Welcome To Paris : A Fast Look at All-Stars

by Jt 'Ribbwich' Egbert

Halfway to worlds, the leagues are all ready for a chance to take a warning bite out of each other. As the All-Star hype train reaches critical mass, let's look at how these five teams have earned their invitations. We start with the kings:

Korea:

Korea is being represented by the winner of the Season Three World Championships, SK T1 K, although it is pretty well-known they aren't the strongest team in the region. (A title that probably belongs to one of the teams in Samsung Galaxy's stable.)

Why They Can Win: Mechanics, Mechanics, Mechanics. All of the pros in this region are 100% entrenched in their teams. This makes their personal mechanics match their team play mechanics. They time things to the millisecond, and outplay opponents on a large scale. Even the most solid teams end up tilting after experiencing SK T1 K's abuse.

How They Can Lose: Overconfidence is a weakness most Korean teams share. If their opponents remain calm and poised and stick to what they know (instead of going on a tilt trying to counter them,) any team has a chance of beating the god-kings.

China:

We had our first taste of China in the World Finals, when we got to see Royal Club's Tabe drop bears on people's heads. This time, we'll be seeing the Chinese team, OMG.

Why They Can Win: Aggressively striking from the shadows with fearless precision, the deadliest Chinese team is the unseen one. This team could take the win from nowhere, and you won't even see them coming...at first.

How They Can Lose: Vision. Other teams can pressure them out of their comfortable, unseen presence if they have a well-warded map. Get them on a tilt and the "W" is yours.

Garena:

The surprise winners of the Season Two World Championships, the Taipei Assassins are going to this years All-Star challenge as well, and they're riding the momentum of an undefeated spring season.

Why They Can Win: This region is always an unexpected treat - mixing Korean mechanics with Chinese aggression - but their best shot at winning lies in the fact that other teams are coming in crippled. SKT is slumping. C9 doesn't have Hai. OMG is playing with a rusty Cool, etc.

How They Can Lose: They don't really posses any team-fighting skill, so they need a lot of practice. Considering they'll be up against the best players in the world, the answers to this question are pretty much endless.

Europe:

Europe is one of the most competitive regions in the world, with some of the closest records we've seen in a single split. The European playoffs were hard fought, but ultimately they went in favor of perennial favorites, Fnatic.

Why They Can Win: Fnatic have great potential if they wear their amazing pants to these games. Fast reflexes, excellent mechanical skills and good rotations can lead Fnatic to victory.

How they Can Lose: By not bringing those pants. Fnatic has shown many times that they will attempt to try new things and push the meta as far as it will go. If their picks are bad and their play inconsistent, it might not be an impressive showing by Xpeke and the boys.

North America:

Who can say no to apple pie? Undefeated playoff contenders and double split winners, Cloud 9 HyperX, face their first Korean challenge in SKT T1k, and look to exact revenge against EU rivals, Fnatic.

Why They Can Win: Cloud 9 will come into this series prepared. They have done the legwork. They know their enemies...and LemonNation's legendary notebook has something in store for every one of them. Early Jungle pressure and superior rotations should keep even the best opponent on their toes - as long as they can synergize with Hai's replacement, Link.

How They Can Lose: C9 might have trouble keeping their collective cool under the immense competition these teams are sure to bring them. If they get out-pressured and over-aggressed, places where C9 has shown weakness before, it will spell the end of the red white and blue at All Stars.

That's all I have, thanks for the read, I will see you all in Paris! (Well, in twitch chat!)

League of Legends : Ushering in World Peace

Link at All-Stars : The Unseen Threat

By Jeremy Heimann and Jodi McClure

Counter Logic Gaming's Link has a lot in common with a Teemo mushroom. Quiet and very low-key compared to his larger-than-life teammates, the young mid-laner can sometimes be invisible to LCS fans, but ignoring him on the playing field is deadly. He'll explode on you if you're not paying attention, and even though he's small in stature, this mechanically-sound eighteen-year-old can pack a lot of punch. Similar to Hai, (the recovering Cloud 9 player he'll be replacing at All-Stars,) Link has a large champion pool to draw on and heavily favors current meta bullies like Lulu and LeBlanc. And like Hai, he's familiar with a team that likes rotations. Plus, like Hai, Link excels at late-game shot calling. In fact, he's practically the ideal made-to-order player for those mid-less white-hoodie-wearing gangstas.

For both parties, the temporary trade appears to be an excellent deal. Cloud 9 gets a competent replacement and CLG gets an interesting look inside the enemy camp. Besides gaining experience on the international stage, the understated Link will have a chance to infiltrate Cloud 9's mind and maybe steal a glimpse at the sacred pages of LemonNation's notebook (and copy them with a pen camera, if he's got any James Bond in him at all.)

Call it a sweet but smart move by CLG, who won't be getting much practice in anyways with Doubleleft away at All-Stars. No downside, huge upside, and great exposure for the unusually wraith-like Link, who's only been growing in confidence since earning a spot on CLG's starting line-up. He'll go to All-Stars. He'll blend in. And he'll do for Cloud 9 what he does best - silently playing the ghost in the machine while his cyborg mind absorbs everything. And then he'll bring it all back to his team. C'est la vie, C9!