OMG's Last Bid for Dominance
Riot·9/6/2014, 2:10:04 AM·0 votes·21,216 views
When one thinks of teams that dominate a single region’s league, one thinks of SK Telecom T1 K’s run in Champions Winter without losing a single game or Cloud9’s debut 2013 Spring Split in which they only lost three regular season games then failed to drop a single playoff game.
OMG has been the dominant team of China until very recently. In a region where AD carries reign supreme, OMG has managed to acquire the best players in almost every other role. The way Gao “Gogoing” Diping, the team’s top laner, tears through 2v1s on Shyvana, Yu “Cool” Jiajun’s terrifying map presence as a mid laner, and Yin “Drug” Le’s reputation as both China’s best support player and jungler have made the team a prominent fixture near the top of the scoreboard. OMG always seems to place top two in tournaments, but top two doesn’t have the same ring to it as “consecutive playoff victories.”
In short, OMG is consistently good, but phrases like “consistently good” make OMG sound more like an interim team keeping the seat warm after World Elite’s fall from grace. OMG’s current roster has much larger aspirations than that. Even as Edward Gaming rises to usurp the title of best team in China, OMG won’t go down without a fight, and they’re looking for a spot at the 2014 World Championships to prove their worth on the international stage.
Tabe in his Noah’s Ark splendor.
It’s worth mentioning that that Noah’s Ark roster contained three familiar faces who appeared at the 2013 World Championship: Pun “Wh1t3zZ” Wailo, Pak Kan “Tabe” Wong, and Cool, then known as “Santa.” Though both Wh1t3zZ and Tabe would leave OMG over the course of the next two months, Cool became a cornerstone for the team alongside Gogoing. Gogoing was the only member of the OMG organization’s previous lineup that they chose to retain with the Noah’s Ark squad, and he and Cool stood out as stars from the start.
In the Chinese metagame where AD carries reign supreme, two powerhouse solo laners turned heads. Throughout the struggling offseason between the Season 2 World Championships and the first ever LoL Pro League, OMG would undergo additional roster changes and acquisitions. Just before Tabe’s departure, OMG picked up Lin “Lovelin” Ye to play support. Guo “san” Junliang would replace Tabe as the AD carry, and in November, Ouyang “pomelo” Weiqi joined the team as the jungler.
OMG gained a reputation as a feared opponent in China, and three names kept rising above the others: Cool, Gogoing, and Lovelin. These three players could control every lane in the game. Even with a growing reputation, OMG didn’t truly take off until the implementation of the league system.
OMG’s critics branded the team as “gangsters” based on Gogoing’s formidable looks, but the team and fans liked the idea and made it their own. Gogoing became the team’s “big brother,” but OMG’s LPL story wasn’t just about their new image. OMG shocked spectators when they overtook World Elite in the regular split, placing second overall. Despite losing one more game than Invictus Gaming during that split, OMG still bested iG in three of their four matches. Going into playoffs, OMG looked like the best team in China.
Suspicions were all-but confirmed in the 2013 LPL Spring Playoffs. Invictus Gaming failed to even make the finals, where some anticipated a clash between the new upstarts and the prevailing member of the old guard. IG was knocked down by fourth place Positive Energy. With their path clear, OMG took out PE for their first and only LPL Playoff victory. The rising Chinese team had effectively ended the era of World Elite and Invictus Gaming’s dominance over China to pave the way for OMG.
At the time, Lovelin was the best jungler in China. His early pressure and innovation worked to prop up the original stars of the team: their solo laners. Cool and Lovelin developed a powerful synergy throughout the split. The two thrived in the fast-paced assassin meta of the latter half of 2013, and Cool’s Ahri would end the split undefeated.
During the 2013 Spring LPL split, OMG only dropped seven games of 28. In the Summer of 2013, OMG dropped four. This unparalleled success granted them a spot in the Chinese Regional qualifier. There, an even bigger surprise would transpire; Royal Club Huang Zhu, featuring Cool’s old teammates, Wh1t3zZ and Tabe, 2-0’d OMG in the finals, snatching the first seed at Worlds from their grasp.
