Power Rankings #8 -- Star Horn Royal Club

Star Horn Royal Club Region: China (LPL) Roster Top: Cola Jungle: inSec Mid: corn ADC: NaMei Support: Zero Earlier this offseason, Star Horn Royal Club announced they would retain their second place Worlds roster for 2015. As a result, it came as a shock for a lot of fans when OMG announced that they had signed SHRC’s star AD carry, Jian “Uzi” Zihao, at the end of the transfer period. That left SHRC with a massive hole to fill, but the organization came to an agreement with Edward Gaming to pick up Uzi’s greatest Chinese rival, Zhu “NaMei” Jiawen. SHRC found success only toward the end of the 2014 LPL Summer split, and then at Worlds by finding the perfect sweet spot. They managed to stamp out their competition with an all-or-nothing playstyle that relied on the entire team committing to a fight at the flip of a switch. Most of their picks and compositions necessitated a ballsy AD carry, and NaMei has the pedigree to fill Uzi’s shoes. On Positive Energy in 2013, the NaMei/Li “Sicca” Haoyu bottom lane combination had a very similar reputation to the Uzi/Yoon “Zero” Kyungsup duo in 2014. Attention from the jungler had the pair constantly snowballing, so the question becomes whether NaMei can fall back to his roots and let SHRC retain their previously successful formula. Since SHRC kept most of their starting lineup, they’ve retained a lot of their communication design, which gives them an initial boost over other hybrid lineups still working out synergy. During the offseason with Uzi, they consistently at least made the semifinals of every tournament in which they participated, though they failed to win any titles. As a result, we’ve set them in eighth place in the Power Rankings. Replacing the central figure of SHRC is no easy task, and though NaMei seems like one of the best possible options available, the fix is unlikely to be perfect. NaMei’s acquisition could prove to be the magic missing element, or SHRC’s undoing. Who will be next on our Pre-Season Power Rankings? Check out the rest of the Power Rankings and stay tuned for more each day as we countdown to the start of the 2015 LCS Season.