The heroes CJ need (and deserve)
Riot··0 votes·11,488 views
Flame, Ambition, Madlife, and Shy. Those four names have been chanted endlessly the past two years. They’ve raised trophies, traveled the world and been honored by their fans by getting voted into various all star events. Frost and Blaze, two of the most popular teams in League of Legends history, are now no more. Gone are the doused sparks of Blaze and the lukewarm Frost, and we are left with a singular CJ team with a laundry list of questions going into 2015. Will these four legendary players come together to bring honor back to the CJ Entus name?
The next thing that sticks out like a sore thumb with the CJ roster is the lack of a jungler. The talented prospect Swift, and his former Xenics teammate Daydream both left CJ following the end of the 2014 season. With KaKAO and Dandy both allegedly leaving Korea for China, the replacement list of established jungle talent has dwindled greatly. Spirit has left Samsung like a lot of his former comrades, but rumors of China beckoning could disrupt the most obvious pick to be CJ’s new jungler.
The outside option to CJ’s jungler woes is Blaze’s struggling star Ambition. Since Ambition was a jungler originally, a return back to his old position is not out of the question. We saw the lack of success Ryu had with his switch from mid-to-jungle during the OGN Summer season, so it isn’t a slam dunk Ambition will be able to make an immediate impact.
While a line-up of Shy (top), Ambition (jungle), Flame (mid), and Madlife (support) would be the most popular and star studded line-up in Korean history, the question is if they could come together as an actual threat. With Coco still on the team after his Xenics-turned-CJ teammates have already left, you would have to think CJ has a plan for him in the future if the Flame switching to mid situation fails.
Shy! Ambition! Flame! Madlife! And Space…? The player that has been criticized the most on CJ the past year has been their AD Carry Space. Fans have coined the term ‘Space Prison’ for Madlife’s five straight seasons of diminished play as Space’s bottom lane partner. Emperor announcing his departure from CJ has left Space as the only active AD Carry on the roster. So, is Space Prison a real problem or is he simply a scapegoat for bigger problems surrounding CJ?
Space has been consistently average through his professional career thus far. In his 138 professional matches, he has 69 wins and 69 losses. He has played on two teams in his career -- Original CJ Entus that consisted of Longpanda, inSec, Dade and Kish and the old CJ Entus Frost. Space, on Original CJ, had a KDA of 3.6 and has now matched that average (for an ADC) KDA once more on CJ Frost. To say he is an anchor to Madlife’s level of play might be going too far, but Space needs to improve drastically in 2015 to remain a starter.
In a world where there were sixteen teams, Space had a place. There were obviously much better ADC’s, but you could point at a handful that weren’t at the level of Space. He was right in the middle. Now, with only eight teams in Champions, this means that Space’s safe place in the middle has now been dropped to the bottom of the ladder.
CJ’s alternatives to the cycle of stagnant results are limited. With Imp on temporary leave, Deft pegged to go to China, and not a lot of options elsewhere, CJ will most likely have to dip into the amateur pool once more to try to find a new Emperor. If you had to place a bet on the player to take Space’s starting spot, a name that has to be brought up is Core from Bigfile Miracle. He’s strong mechanically, one of the top ADC’s on the Korean Challenger ladder, and gained valuable experience as a rookie during OGN Summer 2014.
CJ have the tools to create a team that will be remembered for the next decade, but it will all come down to execution. Having some of the most skilled and popular players to ever play the game are good pieces to have, but putting them all together in the correct places will decide if they can raise a championship once more.
CJ Entus Blaze
Top: Flame Jng: Daydream -> left Mid: Ambition ADC: Emperor -> left Sup: Gunza -> leftCJ Entus Frost
Top: Shy Jng: Swift -> left Mid: Coco ADC: Space Sup: MadlifeThe Four Pillars of CJ
The biggest issue with the current CJ line-up is that they have two of the best top laners in the world. Flame and Shy have helped each reach the level they are now and neither deserves to sit on the bench while the other starts. Rumors have been floating around that Flame could be switching to the mid lane after constant practice in solo queue in the role. This would free up Shy to keep up his diligent work in the top lane and let Flame have an easier role in carrying the entire game.
The next thing that sticks out like a sore thumb with the CJ roster is the lack of a jungler. The talented prospect Swift, and his former Xenics teammate Daydream both left CJ following the end of the 2014 season. With KaKAO and Dandy both allegedly leaving Korea for China, the replacement list of established jungle talent has dwindled greatly. Spirit has left Samsung like a lot of his former comrades, but rumors of China beckoning could disrupt the most obvious pick to be CJ’s new jungler.
The outside option to CJ’s jungler woes is Blaze’s struggling star Ambition. Since Ambition was a jungler originally, a return back to his old position is not out of the question. We saw the lack of success Ryu had with his switch from mid-to-jungle during the OGN Summer season, so it isn’t a slam dunk Ambition will be able to make an immediate impact.
While a line-up of Shy (top), Ambition (jungle), Flame (mid), and Madlife (support) would be the most popular and star studded line-up in Korean history, the question is if they could come together as an actual threat. With Coco still on the team after his Xenics-turned-CJ teammates have already left, you would have to think CJ has a plan for him in the future if the Flame switching to mid situation fails.
Breaking Down the Cosmos
Shy! Ambition! Flame! Madlife! And Space…? The player that has been criticized the most on CJ the past year has been their AD Carry Space. Fans have coined the term ‘Space Prison’ for Madlife’s five straight seasons of diminished play as Space’s bottom lane partner. Emperor announcing his departure from CJ has left Space as the only active AD Carry on the roster. So, is Space Prison a real problem or is he simply a scapegoat for bigger problems surrounding CJ?
Space has been consistently average through his professional career thus far. In his 138 professional matches, he has 69 wins and 69 losses. He has played on two teams in his career -- Original CJ Entus that consisted of Longpanda, inSec, Dade and Kish and the old CJ Entus Frost. Space, on Original CJ, had a KDA of 3.6 and has now matched that average (for an ADC) KDA once more on CJ Frost. To say he is an anchor to Madlife’s level of play might be going too far, but Space needs to improve drastically in 2015 to remain a starter.
In a world where there were sixteen teams, Space had a place. There were obviously much better ADC’s, but you could point at a handful that weren’t at the level of Space. He was right in the middle. Now, with only eight teams in Champions, this means that Space’s safe place in the middle has now been dropped to the bottom of the ladder.
CJ’s alternatives to the cycle of stagnant results are limited. With Imp on temporary leave, Deft pegged to go to China, and not a lot of options elsewhere, CJ will most likely have to dip into the amateur pool once more to try to find a new Emperor. If you had to place a bet on the player to take Space’s starting spot, a name that has to be brought up is Core from Bigfile Miracle. He’s strong mechanically, one of the top ADC’s on the Korean Challenger ladder, and gained valuable experience as a rookie during OGN Summer 2014.
CJ have the tools to create a team that will be remembered for the next decade, but it will all come down to execution. Having some of the most skilled and popular players to ever play the game are good pieces to have, but putting them all together in the correct places will decide if they can raise a championship once more.