Initial results of the great Korean substitution experiment
Riot·4/3/2015, 10:35:23 PM·0 votes·10,105 views
Tucking your “Faker Fighting!” posterboard under your arm, you grip your cellphone -- prepared with a carefully crafted scrolling message to Faker -- in anticipation of seeing your favorite player. After filing neatly into the hallowed ground of OGN's studio to see Champions Korea, you take your seat, shifting restlessly as you listen to the low hum of the crowd. You traveled great distances, all for the love of your favorite player: SK Telecom T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. The curtain rises, the smoke clears, you open your mouth to scream Faker’s name, but you quickly fall silent. For seated in Faker’s chair...
...is not Faker. Instead, it's SK Telecom’s oft-forgotten other mid laner, Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon.
Welcome to the great Korean substitution experiment, where the dismantling of organizations’ sister team structure led to the dispersion of Korean talent across the globe. Back on home soil, Champions Korea took a page from the book of Masters tournaments past, allowing teams 10 roster slots and the ability to substitute players in between games. Amid much speculation of how this would affect team chemistry, or potentially allow for different strategies to arise with various player combinations, Champions teams were challenged to approach the new season a bit differently.
Initially introduced as the HUYA Tigers, GE made few waves in the pre-season. Most of the players chosen for the team, and additionally their coach Jeong “NoFe” No-Chul were seen as washed up talents who had been passed over for younger rising stars. Needless to say, GE’s roster was composed of only five players: top laner Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho, jungler Lee “Lee” Ho-jin, mid laner Lee “KurO” Seo-haeng, AD carry Kim “PraY” Jong-in, and support Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon. Of the five, GorillA was the sole player considered to be in his prime.
With superior champion select and preparation, the GE Tigers roared through Champions Korea, capturing the top spot in the standings with an impressive 11-0 run before they fell to KT Rolster in Week 10. In spite of their misstep at IEM Katowice -- where GE failed to prepare for China’s Team WE, and lost in the Semifinals -- GE stands as a testament to what a team can do with a group of five players who, together, form a far greater unit than their individual pieces. Choosing to stick with these five alone, without substitutions, GE’s strengths in overall preparation and coordination shine.
The most-discussed roster substitution early in the Champions season was when Faker, the undisputed best player in the world, was benched for SK Telecom’s other mid laner, the aforementioned Easyhoon.
Statistically one of Champions’ best mid-laners in the past two years, Easyhoon is easy to overlook due to his passive, ranged playstyle on champions like Karthus and Ziggs. While on SK Telecom T1 S, he was cited as the primary reason why their matches often dragged on, pushing hour-long timestamps.
Now that the two SK Telecom T1 rosters are merged into one, Easyhoon continues to take a backseat to Faker for the majority of the team’s matches. However, he's still used sometimes as a long-range specialist, dazzling audiences with Xerath and Cassiopeia.
SK Telecom’s other major substitution this season occurred in the bottom lane, with roaming support star Lee “Piccaboo” Jong-Beom. Eclipsing SKT’s other support Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan in mobility, Piccaboo has shown coordination with jungler Bae “bengi” Song-ung in providing vision control for the team in addition to making plays around the map. SK Telecom always has Wolf to fall back on if they want a stronger duo while in lane, especially considering his long-standing partnership with AD carry Bae “Bang” Jun-sik.
Most recently, SK Telecom tested their new jungler Im “T0M” Jae-hyeon in their set against Incredible Miracle. While T0M -- SKT’s first jungler other than bengi in the past two years -- lacked bengi’s vision control, he made up for it in a surprising amount of team fight synergy with the rest of SKT in a debut tailored around his pocket pick of Udyr. As Playoffs approach, SK Telecom is solidly in second place, and has shown proficiency in using their full roster, swapping players in and out when needed.
Another successful example of roster substitutions throughout the season, the Jin Air Green Wings often use different combinations of their four available players in the bottom lane: supports Choi “Chei” Sun-ho and Lee “XD” Eun-teak, with AD carries Kang “Cpt Jack” Hyung-woo and Na “Pilot” Woo-hyung.
