One more time: Assassin Sniper in the LMS
Riot·5/28/2015, 7:14:05 PM·1 votes·8,367 views
It's been more than half a year since Assassin Sniper's leader Cheng "Bebe" Bo-wei last graced the spotlights, and not without good reason. The former captain of the Taipei Assassins was ignobly defeated last October, back during the Taipei phase of the 2014 World Championship's Group Stage. The team that carried the hopes and dreams of the Garena Premier League regions was soundly swatted aside without taking a single game off the rest of the world.
His wasn't the first or only Taiwanese retirement in 2014, but Bebe's was definitely the most prominent. He was the last of the old 2012 World Championship-winning Assassins still at the forefront of the region's play, while the rest of his team retired into coaching or casting. His own retirement was the last chapter of their story, passing the torch over to a new generation of Taiwanese players.
But then 2015 rolled around, and it turns out that story had sequels. The advent of the LoL Master Series, held in Taipei, heralded the return of legendary mid laner Kurtis "Toyz" Lau, and top laner Wang "Stanley" June-tsan to Hong Kong Esports. Even Alex "Lilballz" Sung was pitching in, though from the rearguard as newcomer Midnight Sun Esports' coach. And as the new premier circuit proved itself to be a high-tension bloodbath between old and new talents alike, that siren song of first bloods and mass-murdered minions found its way to Bebe's ears as well -- and not just him.
You can take the competitor out of a competition, but taking the competitive spirit out of them is another thing entirely.
Mid laner Chen "Achie" Chen-chi was done with his time as the Logitech Snipers' top laner, and was otherwise still up to date with the current Taiwanese metagame. His teammates, however, had been out of the game for a while. Top laner Lyu "Zonda" Jhong-da hadn't played at all since last October, but immediately got back to grinding upon Bebe's request.
Former Snipers support player Chang "Awei" Jia-Wei, in particular, had taken an entirely different career since Hong Kong Esports dropped him in favor of Korean support ace Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung. Awei had spent the half-year since his retirement working with his family's fashion business -- as a male model. Though he had kept up with the game, it was at a much more casual basis.
Notably, all three were former Assassins and Snipers, their relationships stemming back from the days that the two teams were under the same organizational umbrella. But no such junglers were available to them, leading to Bebe scouting new talent. Enter Chen "MiHanna" Shao-yuan, who caught Bebe's eyes about half a year ago.
"Mihanna played a few collegiate tournaments, and had a high Elo on Taiwan's server as a jungler. It's fairly hard to find a good jungler in Taiwan, so that's why he was recruited," explained Bebe. MiHanna's pool of junglers is about as expected from a top-tier competitor in the LMS, but he prefers Rengar in particular -- mostly, according to Bebe, because he likes cats in general.
According to Bebe, his team's prior experience playing in a top-tier practice region has been a huge help. "I haven't really thought much about the difference from a year ago on the Taiwan server, but the best players play on the Korean server, so most pro players prefer practicing there." A new team like Never Give Up wouldn't yet have the networking and pan-Asian relations needed to practice outside of their home region. "The competitiveness on [Korean servers] is stronger and more severe."
But despite knocking out a rookie team, Bebe isn’t particularly concerned with the long-term outlook of the Taiwanese esports scene. While the older generation “still don’t think esports is a legitimate work or job” according to Bebe, its acceptance by his peers is relatively well-established. “For the younger generation, people are more willing to participate in offline events now. Online, they like to watch streams a lot.”
Bebe also thinks that the current LMS infrastructure does a good job of incentivizing local players to go pro, with the basic stipend allowing even a team of unsponsored amateurs like the Assassin Snipers to focus on improving themselves -- which will prove absolutely vital in the coming weeks. Back in the GPL, a team of their players’ caliber and history would’ve focused on qualifying for Worlds, but not here in the LMS. The Taiwanese circuit’s intensely competitive, and it’s all they can do just to stay relevant against their peers and former teammates.
Getting the gang back together
"I'm still a student, so between the end of Season 4 and summer, I was spending most of my time on schoolwork," said Bebe. But the tedium of college work doesn't last forever. "I had more free time, played ranked, and was still good. So I asked my teammates, they were available, and so we decided to try again."
Mid laner Chen "Achie" Chen-chi was done with his time as the Logitech Snipers' top laner, and was otherwise still up to date with the current Taiwanese metagame. His teammates, however, had been out of the game for a while. Top laner Lyu "Zonda" Jhong-da hadn't played at all since last October, but immediately got back to grinding upon Bebe's request.
Former Snipers support player Chang "Awei" Jia-Wei, in particular, had taken an entirely different career since Hong Kong Esports dropped him in favor of Korean support ace Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung. Awei had spent the half-year since his retirement working with his family's fashion business -- as a male model. Though he had kept up with the game, it was at a much more casual basis.
Notably, all three were former Assassins and Snipers, their relationships stemming back from the days that the two teams were under the same organizational umbrella. But no such junglers were available to them, leading to Bebe scouting new talent. Enter Chen "MiHanna" Shao-yuan, who caught Bebe's eyes about half a year ago.
"Mihanna played a few collegiate tournaments, and had a high Elo on Taiwan's server as a jungler. It's fairly hard to find a good jungler in Taiwan, so that's why he was recruited," explained Bebe. MiHanna's pool of junglers is about as expected from a top-tier competitor in the LMS, but he prefers Rengar in particular -- mostly, according to Bebe, because he likes cats in general.
Experience advantage
While the new squad is assembled, Assassin Sniper is only a placeholder name for the time being. "For now, AS is not a pro team -- we're more of an amateur team, with no salary or sponsors," explained Bebe. "But if there is a sponsoring company, we're willing to change the name to their requirements." Yet a team that can accurately and blithely be summarized as "Bebe and friends" still managed to knock Never Give Up out of the LMS, who were a rookie team that showed promise and growth over the course of the Spring Split.
According to Bebe, his team's prior experience playing in a top-tier practice region has been a huge help. "I haven't really thought much about the difference from a year ago on the Taiwan server, but the best players play on the Korean server, so most pro players prefer practicing there." A new team like Never Give Up wouldn't yet have the networking and pan-Asian relations needed to practice outside of their home region. "The competitiveness on [Korean servers] is stronger and more severe."
But despite knocking out a rookie team, Bebe isn’t particularly concerned with the long-term outlook of the Taiwanese esports scene. While the older generation “still don’t think esports is a legitimate work or job” according to Bebe, its acceptance by his peers is relatively well-established. “For the younger generation, people are more willing to participate in offline events now. Online, they like to watch streams a lot.”
Bebe also thinks that the current LMS infrastructure does a good job of incentivizing local players to go pro, with the basic stipend allowing even a team of unsponsored amateurs like the Assassin Snipers to focus on improving themselves -- which will prove absolutely vital in the coming weeks. Back in the GPL, a team of their players’ caliber and history would’ve focused on qualifying for Worlds, but not here in the LMS. The Taiwanese circuit’s intensely competitive, and it’s all they can do just to stay relevant against their peers and former teammates.
