The Art of Champion Select: Team Comps at Worlds
Riot·9/24/2014, 9:05:15 PM·0 votes·35,446 views
Individual outplays, chaotic teamfights, and incredible upsets highlighted the first half of Worlds Group Stages. However, there is another battle fought between teams that is not decided through mechanical ability or snappy decision making: Champion Select. The act of tactically selecting five champions to take to the Rift is an art that has been refined over four seasons, culminating in some very memorable team compositions.
Team SoloMid’s first team composition against SK Gaming brings a single word to mind: knockups. Alistar, and his pulverize ability, was the first pick for TSM. As Lee Sin and Nami were drafted into the lineup a pattern started to emerge, with Tristana and Yasuo completing the composition.
The genius of TSM’s composition lay in its dual threats of Yasuo and Tristana - both champions capable of single-handedly carrying a game given the right circumstances. The copious amounts of displacement abilities on TSM’s side meant that Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s Yasuo would have an easy time activating Last Breath, and also served to protect Jason “WildTurtle” Tran’s Tristana from the threatening SK front line.
With all of the initiation tools at TSM’s disposal, SK was on the backfoot for the entire game. TSM’s composition blended the raw power of a hard engage composition with the displacement and disengage potential of a ‘protect-the-Tristana’ composition. And they pulled it off with style.
Heading into a Quarterfinal matchup against tournament favorites Samsung White, TSM will definitely have to take the game to their opponents with a proactive composition such as this one.
The advantage in Champion Select always goes to the player who’s able to respond to a blindly-picked champion with a counter-pick. Star Horn Royal Club’s game plan in Game 1 against Team SoloMid was locked in from the moment they banned Marcus “Dyrus” Hill’s top lane Maokai and Alistar. They effectively removed two strong anti-dive tanks from the champion rotation. Zilean was quickly snatched up as the first pick for Star Horn, and TSM responded with Ryze and Zed, two strong solo laners. The draft was essentially a summary of what made the Chinese second seed so dominant through the summer split of the LPL and China Regionals.
Zilean is a flexible champion who is able to be played as a mid lane mage or as a support. Star Horn were in prime position to react to TSM’s strategy, while concealing their own. Rengar and Tristana were selected next for the Chinese team, and Irelia and Janna rounded out Star Horn’s composition in Game 1.
This clip perfectly demonstrates the strengths of Star Horn’s composition. Five highly-mobile champions were selected, all bolstered by Janna’s Tailwind and Zilean’s Time Warp. Even as Dyrus flees from a lost battle, Choi “inSec” In-seok is able to catch up to him with multiple movement speed bonuses and pin him down. Needless to say, TSM did not allow Star Horn to pick Rengar or Zilean in their second game, something Star Horn’s Quarterfinal opponents Edward Gaming would be wise to emulate.
Although team compositions with multiple reset champions have been seen in the past (most notably under the banner of the KT Arrows, who combined Kha’Zix and Tristana), Katarina is not the first champion who comes to mind when looking at gameplay at a World Championship level. Nevertheless, Samsung White’s Heo “PawN” Won-seok brought out his signature Katarina against Liu “westdoor” Shu-wei’s iconic Twisted Fate, after an effortless win in Game 1.
Another unusual pick came in the form of Samsung White’s Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok’s Kayle, a response to AHQ’s Chen “Prydz” Kuang-feng’s Ryze. The Rift was a dangerous place for White, as AHQ’s pick composition propelled them to an early lead. However, Looper and PawN were able to outfarm their opponents, and White’s game plan was clear: setup resets for PawN. Choi “Dandy” In-kyu’s Kha’Zix joined in for a slice of the reset action, and together with PawN’s Katarina, reminded spectators of the Mario Bros. as they jumped on AHQ’s heads until nothing was left.
Given White’s new cautious approach to Worlds, we may have to wait for the Koreans to win two games in the series before they are willing to joke around with Katarina again.
In their tie breaker game against AHQ, Edward Gaming could no longer afford to attempt to play their signature long game. If AHQ’s composition left little room for error, then EDG’s composition was one of the most forgiving compositions possible. Banning westdoor’s signatures Fizz and Twisted Fate, as well as the champion that had lost them Game 2 in AHQ’s Sa “GreenTea” Shang-ching’s Thresh, EDG began their draft cautiously, picking up Maokai, Lucian and Braum.
EDG had a great, tanky front line, but lacked a response to AHQ’s Lai “GarnetDevil” Yi-ming’s Jinx and a cramped fight could spell trouble against Prydz’s Rumble. Their solution was a return to their roots, as Rengar and Kassadin were drafted.
EDG had no reliable way to engage on AHQ, and instead chose to bait out AHQ’s initiation. As The Equalizer and Solar Flare fell on EDG, AHQ’s Ceng “U” Long’s Kassadin and Zhu “NaMei” Jia-wen’s Lucian danced around the outskirts of the fight, slipping in pockets of damage when possible. Westdoor’s Zed was shut out by Exhaust, and EDG’s superior mobility would ultimately win the day for them.
