A Wandering Flame: Where will he go?
Riot·12/4/2014, 10:43:28 PM·0 votes·21,752 views
What is a lord without a kingdom to rule?
With the decision from KeSPA to abolish the sister team rule and allow organizations only one team, CJ Entus had the tough decision of picking between Lee "Flame" Ho-Jong and Park "Shy" Sang-myeon for the top lane position. In the end, CJ sided with the consistent Shy over the bang or bust Flame, leaving the 2013 Korean Top Laner of the Year on the bench.
Flame is one of the most polarizing players in League of Legends. To some, he is one of the greatest players in the world with an ability to carry games on the back of his incredible mechanical skill. To others, he is selfish, forcing his team to give him all the empty lane farm and play around his ultimate carry mentality. Whatever your opinion of Flame is, one thing is for sure: everyone wants to know where he'll land in the 2015 season.
In a similar situation to Samsung, KT lost two of their best players in Lee "KaKAO" Byung-kwon and Song "RooKie" Eui-jin during the offseason. Left with veteran leader AD carry Go "Score" Dong-bin and enigmatic mid laner Kim "Nagne" Sang-moon, KT offers Flame a team with a strong shotcaller and experience. The biggest issue for KT Flame could be Kim "ssumday" Chan-ho, Rolster’s current top laner, who has improved every season and done something Flame hasn’t: won an OGN Champions season.
KT Rolster have a history of not being shy when it comes to paying big named free agents in other esports, so Flame just might be the player to lead the team into a new generation
Could you write a better story than Flame joining up with Kang "Cpt Jack" Hyung-woo, CJ Entus Blaze’s former AD carry, to take down their former team? Out of the gate, the biggest issue would be where Flame would play. Yeon "TrAce" Chang-dong, the longest standing member of the Jin Air squad, is one of the most underrated players in Korea from the top lane carry role. Benching him for Flame could upset the balance of the team and might not even be an upgrade when all is said and done.
Song "Fly" Young-jun, Jin Air’s former up-and-coming mid laner, has recently left for Invictus Gaming in China. The team replaced him with Lee "GBM" Chang-suk, another former CJ Entus player, but he has had a quiet career with more downs than ups. Flame, who has been rumored to have been practicing mid on and off for the past year, could be the piece that turns Jin Air into a Worlds contender if he could make the challenging transition to a new position. Jin Air Flame is one of the more unlikely options, with Flame’s preference for the top lane, but the potential line-up with him at mid would make Jin Air the most anticipated team to watch in 2015.
Moving from Korea -- Flame’s preferred region choice -- to China, the most enticing choice would be LGD. With a long history in esports, LGD have the money and the reputation to make Flame an alluring offer. They’ve already signed world champion Gu "imp" Seung-bin, leaving them one starting position left for a non-Chinese player. Outside of Imp, LGD also offer Wei “we1less” Lian, a mid laner who many believe could become one of the giants at his position in the new year. The only drawback to this possible titanic roster would be the language barrier Flame would have to overcome.
There are countless uniforms and regions we can imagine Flame in during his decision period, all with their own pros and cons. Will he be clad in the blue of Samsung, or will we see him going up against former Korean rivals in China? Whichever jersey he decides to put on, the entire esports world is watching the wandering lord decide on the new kingdom he'll call home.
Samsung Flame
One possible destination for Flame could be the reigning World Champions. Samsung, who lost all their starting players from Blue and White, have rebuilt the team through relative unknowns and former SKT support Kwon "Casper" Ji-min. Lee “cuvee” Seong-jin is the current top lane for the team, but for a global brand like Samsung, a pick-up of a well known player like Flame would bring them back from this preseason's irrelevancy. While Samsung could need him the most of any team, their lack of spending to keep stars like Bae “Dade” Eo-Jin and Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong makes them an unlikely candidate. Couple that with the lack of experience and overall skill Samsung’s roster currently possesses, and it would take a big offer and a promise of a bright future with all their new players to make Samsung the right home for Flame.KT Rolster Flame
In a similar situation to Samsung, KT lost two of their best players in Lee "KaKAO" Byung-kwon and Song "RooKie" Eui-jin during the offseason. Left with veteran leader AD carry Go "Score" Dong-bin and enigmatic mid laner Kim "Nagne" Sang-moon, KT offers Flame a team with a strong shotcaller and experience. The biggest issue for KT Flame could be Kim "ssumday" Chan-ho, Rolster’s current top laner, who has improved every season and done something Flame hasn’t: won an OGN Champions season.
