Getting to Know Your All-Star Teams

[Cristine]

All-Star Week will be upon us shortly. From May 24th through May 26th, five teams from across the world will compete in Shanghai for not only the glory of the tournament, but for an extra spot at the World Championships for their region. Teams from China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America have conducted their own polls and will be sending the five players that the fans have voted to be the best in their region.

 

While most of you have probably been keeping up with the NA and EU League Championship Series, the majority of viewers probably don't know very much about the Asian scene. In this article, we introduce you to each team, highlight the key threats that each player brings to the table, and give you a hint of what to expect during All-Stars.

 

Before we begin breaking down the teams, here are the brackets for All-Stars:

Southeast Asia receives a bye. North America drew China for the first round, leaving Europe to face Korea. The overall champion will receive a third spot at the Season 3 World Championships for their region.

 

North America

 

Roster:

 

Top: Dyrus (TSM Snapdragon)

Mid: Scarra (Team Dignitas)

Jungle: Saintvicious (Curse Gaming)

ADC: Doublelift (Counter Logic Gaming)

Support: Xpecial (TSM Snapdragon)

 

Introduction:

 

Chosen from teams participating in the North American LCS, the NA roster is strong and well-rounded. Themes in this are consistency and aggression, personified by the top laner, Dyrus, and the mid laner, Scarra. Both have been very strong in the past as consistent players, and both know how to play aggressively when necessary. A mesh of players from the four top teams in North America, this team has amazing potential and stars in every role. Bottom lane will be the focus of many, as Doublelift's performance is internationally renowned, yet has been lacking in the last few weeks of the LCS. With a more forward, aggressive team around him that won't necessarily focus on the "Protect Doublelift" strategy, it will be interesting (to say the last) to see how he and Xpecial hold up to international bottom lanes. Saintvicious rounds out the team with his strong shotcalling and his solid jungle performance.

 

Could this roster have been stronger? Many players have expressed that Reginald would be a better choice for mid lane than Scarra, with more international experience and a more unpredictable playstyle. His aggressive personality would also mesh well with how Saint likes to play, creating more mid-lane/jungle cohesion. Other players have called out Patoy as being the best support in North America, and a stronger choice than Xpecial. As it stands, the NA team is still excellent, and has a real shot at taking victory.

 

Threats:

 

As stated previously, it will be Doublelift that most teams will keep an eye on. Though he's been in a bit of a slump over the last few weeks, CLG's recent playoff match aginst Azure Cats showed a glimpse of the old Doublelift, with brilliant mechanics and flashy plays. His Vayne has been banworthy in the past, his Ezreal and Caitlyn mechanics are flawless, and he's even been known to bring out Urgot, such as in Game 3 against Azure Cats. His laning partner, Xpecial, also has international experience, and is one of the best supports (and arguably the best Sona player) in North America. Bot lane will likely be NA's saving grace, as the top lane, the mid lane, and the jungle all have formidable competition.

 

Dyrus is known for being a solid and consistent player, capable of playing tanky champions and being a reliable stronghold for the team. His most famous champion is perhaps his Singed, although TSM Snapdragon has been heavily favoring Rumble in their last few games. This will be a boon to the NA team, as Rumble is one of the most contested picks in the world - with the Chinese top laner Pdd not favoring Rumble very heavily as of late, the champion may force a ban specifically targeted against Dyrus in several games.

 

Scarra and Saintvicious round out the roster. Saint is known for aggressive junglers that dive deep into the enemy team. His Jarvan IV play has been pretty strong in the past, as has his Xin Zhao. With the latter being nerfed heavily and new champions like Zac moving up the ranks, Saint may run into some trouble against some of the stronger junglers in the tournament. Scarra, meanwhile, has been particularly fond of Diana, Gragas, and Katarina. However, he also faces a frightening variety of high-level competition, and may struggle without Saint's constant presence in his lane. In addition, his lackluster champion pool when his favorite picks are either banned our or taken may give the NA team some problems.

