Edward Gaming - Edging Out the Competition
Riot·3/29/2014, 12:40:13 AM·0 votes·1,102 views
LPL Summer standing: N/A
LPL Summer record: N/A
World Championship standing: N/A
World Championship record: N/A
The loss of their star player left PE floundering alongside Royal Club and OMG. That, alongside political questions concerning EDG's formation, put even more pressure on them to succeed. Before LPL kicked off, speculation suggested something big on the horizon. Claims that the team never lost a scrim arose, and in the first game they played against IG, EDG proved capable of a phenomenon that's become something of a rarity in LPL: a decisive comeback.
Even with a single loss to LGD Gaming, resulting mostly from a thrown picks and bans phase, the swell of expectation for EDG is at an all-time high. The question is whether they can overcome their early game flaws and live up to the hype.
Opposing teams will likely focus their crosshairs on NaMei going forward, so he'll need ample protection to succeed. U, it seems, wasn't chosen as the mid laner for his potential as a carry threat but for his aptitude wielding champions that provide a great deal of utility. His Explosive Casks as Gragas and Wild Growths as Lulu set up the perfect fights for EDG to take, knocking assassins away from NaMei and creating a field for Koro1 to control.
Koro1's synergy with ClearLove allows him to hold his own, if not win lanes reliably with well-timed ganks. His true, strength, however, lies in team-fights. While Fzzf and U set up the fights, Koro1 is often able to tie up the attentions of three or more enemy champions by himself. The one time he could not pick up Renekton however, he exhibited a marked reduction in confidence, so his champion pool could be a concern moving forward.
One of the team's greatest assets, however, could also be its greatest flaw. With the exception of the team's most decisive victory over IG, ClearLove has seldom exerted early game presence. As a player renowned for his skill as a late game carry jungler, ClearLove prefers to farm or acquire kills top in the first fifteen minutes. Despite winning three of their first four games, EDG has acquired only seven of 17 dragons. ClearLove's presence as an assassin cannot be argued in teamfights, but cleaning up his objective control could prove the difference between strength and dominance for EDG.
While the rest of EDG experiences growing pains and battens down their synergy, NaMei's performances have been as stellar as ever. With the exception of the ill-advised Twitch and Sword of the Occult combination against LGD, he's able to utilize the safety supplied by his team to output massive amounts of damage and capitalize upon mistakes made by his opponents. While the verdict is still out on the rest of the experiment, Edward Gaming's acquisition of NaMei is one gamble that is almost sure to pay off.
| Edward Gaming | ||
|---|---|---|
| Top | Koro1 | |
| Jungler | ClearLove | |
| Mid | U | |
| ADC | NaMei | |
| Support | Fzzf | |
A GAMBLE IN THE MIDST OF CONFLICT
The controversies surrounding Edward Gaming's formation are nearly too numerous to address individually. At its core, however, EDG exists as a response to Invictus Gaming's rising presence in the off-season. With Royal Club renovating its roster and Cool's health concerns limiting OMG's practice, few 2013 LoL Pro League leaders could challenge IG's rise. When World Elite split apart as a result of internal conflict, Xu Jiayin, now the owner of Edward Gaming, seized the opportunity to create a new contender. Whenever a new team forms in any competitive climate, a certain amount of risk is involved. If EDG should succeed, the team can't survive on larger than life names and individual talent alone. The team started with the foundation of two WE players and Tang "Koro1" Yang, friend and mentee of Ming "ClearLove" Kai. From there, management had near first pick of carries from the Chinese scene and came away with Zhu "NaMei" Jia-Wen from Positive Energy and Ceng "U" Long.
The loss of their star player left PE floundering alongside Royal Club and OMG. That, alongside political questions concerning EDG's formation, put even more pressure on them to succeed. Before LPL kicked off, speculation suggested something big on the horizon. Claims that the team never lost a scrim arose, and in the first game they played against IG, EDG proved capable of a phenomenon that's become something of a rarity in LPL: a decisive comeback.
Even with a single loss to LGD Gaming, resulting mostly from a thrown picks and bans phase, the swell of expectation for EDG is at an all-time high. The question is whether they can overcome their early game flaws and live up to the hype.
EDG'S EDGE
With WeiXiao falling behind the curve last year on team World Elite, his lane partner, Feng "Fzzf" Zhuojun ducked under the support player radar. Next to NaMei, however, viewers are reminded of why he and OMG's Lovelin were often referred to as China's support carries. His Death Sentence onto Zzitai against IG was the single play that reversed the momentum of the first game of LPL. If Fzzf can set NaMei up for success, EDG's bottom lane can easily carry a game.
Opposing teams will likely focus their crosshairs on NaMei going forward, so he'll need ample protection to succeed. U, it seems, wasn't chosen as the mid laner for his potential as a carry threat but for his aptitude wielding champions that provide a great deal of utility. His Explosive Casks as Gragas and Wild Growths as Lulu set up the perfect fights for EDG to take, knocking assassins away from NaMei and creating a field for Koro1 to control.
Koro1's synergy with ClearLove allows him to hold his own, if not win lanes reliably with well-timed ganks. His true, strength, however, lies in team-fights. While Fzzf and U set up the fights, Koro1 is often able to tie up the attentions of three or more enemy champions by himself. The one time he could not pick up Renekton however, he exhibited a marked reduction in confidence, so his champion pool could be a concern moving forward.
One of the team's greatest assets, however, could also be its greatest flaw. With the exception of the team's most decisive victory over IG, ClearLove has seldom exerted early game presence. As a player renowned for his skill as a late game carry jungler, ClearLove prefers to farm or acquire kills top in the first fifteen minutes. Despite winning three of their first four games, EDG has acquired only seven of 17 dragons. ClearLove's presence as an assassin cannot be argued in teamfights, but cleaning up his objective control could prove the difference between strength and dominance for EDG.
PLAYER TO WATCH: NAMEI
Any followers of LPL probably saw this one coming. During much of last year, the fact that PE's duo, NaMei and Sicca, went unacknowledged in lists of the best bottom lanes in the world could be considered a crime. They often came out ahead of Royal Club's more celebrated Uzi and Tabe, and NaMei was capable of carrying games despite inconsistencies in the rest of PE.
While the rest of EDG experiences growing pains and battens down their synergy, NaMei's performances have been as stellar as ever. With the exception of the ill-advised Twitch and Sword of the Occult combination against LGD, he's able to utilize the safety supplied by his team to output massive amounts of damage and capitalize upon mistakes made by his opponents. While the verdict is still out on the rest of the experiment, Edward Gaming's acquisition of NaMei is one gamble that is almost sure to pay off.