The moments that made Worlds: Part 1
There are some moments that you walk away from remembering forever.
Throughout Worlds 2015, we'll be re-visiting some of our favorite moments from past World Championships and discussing what made them so special.
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Moment #1 - MaKNooN & Najin Sword run over Groups
"Do Dive"
In 2012, there were a number of breakout stars, but none quite like MaKNooN. In a game that was decidedly team-oriented, MaKNooN was an outgoing, charismatic personality. He knew he was the best, and he enjoyed not only telling people but also showing it on the Rift.
MaKNooN and Najin Sword ran away with the Group Stage, posting some of the most dominant wins of the tournament. One example? They defeated eventual-semifinalist CLG.EU with a 20K gold lead. MaKNooN had over double Wickd's CS.
"Do Dive" became MaKNooN's, and by extension Najin Sword's, trademark. They were aggressive to a fault, and always went for risky plays that teams in Season 2 just didn't know how to account for.
This team would go on to have a dominant run in Korea, culminating in a Champions victory. But this Season 2 moment was bittersweet for the Do Dive squad because of the next one on our list.
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Moment #2 - Taipei Assassins are the World Champions
Many remember Season 2 for the year-long rivalry between CLG.EU and Moscow 5. Some remember it as the rise of Korean teams like Najin Sword, Azubu Blaze, and Azubu Frost. But very few saw the storm that was the Taipei Assassins coming from across the Pacific.
For those who followed the GPL, it was almost inevitable that TPA would win. And looking back, it should have been more obvious. TPA was nearly a year ahead of its time in terms of macro-level strategy. They had mastered map pressure and wave control earlier than most teams. Stanley's split-pushing couldn't be stopped. Lil Ballz and MiSTakE's roaming and jungle invades went unchallenged. Toyz's lane dominance was oppressive. And then there was what makes Taiwan special to this day -- team fighting. TPA's team fights were organized and clean, backed up by MiSTakE's stellar shot-calling. They always knew their win conditions; they always knew how to earn every advantage.
Taipei Assassins upset Najin Sword, Moscow 5, and finally Azubu Frost en route to the Season 2 World Championship. It was an incredible moment.
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Moment #3 - OMG vs SKT & Faker vs Cool
In the Season 3 World Championship, SKTelecom T1 K only lost to two teams: Najin Black Sword in the Semifinals and OMG in the Group Stage.
To date, 2013 represented the height of the mid lane assassin meta, and no matchup encapsulated what made this meta most exciting than Faker vs. Cool. Going into the tournament, Cool had won the MVP of LPL Summer while Faker won the MVP of LCK Summer. Faker was assumed to be the superior player, but Cool still had a huge fan following as well as the support of analysts.
In the end, Faker got the best of Cool in their scant few 1-on-1 matchups, with the matches between the teams ending up a wash. OMG squeezed SKT out of their Game 1 while SKT ran away with Game 2 after a series of errors set up one of the greatest single sequences in the history of League.
Many analysts regard this SKT team as the greatest of all time, but that should take nothing away from OMG, who could be argued as a squad deserving of a Top 10 placement. Go back and watch these two games again -- while the hype for the matchup was palpable, in hindsight, it's even more a marvel to behold.
Next week we'll take a look at some more of our favorite moments from previous Worlds. What are some of your favorites? Let us know on Twitter and in the comments below!
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vs EU 