 

Key Player(s)/Champions:

 

Keep an eye on Doublelift in the bot lane and Dyrus in the top lane. If Doublelift becomes fed enough that he can 1v5 the enemy team, or of Dyrus becomes big enough that Doublelift has an extremely reliable meatshield to hide behind, the NA team will likely be able to take the game.

 

Possible bans against this team are Vayne, Sona, Diana, and Rumble.

Europe

 

 

Roster:

 

Top: sOAZ (Fnatic)

Mid: Alex Ich (Gambit Gaming)

Jungle: Diamondprox (Gambit Gaming)

ADC: Yellowpete (Evil Geniuses)

Support: EdWard (Gambit Gaming)

 

Introduction:

 

The EU all-star lineup is comprised of players on teams participating in the European LCS. The European team has jokingly been called "Gambit Redux" by a few members of the community. With 3/5 of its members being from the Russian team, it ended up being necessary to drop Genja in favor of Yellowpete, due to the rule where only three members from any one team were allowed on the All-Star roster. Every player on this team, however, deserves their spot - perhaps none more than sOAZ, who beat out Wickd in a spur-of-the-moment 1v1 battle for All-Stars. His incredibly diverse champion pool not only makes him difficult to predict, but opens up breathing room for his other lanes. Alex Ich is one of the best mid laners in the world, while Diamondprox is widely regarded as the god of the jungle. The team is completed with EdWard's "carry support" style play and Yellowpete's solid performances on Evil Geniuses.

 

The primary debate surrounding the European team centers around their bottom lane. Most players have agreed that it would be better to have kept Genja and EdWard together, as bot lane synergy is very important in a roster like this. In order to not violate the 3-members clause, Fnatic's xPeke was also a widely favored mid laner over Alex Ich. Alex, however, is still an excellent choice for the team, and none of the 5 regions attending All-Stars have managed to keep a bot lane duo together from their original team.

 

Threats:

 

Watch out for Alex Ich, who has single-handedly carried Gambit Gaming in the past multiple times with his Kha'Zix, Zed, and less recently, his Evelynn play. He prefers assassin-type mid laners who are capable of devastating entire teams with raw damage. Fnatic's sOAZ is another threat to watch, as he was the original pioneer of Kha'Zix in competitive play during IPL5. This makes the Void bug a nearly mandatory ban against this team, as he fits in excellently in both the top and the mid lane. However, this takes away a ban from other key threats on the team, such as Diamondprox's absolutely ridiculous champion pool, and EdWard's variety of aggressive supports. Expect enemy teams to ban out Thresh and possibly Lee Sin.

 

The one champion that other teams must absolutely be careful around is Zac. Fnatic loved giving him to sOAZ in the top lane during the last weeks of LCS EU, while Gambit has played him both mid lane and in the jungle. The amount of damage and crowd control he puts out will allow Yellowpete to wreak havoc from the backline on champions like Kog'Maw and Varus, while EdWard defends him with brilliant support play (and steals a kill or two for himself). The problem that teams will have when facing the EU team is that sOAZ, Alex Ich, and Diamondprox simply have too many champions to ban out. Variety is the name of the game.

 

Key Player(s)/Champions

 

Alex Ich has the same 1v5 carry potential as he did on Gambit. He's beaten many a Korean mid laner, and may be able to do so again in Europe's first match. Look out for Diamondprox to excel in the jungle, as he will have to prove himself against inSec, Korea's all-star jungler.

 

Near-certain bans against this team are Zac and Kha'Zix, if EU has first pick. Keep an eye out for Zed, Lee Sin, and Thresh, as well. Both Ambition and Alex Ich share similar champion pools, as do EdWard and MadLife, making picks and bans interesting.

 

Southeast Asia

 

 

Roster:

 

Top: Stanley (Azubu Taipei Assassins)

Mid: Toyz (Azubu Taipei Assassins)

Jungle: HarLeLuYaR (Singapore Sentinels)

ADC: Chawy (Singapore Sentinels)

Support: MiSTakE (Azubu Taipei Snipers)

 

Introduction:

 

Consisting of team members from the Garena Premier League, the region of Southeast Asia contains the Season 2 World Champions, the Taipei Assassins. Stanley, Toyz, and MiSTakE should require no introduction if you've been an eSports fan for a while - the members of the Singapore Sentinels, however may be a little less well-known. Chawy is the AD carry for SGS, but was formerly their mid laner. His play has been solid in the past, but is arguably not at an international level. The same goes for the SGS jungler, HarLeLuYaR, who has been solid in the past but may have trouble holding up to players like Diamondprox.

