Samsung’s Galaxy: The Emerging Empire
Riot·7/16/2014, 1:36:18 AM·0 votes·6,775 views
The Early Days
Today when you hear the names Samsung White and Blue, you think about a collection of the best League of Legends players in the world. Deft, Dade, Imp, Dandy. Teams in tandem, both on the path to representing Korea when the 2014 World Championships roll into Korea later this year. You wouldn't know it from the team's beginnings, though. Prior to Samsung's sponsorship, these teams were known as MVP White and Blue (a third team, Red, never made it off the ground), and they were made up of an inexperienced group of players living in the shadow the MVP organization's more established Starcraft 2 squad. White came out of the gates as the “A-team”, placing well in NLB, doing decently in other Korean online tournaments, and even upsetting the Chinese team OMG in the CPL, a tournament held in China during the later months of 2012. White and Blue both qualified for the OGN Champions Winter 2012-13, cementing themselves as new teams to look out for in the scene. Because MVP wasn’t a part of KeSPA, they didn’t have the financial support their competitors had, but possessed the potential to rival their foes on the Rift. MVP White squeaked into the quarterfinals with an overall 7-5 record, aided by their new additions to Imp and Dandy. They lost to the battle hardened NaJin Shield in the round of eight, but Imp showed immense talent during his rookie season. He picked up a rare Pentakill, held his own against the best players in Champions, and carried White with his mechanical skill. Blue failed to make a similar impact, going 2-10 in the group stages and continuing to be seen as the inferior team to their brothers White. While Blue would begin their first of many rebuilding projects, White set their sights on acquiring the right talent to challenge for the OGN crown.Ozone, the Big Brother
White changed their name to Ozone with the acquisition of their first major sponsor, Ozone headphones. With a new brand, Ozone looked to expand on their top eight finish from the season before, adding two new players. Dade, a castoff from the original CJ Entus team that dissolved after picking up the Frost and Blaze. And Mata, a solo queue rookie, was the last piece to the Ozone puzzle. Blue, on the other hand, were going through the motions. Seen as more of a work in progress, they shifted out most of their original members and brought on a trio from GSG, an exciting amateur team. Blue would become a team to watch on the scene, demonstrating wacky and entertaining strategies but ultimately failing to succeed in Champions.
Samsung Blue struggled mightily on the red side, losing over 80% of their games all-time. Even with players such as Easyhoon and Cheonju (Acorn) playing well at their position and showing glimpses of all-star talent, they could never get out of the group stages. Their tragedy progressed through the next two seasons, getting knocked out in the round robin stage. Blue would have a breakthrough in the 2013-2014 Winter season, finally making it into the quarterfinals following a strong showing in the WCG Korea. But it was all for naught as they dropped out in three straight against the defending champions SK Telecom T1 K.
With Blue's follies, Ozone became the headline team for the MVP organization through the next year. They headed into the Spring tournament loaded with new talent, but were pegged by the commentators as a mid-table side. A team with a lone superstar (Imp) that wasn’t well rounded enough to compete with the contenders. Performing just as well as they did the previous season in the round robin stage, Ozone ended on a 6-4 record and a berth into the playoffs. On the back of Imp's carrying, Ozone was drawn against tournament favorites KT Rolster B In the first round, putting their backs firmly against the wall.
Surprising everyone, Ozone did not fold in their first playoff match. The team came out coordinated, working together and didn't need to rely on Imp to win the match single handedly. Dade, Dany and Imp fired on all cylinders and their combined performance was enough to defeat KT Rolster B 3-1.
Their opponents in the semifinals would be SK Telecom T1 #2, a team heralded for their star rookie Faker and Royal Road aspirations. Ozone exemplified the trait that critics held against them in their match-up versus the favored SKT squad: teamwork. SKT relied too heavily on their star Faker, and Ozone were able to exploit their weakness to another 3-1 victory and an underdog finals birth.
In the finals Ozone were given their toughest test: CJ Entus Blaze. Blaze had won their past thirteen games, rampaging through the rest of the competition and on the cusp of their second championship. The underdogs prepared dilligently, though, using their week preperation time to formulate a strategy to knock out the streaking CJ team. They centered their strategy around Dade on Zed, using his mobility on the champion to reek havoc across the map. Homme, the wily vet, went even against MVP contender Flame in the top lane, and the rest of the team shut down the dangerous Blaze team to take a convicing 3-0 sweep.
After their championship run, they were unable to replicate their success in the Summer Season. They finished 3rd after defeating Frost in the Bronze match 3-2, grabbing enough circuit points to automatically qualify for the World Championships in Los Angeles.
