Two For the Money: Meet the LPL’s New Blood
Riot·5/21/2015, 11:21:46 PM·0 votes·16,520 views
One of the best things about the 2015 LoL Pro League format is that it mandates fresh blood every split. The LoL Secondary Pro League playoffs double as an auto-promotion qualifer into the next LPL season for the top two teams.
The 2015 LSPL Spring Season, much like its LPL counterpart, was a period of growth and development, due to the similar influx of Korean talent. Rising above the rest were the 2015 LSPL Spring Champions Qiao Gu, and runners-up Vici Gaming Potential.
As one of the more well-known LSPL teams, Qiao Gu earned newfound popularity by knocking out top LPL team OMG in the 2015 Demacia Cup. Their victory came as a huge upset, revealing structural weaknesses in OMG’s playstyle. Qiao Gu struck early and often, steamrolling over OMG in three of their five games.
Much like Da-yoon "Spirit" Lee and the 2015 Spring iteration of Team WE, Qiao Gu is centered around one of the strongest junglers in China -- both LPL and LSPL included -- in former CJ Entus Frost jungler Da-Hoon "Swift" Baek. Touted as one of the premier talents leaving Korea, Swift landed on Qiao Gu along with Coach Woo-suk "Hiro" Lee where he quickly made a name for himself as the carry of his team, and the best player in LSPL Spring. His carry potential has somewhat diminished following the meta shift away from carry jungle champions into tankier, utility champions. However, Qiao Gu can always count on Swift to set an aggressive pace early regardless of the meta or what champion he plays.
Swift isn’t the only recognizable face on Qiao Gu, as former LMQ Tian Ci support Hong-Wei "TcT" Zhang reunites with his Chinese LMQ counterpart, AD carry Yu “TnT” Rui. Rounding out the roster is top laner Bao "V" Bo, and mid laner Tae Sang "Doinb" Kim. Qiao Gu additionally acquired three substitutes in the offseason, the most notable of which is mid laner Chen “Cherish” Zhe from LSPL sister team Stand Point Gaming.
Qiao Gu is best categorized for their strong mechanics as opposed to any semblance of macro strategy. Like a blunt instrument, they bruise and batter opponents as quickly as possible. Their most creative outing was against Team WE in the Demacia Cup, where they picked up Maokai mid as a presumed counter to Viktor. This was later revealed by Coach Hiro as a champion select mistake. Again, the comparison to the current Team WE is apt, as both teams live and die by the performance of their junglers. The difference is that Swift, on Qiao Gu, has an arguably better supporting cast. Qiao Gu’s players are highly mechanically skilled, and if they can diversify their in-game strategies, they will be legitimate playoff contenders.
Formerly known as Vici Gaming Potential, Unlimited Potential was the second team to qualify for LPL auto-promotion. Although they were perceived as one of the best in LSPL by some, VGP had glaring weaknesses, the first of which was the rash decision making of their mid laner Yuan-hui "Apollo" Li. Their bottom lane was inconsistent thanks to the mispositioning of AD carry Se-hoon "Skatch" Byun. Skatch had difficulty keeping himself safe, especially whenever his support, former Samsung Galaxy Blue player Gwan-hyung "Heart" Lee, left lane to roam.
In spite of these weaknesses, VGP often shone brightly thanks to top laner Xiao-Long "Loong" Zhu and jungler Dan "Eimy" Xie.
No stranger to promotion, Eimy led Vici Gaming to the LPL last season before former Samsung Galaxy White jungler In-kyu "DanDy" Choi took his place on the main team. Eimy was then placed on Vici’s LSPL sister team, Vici Gaming Potential. A carry jungler, Eimy is a dynamic playmaker who, like Qiao Gu’s Swift, has been somewhat muted following patch 5.5.
In spite of Eimy’s struggles in a post-Cinderhulk world, VGP as a team took to the new patch well. Aided by starting Xiao-Xuan "Xuan" Pi in the mid lane over Apollo, VGP put Skatch on scaling hyper carries like Jinx with much success. After falling to Legend Dragon in the first round of the LSPL playoffs, VGP stormed through the playoff loser’s bracket without dropping a game. In the third round, VGP had their revenge against Legend Dragon, and then knocked out favorites AD Gaming in the final round of the lower bracket.
Where Qiao Gu relies on overwhelming their opponents mechanically, Unlimited Potential are a bit more creative in out-maneuvering their adversaries, but still lack the macro strategy shown by top LPL teams. Unlimited Potential additionally do not have as much raw talent as Qiao Gu. They also will enter LPL with another mid laner, Xin "Jiaoyang" Chen, a relative unknown, which makes predicting their future uncertain. If they can recapture the synergy that they had in playoffs, Unlimited Potential’s momentum should carry them surprisingly far.
A strong league in its own right, the LSPL has previously produced teams capable of holding their own in the LPL. Formerly a 2014 LSPL team, Snake Esports surprised in their first LPL outing, placing second in the LPL regular season, and fourth overall in the Spring Playoffs. While neither Qiao Gu nor Unlimited Potential look nearly as strong as their top LPL counterparts, Snake didn’t exactly impress prior to 2015 LPL Spring. Last season, both LSPL newcomers to the LPL -- Snake Esports and Team King -- managed to make it to the playoffs. Look for Qiao Gu and Unlimited Potential to follow their examples.
