NaJin e-mFire: Mounting the Assault
Rise of an e-mFire
NaJin e-mFire has been around as an organization since the first OGN Champions tournament in early 2012, taking their first steps into League of Legends with the acquisition of notable amateur team Extreme Dive Gaming. After a disappointing defeat to MiG Frost in the round of 8, NaJin announced that MakNooN would be leaving the main roster to form a new, hand-picked team, while Expession would be brought in from Team Hunters to fill the top lane spot on the main team. Thus, NaJin Shield and NaJin Sword were born, with the latter even making it to the Season 2 World Championship, only to fall to the eventual champions Taipei Assassins.
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As an organization, NaJin hit their peak in Champions Winter 2012-13, where NaJin Sword would crush the incumbent champions Azubu Frost in a devastating 3:0 victory under the leadership of MakNooN. Yet, this glory would not last as Frost would take their revenge in Champions Spring 2013, triggering MakNooN's departure from the team in favor of the KT Arrows. Meanwhile, Shield struggled under the weight of team issues and jungler MOKUZA's deteriorating health. With the acquisition of NoFe, Locodoco and Save, however, Shield gradually improved in their sister team's shadow, claiming a Top 8 finish in Champions Spring 2013.
Black and White
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With MakNooN's transfer from Sword to the KT Arrows, NaJin management decided to re-brand the teams to signify their transition into a new period, creating NaJin Black Sword and NaJin White Shield. As Expession was moved to Sword, SSONG soon stepped down for NeverDie's Nagne, a player who was making waves in the amateur scene. Shield opted to move Save from the mid lane to the top lane, recruiting ex-StarCraft progamer Grape (who changed his name to Ggoong) for mid, while a brand-new bot lane in Zefa and GorillA was brought in, as Wolf left for Chunnam Techno University.
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Champions Summer 2013 brought a Top 8 finish for the new Shield squad, while Sword's 1:1 tie against the Jin Air Stealths would see them fall out of the group stage. Yet, a strong performance in NLB punched Sword's ticket to the Season 3 World Championship, where they took tournament favorites SK Telecom T1 to five games before losing. As Champions Winter 2013-14 came and the new season began, Shield continued to soar, reaching the semi-finals in NoFe's final (and best) season. Another loss in the group stage for Sword casted more doubt on the team's abilities, despite being placed in a difficult group with the KT Bullets and Samsung Blue.
At this point, NaJin management correctly identified Shield to be the stronger team, moving Watch over to fill NoFe's position, bolstering an already-strong team. As Expession stepped down for health reasons (mirroring his former teammate MOKUZA), Nagne's former NeverDie teammate TopLulu (now known as Limit) was brought on board, complementing the transfers of junglers Helios and ActScene to Sword. Though both NaJin rosters looked fairly strong in Masters, the true test would be Champions Spring 2014, Korea's most prestigious tournament.
Springing Into Action
Champions Spring 2014 brought a similar story to the previous winter season, with Shield finding themselves in a group with one other major contender, while Sword once again drew the KT Bullets and Samsung Blue. Watch's transfer to Shield paid off, with Save and Ggoong looking better than ever in their conquest of Group D – even over the rampaging CJ Entus Blaze. However, the group of death chose Sword as its sacrifice once again, as a 0:2 loss to group favorites Samsung Blue saw them plummet out of the group stage for the third time.
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Shield has quite a task ahead of them in the bracket stage of Champions Spring, as they face the KT Bullets as their first opponents. Future opponents include such highly-tactical teams such as CJ Entus Blaze and SK Telecom T1 K. As such, preparation will be of the utmost importance if Shield are to have a successful Champions run.
As for Sword, their NLB campaign must be an educational one, or they will continue to face failure in Champions, even if they perform well in Masters or other tournaments. Though Sword have looked brilliant in their wins, they must tighten their shot-calling if they are to win more games, especially against stronger teams such as Samsung Blue.
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Judging by recent games, indecisiveness seems to be their biggest weakness, and a return to the assertive, 'do dive' Sword of old would be a welcome change for the NaJin organisation. Whispers of roster changes (especially with regard to PraY) have surfaced, and while a roster change is not out of the question for Sword, their problems lie in structural factors above all else. NaJin must think seriously about where they want Sword to go in the future, as Sword's current state is not that of a top-tier team.
The NaJin e-mFire organization is one of the most storied in Korean League of Legends. Though they have experienced the highest of highs, they have also experienced many rough periods. For White Shield, their current form is a bright spark of hope for the organization. For Black Sword, there is much to be learned from their lengthy slump. Regardless, much lies in wait for these two teams, and their ability to adapt will be what keeps them afloat in a sea of hungry sharks.
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