Rampage renewed: Japan's old champs back on top
It's been a long time coming, but Japan's former number one has awoken from its slumber to reclaim the title.
A lot has changed since the last time Ozone Rampage was at the top looking down. Faker had only been a World Champion for a day, top lane teleport was a gimmick strategy, and there was no League of Legends Japan League. On that day, October 5 2013, Kiichi "Meron" Watanabe and the rest of Rampage won the right to represent Japan at the World Cyber Games (WCG) with only a single dropped map. An enduring legacy was born.
"Back then, most teams were only playing for fun. But we wanted to challenge the world."
Glory Before the Fall
After crushing the teams that would eventually become Detonation FM, 7th heaven, and Rascal Jester, Meron and his team headed off to Kunshan, China to see how they stacked up against the rest of the world. Dropped into a group headlined by eventual undefeated champions CJ Blaze, there was no softening the blow of that realization. But it's not their crushing loss to CJ we remember this tournament for, but for their victory over Brazil's KaBuM! e-Sports: Japan's first victory on the international stage. "Our experience at WCG was huge," Meron remembers, "But I feel like beating KaBuM was luck. I felt like they couldn't play their best."
Luck or not, Meron and Rampage came home to the start of a new chapter. With a new sponsorship from Ozone Gaming Gear in tow, Ozone Rampage came into the newly-established League of Legends Japan League (LJL) as the best team in the country. However, Rampage ended 2014 with two silvers and a bronze: not a single first place finish. The players' motivation had declined, and it showed. "None of us were trying back then, and we weren't practicing at all, so of course it ended up that way."
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The 2015 LoL Japan League brought more money, a bigger stage, and a real chance to make it to Worlds. The teams that rose to the top in Rampage's place -- FocusMe and Rascal Jester -- jumped at the chance, opening team houses and redoubling their efforts. But though they added talented young top laner Takashi "AMUSE" Ohtsuka, Rampage's old fire still hadn't returned. "We weren't serious," he says, "And so I don't even think remembering last season will do us any good." They finished 2015 Season 1 in 4th place: good enough to stick around, but a shadow of their former selves. While champion FocusMe’s players were adorning advertisements and appearing on morning shows, Rampage seemed to be left behind by their scene as it raced towards the world stage.
New Friends in a New World
DetonatioN FocusMe returned from IWCI bringing upheaval in their wake. Korean players were brought in, more teams opened gaming houses, and the entire scene seemed to be taking a giant leap forward. For Meron and his team, everything changed thanks to one man: Jun-Yong "Dragon" Lee, the coach of Chunnam Tech University's League team, who moved to Japan to coach Rampage. "We'd joked back and forth about the idea as friends, but all of the sudden it actually happened!" Meron relates. He brought with him Jeong-Hoon "Dara" Jeon and Moon-Yong "Doad" Lee to bolster Rampage's roster, and the team was remade virtually overnight.
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The new Rampage was scarcely recognizable. As though they had finally woken up from a two year slumber, they started toppling team after team in a rush to the top. Most critically, they continued to improve after every game, victory or defeat. What started as unfocused, reckless ganking and sloppy teamfighting were gradually refined into the tightest playmaking in the LJL. Himself one of Japan's most veteran AD Carries, Meron rocketed to the top of the statistics and holds by far the highest KDA in the league at 15.60. And the whole team just feels alive again. "Everyone's so good, so rather than let ourselves be unsatisfied it's like we all came together as one unit." he explains.
Yes, My Coach
When asked where this new strength comes from, Meron answered unequivocally: their coach. Dragon's presence seems to be the key factor in turning around the team's attitude, motivating them to keep striving for better. "Before," he elaborated, "if we lost in practice, we'd just get depressed and quit. But with him here, he always helps us find something we can improve on and carry into next time. It's a great atmosphere." Dragon himself has taken to his new job with an infectious enthusiasm, constantly posting excited social media updates in Japanese. Now, with a week off as FocusMe and 7th heaven fight in the semifinal, it's up to him to make sure Rampage is ready to clinch one more victory.
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Winning the LJL Season 2 Finals would mean something special for Meron, who would be earning the right to represent Japan one more time against the world. It's been two years since then, and he knows the clock is ticking in more ways than one. "I'm a little afraid of what comes next, given my age. I want to give it my all while I have a chance." And even though they're back on top, he's not resting on his laurels just yet. "I feel like we still have a long way to go. Rampage is only going to get stronger from here, so please cheer for us."
The LoL Japan League Finals will take place at 9:00 PM PDT on Friday, July 24th, between Rampage and DetonatioN FocusMe, live from e-sports SQUARE in Akihabara, Tokyo. The matches will be broadcast in both English and Japanese on Azubu and Twitch.
