The Cloud Effect: OMG's new support takes the stage
Riot·10/7/2014, 8:57:04 PM·0 votes·31,422 views
Who is Cloud? When OMG made the decision to replace Fang “Dada777” Hongri with Hu “Cloud” Zhenwei for their League of Legends 2014 World Championship Quarterfinal match against NaJin White Shield (NWS), perhaps the shakiest looking team to escape the Group Stage became the only second seed team to beat out their first seed opponent. They also went from the team that lost the most games in the Group Stage to the team that lost the least in the Quarterfinals, with a decisive 3-0 against Shield. So who is Cloud, and what is it about his place on the roster that turned OMG into a fierce enough force to send NWS packing?
At the start of LPL Summer, Cloud ran into several speed bumps without his Thresh pick guaranteed every game. At times, OMG would have to forego other prized picks to secure Cloud’s play-making champion. Even so, it was often worth it. Cloud seemed capable of finding the right hook for every occasion with well-timed roams and mid lane dives to get Cool ahead.
As the split progressed, Cloud picked up another favorite champion: Nami. Few support players seemed capable of understanding disengage well with their heavy-commit all-in style. Cloud, Invictus Gaming’s Liu “Kitties” Hongjun, and Star Horn Royal Club’s Yoon “Zero” Kyungsup stood out as the only players capable of exceptional Nami performances. It became clear that OMG truly had someone special in their hands.
OMG’s fabled jungle Braum game was made possible in large part by Cloud’s Thresh.
OMG began using Cloud to his fullest potential in Week 2 of the LPL Summer split against Invictus Gaming. The team started relying on interesting pairings such as a Braum jungle with Thresh support. The composition relied on unexpected synergy between two champions typically played in the support role. Cloud and Loveling made an impenetrable barricade around Guo “san” Junliang on Kog’Maw, allowing him to go deathless and wrack up the kills.
After that, OMG suffered a 2-0 to Star Horn Royal Club (SHRC) after the shift in the meta to 2v2 took OMG by surprise and gave SHRC an unexpected boon. They then dropped a game to World Elite Academy in Week 9, in part due to Cloud’s sloppy Alistar play. Dada7 was back on OMG’s roster in Week 10 of LPL, where he would remain through the Group Stage at this year's Worlds in Singapore.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly from whence the Cloud effect stems. OMG has long been known as a team of talents with dauntingly high skill caps, and rounding out the roster with yet another playmaker increases their creativity and execution.
With Cloud on the starting lineup, OMG looks more confident and powerful than ever. In the span of a summer, Cloud has gone from a talented amateur Thresh main to a world class support player. More than that, his presence on OMG’s roster seems to have made the difference between an OMG that could have gone out in the Group Stage and an OMG making a strong case to contend for the 2014 World Championship.
Miss any of the League of Legends 2014 World Championship? Our spoiler-free VODs page makes it easy to watch every game. We've also got the full schedule and bracket available. Be sure to keep checking back to Lolesports.com every day throughout the tournament for features, full match recaps, and videos on the best League of Legends teams in the world.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Yin "Loveling" Le When Yu “Cool” Jiajun, OMG’s star mid laner, returned to the roster after a split off recovering his eyes, the team returned Yin "Loveling" Le, who was playing support at the time, to the jungle in an attempt to re-bottle their old synergy. This left an open spot on OMG for a new support player. They tried out several before deciding on Cloud. Cloud came from an amateur team called Huang Deyao World and climbed to the top of the Ionian solo queue server playing Thresh almost exclusively. He was known for duoing with Edward Gaming’s (EDG) Ming “Clearlove” Kai, and his feminine game client name “Nuoxia” saw a handful of fans mistake him for Clearlove’s girlfriend before he became well known. Above all, Cloud’s promise made him a swift pickup for OMG, but his transition to competitive play in LPL wasn’t seamless.
At the start of LPL Summer, Cloud ran into several speed bumps without his Thresh pick guaranteed every game. At times, OMG would have to forego other prized picks to secure Cloud’s play-making champion. Even so, it was often worth it. Cloud seemed capable of finding the right hook for every occasion with well-timed roams and mid lane dives to get Cool ahead.
As the split progressed, Cloud picked up another favorite champion: Nami. Few support players seemed capable of understanding disengage well with their heavy-commit all-in style. Cloud, Invictus Gaming’s Liu “Kitties” Hongjun, and Star Horn Royal Club’s Yoon “Zero” Kyungsup stood out as the only players capable of exceptional Nami performances. It became clear that OMG truly had someone special in their hands.
OMG’s fabled jungle Braum game was made possible in large part by Cloud’s Thresh.
OMG began using Cloud to his fullest potential in Week 2 of the LPL Summer split against Invictus Gaming. The team started relying on interesting pairings such as a Braum jungle with Thresh support. The composition relied on unexpected synergy between two champions typically played in the support role. Cloud and Loveling made an impenetrable barricade around Guo “san” Junliang on Kog’Maw, allowing him to go deathless and wrack up the kills.
UPS AND DOWNS
Despite the new power Cloud brought to OMG, his presence on the team wasn’t stable. Crucially, when OMG would face Edward Gaming in both Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen Qualifiers and LPL, Cloud had to leave the roster for exams. OMG brought in Dada777 for the first time that split. Subsequently, OMG lost 0-2 to EDG in both encounters and dropped a game to the seventh place team, Young Glory. During these games, OMG’s communication seemed riddled with gaps, and Dada777 missed a considerable amount of skillshots. When Cloud returned to the starting roster at the end of Week 6 of the Summer split, the lineup immediately clicked again. As Cloud’s playmaking ability seemed to have improved with time off, OMG became stronger than ever and distinguished themselves as the first place team of the LPL by the end of Week 7.
After that, OMG suffered a 2-0 to Star Horn Royal Club (SHRC) after the shift in the meta to 2v2 took OMG by surprise and gave SHRC an unexpected boon. They then dropped a game to World Elite Academy in Week 9, in part due to Cloud’s sloppy Alistar play. Dada7 was back on OMG’s roster in Week 10 of LPL, where he would remain through the Group Stage at this year's Worlds in Singapore.
THE CLOUD EFFECT
While the reasoning for OMG’s roster tweaks toward the end of LPL regular season are unclear, one thing was made obvious by OMG’s Playoffs, Regionals, and Group Stage performances. Without Cloud, they didn’t have the magic that made them, for a handful of weeks, the best team in LPL by a wide margin. After barely sneaking out of Group C at Worlds, OMG would announce Cloud’s return to the starting lineup for their Quarterfinal match against NaJin White Shield. The difference was immense. With Cloud on Janna against NaJin White Shield, everything clicked. OMG executed dives, split-pushes, skirmishes, and full-on team fights like the first seed Chinese team rather than the third.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly from whence the Cloud effect stems. OMG has long been known as a team of talents with dauntingly high skill caps, and rounding out the roster with yet another playmaker increases their creativity and execution.
With Cloud on the starting lineup, OMG looks more confident and powerful than ever. In the span of a summer, Cloud has gone from a talented amateur Thresh main to a world class support player. More than that, his presence on OMG’s roster seems to have made the difference between an OMG that could have gone out in the Group Stage and an OMG making a strong case to contend for the 2014 World Championship.
Miss any of the League of Legends 2014 World Championship? Our spoiler-free VODs page makes it easy to watch every game. We've also got the full schedule and bracket available. Be sure to keep checking back to Lolesports.com every day throughout the tournament for features, full match recaps, and videos on the best League of Legends teams in the world.
