2016 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Preview
May 4-15, Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai, China
For the second straight year, Riot Games will host its mid-season international League of Legends tournament, featuring the five regional champions and one wild card team. The tournament will take place in Shanghai, China, and begin on Wednesday, May 4, with a champion ultimately being crowned on May 15. Last year's victors, EDward Gaming from China, faltered in the Spring LPL Final, and won't have the opportunity to defend their Season 5 title. Instead, Royal Never Give Up will represent China, seeking to secure consecutive MSI victories for the region. Standing in their way is a red-hot and determined SK Telecom T1 team, coming off an upset of the Rox Tigers in the LCK Final. Out of Europe, G2 Esports will get its first taste of international competition, while North America's Counter Logic Gaming looks to rebound from a poor IEM performance in March. After a surprising sweep of AHQ in the LMS Final, the Flash Wolves will represent Taiwan, as they compete in their first MSI. The tournament's most unknown team will be Turkey's SuperMassive Esports, which earned the wild card spot with a 3-1 victory over Russia's Hard Random last weekend. Undoubtedly, Korea enters this annual event as the prohibitive favorite. However, the other competitors hope they've bridged the gap since the Season 5 World Championship last fall. We will find out in the early hours (EST) of May 4, when the round robin group stage of the tournament commences with an opening ceremony followed by six matches (Full Schedule). Here's an extensive look at each team vying for the Season 6 MSI title.
SK Telecom T1 (LCK)
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok
Season 5 MSI Finish: 2nd Place
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 12-6
As recently as several weeks ago, it was likely assumed that the Rox Tigers would be representing Korea in this tournament. After falling to SKT in the Season 5 World Championship 3-1, the Rox (formerly Koo) Tigers dominated the LCK Spring Split, finishing the regular season 16-2 and being universally proclaimed as the world's number one team. SKT, meanwhile, experienced some growing pains while integrating their new top laner, Ho-seong "Duke" Lee. Of course, even a team as great as SK Telecom must be expected to struggle some in the wake of losing the 2015 World Championship MVP (MaRin). Struggle they did, losing early season sets to Longzhu Gaming and the Afreeca Freecs, teams they would normally expect to steamroll.
While Duke was not yet playing cohesively with his new teammates, SKT veteran and two-time world champion Seong-Woong "Bengi" Bae was having troubles of his own. Known for exerting immense pressure towards his lanes (particularly mid), Bengi has always sought to get his teammates ahead rather than himself. As the game shifted to more "carry" oriented junglers, however, Bengi floundered on champions such as Udyr and Graves, before ultimately being replaced by Sun-gu "Blank" Kang. After inserting Blank into the jungle, SKT never looked back, winning IEM Katowice in Poland and carrying that momentum to a 7-2 finish in the LCK. Blank's 5.0 KDA ranked third among junglers in the LCK, providing a huge jump from Bengi's 3.4. The newcomer has shown particular prowess on Kindred (9-1, 8.4 KDA), a champion that can certainly be expected to be banned in most SKT games this coming week.
In the first two rounds of the LCK playoffs, SKT cruised past both Jin Air Green Wings and KT Rolster, setting up a date with the Rox Tigers in the final. While all three analysts picked Rox to win the series, it wasn't without doubt, as they expected a close, hard-fought series. Their faith in SKT was not misplaced, and the defending world champs came out as though shot out of a cannon in game one. On his signature Kindred, Blank was the aggressor, scoring two kills just eight minutes into the game, and subsequently pressuring the Tigers' star jungler, Peanut, stealing his buffs and exerting complete control. The result? A sub-30 minute, 14-1 beat-down, which OGN caster Erik "DoA" Lonnquis described as a "total rout." Although the next three games were significantly closer, SKT set the tone en route to a 3-1 series victory.
Interestingly enough, it was the newcomers, Duke (500) and Blank (300), who led SKT in MVP points throughout the duration of the playoffs. Of course, the mainstays of Faker, Bang, and Wolf certainly played integral roles in SKT's victory as well. Sang-hyuk "Faker" Lee, commonly regarded as the world's best player, often found himself on supportive mid-laners this season. In fact, Lulu was his most played champion, on which he boasted a 7.6 KDA. This play-style has fostered the growth of Jun-sik "Bang" Bae, who has blossomed into one of the world's best (if not the best) AD carries. In the four game series against Rox, he recorded an 8.4 KDA on a combination of Lucian and Ezreal, a nearly two-point jump from his regular season KDA (6.5). And don't be fooled by Faker's tendencies toward champions such as Lulu and Zilean, as he also showed the capability of carrying games throughout the playoffs.In the semifinal against KT Rolster, Faker played his first professional game on Ekko, going 7/2/6 and boldly taking the Mejai's Soulstealer route in a lopsided victory. In the closeout game of Rox, he came up huge in the final team-fight, dealing massive damage and improving to 5-0 all time professionally on Cassiopeia. Faker's Cass joins his Riven as his highest played champion without recording a loss. We shouldn't expect to see him expand on that Riven stat in this tournament, but with Faker you never know.