 

Former TPA member MiSTakE joins Stanley and Toyz once again to make 3/5ths of the team that originally defeated Azubu Frost to win the Season 2 World Championships. Though MiSTakE is now on the sister team Azubu Taipei Snipers, his synergy with his former teammates will be something to watch out for. If you watched S2 Worlds, you also know that Stanley and Toyz are nothing to scoff at either, with both players probably one of the top 10 players in their respective roles.

 

The SEA roster is hampered by one hard truth - the strongest team that could come out of Southeast Asia is probably the Taipei Assassins. Going 38-2 and 27-1 during the first two seasons of the Garena Premier League, the Taipei Assassins are the uncontested strongest team in the region, and have been for months. Chawy and HarLeLuYaR serve as unfortunate weak links on the team, and will likely be the focus of their first opponents.

 

Threats:

 

Stanley and Toyz are two of the best players in their role in the world. Toyz's Orianna play during S2 Worlds singlehandedly brought her back as a viable competitive pick, while Stanley's Nidalee play during Worlds and more recently, his Elise play at StarsWar and in the GPL have brought TPA several victories. Mechanically, both are incredible laners, and are the two biggest threats on the SEA roster. MiSTakE joins his compatriots and brings his Sona to the table, a widely contested pick across all five regions.

 

It would be unwise to simply dismiss Chawy and HarLeLuYaR immediately. If the Taipei Assassins are undisputed first, then the Singapore Sentinels are undisputed second. Both Chawy and HarLeLuYaR are members of the team that has historically provided TPA with the most trouble in the past, taking more games off of TPA in the first season of the GPL than any other Garena team has since. Overall, the Southeast Asian team collectively makes for an extremely intimidating team, spearheaded by its solo lanes.

Key Player(s)/Champions

 

Like in Season 2, it will be necessary to watch out for Toyz's Orianna. His Diana and Twisted Fate play are also very strong, although the last two picks are also highly contested in both China and Korea. Stanley's Nidalee and Elise are two other champions to watch out for - notably, no other top laners at All-Stars are very highly known for their Nidalee play, making the cougar a likely pick for SEA. If this team wants to excel, its solo laners need to thrive. If not, they'll have a hard time muscling their way to the championship.

 

China

 

 

Roster:

 

Top: Pdd (Invictus Gaming)

Mid: Misaya (World Elite)

Jungle: Troll (World Elite)

ADC: Weixiao (World Elite)

Support: XiaoXiao (Invictus Gaming)

 

Introduction:

 

The Chinese team is filled with threats and star players abound, hand-picked from teams competing in the Tencent LoL Pro League. If these polls were conducted right after IPL5, most people would agree that World Elite would be the strongest possible Chinese team. With WE's recent slump in the LPL and in the StarsWar League against OMG and Invictus, many players (myself included) have begun to single out other individuals that are just as good - if not better - in their roles. Needless to say, the Chinese roster is incredibly strong. 3/5ths World Elite and 2/5ths Invictus Gaming, it is composed of the two strongest teams (until recently) in China - importantly, two teams that both went to S2 Worlds.

 

Misaya is a legendary mid laner, terrorizing solo queue and competitive play with his Twisted Fate. However, he's been on somewhat of a slump lately during recent LPL matches and during the StarsWar League finals against Invictus, with World Elite dropping their #1 worldwide spot on the leaderboard for the first time in months. Weixiao, the AD carry for World Elite, has suffered from the same slump, but is still held in high regards by every AD carry in the world - including North America's Doublelift. Mechanically, he is one of the best (if not the best) worldwide, and faces fearsome competition in China alone in iG's Kid, Royal's Uzi, and PE's Devil.