KT Rolster have a history of not being shy when it comes to paying big named free agents in other esports, so Flame just might be the player to lead the team into a new generation
SK Telecom T1 Flame
Flame, meet Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok. The question with SKT T1 Flame would be what happens when you partner the best top carry in Korea with the best carry in the mid lane? Although in some cases having two carry players in solo lanes might cause a problem, the current SKT T1 figuration is almost perfect for Flame to come into. Bae "Bang" Jun-sik and Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan are the quintessential safe bottom lane. Bang doesn’t need to carry to be a factor in the late game, and he’s solid enough mechanically where he can keep up with anyone in lane. Bae "bengi" Seong-ung, while not as good as he was in 2013 when SKT won the World Championship, is still a great facilitator and would help Flame get ahead early. SKT have the money and the best team possible for Flame to succeed. But the biggest reason why SKT T1 Flame won’t happen is the other two top laners on the roster. Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong, is the veteran of the squad and is the perfect top laner when it comes to playing utility or tank champions. The other, Jang "MaRin" Gyeong-Hwan, hasn’t lived up to expectations yet, but has the potential to be one of the best carry top laners in the game with a better team around him.Jin Air Flame
Could you write a better story than Flame joining up with Kang "Cpt Jack" Hyung-woo, CJ Entus Blaze’s former AD carry, to take down their former team? Out of the gate, the biggest issue would be where Flame would play. Yeon "TrAce" Chang-dong, the longest standing member of the Jin Air squad, is one of the most underrated players in Korea from the top lane carry role. Benching him for Flame could upset the balance of the team and might not even be an upgrade when all is said and done.
Song "Fly" Young-jun, Jin Air’s former up-and-coming mid laner, has recently left for Invictus Gaming in China. The team replaced him with Lee "GBM" Chang-suk, another former CJ Entus player, but he has had a quiet career with more downs than ups. Flame, who has been rumored to have been practicing mid on and off for the past year, could be the piece that turns Jin Air into a Worlds contender if he could make the challenging transition to a new position. Jin Air Flame is one of the more unlikely options, with Flame’s preference for the top lane, but the potential line-up with him at mid would make Jin Air the most anticipated team to watch in 2015.
LGD Flame
Moving from Korea -- Flame’s preferred region choice -- to China, the most enticing choice would be LGD. With a long history in esports, LGD have the money and the reputation to make Flame an alluring offer. They’ve already signed world champion Gu "imp" Seung-bin, leaving them one starting position left for a non-Chinese player. Outside of Imp, LGD also offer Wei “we1less” Lian, a mid laner who many believe could become one of the giants at his position in the new year. The only drawback to this possible titanic roster would be the language barrier Flame would have to overcome.
EG Flame
As the the only western team on our list of potential suitors, Evil Geniuses would be an interesting new home for Flame. They recently let go top laner Tyson "Innox" Kapler, meaning they wouldn’t have to kick anyone to get Flame on the roster. EG only have one non-regional player, jungler Shin "Helios" Dong-jin, so they could add Flame comfortably under the LCS rules. With Flame, the roster built around the core of Eugene “Pobelter” Park, Johnny “Altec” Ru, and Helios would instantly make them a contender in the NA LCS. Everything seems perfect until you realize that Flame and Helios’ play styles don’t match in-game. When they were both on CJ in 2012 and early 2013, Helios wanted to be a shot caller and play more of a carry role, while Flame saw Helios more as a set-up man for him in the top lane. Add on the fact of another region where he doesn’t know the language, the seemingly perfect choice of Evil Geniuses starts to turn into a nightmare.
There are countless uniforms and regions we can imagine Flame in during his decision period, all with their own pros and cons. Will he be clad in the blue of Samsung, or will we see him going up against former Korean rivals in China? Whichever jersey he decides to put on, the entire esports world is watching the wandering lord decide on the new kingdom he'll call home.