The current popularity of tank supports and top laners also plays into the hands of Wolf and Duke. Wolf has shown particular success on Trundle and Alistar, who seems to be his best champion. He is also one of the few supports still picking Tahm Kench, utilizing his play-making abilities around the map. Duke's play-making abilities have improved immensely, particularly his use of teleport in unison with his team. SKT's new top laner appears to have found his niche playing tanks such as Maokai, Poppy, even Rammus, and being a terror to deal with in team fights. With Wolf and Duke providing the front-line, and Faker, Bang and Blank freed up to deal damage, SKT seems to have found a formula for success. They are playing with more cohesion than they have all season, and have won nine of their last 10 games as a result. It comes as no surprise that SK Telecom enters MSI as the overwhelming favorite, the only question is whether anyone can oppose them.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: First
Royal Never Give Up (LPL)
Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok
Season 5 MSI Finish: N/A
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 13-3
Royal Never Give Up began this season with a bang, signing two former world champions, Looper and Mata, previously of Samsung Galaxy White. The two star South Koreans joined Mlxg, Xiaohu, and Wuxx, on a newly constructed roster with a lot of potential on paper. Despite these roster moves, however, RNG left something to be desired with their IEM Katowice performance, tying for third place with TeamSoloMid. After making relatively quick work of Origen and Ever, RNG fell just short in the tournament semifinals against Fnatic, losing a tight three-game set. In the decisive game, Fnatic appeared to be the team taking the initiative, putting RNG on their heels for much of the contest. Given that IEM was this group's first taste of international competition, one would expect them to take a bit of time to mesh cohesively.
The experience appeared to pay off, as RNG returned to China with a vengeance, winning seven of their final eight series to secure a 13-3 record and the number one playoff seed. In the LPL Final, they would eventually meet EDward Gaming, the only team to take a set off of them in that span. Despite starting game one shakily, RNG was able to climb back through a series of picks, usually orchestrated by Mata's signature Thresh. The former World Championship MVP demonstrated his versatility from the support role, playing three different champions (Thresh, Braum, Alistar) in the
3-1 victory. With the help of his acclaimed support, Wuxx was able to flourish from the AD carry position.. In the opening game, Wuxx went 10/3/9 on Lucian, dealing nearly a third of his team's damage and recording a triple kill in the decisive team fight. He showed his versatility in game 3, utterly dominating with Jihn, a pick that has fallen out of favor for many teams. In going 9/0/4 in a stomp, Wuxx likely put many teams on notice. Expect a few Jihn bans directed his way in the coming week.
Despite the heroics from Wuxx, it was the world champ Looper who claimed MVP of the team's second win, dealing 33.6% of the team's damage on Quinn, another unorthodox pick. For Looper, it was his ninth MVP of the season, asserting himself as the "carry" of this squad. RNG's top laner continued to dominate in the closeout game, going a perfect 5/0/10 with Poppy and initiating the winning team fight. Xiaohu, meanwhile, went off from the mid-lane as LeBlanc, improving to 7-1 on that champion this season, with an absurd 10.56 KDA.
With the kill counts being so high (30-15 in the final game), the LPL Final did not appear as tight as their Korean neighbors. However, RNG appears to be a much more coordinated group than we saw at IEM, and their talent is indisputable.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: Fourth
Counter Logic Gaming (NA LCS)
Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black
Season 5 MSI Finish: N/A
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 13-5
For the second consecutive split, Counter Logic Gaming prevailed over TeamSoloMid in the NA LCS Final. This time around, however, it was far tighter than the 3-0 dismantling CLG delivered to TSM late last summer. After a lackluster performance in the 2015 World Championship, CLG revamped its roster, most notably replacing their oldest member and star AD carry Doublelift with Stixxay, a relatively unknown rookie. They also made a change in the mid-lane, replacing LCS veteran Pobelter with Huhi, formerly of Team Fusion Gaming.
While most expected CLG to take a step back after losing their most iconic player, the team got off to a fast start, winning four of their first five matches. Led by veterans aphromoo and Darshan (formerly ZionSpartan), CLG prides itself on teamwork and superior map play. There is no better example of this than a Week 7 match, where they handed Immortals their first loss of the season largely by running them around the map (CLG vs. IMT) CLG's success was not without it's criticism, however, as they were often viewed as a one-trick-pony, relying heavily on the Darshan's split-pushing to cause mayhem. At the same time, the leadership and shot-calling of aphromoo (potentially the region's best support) enabled CLG to excel at such a chaotic style. Aphromoo has also found success on a number of niche picks (Bard, Morgana, Soraka), so expect bans to be sent in his direction early and often.
Despite the team's emphasis on team-play and map control, their lack of standout individual performers could be worrisome heading into this tournament. CLG did not have a single player in the top 15 of North America in KDA, and had just one player (Stixxay) in the top 20. The team would quickly dismiss this as a non-issue, pointing to their thrilling victory over TSM as a sign of their strength. The most promising sign from this series, however, was the emergence of Stixxay as a premier AD carry. The rookie led his team in damage in four of the five games, while topping the opposing AD carry (Doublelift) in the same number.