 

Troll (widely known as ClearLove) is a dark horse in the tournament. His jungling prowess is perhaps on par with Diamondprox/inSec, but he isn't as well-known in Western eSports as he is over in China. His experience with Misaya is a key factor, as the two like to coordinate ganks on highly mobile champions. This, in turn, relieves pressure from the other lanes - especially top. The team captain and top laner of Invictus Gaming, Pdd is one half of the deadly engine that is Pdd/Zz1tai, and is a major part of why iG is currently tied for first with OMG in the LoL Pro League (the Chinese equivalent of the LCS). His top lane play is unpredictable yet extremely consistent, which is what sets him apart from the less reliable CaoMei.

 

The Chinese team faces the most flak with its support, XiaoXiao. More popular players were both WE's Fzzf or, notably, OMG's Lovelin, who is considered to be the best support in China. Lovelin is the current MVP point leader for supports in the LPL, and consistently reaches MadLife levels of brilliancy in his play. The current overall MVP point leader is OMG's mid laner, Cool, another potential choice for China's all-star mid lane. iG's Zz1tai is an equally fearsome mid. Notably, both these players boast larger champion pools than Misaya, yet neither can compete with the mandatory ban of his TF.

Threats:

 

Weixiao will carry China to victory once it is late enough in the game. His teammates are no stranger to playing compositions that allow the AD carry to shine - but while this is true, they are equally capable of making big plays on their own. China's extremely high level of ADC play is where Pdd has shined. His Malphite is perhaps the reason why iG was able to wrench victory from the jaws of defeat against World Elite at the StarsWar League finals. In general, the Chinese metagame sees a lot more Malphite play than most other regions, simply because of the caliber of AD carry in many of the top Chinese teams. Pdd thrives in this environment, making him and the rest of the Chinese all-star roster a perfect match against the Doublelift-centric North American team in the first round.

 

If opposing teams do ban out Pdd's Malphite, they have several huge threats to deal with, most notably Misaya's Twisted Fate. Until the last round of the StarsWar League, World Elite has never lost a competitive game where Misaya was playing TF, making the champion a near-mandatory ban for any team facing the Chinese All-Stars. Misaya has also heavily favored Diana, Ryze, and Karthus in the past, and frequently uses them as fallbacks.

 

China also faces a gaping hole in its defense, however. When playing on Invictus, XiaoXiao frequently performs early all-ins with his AD carry, Kid. Notorious for giving up first blood, warding poorly, and making occasional mechanical errors, XiaoXiao is widely considered to be the weakest member of iG, and is certainly the weakest member on this all-star roster. However, he plays on one of the best teams in China, and is certainly not a bad support. On a good day, XiaoXiao lands perfect Crescendos, never misses a Zenith Blade, and zones entire teams with The Box. Whether XiaoXiao is on a good day or not at all-stars will likely make or break the Chinese team.

Key Player(s)/Champions

 

Bans will likely be targeted at Pdd and Misaya. Troll (ClearLove) and XiaoXiao don't really have any particularly banworthy champions on which they excel, whereas Weixiao excels on far too many champions to be able to ban out. The popularity of Graves in the Chinese scene may lead to a Graves ban from some teams simply because the other regions are not used to playing against the champion.

 

The lane to focus on will be bot lane. Weixiao's mechanics are legendary, and the confrontation between him and Doublelift has been hyped up for months. All eyes will be on XiaoXiao - whether he makes a mistake could mean the beginning of a devastating snowball for North America's bottom lane, ultimately costing China the game.

 

Korea

 

 

Roster:

 

Top: Shy (CJ Entus Frost)

Mid: Ambition (CJ Entus Blaze)

Jungle: inSec (KT Rolster B)

ADC: PraY (NaJin Sword)

Support: MadLife (CJ Entus Frost)

 

Introduction:

 

The Korean team is the most feared of the five regions right now, and for good reason. The level of play in Korea is on an entirely different level, as are the players. The four teams represented by the Korean all-star roster are considered to be four of the top teams in Korea - in fact, they were the four teams that made it into the semifinal round at OGN Winter earlier this year. Despite roster changes in several of the top Korean teams over the last few months, individual and team skill has flourished, bringing in new talent and improving the old.

