto the world stage. CIS fans will be hoping that Hard Random’s opponents will have a harder time catching up to Kira than his own team.
Zeicro isn’t Kaos Latin Gamers’ MVP for his mechanical prowess. He isn’t their MVP for his team fight positioning either. Zeicro is the complete package, both mechanically and strategically, and this is what makes him KLG’s ace. As the primary shotcaller for KLG, his aggressive calls represent LATAM’s decision making as a whole, and carry KLG in all aspects of the game.
The importance of Zeicro to KLG was on show during the LAS playoffs, where his computer issues caused KLG to suffer crushing defeats at the hands of Furious Gaming. Fortunately. he was able to make it back for the next game and the results speak for themselves: KLG won three straight games as if the first one never even happened, and they went on to 3-0 Lyon Gaming to earn their spot at IWCI. If KLG is going to succeed this week, you can bet Zeicro’s calls will make all the difference.
Who is your favorite player competing at the International Wild Card Invitational? Let us know by commenting or tweeting @Lolesports, and be sure to tune in all week to see who will be joining Team SoloMid, Fnatic, AHQ, Korea, and China at the MSI in May!
INTZ eSports: Gabriel ‘Revolta’ Henud (Jungle)
Following CNB e-Sports surprising loss to KaBuM! e-Sports in the 2014 Brazilian Regional Final, Revolta’s future was uncertain. He landed on Keyd Stars for a few months after leaving CNB, before both player and team decided on an amicable parting. While his skill was recognized, criticism was levied at Revolta for a presumed lack of grace under pressure.
On INTZ e-Sports, he has had not only grace, but poise, passion, and determination. In transforming INTZ from a more passive, standard style to a dynamic and aggressive group, Revolta has proven all of his naysayers wrong. Hailed as the best player throughout the CBLoL 2015 first split, Revolta controls the pace of INTZ’s games in an intelligent and decisive manner. He has risen to every challenge this past season, and now finds himself ready to break out on an international stage.
Besiktas: Berke ‘Thaldrin’ Demir (Top)
Although Besiktas’ bot lane duo of Tomas ‘Nardeus’ Marsalek and Mustafa ‘Dumbledoge’ Gokseloglu are usually pegged as being the Turkish team’s strongest asset, top laner Thaldrin is the consistent, reliable force pushing them to success. As team captain, Thaldrin carries a lot of responsibility both in and out of the game, but it’s when the first Teleport comes down that his skills really begin to shine.
Thaldrin’s Teleport play characterises Besiktas’ intelligent early game plans, as he is often found with his bot lane duo facilitating early objectives or picking up kills to accelerate Nardeus into the game. This high-level decision making transitions well into the rest of the game, and Thaldrin’s value to his team is on full display when Besiktas are outsmarting and outrotating their opponents.
Chiefs: Simon ‘Swiffer’ Papamarkos (Mid)
We’re sure a lot of you will be surprised to not see AD carry Derek 'Raydere’ Trang’s name here, but Swiffer is arguably the ace of Chiefs eSports Club. He's the in-game and emotional carry, and the team's performance often depends on how confident and vocal he is as a leader. Swiffer is the most complete mid laner in Oceania in terms of playstyle, and has developed a nice synergy with jungler Samuel ‘Spookz’ Broadley after years of playing with him across various rosters.
Opponents will find Swiffer an extraordinarily difficult mid laner to prepare for, due to his seemingly limitless champion pool. If there's a single reason for Chiefs' winning or losing, it's Swiffer -- whether this is a blessing or a curse for Chiefs remains to be seen.
DetonatioN FocusMe: Yuta ‘Yutapon’ Sugiura (ADC)
Watch any one of FocusMe’s games throughout the League of Legends Japan League, and you’ll immediately understand why Yutapon was chosen. Though only 19 years old, and the only team member to remain in school, he’s nearly universally hailed as the strongest player in the country. Bringing both world-class mechanics and a unique approach to his play, Yutapon boasted a monstrous 9.88 KDA across the entire LJL season and was named the 2015 Season 1 MVP.
Hailing from the Imp school of aggressive AD Carry play, Yutapon is never content to sit back and farm safely. Instead, Yutapon will always try to force the issue early, get himself ahead, and start split-pushing on his own as soon as he can while the rest of his team 4v5s to keep the enemy distracted. If they make the mistake of sending only one member to stop him, Yutapon shows off why he takes Exhaust over Heal by dueling without a moment’s hesitation. And unafraid of putting a personal spin on his builds, Yutapon is known to pick up unconventional items like Essence Reaver or Ghostblade on his Ezreal if the situation calls for it. Though this is his first overseas tournament, he enters Turkey with the world’s eyes on him. It’s time to see if Japan’s “prodigy” can live up to the hype.
Bangkok Titans: Nuttapong ‘G4’ Menkasikan (Mid)
What does it take for a team with Bangkok Titans’ history of disasters to make it to the top of the Garena Premier League? It takes a mid laner like Nuttapong Menkasikan to teach them to fly like a G4. Over the course of the last year, he’s been the main driving force behind the Titans’ revival, dragging them from the depths of last place to the Spring 2015 Finals.
G4’s lane dominance and depth of play figures well into the Titans’ teamfight-oriented strategies, with a preferential pool of assassins that lends well to snowballing his accrued early-game advantages. It’s expected, in fact, for the Titans to build their team compositions around the explicit goal of getting G4 fed -- bad news for other mid laners that were hoping for a peaceful early game.
Hard Random: Mykhailo ‘Kira’ Harmash (Mid)
While the other mid laners on this list are featured for their depth of play and leadership ability, Kira is Hard Random’s MVP for a different reason -- his incredible 1v1 prowess. There isn’t a single player in the Commonwealth of Independent States that can stand up to Kira in terms of dueling, and to compound matters, he’s capable of outplaying his opponents on just about any champion.
Slippery, versatile, and insanely aggressive: these are the hallmarks of Kira’s play, and Hard Random’s strategies often revolve around playing catch-up with Kira’s antics. Yet, Kira’s aggression has propelled them onto the world stage. CIS fans will be hoping that Hard Random’s opponents will have a harder time catching up to Kira than his own team.
Kaos Latin Gamers: Zeicro (ADC)
Zeicro isn’t Kaos Latin Gamers’ MVP for his mechanical prowess. He isn’t their MVP for his team fight positioning either. Zeicro is the complete package, both mechanically and strategically, and this is what makes him KLG’s ace. As the primary shotcaller for KLG, his aggressive calls represent LATAM’s decision making as a whole, and carry KLG in all aspects of the game.
The importance of Zeicro to KLG was on show during the LAS playoffs, where his computer issues caused KLG to suffer crushing defeats at the hands of Furious Gaming. Fortunately. he was able to make it back for the next game and the results speak for themselves: KLG won three straight games as if the first one never even happened, and they went on to 3-0 Lyon Gaming to earn their spot at IWCI. If KLG is going to succeed this week, you can bet Zeicro’s calls will make all the difference.
Who is your favorite player competing at the International Wild Card Invitational? Let us know by commenting or tweeting @Lolesports, and be sure to tune in all week to see who will be joining Team SoloMid, Fnatic, AHQ, Korea, and China at the MSI in May!
