Team WE: Among the LPL’s Elite?
Riot·4/2/2015, 5:58:14 PM·0 votes·9,037 views
Of the first 30 games that Team WE played in 2015 LPL Spring, 22 of them ended in defeat. This abysmal domestic performance left little room for hope preceding the team’s IEM Season IX World Championship appearance.
Upsetting Korea’s highly touted GE Tigers in a Best of 3 Semifinal, Team WE stunned the world.
On the back of jungler Lee “Spirit” Da-yoon, WE took advantage of GE’s weak early game and lack of preparation. Spirit controlled games two and three on Jarvan IV and Rek’Sai respectively, snowballing mid laner Su “Xiye” Han-wei’s Ahri to a monstrous status.
Team WE lost in the finals to North America’s Team SoloMid, but they exited the tournament with a new spring in their step, no longer deserving of the title “China’s Worst.”
Returning to China after their unexpected second place IEM finish, hope sprang anew that this iteration of Team WE -- with new players at mid and AD carry in Su “Xiye” Han-wei and Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun respectively -- would now be able to perform domestically.
Team WE may have taken a series against one of the best teams in the world in Katowice, but their weaknesses remain obvious, and were exploited thoroughly by TSM in the IEM finals. Most notably, WE’s team fighting is lackluster at best. In a region known for exceptional team fighting, this puts them at a distinct disadvantage.
That being said, their domestic performance following IEM has been better than expected. While Team WE still plays more like a Solo Queue team and struggles in 5 vs. 5 team fighting, they have excelled at capitalizing on in-game advantages.
Upon their return to home soil, the team had their best LPL week yet in Week 9, emerging with a winning record of 4-2. This included two split sets with favorites OMG and LGD and a 2-0 victory over the struggling Star Horn Royal Club.
While the addition of Xiye and Mystic are easy targets for Team WE’s improvement both internationally and domestically, the team still lives and dies on the back of their jungler, Spirit.
When the majority of Korea’s top tier jungle talent left Champions for the greener pastures of the LPL, star junglers Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, Choi “DanDy” In-kyu, and Baek “Swift” Dae-Hoon were all cited as major gains for their respective teams: Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and the LSPL team Qiao Gu. Flying somewhat under the radar was the exit of Spirit, formerly of Samsung Galaxy Blue.
On Blue, Spirit supported the carries of his team, AD carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and star mid laner Bae “Dade” Eo-jin. While Blue’s early game was fairly weak, they more than made up for it in their masterful mid and late game team fighting, of which Spirit was a large part.
Spirit plays a completely different role on Team WE. As the hard carry of the team, his performance has only improved exponentially throughout the LPL season, directly contributing to WE’s much-improved results. Opting for an aggressive carry style, instead of his former support role, Spirit has evolved his play. He predicts opposing junglers’ pathing, and appears where the enemy team least wants him. Spirit’s mobility and immense pressure snowballs his lanes to victory. This is optimal for WE, as the team excels at laning and little else.
The domination of Spirit -- and the limitations of such a style -- were exemplified in Team WE’s recent Demacia Cup results. Putting aside their matches against Star Horn Royal Club -- who were without their jungler Choi “inSec” In-seok due to an accident and a tibia fracture -- WE fell to top LSPL team Qiao Gu in the tournament’s 3rd place match.
Qiao Gu bested Team WE easily in team fights, with Swift showing more confidence in his respective solo laners than Spirit did with his. Qiao Gu took Team WE to five games, relying on Swift’s engages and aggression. Similar to WE, Qiao Gu lacks a unifying team identity, relying on overpowering their opponents early and snowballing their advantages.
This inability to team fight with an LSPL team, albeit a top one, spells uncertainty for WE’s immediate future. There is only so far that Spirit can carry this cast of characters before their lack of coordination gets the better of them.
While Team WE may be looking better than they did prior to IEM, it’s unlikely that they’ll reach LPL playoffs. Four sets remain, against Team King, Energy Pacemaker, and Gamtee, with WE desperately needing the unlikely 2-0 in each.
Team WE is not among the LPL’s elite yet, but there is a glimmer of hope for a last minute push, where a month ago there would have been none.
Not the World’s Elite in Team fighting
Returning to China after their unexpected second place IEM finish, hope sprang anew that this iteration of Team WE -- with new players at mid and AD carry in Su “Xiye” Han-wei and Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun respectively -- would now be able to perform domestically.
Team WE may have taken a series against one of the best teams in the world in Katowice, but their weaknesses remain obvious, and were exploited thoroughly by TSM in the IEM finals. Most notably, WE’s team fighting is lackluster at best. In a region known for exceptional team fighting, this puts them at a distinct disadvantage.
That being said, their domestic performance following IEM has been better than expected. While Team WE still plays more like a Solo Queue team and struggles in 5 vs. 5 team fighting, they have excelled at capitalizing on in-game advantages.
Upon their return to home soil, the team had their best LPL week yet in Week 9, emerging with a winning record of 4-2. This included two split sets with favorites OMG and LGD and a 2-0 victory over the struggling Star Horn Royal Club.
The Best Jungler in the LPL
While the addition of Xiye and Mystic are easy targets for Team WE’s improvement both internationally and domestically, the team still lives and dies on the back of their jungler, Spirit.
When the majority of Korea’s top tier jungle talent left Champions for the greener pastures of the LPL, star junglers Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, Choi “DanDy” In-kyu, and Baek “Swift” Dae-Hoon were all cited as major gains for their respective teams: Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, and the LSPL team Qiao Gu. Flying somewhat under the radar was the exit of Spirit, formerly of Samsung Galaxy Blue.
On Blue, Spirit supported the carries of his team, AD carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and star mid laner Bae “Dade” Eo-jin. While Blue’s early game was fairly weak, they more than made up for it in their masterful mid and late game team fighting, of which Spirit was a large part.
Spirit plays a completely different role on Team WE. As the hard carry of the team, his performance has only improved exponentially throughout the LPL season, directly contributing to WE’s much-improved results. Opting for an aggressive carry style, instead of his former support role, Spirit has evolved his play. He predicts opposing junglers’ pathing, and appears where the enemy team least wants him. Spirit’s mobility and immense pressure snowballs his lanes to victory. This is optimal for WE, as the team excels at laning and little else.
Last Minute Push
The domination of Spirit -- and the limitations of such a style -- were exemplified in Team WE’s recent Demacia Cup results. Putting aside their matches against Star Horn Royal Club -- who were without their jungler Choi “inSec” In-seok due to an accident and a tibia fracture -- WE fell to top LSPL team Qiao Gu in the tournament’s 3rd place match.
Qiao Gu bested Team WE easily in team fights, with Swift showing more confidence in his respective solo laners than Spirit did with his. Qiao Gu took Team WE to five games, relying on Swift’s engages and aggression. Similar to WE, Qiao Gu lacks a unifying team identity, relying on overpowering their opponents early and snowballing their advantages.
This inability to team fight with an LSPL team, albeit a top one, spells uncertainty for WE’s immediate future. There is only so far that Spirit can carry this cast of characters before their lack of coordination gets the better of them.
While Team WE may be looking better than they did prior to IEM, it’s unlikely that they’ll reach LPL playoffs. Four sets remain, against Team King, Energy Pacemaker, and Gamtee, with WE desperately needing the unlikely 2-0 in each.
Team WE is not among the LPL’s elite yet, but there is a glimmer of hope for a last minute push, where a month ago there would have been none.