Different pairings offer different options to fit into Jin Air’s team makeup. Cpt Jack offers a more aggressive -- sometimes reckless -- playstyle, with monster games on Kalista, and strong showings on Graves and Sivir. Pilot has showcased his exceptional kiting on Corki and especially Ezreal. Meanwhile, XD provides defensive lane support and his counterpart, Chei, a more aggressive trading style.
The strengths and weaknesses of the four are taken into consideration when constructing Jin Air’s team for that game. All of this planning revolves around Jin Air’s mid laner, Lee “GBM” Chang-seok. When he takes a more aggressive champion into the mid lane, Jin Air opts for the supportive style of Pilot, while GBM accompanied by a longer-scaling passive champion will give Cpt Jack and Chei a chance to shine early. These substitutions have recently earned Jin Air a spot in the postseason.
The aforementioned roster substitutions, or lack thereof in the case of the GE Tigers, have all netted positive results. Unfortunately, NaJin e-mFire sits solidly outside of Playoff contention as an example of what not to do with a larger roster.
First, the team came under fire for their refusal to play AD carry Oh “Ohq” Gyu-min, opting for the passive style of veteran Lee “Zefa” Jae-min in early sets against CJ Entus, Incredible Miracle, the Jin Air Green Wings, and the GE Tigers. In these matches, NaJin was swept 2-0 by both Jin Air and GE, and fell to CJ 2-1. Following their 2-1 Week 6 victory over Samsung, Ohq remained in the NaJin booth as their sole AD carry.
NaJin’s second mistake was keeping veteran player Cho “watch” Jae-geol in the jungle, even as their up-and-coming talent Yoon “Peanut” Wang-ho came of age. While NaJin fans eagerly looked forward to the new jungle with Peanut, NaJin instead opted for watch in the team’s Week 8 and 9 sets against CJ and Jin Air, resulting in 0-2 losses. Peanut’s vision was lacking in his matches, but showed improvement with each passing game. He more than made up for it with his mobile and aggressive playstyle, snowballing lanes to victory, leaving fans scratching their heads about CJ's decision not to start him earlier.
Eliminated from the postseason, NaJin has the next few weeks to continue their substitution experiments, hopefully with better results.
Now Playoffs loom on the horizon, with many substitution questions still unanswered. Will Jin Air continue to swap their bottom lane at their convenience? Will NaJin use these last few regular season weeks to develop their younger players? Will Easyhoon see the light of day in Playoffs, or will he be locked up in the back room while Faker reclaims his throne? The jury is still out on how to optimally use player substitutions, but some teams seem to be on the right track.
The Fantastic Five: GE Tigers
Initially introduced as the HUYA Tigers, GE made few waves in the pre-season. Most of the players chosen for the team, and additionally their coach Jeong “NoFe” No-Chul were seen as washed up talents who had been passed over for younger rising stars. Needless to say, GE’s roster was composed of only five players: top laner Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho, jungler Lee “Lee” Ho-jin, mid laner Lee “KurO” Seo-haeng, AD carry Kim “PraY” Jong-in, and support Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon. Of the five, GorillA was the sole player considered to be in his prime.
With superior champion select and preparation, the GE Tigers roared through Champions Korea, capturing the top spot in the standings with an impressive 11-0 run before they fell to KT Rolster in Week 10. In spite of their misstep at IEM Katowice -- where GE failed to prepare for China’s Team WE, and lost in the Semifinals -- GE stands as a testament to what a team can do with a group of five players who, together, form a far greater unit than their individual pieces. Choosing to stick with these five alone, without substitutions, GE’s strengths in overall preparation and coordination shine.
Mid lane is Mine: SK Telecom T1
The most-discussed roster substitution early in the Champions season was when Faker, the undisputed best player in the world, was benched for SK Telecom’s other mid laner, the aforementioned Easyhoon.
Statistically one of Champions’ best mid-laners in the past two years, Easyhoon is easy to overlook due to his passive, ranged playstyle on champions like Karthus and Ziggs. While on SK Telecom T1 S, he was cited as the primary reason why their matches often dragged on, pushing hour-long timestamps.