Yet OMG’s failure to capture the first seed was something of a boon. During the group stage, OMG gave SK Telecom T1 K their only loss to a non-Korean team the entire tournament. Though OMG would lose again to Royal Club in the quarterfinals, their group stage performance resonated with some more than Royal Club’s trip through the bracket. Many would remember Cool as the mid laner who picked up solo kills against Faker in lane. Though fans won’t get to see this rematch on the World Stage this year, the rivalry continues on the Korean solo queue server, where both Cool and Faker continue to strive to best each other in the 1v1.
At the end of the tournament, OMG wrote a promise for Season 4 in the California sands, and at the start of the season,they told lolesports their eyes were on the trophy.
This success would prove to be short-lived as OMG’s Worlds run. Edward Gaming was the first team to exploit xiyang’s weakness. EDG banned out xiyang and focused him with ganks at the International Esports Tournament and took a 2-0 victory. The upstart team featured members from World Elite’s dominating lineup and Zhu “NaMei” Jiawen. This wasn’t the first time that NaMei would have a hand in taking a first place title from OMG. NaMei was the AD carry for Positive Energy, the team that won 2013 LPL Summer and ruined OMG’s hopes of a second consecutive playoff victory.
The same strategy proved a boon for both SK Telecom T1 K at the 2014 AllStars in Paris and Invictus Gaming during the 2014 Spring Playoffs as OMG’s roster continued to hit pitfalls. They were 3-0’d by SKT T1 K at AllStars, and iG would knock them out of contention for a second Playoff victory in the semifinals.
OMG then had a choice to make. Cool played OMG’s last set of 2014 LPL Summer with the team to flex his muscles after returning from the bench. OMG suffered one of their three losses, and Cool looked incredibly shaky. On the other hand, xiyang’s obvious weaknesses had been exposed. Ultimately, OMG chose to return Cool to his role as starting mid laner over continuing to gamble on xiyang’s inexperience.
Cool’s return accompanied the third switch of Allen—with yet another name change, this time to Drug—back to the jungle. For the summer split, however, after heavy criticisms from the community, pomelo stepped into the substitute role. Hu “Cloud” Zhenwei, a support player from the rising amateur team, Snake, joined the team’s starting lineup.
OMG had a slow start, but by Week 3, they regained a glimmer of their former dominance. They became the only team in LPL to ever 2-0 StarHorn Royal Club, and they kept their perfect LPL record against LGD Gaming. OMG didn’t show any signs of faltering at all until Fang “Dada7” Hongri appeared on the lineup. Dada7 has served as a frequent support sub for OMG over the years, and he even appeared in a couple games of the 2013 World Championship as comA.
The team dropped a game to seventh place Young Glory as soon as Dada7 graced the roster. Dada7 didn’t meet the same standards set by Cloud, and his frequently missed skillshots upset the delicate balance in OMG’s team fighting. At the time, he was a substitute while Cloud finished out his exams, but the effect it had on OMG’s performance throughout the rest of the split lingered. While Dada7 remained on the roster, OMG, lost four games to Edward Gaming (two in LPL and two in the Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen Qualifier). Then, even after he left, OMG hit several pitfalls in regaining their synergy.
Just one week before the regular split ended, OMG made the decision to replace Cloud with Dada7 on a permanent basis. This time, rumors of social conflict within the team arose. OMG fans saw Cloud clash with other members of the team on stream, and it seemed likely his negative attitude was affecting the team. With Dada7 on the rift, however, OMG performed worse. They dropped their last best of two against Young Glory completely and lost an easy shot at their third consecutive regular season first place.
Then Edward Gaming decimated OMG in the finals.
Questionable teleport calls and sloppy ganks made OMG look like coordination was their weakness rather than the strength it has typically been for the team. EDG always seemed one step ahead, warding off OMG’s dives and transitioning to dragon early. In the first game, OMG surrendered in just over twenty minutes without taking a single kill. EDG found the second win almost as easily.
To make matters worse for OMG’s chances at Worlds, Regionals are best of three. In both of OMG’s sets against SHRC in the Summer Playoffs, they lost two of their first three games. Had Playoffs been best of three, OMG wouldn’t have won either set. Certainly, we can expect OMG to approach a best of three with a different mentality than a best of five, but best of fives give a second chance to find a formula that works. If OMG can’t adapt more quickly, things look bleak for their Worlds prospects.
