Watching the Wildcards - Oceania’s Finest
Riot·2/7/2015, 12:45:12 AM·0 votes·4,939 views
The International Wildcard Tournament may not be until late this year, but teams across the world are already deep in preparation for what will be their gateway to the 2015 World Championship. Last year, Oceania’s Legacy eSports was one step away from Worlds before being stopped by Turkish powerhouse Dark Passage. The Oceanian scene has leveled up significantly since then, and here are two players you should be keeping your eye on through the Oceanic Pro League.
Simon "Swiffer" Papamarkos, the Chiefs’ mid laner, attributes Raydere’s controlled play to his time in what Australian players refer to as the ‘Hyperbolic Time Chamber’. "The thing I respect most about Derek is is his ability to maneuver a team fight. I guess after playing at over 200 ping in the NA servers before the arrival of the OCE servers, he’s able to instinctively predict where he needs to be in a team fight."
Although his ability to survive team fights and dish out damage may be the product of quick-fire predictions and proactive positioning, Raydere is not content with merely being a safe source of damage. Instead, the AD carry veteran is striving to develop a more holistic style of play, and is looking to China’s LPL for inspiration. "I’d love to play against Uzi. I admire his controlled aggression and extremely strong mechanical play, and I wish to emulate it in my own play."
As the only Chief remaining from the team’s original roster (then known as Frenetic Array), Raydere’s status as a veteran in the Oceanic scene is not lost on his teammates. Jungler Samuel "Spookz" Broadley recalls a feeling of excitement upon joining the roster, as the stalwart AD carry went from being one of his opponents to being his teammate. "Ever since joining [the Chiefs] in late 2013, I have discovered that Derek does indeed live up to his reputation, because of the high mechanical ability that I’ve seen in him." Support Andrew "Rosey" Rose added: "After playing together for the last two years, I guess we’ve developed a high level of trust and understanding for each other’s playstyle."
It may just be a coincidence, but Raydere’s status as team dad extends outside of the game as well. "There’s this thing within the team where we refer to him as ‘Daddy Derek’ because he makes bad dad jokes," laughs Spookz. "He’s outgoing, and we love him."
Those who witnessed Legacy’s upset win over the Chiefs in the Winter Regionals will say that ChuChuZ carried, but anyone who knows ChuChuZ knows that he’d rather shift the spotlight away from himself. "I’m extremely grateful and appreciative of people who see me in such way. But I also believe that mid laners get too much credit for a team’s success," he admits. Teammate and support player Bryce "EGym" Paule laughs. "He’s a playmaker, and he dictates a lot of the game’s flow through his actions."
There are two main kinds of mid laners at the professional level - solo carries like Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg who are expected to shoulder much of the game, and ‘role players’ like Lei "Corn" Wen and Heo "PawN" Won-seok, who serve as the ‘glue’ binding their teams together.
ChuChuZ is the former, but he is fully aware that being a solo carry is never truly a solo effort. "We’re expected to carry -- we’re allowed to pick champions that make a large impact and we have resources fed to us. That’s what allows us to excel. If I didn’t have such a strong team assisting me, I would never have had an impact on Legacy’s success."
Like Raydere, ChuChuZ looks to foreign leagues for inspiration. His hyper-aggressive laning style is modelled after the play of Korean mid laners -- two world champions, to be precise. "I really enjoy this kind of playstyle as it doesn’t allow the enemy mid laner to relax and farm easily, though it makes me susceptible to jungle ganks. Faker and PawN play a smarter version of my playstyle -- they are in complete control of their aggression, which makes them difficult to gank while also allowing them a lot of pressure over their opponents."
2015 will be ChuChuZ’s first year out of high school, and the future is wide open for him. "I would love to see myself playing League of Legends full-time, but unfortunately, that option isn’t open in Oceania at the moment. I have friends from Oceania who are now playing in North America in Keane and Veritas, which tells me that it might be an option in the future." In the meantime, ChuChuZ will be making waves back home.