Now that the two SK Telecom T1 rosters are merged into one, Easyhoon continues to take a backseat to Faker for the majority of the team’s matches. However, he's still used sometimes as a long-range specialist, dazzling audiences with Xerath and Cassiopeia.
SK Telecom’s other major substitution this season occurred in the bottom lane, with roaming support star Lee “Piccaboo” Jong-Beom. Eclipsing SKT’s other support Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan in mobility, Piccaboo has shown coordination with jungler Bae “bengi” Song-ung in providing vision control for the team in addition to making plays around the map. SK Telecom always has Wolf to fall back on if they want a stronger duo while in lane, especially considering his long-standing partnership with AD carry Bae “Bang” Jun-sik.
Most recently, SK Telecom tested their new jungler Im “T0M” Jae-hyeon in their set against Incredible Miracle. While T0M -- SKT’s first jungler other than bengi in the past two years -- lacked bengi’s vision control, he made up for it in a surprising amount of team fight synergy with the rest of SKT in a debut tailored around his pocket pick of Udyr. As Playoffs approach, SK Telecom is solidly in second place, and has shown proficiency in using their full roster, swapping players in and out when needed.
Bot Lane Scramble: Jin Air Green Wings
Another successful example of roster substitutions throughout the season, the Jin Air Green Wings often use different combinations of their four available players in the bottom lane: supports Choi “Chei” Sun-ho and Lee “XD” Eun-teak, with AD carries Kang “Cpt Jack” Hyung-woo and Na “Pilot” Woo-hyung.
Different pairings offer different options to fit into Jin Air’s team makeup. Cpt Jack offers a more aggressive -- sometimes reckless -- playstyle, with monster games on Kalista, and strong showings on Graves and Sivir. Pilot has showcased his exceptional kiting on Corki and especially Ezreal. Meanwhile, XD provides defensive lane support and his counterpart, Chei, a more aggressive trading style.
The strengths and weaknesses of the four are taken into consideration when constructing Jin Air’s team for that game. All of this planning revolves around Jin Air’s mid laner, Lee “GBM” Chang-seok. When he takes a more aggressive champion into the mid lane, Jin Air opts for the supportive style of Pilot, while GBM accompanied by a longer-scaling passive champion will give Cpt Jack and Chei a chance to shine early. These substitutions have recently earned Jin Air a spot in the postseason.
Stay or Go? NaJin e-mFire
The aforementioned roster substitutions, or lack thereof in the case of the GE Tigers, have all netted positive results. Unfortunately, NaJin e-mFire sits solidly outside of Playoff contention as an example of what not to do with a larger roster.
First, the team came under fire for their refusal to play AD carry Oh “Ohq” Gyu-min, opting for the passive style of veteran Lee “Zefa” Jae-min in early sets against CJ Entus, Incredible Miracle, the Jin Air Green Wings, and the GE Tigers. In these matches, NaJin was swept 2-0 by both Jin Air and GE, and fell to CJ 2-1. Following their 2-1 Week 6 victory over Samsung, Ohq remained in the NaJin booth as their sole AD carry.
NaJin’s second mistake was keeping veteran player Cho “watch” Jae-geol in the jungle, even as their up-and-coming talent Yoon “Peanut” Wang-ho came of age. While NaJin fans eagerly looked forward to the new jungle with Peanut, NaJin instead opted for watch in the team’s Week 8 and 9 sets against CJ and Jin Air, resulting in 0-2 losses. Peanut’s vision was lacking in his matches, but showed improvement with each passing game. He more than made up for it with his mobile and aggressive playstyle, snowballing lanes to victory, leaving fans scratching their heads about CJ's decision not to start him earlier.
Eliminated from the postseason, NaJin has the next few weeks to continue their substitution experiments, hopefully with better results.
Now Playoffs loom on the horizon, with many substitution questions still unanswered. Will Jin Air continue to swap their bottom lane at their convenience? Will NaJin use these last few regular season weeks to develop their younger players? Will Easyhoon see the light of day in Playoffs, or will he be locked up in the back room while Faker reclaims his throne? The jury is still out on how to optimally use player substitutions, but some teams seem to be on the right track.