OMG’s emphasis on solo laners and using the map makes them a strong team on the international stage, but they have to get past China to make it there. For the first time all season, “consistently good” isn’t good enough, and if they want to buy themselves a shot at true domination, this could very well be their last chance before the they lose their place at the top.
A Team forged around solo lanes
In August of 2012, the OMG organization acquired a rising Chinese team called Noah’s Ark. Noah’s Ark’s lineup hadn’t taken any major first place titles, but they had placed top three in large events at the time. Notably, Noah’s Ark placed second in the Season 2 Regional Qualifier that decided the second team to attend the Season 2 World Championships. If Season 2 Worlds had had three seeds for China, we would have seen Noah’s Ark that year alongside World Elite And Invictus Gaming.
OMG’s critics branded the team as “gangsters” based on Gogoing’s formidable looks, but the team and fans liked the idea and made it their own. Gogoing became the team’s “big brother,” but OMG’s LPL story wasn’t just about their new image. OMG shocked spectators when they overtook World Elite in the regular split, placing second overall. Despite losing one more game than Invictus Gaming during that split, OMG still bested iG in three of their four matches. Going into playoffs, OMG looked like the best team in China.
Suspicions were all-but confirmed in the 2013 LPL Spring Playoffs. Invictus Gaming failed to even make the finals, where some anticipated a clash between the new upstarts and the prevailing member of the old guard. IG was knocked down by fourth place Positive Energy. With their path clear, OMG took out PE for their first and only LPL Playoff victory. The rising Chinese team had effectively ended the era of World Elite and Invictus Gaming’s dominance over China to pave the way for OMG.
Road to LA
OMG surprised many fans after their debut with one of the most successful role swaps in League of Legends history. Lovelin would move to the jungle, and pomelo would transition to support. Aside from questioning Lovelin’s ability as one of the best supports in China to adapt to the jungle role, it seemed a travesty to give up his tight control over the bottom lane. When the transition went into effect, and Lovelin’s Lee Sin took to the stage, it was immediately apparent that OMG had made the right decision.
At the time, Lovelin was the best jungler in China. His early pressure and innovation worked to prop up the original stars of the team: their solo laners. Cool and Lovelin developed a powerful synergy throughout the split. The two thrived in the fast-paced assassin meta of the latter half of 2013, and Cool’s Ahri would end the split undefeated.
During the 2013 Spring LPL split, OMG only dropped seven games of 28. In the Summer of 2013, OMG dropped four. This unparalleled success granted them a spot in the Chinese Regional qualifier. There, an even bigger surprise would transpire; Royal Club Huang Zhu, featuring Cool’s old teammates, Wh1t3zZ and Tabe, 2-0’d OMG in the finals, snatching the first seed at Worlds from their grasp.
Yet OMG’s failure to capture the first seed was something of a boon. During the group stage, OMG gave SK Telecom T1 K their only loss to a non-Korean team the entire tournament. Though OMG would lose again to Royal Club in the quarterfinals, their group stage performance resonated with some more than Royal Club’s trip through the bracket. Many would remember Cool as the mid laner who picked up solo kills against Faker in lane. Though fans won’t get to see this rematch on the World Stage this year, the rivalry continues on the Korean solo queue server, where both Cool and Faker continue to strive to best each other in the 1v1.
At the end of the tournament, OMG wrote a promise for Season 4 in the California sands, and at the start of the season,they told lolesports their eyes were on the trophy.
ON AND OFF
At the start of the new LPL season, OMG once again announced a role swap. The successful transition of Lovelin—who had changed his name to Allen—from support to jungle would be reverted, and pomelo would jungle. This came from a team decision to shift focus away from the solo lanes and prop up san as the team’s carry. The team had come to rely on san more after his stellar performance at Worlds, and the team was looking for a new central carry force after Cool revealed he would need to take a split off for health-related reasons. Enter Hu “xiyang” Bin, star solo queue Syndra main. Many questioned his small champion pool, as Cool’s power was in his diversity in style and selection. It seemed a travesty to replace the 2013 LPL Summer MVP with one so green. Yet xiyang surprised many. OMG nearly completed the first half of 2013 Summer undefeated, and xiyang excelled in the 1v1 mid lane scenario created by the 4v0 meta game.
