Saigon Jokers On The Warpath
Riot·6/7/2014, 12:23:40 AM·0 votes·1,082 views
Here’s an oppressive fact facing the Southeast Asian region: a single region, Taiwan, has won every single season and split thus far. It doesn’t matter which Taiwanese team is on top, whether they are the Assassins or AHQ, as the win margins have uniformly been devastating. This season’s the same as ever: the Taipei Assassins were undefeated in the spring split group stage, while AHQ dropped only a single game in the same. In fact, Taiwanese teams have taken the top three slots in both splits this year, despite changes to the tournament format that were designed to narrow the gap.
But a rogue wave is coming, heading northwest from the direction of Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese teams, unsatisfied with the state of the league, are pulling out all stops to claim the crown for themselves.
The improvements to the Saigon Jokers spilled over to their sister team – in under a month, SF5 went from 1-9 punching bags to trailing only the Taipei Assassins in group stage points. Sadly, the brackets were weighed against them: they were matched against sibling team Saigon Jokers in the quarterfinals, and eliminated in a 3-1 set.
The Jokers credit their recent improvements to a dogged focus on short-term gains. "When players want to become better, they need goals in an immediate period. And by reaching the first goal, they can jump to more and higher goals. So we move step by step to achieve the dream." In contrast, they try not to focus too much on the end of the journey. "If we have the highest and abstract goals, maybe we would fail to reach them because it would be too hard. That is why one of my important missions is to give them a sense of target. I think our strong point is to do our best for small victories first."
But while they see the Taiwanese scene as a limping giant – formidable, but surmountable – they are not blind to their own weaknesses. "The team currently focuses on personal skill improvement to drive the game to where they want it to be. They usually do that well in the early game, but fail later in the most important games. That is a critical issue, and we want to solve that immediately."
The Jokers will put to test their labors thus far on June 11th, as they kick off the last split of the season against Imperium Pro Team. But their first showdown against the Taiwanese teams won’t be until Week 2 - where they'll get a taste of their peers’ capabilities against ahq Fighter on June 18th. Just the first step in a long journey to the top.
Underdog Ambition
Of all the teams jostling for a chance to take down the Taiwanese titans, it’s the Saigon Jokers that have been the most successful, having placed fourth in two consecutive GPL splits. But more than that, the team has a reputation for hitting above its weight class, having toppled the heavily favored Singapore Sentinels in Season 2 by pulling off a come-from-behind loser's bracket victory. That win got them to the 2012 World Championship, but now they're hungry for more – a lot more. "I do not consider semifinals as success at all, so I will try harder to achieve our goals and success," replied head coach Lee In-cheol when asked about the Jokers’ recent streak of top-four finishes. It's hard to argue against Vietnam's dedication towards improvement: of the nations and scenes represented under the Garena banner, they’ve gone the furthest to bolster their strengths, even seeking talent from abroad to provide new and more experienced perspectives. On top of recruiting Lee In-cheol, who was a founder of the Xenics esports organization back in South Korea, they’ve even adopted the sibling-team methodology often used by Korean teams. The Saigon Fantastic Five not only has former Joker players among their roster, but practice alongside them. "Actually, I would not discriminate SAJ from Saigon Fantastic Five," said head coach Lee In-cheol, on the topic of the two Garena-sponsored Vietnamese teams. "We are one team, and just have two sections to participate in tournaments, so I treat the players equally."
The improvements to the Saigon Jokers spilled over to their sister team – in under a month, SF5 went from 1-9 punching bags to trailing only the Taipei Assassins in group stage points. Sadly, the brackets were weighed against them: they were matched against sibling team Saigon Jokers in the quarterfinals, and eliminated in a 3-1 set.
The Jokers credit their recent improvements to a dogged focus on short-term gains. "When players want to become better, they need goals in an immediate period. And by reaching the first goal, they can jump to more and higher goals. So we move step by step to achieve the dream." In contrast, they try not to focus too much on the end of the journey. "If we have the highest and abstract goals, maybe we would fail to reach them because it would be too hard. That is why one of my important missions is to give them a sense of target. I think our strong point is to do our best for small victories first."
Big Game Hunters
Even if they’re avoiding the big and abstract goals for now, the Jokers’ preparations are inevitably towards a conflict with the Taiwanese teams. Their small victories are building up towards a large one over the current rulers of the SEA scene, and they believe themselves up to the task. "First of all, I feel that the Taiwanese competition is less intense than other GPL countries,” said coach Lee. “For example, this season, the Taipei Snipers were eliminated during the GPL summer qualifying rounds. So my plan for the Jokers is 'lose often,' and 'think about how to win.' We will learn from the feelings of defeat."
But while they see the Taiwanese scene as a limping giant – formidable, but surmountable – they are not blind to their own weaknesses. "The team currently focuses on personal skill improvement to drive the game to where they want it to be. They usually do that well in the early game, but fail later in the most important games. That is a critical issue, and we want to solve that immediately."
The Jokers will put to test their labors thus far on June 11th, as they kick off the last split of the season against Imperium Pro Team. But their first showdown against the Taiwanese teams won’t be until Week 2 - where they'll get a taste of their peers’ capabilities against ahq Fighter on June 18th. Just the first step in a long journey to the top.