Looking forward, EDG’s Quarterfinal opponent Star Horn Royal Club are much more experienced with fighting than EDG. If EDG wish to play the mobility game against them, they may well be dancing with death - quite literally.
Aerial Combat - Team SoloMid vs. SK Gaming
Team SoloMid’s first team composition against SK Gaming brings a single word to mind: knockups. Alistar, and his pulverize ability, was the first pick for TSM. As Lee Sin and Nami were drafted into the lineup a pattern started to emerge, with Tristana and Yasuo completing the composition.
The genius of TSM’s composition lay in its dual threats of Yasuo and Tristana - both champions capable of single-handedly carrying a game given the right circumstances. The copious amounts of displacement abilities on TSM’s side meant that Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s Yasuo would have an easy time activating Last Breath, and also served to protect Jason “WildTurtle” Tran’s Tristana from the threatening SK front line.
With all of the initiation tools at TSM’s disposal, SK was on the backfoot for the entire game. TSM’s composition blended the raw power of a hard engage composition with the displacement and disengage potential of a ‘protect-the-Tristana’ composition. And they pulled it off with style.
Heading into a Quarterfinal matchup against tournament favorites Samsung White, TSM will definitely have to take the game to their opponents with a proactive composition such as this one.
Gotta Go Fast - Star Horn Royal Club vs. TSM
The advantage in Champion Select always goes to the player who’s able to respond to a blindly-picked champion with a counter-pick. Star Horn Royal Club’s game plan in Game 1 against Team SoloMid was locked in from the moment they banned Marcus “Dyrus” Hill’s top lane Maokai and Alistar. They effectively removed two strong anti-dive tanks from the champion rotation. Zilean was quickly snatched up as the first pick for Star Horn, and TSM responded with Ryze and Zed, two strong solo laners. The draft was essentially a summary of what made the Chinese second seed so dominant through the summer split of the LPL and China Regionals.
Zilean is a flexible champion who is able to be played as a mid lane mage or as a support. Star Horn were in prime position to react to TSM’s strategy, while concealing their own. Rengar and Tristana were selected next for the Chinese team, and Irelia and Janna rounded out Star Horn’s composition in Game 1.
This clip perfectly demonstrates the strengths of Star Horn’s composition. Five highly-mobile champions were selected, all bolstered by Janna’s Tailwind and Zilean’s Time Warp. Even as Dyrus flees from a lost battle, Choi “inSec” In-seok is able to catch up to him with multiple movement speed bonuses and pin him down. Needless to say, TSM did not allow Star Horn to pick Rengar or Zilean in their second game, something Star Horn’s Quarterfinal opponents Edward Gaming would be wise to emulate.
Goomba Stomping - Samsung White vs. AHQ
Although team compositions with multiple reset champions have been seen in the past (most notably under the banner of the KT Arrows, who combined Kha’Zix and Tristana), Katarina is not the first champion who comes to mind when looking at gameplay at a World Championship level. Nevertheless, Samsung White’s Heo “PawN” Won-seok brought out his signature Katarina against Liu “westdoor” Shu-wei’s iconic Twisted Fate, after an effortless win in Game 1.
Another unusual pick came in the form of Samsung White’s Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok’s Kayle, a response to AHQ’s Chen “Prydz” Kuang-feng’s Ryze. The Rift was a dangerous place for White, as AHQ’s pick composition propelled them to an early lead. However, Looper and PawN were able to outfarm their opponents, and White’s game plan was clear: setup resets for PawN. Choi “Dandy” In-kyu’s Kha’Zix joined in for a slice of the reset action, and together with PawN’s Katarina, reminded spectators of the Mario Bros. as they jumped on AHQ’s heads until nothing was left.
Given White’s new cautious approach to Worlds, we may have to wait for the Koreans to win two games in the series before they are willing to joke around with Katarina again.
Ducking and Dodging - Edward Gaming vs. AHQ
In their tie breaker game against AHQ, Edward Gaming could no longer afford to attempt to play their signature long game. If AHQ’s composition left little room for error, then EDG’s composition was one of the most forgiving compositions possible. Banning westdoor’s signatures Fizz and Twisted Fate, as well as the champion that had lost them Game 2 in AHQ’s Sa “GreenTea” Shang-ching’s Thresh, EDG began their draft cautiously, picking up Maokai, Lucian and Braum.
EDG had a great, tanky front line, but lacked a response to AHQ’s Lai “GarnetDevil” Yi-ming’s Jinx and a cramped fight could spell trouble against Prydz’s Rumble. Their solution was a return to their roots, as Rengar and Kassadin were drafted.
EDG had no reliable way to engage on AHQ, and instead chose to bait out AHQ’s initiation. As The Equalizer and Solar Flare fell on EDG, AHQ’s Ceng “U” Long’s Kassadin and Zhu “NaMei” Jia-wen’s Lucian danced around the outskirts of the fight, slipping in pockets of damage when possible. Westdoor’s Zed was shut out by Exhaust, and EDG’s superior mobility would ultimately win the day for them.
Looking forward, EDG’s Quarterfinal opponent Star Horn Royal Club are much more experienced with fighting than EDG. If EDG wish to play the mobility game against them, they may well be dancing with death - quite literally.