Derek "Raydere" Trang - Chiefs eSports Club
Raydere discovered League of Legends in 2011, when his friends made the jump from DotA and suggested that he join them. The transition was smoother than expected, and Raydere quickly become one of Australia’s best AD carries. His consistently excellent play and perpetual presence at the top of Oceania’s solo queue ladder have led many to dub him the region’s best AD carry, a reputation which he is more than happy to maintain. "I would say that I certainly have the skill to back up that title...I feel a bit of pressure because of the weight that it carries. There’s this constant idea that I have to live up to those expectations."
Simon "Swiffer" Papamarkos, the Chiefs’ mid laner, attributes Raydere’s controlled play to his time in what Australian players refer to as the ‘Hyperbolic Time Chamber’. "The thing I respect most about Derek is is his ability to maneuver a team fight. I guess after playing at over 200 ping in the NA servers before the arrival of the OCE servers, he’s able to instinctively predict where he needs to be in a team fight."
Although his ability to survive team fights and dish out damage may be the product of quick-fire predictions and proactive positioning, Raydere is not content with merely being a safe source of damage. Instead, the AD carry veteran is striving to develop a more holistic style of play, and is looking to China’s LPL for inspiration. "I’d love to play against Uzi. I admire his controlled aggression and extremely strong mechanical play, and I wish to emulate it in my own play."
As the only Chief remaining from the team’s original roster (then known as Frenetic Array), Raydere’s status as a veteran in the Oceanic scene is not lost on his teammates. Jungler Samuel "Spookz" Broadley recalls a feeling of excitement upon joining the roster, as the stalwart AD carry went from being one of his opponents to being his teammate. "Ever since joining [the Chiefs] in late 2013, I have discovered that Derek does indeed live up to his reputation, because of the high mechanical ability that I’ve seen in him." Support Andrew "Rosey" Rose added: "After playing together for the last two years, I guess we’ve developed a high level of trust and understanding for each other’s playstyle."
It may just be a coincidence, but Raydere’s status as team dad extends outside of the game as well. "There’s this thing within the team where we refer to him as ‘Daddy Derek’ because he makes bad dad jokes," laughs Spookz. "He’s outgoing, and we love him."
Aaron "ChuChuZ" Bland - Legacy eSports
If Raydere is Oceania’s greatest veteran, then ChuChuZ is Oceania’s hottest newcomer. In just one short year of playing competitively, the 18-year-old mid laner conquered the Oceania Winter Regionals, the same tournament that punched his ticket to the International Wildcard Tournament at Gamescom.
Those who witnessed Legacy’s upset win over the Chiefs in the Winter Regionals will say that ChuChuZ carried, but anyone who knows ChuChuZ knows that he’d rather shift the spotlight away from himself. "I’m extremely grateful and appreciative of people who see me in such way. But I also believe that mid laners get too much credit for a team’s success," he admits. Teammate and support player Bryce "EGym" Paule laughs. "He’s a playmaker, and he dictates a lot of the game’s flow through his actions."
There are two main kinds of mid laners at the professional level - solo carries like Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg who are expected to shoulder much of the game, and ‘role players’ like Lei "Corn" Wen and Heo "PawN" Won-seok, who serve as the ‘glue’ binding their teams together.
ChuChuZ is the former, but he is fully aware that being a solo carry is never truly a solo effort. "We’re expected to carry -- we’re allowed to pick champions that make a large impact and we have resources fed to us. That’s what allows us to excel. If I didn’t have such a strong team assisting me, I would never have had an impact on Legacy’s success."
Like Raydere, ChuChuZ looks to foreign leagues for inspiration. His hyper-aggressive laning style is modelled after the play of Korean mid laners -- two world champions, to be precise. "I really enjoy this kind of playstyle as it doesn’t allow the enemy mid laner to relax and farm easily, though it makes me susceptible to jungle ganks. Faker and PawN play a smarter version of my playstyle -- they are in complete control of their aggression, which makes them difficult to gank while also allowing them a lot of pressure over their opponents."
2015 will be ChuChuZ’s first year out of high school, and the future is wide open for him. "I would love to see myself playing League of Legends full-time, but unfortunately, that option isn’t open in Oceania at the moment. I have friends from Oceania who are now playing in North America in Keane and Veritas, which tells me that it might be an option in the future." In the meantime, ChuChuZ will be making waves back home.
