Raising a Region: Two Weeks of LJL
Riot··0 votes·6,726 views
The League of Legends Japan League (LJL) started its 2015 season two weeks ago, and it's already carving out a unique identity of its own. From the exciting player intros and colorful uniforms to the standing-room-only audience that filled e-Sports SQUARE, Japan’s bringing hype comparable to anywhere abroad. Its League scene has truly blossomed into one of the most promising new regions aiming for the International Wild Card Invitational later this year. But hype is nothing without the play to back it up. How are the Japanese players -- overwhelmingly playing on the NA servers -- approaching the game, and what differentiates their play from the rest of the world’s?
Overwhelmingly, Japanese players are following the same trends as their foreign counterparts. For instance, Sivir, Jarvan IV, and Janna were picked or banned in every single LJL game thus far. Interestingly however, Sivir only has a 16.7% winrate: the two undefeated teams, FocusMe and RabbitFive, have passed her over in favor of Tristana for their hyper-carry ADCs. And in spite of Jarvan’s constant presence, Gnar was both picked and banned only once so far – indicating that LJL toplaners may not be comfortable with the champion. In general, teams seem to prioritize champions they are most comfortable with from the current meta rather than putting together a composition focused on a specific goal.
The most interesting pick so far has to be the Vladimir picked against Rumble by 7th heaven's Junya "ThintioN" Matsuoka. Reportedly putting a lot of practice time into him, the former Challenger player played a carefully warded laning phase aided by an early gank to take Rumble's Flash. He was able to reach Vlad's level 9 power spike unscathed, and once team fights began, he was able to position himself perfectly for five-man Hemoplagues. Whether this is just a pocket pick of ThintioN's, or that Vlad may be more competitive than we think, remains to be seen. And meanwhile, another player has been putting on an even more impressive show than Matsuoka.
There's no doubt that the player to watch so far this season is DetonatioN FocusMe's AD Carry, Yuta "Yutaproid" Sugiura. Debuting last week with a 9/1/4 Tristana against Rascal Jester, he immediately proved himself equal to the rumors naming him as Japan's number one player. This week, against Ozone Rampage, Yutaproid showed off a build of his own invention that took his champion in an entirely different direction.
These days, Ezreal players overwhelmingly favor the "blue build" for its late game damage and utility. But prior to the match, Sugiura explained on his ask.fm that he disagreed as to where Ezreal's power lies. "It's easy to think it's in hitting precise Qs, but I feel like maintenance of his passive is most important. 50% more attack speed for five stacks is a huge difference, so once team fights begin I always try to use my Ult and my W to keep them up throughout the battle."
Up against an aggressive composition from Rampage, Yutaproid left the casters in shock as his build unfolded. Brutalizer first, followed by Sheen, then the first Essence Reaver ever purchased in Japanese professional competition. Describing it as a "special build he invented" to maximize strength in the midgame, the build combined the extra cooldown reduction needed to build up those stacks with enough attack damage and sustain to be a terror in teamfights. Completely dodging the pre-Muramana power trough,Yutaproid was able to maintain his aggressive style all throughout the match and finish with 9 kills and a single death yet again.
Something Borrowed, Something New
Overwhelmingly, Japanese players are following the same trends as their foreign counterparts. For instance, Sivir, Jarvan IV, and Janna were picked or banned in every single LJL game thus far. Interestingly however, Sivir only has a 16.7% winrate: the two undefeated teams, FocusMe and RabbitFive, have passed her over in favor of Tristana for their hyper-carry ADCs. And in spite of Jarvan’s constant presence, Gnar was both picked and banned only once so far – indicating that LJL toplaners may not be comfortable with the champion. In general, teams seem to prioritize champions they are most comfortable with from the current meta rather than putting together a composition focused on a specific goal.
The most interesting pick so far has to be the Vladimir picked against Rumble by 7th heaven's Junya "ThintioN" Matsuoka. Reportedly putting a lot of practice time into him, the former Challenger player played a carefully warded laning phase aided by an early gank to take Rumble's Flash. He was able to reach Vlad's level 9 power spike unscathed, and once team fights began, he was able to position himself perfectly for five-man Hemoplagues. Whether this is just a pocket pick of ThintioN's, or that Vlad may be more competitive than we think, remains to be seen. And meanwhile, another player has been putting on an even more impressive show than Matsuoka.
An Ez of a Different Color
There's no doubt that the player to watch so far this season is DetonatioN FocusMe's AD Carry, Yuta "Yutaproid" Sugiura. Debuting last week with a 9/1/4 Tristana against Rascal Jester, he immediately proved himself equal to the rumors naming him as Japan's number one player. This week, against Ozone Rampage, Yutaproid showed off a build of his own invention that took his champion in an entirely different direction.
These days, Ezreal players overwhelmingly favor the "blue build" for its late game damage and utility. But prior to the match, Sugiura explained on his ask.fm that he disagreed as to where Ezreal's power lies. "It's easy to think it's in hitting precise Qs, but I feel like maintenance of his passive is most important. 50% more attack speed for five stacks is a huge difference, so once team fights begin I always try to use my Ult and my W to keep them up throughout the battle."
Up against an aggressive composition from Rampage, Yutaproid left the casters in shock as his build unfolded. Brutalizer first, followed by Sheen, then the first Essence Reaver ever purchased in Japanese professional competition. Describing it as a "special build he invented" to maximize strength in the midgame, the build combined the extra cooldown reduction needed to build up those stacks with enough attack damage and sustain to be a terror in teamfights. Completely dodging the pre-Muramana power trough,Yutaproid was able to maintain his aggressive style all throughout the match and finish with 9 kills and a single death yet again.