This success would prove to be short-lived as OMG’s Worlds run. Edward Gaming was the first team to exploit xiyang’s weakness. EDG banned out xiyang and focused him with ganks at the International Esports Tournament and took a 2-0 victory. The upstart team featured members from World Elite’s dominating lineup and Zhu “NaMei” Jiawen. This wasn’t the first time that NaMei would have a hand in taking a first place title from OMG. NaMei was the AD carry for Positive Energy, the team that won 2013 LPL Summer and ruined OMG’s hopes of a second consecutive playoff victory.
The same strategy proved a boon for both SK Telecom T1 K at the 2014 AllStars in Paris and Invictus Gaming during the 2014 Spring Playoffs as OMG’s roster continued to hit pitfalls. They were 3-0’d by SKT T1 K at AllStars, and iG would knock them out of contention for a second Playoff victory in the semifinals.
OMG then had a choice to make. Cool played OMG’s last set of 2014 LPL Summer with the team to flex his muscles after returning from the bench. OMG suffered one of their three losses, and Cool looked incredibly shaky. On the other hand, xiyang’s obvious weaknesses had been exposed. Ultimately, OMG chose to return Cool to his role as starting mid laner over continuing to gamble on xiyang’s inexperience.
Cool’s return accompanied the third switch of Allen—with yet another name change, this time to Drug—back to the jungle. For the summer split, however, after heavy criticisms from the community, pomelo stepped into the substitute role. Hu “Cloud” Zhenwei, a support player from the rising amateur team, Snake, joined the team’s starting lineup.
OMG had a slow start, but by Week 3, they regained a glimmer of their former dominance. They became the only team in LPL to ever 2-0 StarHorn Royal Club, and they kept their perfect LPL record against LGD Gaming. OMG didn’t show any signs of faltering at all until Fang “Dada7” Hongri appeared on the lineup. Dada7 has served as a frequent support sub for OMG over the years, and he even appeared in a couple games of the 2013 World Championship as comA.
The team dropped a game to seventh place Young Glory as soon as Dada7 graced the roster. Dada7 didn’t meet the same standards set by Cloud, and his frequently missed skillshots upset the delicate balance in OMG’s team fighting. At the time, he was a substitute while Cloud finished out his exams, but the effect it had on OMG’s performance throughout the rest of the split lingered. While Dada7 remained on the roster, OMG, lost four games to Edward Gaming (two in LPL and two in the Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen Qualifier). Then, even after he left, OMG hit several pitfalls in regaining their synergy.
Just one week before the regular split ended, OMG made the decision to replace Cloud with Dada7 on a permanent basis. This time, rumors of social conflict within the team arose. OMG fans saw Cloud clash with other members of the team on stream, and it seemed likely his negative attitude was affecting the team. With Dada7 on the rift, however, OMG performed worse. They dropped their last best of two against Young Glory completely and lost an easy shot at their third consecutive regular season first place.
TOP TWO
Even with instability in the support role, however, OMG is “consistently good” in China. In the 2014 LPL Summer Playoffs, OMG was the only team to take a game off Edward Gaming. Cool’s Twisted Fate play and their fast map movements that emphasized getting Cool and Gogoing ahead early stood out when it counted. In addition, OMG took out StarHorn Royal Club in two best-of-five series. Though both sets went to five games, OMG’s wins were much more controlled than SHRC’s. OMG looked like definitively better in the BO5 format.
Then Edward Gaming decimated OMG in the finals.
Questionable teleport calls and sloppy ganks made OMG look like coordination was their weakness rather than the strength it has typically been for the team. EDG always seemed one step ahead, warding off OMG’s dives and transitioning to dragon early. In the first game, OMG surrendered in just over twenty minutes without taking a single kill. EDG found the second win almost as easily.
To make matters worse for OMG’s chances at Worlds, Regionals are best of three. In both of OMG’s sets against SHRC in the Summer Playoffs, they lost two of their first three games. Had Playoffs been best of three, OMG wouldn’t have won either set. Certainly, we can expect OMG to approach a best of three with a different mentality than a best of five, but best of fives give a second chance to find a formula that works. If OMG can’t adapt more quickly, things look bleak for their Worlds prospects.
OMG’s emphasis on solo laners and using the map makes them a strong team on the international stage, but they have to get past China to make it there. For the first time all season, “consistently good” isn’t good enough, and if they want to buy themselves a shot at true domination, this could very well be their last chance before the they lose their place at the top.