Samsung’s New Galaxy
Samsung, a company with a strong e-sports background in Korea, was one of the final KeSPA teams that hadn’t taken the step into League of Legends. With the World Championships coming up and wanting to make a splash, Samsung bought both Ozone and Blue from the MVP organization for allegedly around $500,000, making it one of the biggest transfers in e-sports history. Changing around coaching staffs, moving into a new team house, and settling into their new identities as a top dog in Korea, Ozone went into the World Championships unprepared for what they would face. Dade, coming off a MVP performance during the Spring season and heralded as one of the best Mid players in the world, had a disaster of a tournament in Los Angeles, playing well below his usual level. The rest of the team followed suit, and with a change in Top laners from veteran Homme to rookie Looper, the chemistry that was there on MVP was now seemingly gone on the new Samsung team. Samsung Ozone was eliminated in the group stages by Gambit Gaming in a tie breaker -- sent home before the knockout rounds even began.
Wanting to prove their championship and 3rd place were no fluke, Ozone went into the next season of Champions with a chip on their shoulder. Ozone was placed in the easiest first round, beating NaJin White Shield in a tiebreaker to finish 6-1 overall and take first place heading into the quarterfinals. They faced a turbulent CJ Frost in the quarterfinals, beating them soundly 3-1 and cruising into the semifinals looking like the team that had conquered Korea in the Spring a year before. Looper finally started to gel with the team, becoming known for his teleport summoner play, and Dade was slowly rounding back into form.
They went into the OGN Final with a chip on their shoulder. Ozone was yet again the underdog against a team on a hot-streak and Dade sought to redeem himself against Faker. This time things are all for naught, Faker wrecking Dade in the mid lane and capturing his second Champions title in a row.
Blue, the Little Brother
Ozone, since their meteoric rise and championship, had always been in spotlight and showered with praise. Since Blue's inception, there were was no praise or spotlight, but only wasted potential and hopelessness. Blue were a cute, fun team to watch; always having an innovative strategy for level one or picking a new champion composition to try out. But they simply couldn’t get it done when it counted. Samsung Blue did well in online tournaments and special events that had nothing to do with OGN Champions or the World Championships, but they fell apart when it came to doing well when it mattered most. They possessed a knack for flashy plays and innovative compositions, but were all flash and no substance.
Dade was traded over to Blue after rumors of internal problems between the Ozone team and a disastrous finals against Faker. Pawn, a promising rookie recently signed by Blue, was sent to Ozone in return for Dade, giving Samsung’s spotlight team a better chance at overcoming their rivals SKT and winning the championship.
OGN Spring 2014 was the season Ozone was supposed to win. SKT T1 K were faltering, Blaze still hadn’t changed up their strategies, the KT Bullets were on a downhill slope, and NaJin White Shield still hadn’t ever made it to a finals.
Blue, anchored by solo queue superstar Deft and his bleach haired partner Heart, were a promising group of players, but still had too many questions surrounding them to be considered a threat. Dade, for all his individual talent and former glory, had continually been inconsistent since the World Championship. Heart was an improving Support player, but also one of the oldest players in the Korean pro-scene. Blue carried championship potential, but if it hadn't manifested before, why would it now?
Ozone did as expected. They went 6-0 in the group stages, had no problems with Pawn and went into knockout stage effortlessly. They grabbed revenge for their loss to SK Telecom T1 K a season before, beating them 3-1 and knocking them out of the tournament for the first time since Spring of last year. The golden boys of Samsung were on their way to another top finish.
Blue also did well. They went 5-1 in one of the tougher groups, drawing with the KT Bullets but sweeping the Falcons and NaJin Black Sword. Blue, getting to the semifinals for the first time, fell in the first game against Frost, but battled back to take the next three games. Blue's potential was finally shining through, and they were on top of their game adapting to the new heal meta that was quickly taking over Korea.
It was Dade's time for redemption in the semifinals. Samsung Blue was paired against Ozone, the team he led to a championship and then was traded from. Blue, viewed as the little brother from the very start, had their one shot at turning the tables. With their superior ability to adapt to patch changes and react quicker to champion buffs and nerfs, Blue was able to take the upper-hand against Ozone in the semifinals and conquer their favored brother team.
Even with a commanding victory over Ozone, Blue’s final opponents Najin White Shield were the favored choice in the grand finals. Dade led his team to a resounding victory in the finals, taking their third straight knockout round match with a 3-1 score. He raised the Champions trophy in the air for the second straight Spring season, defending his MVP title and clearing all thought that his career was on a downturn. Blue had finally reached their potential and won it all.