This version of CLG comes in with moderate international experience, having lost to SKT and Fnatic at IEM Katowice earlier this year. Whether they are ready to take the next step or not, you know Darshan and aphromoo are yearning for a huge breakout performance on the biggest stage.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: Fifth
G2 Esports (EU LCS)
Kang-yoon "Trick" Kim
Season 5 MSI Finish: N/A
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 15-3
If the North American representative is without a standout performer, Europe's G2 Esports is just the opposite, riddled with them this spring. For starters, Kang-yun "Trick" Kim earned the Spring Split MVP in his first year in Europe, and was the driving force behind G2's success. Formerly of CJ Entus, Trick has embraced the new-found power of junglers, finding great success on Graves, Nidalee, and Kindred. His KDA of 5.2 was by far the highest among junglers, with the next highest sitting at just 4.1.
Trick wasn't alone, however, as G2 had three players in the top 10 in Europe in KDA, and two others in the top 20. The EU LCS KDA leader? Glenn "Hybrid" Doornenbal. The rookie support player displayed great proficiency on Braum, winning eight of his 10 games on the champion. Teams should be hesitant to take that pick away, however, as Hybrid was undefeated on Bard this season.
Hybrid's incredible performance did not grant him Europe's Rookie of the Split, the honor instead going to teammate Luka "Perkz" Perkovic. Perkz led all European mid-laners in both kills (108) and CS per minute (9.0). The young player (17) was also un-phased by the big stage, going 7/1/4 as LeBlanc in the opening game of the final against Origen. When Origen took LeBlanc away in the ensuing games, he responded by going 13/7/4 in two victories as Zed.
The major concern surrounding G2 is their lack of international experience as a group. However, given that they toppled the previous top two teams (Origen, Fnatic) rather handily in front of crowds of thousands, I expect them to cope with the pressure just fine.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: Third
Flash Wolves (LMS)
Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang
Season 5 MSI Finish: N/A
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 9-3-2
Without an LMS team in attendance at IEM Katowice, this is the first glimpse of Taiwan this season on the international stage. After finishing second to ahq e-sports club in the summer split last season, the Wolves had a respectable showing, going 4-3 in the group stage before falling to Origen in the tournament quarterfinals.
In this spring split, ahq e-sports appeared to have Flash Wolves' number again, defeating them 2-0 in an early season matchup and finishing with a 13-3 record and the number one playoff seed. The Wolves got over the hump in last month's final, however, sweeping ahq convincingly in three sub-40 minute games. The difference? Well, the sole offseason roster move came in the top lane, where veteran top-laner Chou "Steak" Lu-Hsi moved to analyst in favor of Lihong-Yu, or "MMD".
MMD's impact was apparent, as he finished the LMS Spring Split second among top laners with a KDA of 6.2. Although he logged just 47 kills, he was a play-maker for his team, recording far and away the highest assist total (206) among Taiwanese top-laners. MMD's Poppy was particularly frightening, as he went 5-0 with 18 kills and just one death (51.00 KDA!) during the season. With the current power of Poppy, it would be shocking to see him get his hands on that champion even once this week. That is little concern to the Wolves, however, as MMD went 12/3/26 on a combination of Maokai and Ekko.
While their newest member performed adequately, the returning members of Flash Wolves thoroughly dominated the regular season. In fact, of players with at least 20 games, the other four members held the top four spots in terms of KDA. Maple, Karsa, and NL all led their respective positions in kills, while SwordArt topped the league in assists by a wide margin.
Expect a huge tournament from Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang, who showed his meddle on the international stage last fall. In the 1-3 loss to Origen, Maple demonstrated superb play on several champions, and was the only member of his team to record a positive KDA in every game. In the final against ahq, Maple posted a KDA of 19, while leading his team in damage dealt in two of the three matches. Maple has had dominant performances on Gangplank, but with a vast selection of champions at his disposal, sending bans his direction may be entirely futile. With the best team around him to date, the star mid-laner may be ready to lead the Flash Wolves deep into this tournament.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: Second
SuperMassive eSports (Wild Card)
Mustafa "Dumbledoge" Kemal Gökseloğlu
Season 5 MSI Finish: N/A
Season 6 Spring Split Record: 8-6
Out of Turkey, SuperMassive ESports punched their ticket to MSI by winning the 2016 International Wild Card Invitational. Formerly Beşiktaş e-Sports Club, the team resurfaced as SuperMassive this season with an entirely new roster. The only remaining members of last year's sixth place MSI team were top-laner Thaldrin and support Dumbledoge.
Of the new acquisitions, AD carry Achuu was a standout performer in the final against Hard Random, recording a perfect game on Lucian, as well as a 6/1/11 game on Ezreal. As with any wild card team, SuperMassive will have the odds stacked against them as they attempt to make some noise at MSI.
Predicted 2016 MSI Finish: Sixth
