Can king’s third party success translate to the LPL?
Riot·11/12/2014, 8:24:37 PM·0 votes·8,163 views
The past four non-LoL Pro League tournaments in China have featured a faceoff between Edward Gaming (EDG) and Team King. In the X Champion Series just before Worlds and NVidia Gaming Festival just after Worlds, EDG took the title, but more recently in National Esports Tournament, King defeated EDG in a Best of 3 for the first time. With so much roster upheaval around the LPL, King seems to be the only team set in their ways, and with their success, they stand poised to take the LoL Pro League by storm. Regardless of whether they can continue succeeding in February, it’s time to give King their dues.
Corn on his Worlds runner up squad, Star Horn Royal Club.
When the roster of Titan Catipay was picked up by LSPL fixture Wings of Aurora, a spot in China's minor league was up for grabs. Team King’s owner, Qin “KING” Fen, picked up the spot with a new roster and implemented a strict training schedule.
Though the team’s rise through LSPL wasn’t meteoric in the context of World Elite Academy’s nearly undefeated stint in Spring, some might say the tougher competition in 2014 LSPL Summer forged a stronger Team King. In LSPL’s best of two format, King found 10 best of two victories (20 map wins), went 1-1 four times, and only ever lost 0-2 once. With an overall record of 24-6, Team King would shoot to the top of the LSPL standings and find the first automatic seed into LPL for 2015 Spring.
Some fans of Team OMG have said that King’s flair is reminiscent of OMG’s from the early days of 2013 LPL Spring. OMG made its definitive mark on the Chinese LoL scene with early dives and deep jungle starve strategies. While King might not have the same sharp control over their transition to mid and late game yet, their quick style and early aggression has set OMG on the backfoot in both NVidia Gaming Festival and National Esports Tournament, allowing King to knock them out in both cases: effectively beating OMG with their initial calling card.
It’s hard to outwit King before 15 minutes, and part of that is the strong talent of their roster. Fan “Skye” Qifang is one of two rising top lane talents entering LPL from LSPL this spring. He has a penchant for lane-crushing champions and has taken a shine to Akali since Samsung White played her at Worlds.
Outside Skye, much of King’s roster can hold their own in lane. Zhou “JS” Yixiang, the mid laner, has excelled at both assassin and mage play. Weng “NoHeart” Cheng, the AD carry, has been known to dominate lanes in LSPL with Kog’Maw -- a nearly unheard of feat. The team has taken to playing heavy assassin style compositions -- sometimes with assassin champions in top, jungle, and mid lane roles accompanied by a reset-happy Tristana--relying on the snowball to carry the day.
What makes King so impressive in their early game is their jungle and support. With strong deep vision placed by support player Le “LeY” Yi, jungler Liu “Lonely” Shiyu is able to find just the right ganks. LeY, after his near-disastrous stint as Royal Club Huang Zhu’s AD carry in 2014 LPL Spring, has found his true home as King’s support. He’s known to both play mechanically well in lane and roam and place vision intelligently. It’s rare to see a support player stand out as a team’s clear star, but LeY makes a definite case, even with talent studding the rest of the roster.
Chinese teams take a much more relaxed approach to games outside LPL, sometimes using the opportunity to experiment with roster configurations (like Gogoing ADC in NGF). The question is whether this body of success can translate to LPL where the veterans will bring their A Game.
As EDG has exposed in their victories over King, the team needs work after laning phase ends. King controls the snowball well, but their warding fails to evolve after laning phase when optimal warding locations change. As a result, they sometimes fail to secure important mid and late game objectives or pick poor fights without vision. King will have to perfect their momentum control to win 2015 LPL Spring against experienced opponents ready to exploit their weaknesses. Yet with a strict training schedule and a manager claiming disinterest in changing the roster, this first place LSPL team may just be the new King of LPL.
SCRAPED TOGETHER
From the start, it was hard to call King a contender. They had some strong, green talent, and quite a few fans felt they would qualify for LSPL, but they failed to do so. King’s brief stint in the spotlight at the Tencent Games Arena LSPL qualifier, however, got Star Horn Royal Club Lei “corn” Wen noticed. Corn’s departure from King signalled the end of the old roster, and the owner went after all new players.
FAST AND CALCULATED
Some fans of Team OMG have said that King’s flair is reminiscent of OMG’s from the early days of 2013 LPL Spring. OMG made its definitive mark on the Chinese LoL scene with early dives and deep jungle starve strategies. While King might not have the same sharp control over their transition to mid and late game yet, their quick style and early aggression has set OMG on the backfoot in both NVidia Gaming Festival and National Esports Tournament, allowing King to knock them out in both cases: effectively beating OMG with their initial calling card.
It’s hard to outwit King before 15 minutes, and part of that is the strong talent of their roster. Fan “Skye” Qifang is one of two rising top lane talents entering LPL from LSPL this spring. He has a penchant for lane-crushing champions and has taken a shine to Akali since Samsung White played her at Worlds.
Outside Skye, much of King’s roster can hold their own in lane. Zhou “JS” Yixiang, the mid laner, has excelled at both assassin and mage play. Weng “NoHeart” Cheng, the AD carry, has been known to dominate lanes in LSPL with Kog’Maw -- a nearly unheard of feat. The team has taken to playing heavy assassin style compositions -- sometimes with assassin champions in top, jungle, and mid lane roles accompanied by a reset-happy Tristana--relying on the snowball to carry the day.
What makes King so impressive in their early game is their jungle and support. With strong deep vision placed by support player Le “LeY” Yi, jungler Liu “Lonely” Shiyu is able to find just the right ganks. LeY, after his near-disastrous stint as Royal Club Huang Zhu’s AD carry in 2014 LPL Spring, has found his true home as King’s support. He’s known to both play mechanically well in lane and roam and place vision intelligently. It’s rare to see a support player stand out as a team’s clear star, but LeY makes a definite case, even with talent studding the rest of the roster.
THE BIG QUESTION
Until NEST, King had failed to defeat Edward Gaming in three previous encounters, but their win extended beyond personal achievements. Domestically, EDG only dropped one other title to World Elite when they lost the Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen. Since their formation, they have dominated the scene, taking first place in both LPL Playoffs, three of four third party tournaments, and LPL Regionals. King’s triumph as a team that has only just qualified for LPL is a monumental upset. All eyes are on the G League Finals in December, where King and Edward Gaming will face off yet again.
Chinese teams take a much more relaxed approach to games outside LPL, sometimes using the opportunity to experiment with roster configurations (like Gogoing ADC in NGF). The question is whether this body of success can translate to LPL where the veterans will bring their A Game.
As EDG has exposed in their victories over King, the team needs work after laning phase ends. King controls the snowball well, but their warding fails to evolve after laning phase when optimal warding locations change. As a result, they sometimes fail to secure important mid and late game objectives or pick poor fights without vision. King will have to perfect their momentum control to win 2015 LPL Spring against experienced opponents ready to exploit their weaknesses. Yet with a strict training schedule and a manager claiming disinterest in changing the roster, this first place LSPL team may just be the new King of LPL.