 

Taken from teams participating in OGN Spring, the team centralizes around consistency and explosiveness. Korean teams (Blaze and Frost in particular) are renowned for their ability to rack up an advantage in the laning phase and teamfight extraordinarily well. In this sense, Shy and Ambition are perfect choices for the solo lanes. Coming from CJ Entus Frost and Blaze respectively (formerly Azubu Frost/Blaze), both are immensely strong players who are reliable in every game and can be counted on to go even or win their lane. Shy is exceptional at 1v2ing, while Ambition plays both tankier mids and AD assassins. Considering that he'll have to face Alex Ich in the first round against Europe, this will be a boon for the KR team.

 

Complementing Shy and Ambition is inSec in the jungle. From KT Rolster B, inSec has recently gained fame as one of the best junglers in the world, challenging Diamondprox for his throne. During KT Rolster B's most recent matches against MVP Ozone at OGN Spring, inSec was a little inconsistent, getting caught out of position several times but pulling out brilliant plays nonetheless. Korea will be facing Europe right off the bat, and the jungle dispute will be settled right then and there.

 

Where other regions are famous for their caliber of AD carry, Korea is famous for its supports. On top of them all stands the one God of League of Legends - MadLife. Brilliant in every game, MadLife favors aggressive supports that can make plays, such as Thresh, Alistar, and Blitzcrank. He's exceptional at landing skillshots, and developed excellent synergy with CJ Entus Frost's new AD Carry, Hermes, in just a few days. He's paired with PraY, the AD carry for NaJin Sword, who prefers longer laning phases so he can farm up and become a mid-game killing machine.

 

Threats:

 

Everything is a threat. Shy likes tankier champions and plays consistently, but that doesn't mean he won't dominate his lane. His Singed play during S2 Worlds was proof of this. Boasting an enormous champion pool and amazing mechanics, Shy has transitioned flawlessly from playing Rumble and Elise in most of his games to successfully breaking out top lane Ryze and Kennen earlier this morning against NaJin Sword at OGN. Ambition can be described in much the same way - he never really loses his lane, while still managing to have a gigantic repertoire of champions he can play at a tournament level. Recently, he's been favoring the AD assassins Zed and Kha'Zix, which should either be picked up by the enemy team immediately, or banned out.

 

If Zed is left open, for example, the Korean team could snatch him up and you still wouldn't know who's going where. Ambition and Shy are both terrifying with Zed. inSec has performed the best on carry-style junglers like Zed (of course), Lee Sin, and even Shaco. With his lanes typically not needing tons of farm or kills to be extremely effective, expect inSec to take some lane taxes and become a massive force in the endgame.

 

MadLife's aggressive supports are too difficult to ban out. His Blitz and Thresh have both been banworthy in the past, but what can you remove with your two remaining bans? Most teams have opted to leave MadLife alone, and simply pray that he doesn't pick Blitz. Ironically, they'll likely be killed by PraY in the process - the AD carry for NaJin Sword, PraY prefers longer laning phases but is just as capable of picking up several lane kills on his favorite AD carries, Caitlyn, Miss Fortune and Twitch. Overall, the entire Korean team is so deadly and so difficult to ban out that it's no wonder why they're so feared.

 

Key Player(s)/Champions

 

Pretty much everybody has the capability to carry, so there's not much to focus on. North America and China have the edge in stronger mechanical AD carries than PraY, and may find success in a defensive comp revolving around their ADC. Key bans to look out for are Twisted Fate, Zed, Ryze, Kha'Zix, Rumble, Thresh, Blitzcrank, Twitch, and the list goes on and on.

 

Conclusions, Predictions, and Other Resources

 

 

Here's the bracket again, for easy reference:

 

The All-Star matches begin on the 24th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Matthew]

Really nice topic,will not gonna miss it for sure,epic matches.

[jiruga1]

Imo EU All-star team will get stomped from Korea in tactics NA all star team is closer  to the Asians generally and will be ready to face them since they know most of them wel

[Fortuna]

Ι don't get how they'll communicate. Diamond cannot speak english ;p