Qiao Gu takes on Snake Esports while Unlimited Potential faces off against Spring 2015 runners-up, LGD Gaming, on the first day of 2015 LPL Summer, right here on Lolesports.
Qiao Gu: The Team That Took Out OMG
As one of the more well-known LSPL teams, Qiao Gu earned newfound popularity by knocking out top LPL team OMG in the 2015 Demacia Cup. Their victory came as a huge upset, revealing structural weaknesses in OMG’s playstyle. Qiao Gu struck early and often, steamrolling over OMG in three of their five games.
Much like Da-yoon "Spirit" Lee and the 2015 Spring iteration of Team WE, Qiao Gu is centered around one of the strongest junglers in China -- both LPL and LSPL included -- in former CJ Entus Frost jungler Da-Hoon "Swift" Baek. Touted as one of the premier talents leaving Korea, Swift landed on Qiao Gu along with Coach Woo-suk "Hiro" Lee where he quickly made a name for himself as the carry of his team, and the best player in LSPL Spring. His carry potential has somewhat diminished following the meta shift away from carry jungle champions into tankier, utility champions. However, Qiao Gu can always count on Swift to set an aggressive pace early regardless of the meta or what champion he plays.
Swift isn’t the only recognizable face on Qiao Gu, as former LMQ Tian Ci support Hong-Wei "TcT" Zhang reunites with his Chinese LMQ counterpart, AD carry Yu “TnT” Rui. Rounding out the roster is top laner Bao "V" Bo, and mid laner Tae Sang "Doinb" Kim. Qiao Gu additionally acquired three substitutes in the offseason, the most notable of which is mid laner Chen “Cherish” Zhe from LSPL sister team Stand Point Gaming.
Qiao Gu is best categorized for their strong mechanics as opposed to any semblance of macro strategy. Like a blunt instrument, they bruise and batter opponents as quickly as possible. Their most creative outing was against Team WE in the Demacia Cup, where they picked up Maokai mid as a presumed counter to Viktor. This was later revealed by Coach Hiro as a champion select mistake. Again, the comparison to the current Team WE is apt, as both teams live and die by the performance of their junglers. The difference is that Swift, on Qiao Gu, has an arguably better supporting cast. Qiao Gu’s players are highly mechanically skilled, and if they can diversify their in-game strategies, they will be legitimate playoff contenders.
Unlimited Potential
Formerly known as Vici Gaming Potential, Unlimited Potential was the second team to qualify for LPL auto-promotion. Although they were perceived as one of the best in LSPL by some, VGP had glaring weaknesses, the first of which was the rash decision making of their mid laner Yuan-hui "Apollo" Li. Their bottom lane was inconsistent thanks to the mispositioning of AD carry Se-hoon "Skatch" Byun. Skatch had difficulty keeping himself safe, especially whenever his support, former Samsung Galaxy Blue player Gwan-hyung "Heart" Lee, left lane to roam.
In spite of these weaknesses, VGP often shone brightly thanks to top laner Xiao-Long "Loong" Zhu and jungler Dan "Eimy" Xie.
No stranger to promotion, Eimy led Vici Gaming to the LPL last season before former Samsung Galaxy White jungler In-kyu "DanDy" Choi took his place on the main team. Eimy was then placed on Vici’s LSPL sister team, Vici Gaming Potential. A carry jungler, Eimy is a dynamic playmaker who, like Qiao Gu’s Swift, has been somewhat muted following patch 5.5.
In spite of Eimy’s struggles in a post-Cinderhulk world, VGP as a team took to the new patch well. Aided by starting Xiao-Xuan "Xuan" Pi in the mid lane over Apollo, VGP put Skatch on scaling hyper carries like Jinx with much success. After falling to Legend Dragon in the first round of the LSPL playoffs, VGP stormed through the playoff loser’s bracket without dropping a game. In the third round, VGP had their revenge against Legend Dragon, and then knocked out favorites AD Gaming in the final round of the lower bracket.
Where Qiao Gu relies on overwhelming their opponents mechanically, Unlimited Potential are a bit more creative in out-maneuvering their adversaries, but still lack the macro strategy shown by top LPL teams. Unlimited Potential additionally do not have as much raw talent as Qiao Gu. They also will enter LPL with another mid laner, Xin "Jiaoyang" Chen, a relative unknown, which makes predicting their future uncertain. If they can recapture the synergy that they had in playoffs, Unlimited Potential’s momentum should carry them surprisingly far.
LSPL in the LPL
A strong league in its own right, the LSPL has previously produced teams capable of holding their own in the LPL. Formerly a 2014 LSPL team, Snake Esports surprised in their first LPL outing, placing second in the LPL regular season, and fourth overall in the Spring Playoffs. While neither Qiao Gu nor Unlimited Potential look nearly as strong as their top LPL counterparts, Snake didn’t exactly impress prior to 2015 LPL Spring. Last season, both LSPL newcomers to the LPL -- Snake Esports and Team King -- managed to make it to the playoffs. Look for Qiao Gu and Unlimited Potential to follow their examples.
Qiao Gu takes on Snake Esports while Unlimited Potential faces off against Spring 2015 runners-up, LGD Gaming, on the first day of 2015 LPL Summer, right here on Lolesports.
