League of Legends has seen its share of empires, with teams like Moscow Five, Team WE and SK Telecom T1 all enjoying an extended period of time at the top. In the aftermath of SK Telecom T1 K's combustion, Samsung Blue and White rose to the pantheon of competitive play. Their dominance can be summed up in one neat statistic - after Champions Winter 2013-14, neither Samsung team lost a single match apart from their team-kill matches.
Empires don't last forever, and Samsung Galaxy's management saw their reign of victory crumble as every single Samsung player was bought out by a different organization. The 10 core players of Blue and White moved to China in search of higher salaries, bringing an end to Samsung's sister teams. The substitute players got in on the transfer action as well, as substitute AD Carry Byun "Skatch" Se Hoon moved to China as well. Substitute top-laner Noh "Gamsu" Yeong Jin transferred to North America's Team Dignitas, while support Lee "Piccaboo" Jong Beom was recruited by SK Telecom T1.
Rumors abounded as to who Samsung would pick up to represent them in OGN Champions, with the high-flying Xenics Modslook being pegged as a likely candidate. Samsung instead elected to rebuild from the ground up, recruiting five players from tryouts. As the only OGN team with rookies on their core roster, the new Samsung Galaxy will be pushed to their limits from day one. Here's what to expect from them as they prepare for Champions Spring.
Lee "CuVee" Seong Jin
One of Samsung's three rookies, CuVee is a versatile top-laner capable of playing strong damage-dealers and tanks alike. Much like his predecessors Choi "Acorn" Cheon Ju and Jang "Looper" Hyeong Seok, CuVee thrives in situations where he has the freedom of using Teleport, showing up before his top-lane opponent in crucial skirmishes.
Still, it's hard to see CuVee as anything but Samsung's weak link - at least for now. His tendency to collapse against enemy lane-swaps has proven to be a thorn in Samsung's side more than once, especially when on a vulnerable champion such as Rumble. At present, watching CuVee can be compared to watching a Looper who does not have the luxury of the dominant map control exerted by players like
Choi "DanDy" In Kyu and Cho "Mata" Se Hyoung.
That being said, however, CuVee has plenty of space for growth. He has shown flashes of brilliance on carry champions such as Jayce and Kassadin, and his tank play on champions like Dr. Mundo and Renekton is serviceable. Ultimately, CuVee's growth as a player will come down to Samsung's growth as a team - the more comfortable Samsung becomes, the better CuVee will be able to define his playstyle and hammer out his issues.
Still, it's hard to see CuVee as anything but Samsung's weak link - at least for now. His tendency to collapse against enemy lane-swaps has proven to be a thorn in Samsung's side more than once, especially when on a vulnerable champion such as Rumble. At present, watching CuVee can be compared to watching a Looper who does not have the luxury of the dominant map control exerted by players like
Choi "DanDy" In Kyu and Cho "Mata" Se Hyoung.
That being said, however, CuVee has plenty of space for growth. He has shown flashes of brilliance on carry champions such as Jayce and Kassadin, and his tank play on champions like Dr. Mundo and Renekton is serviceable. Ultimately, CuVee's growth as a player will come down to Samsung's growth as a team - the more comfortable Samsung becomes, the better CuVee will be able to define his playstyle and hammer out his issues.
Seo "Eve" Jun Cheol
Eve makes his way into Champions as the second rookie of Samsung, and the second jungler to share his name with a jungle champion (behind Lee "Lee" Ho Jin of GE Tigers). He has been dubbed "Drunk DanDy" by the Korean experts of Team Liquid for good reason - Eve's play will remind many of the world champion jungler, if a little unrefined.
There is still an air of mystery surrounding Eve and his potential, as he has only unveiled three champions on the professional stage in Jarvan IV, Lee Sin and Warwick (no Evelynn, unfortunately - or fortunately, if we consider how terrible Evelynn is right now). Eve hails from the DanDy school of jungling, focusing on high-percentage ganks and answering the movements of the opposing jungler, rarely forcing the issue.
Questions still remain as to whether this is a product of Samsung's coaching or simply Eve's natural tendencies. Whatever the case, Eve is a promising jungler who has already begun to carve out his own place in the Korean metagame. He's also ridiculously cute, which is an added bonus for the ladies.
There is still an air of mystery surrounding Eve and his potential, as he has only unveiled three champions on the professional stage in Jarvan IV, Lee Sin and Warwick (no Evelynn, unfortunately - or fortunately, if we consider how terrible Evelynn is right now). Eve hails from the DanDy school of jungling, focusing on high-percentage ganks and answering the movements of the opposing jungler, rarely forcing the issue.
Questions still remain as to whether this is a product of Samsung's coaching or simply Eve's natural tendencies. Whatever the case, Eve is a promising jungler who has already begun to carve out his own place in the Korean metagame. He's also ridiculously cute, which is an added bonus for the ladies.
Park "BlisS" Jong Won
If you've been following the OGN cast of the Champions pre-season at all, then you've probably already heard about BlisS and why he's special. The hype surrounding him can be summed up in one word - Fizz. KT Rolster, Incredible Miracle and NaJin e-mFire have all shown BlisS' Fizz its due respect, banning the Tidal Trickster out in every single game.
In fact, the only team to have allowed BlisS' Fizz to see the light of day is SK Telecom T1, and they would pay for it to a small degree as BlisS claimed First Blood on Lee "Faker" Sang Hyeok's LeBlanc. Realistically, though, BlisS is not the second coming of Faker, and should not be treated as such. His most notable strength (apart from his Fizz play) is his wide champion pool, and Samsung should not have much trouble building compositions around his play.
BlisS will need to work hard against some of the veteran OGN mid-laners, and deepen his champion pool if he is to avoid becoming the next Hu "Xiyang" Bin and fade into obscurity. If he is able to develop threatening play on some other champions, he will be able to take some of the banning pressure off his teammates and take advantage of his overall flexible style.
In fact, the only team to have allowed BlisS' Fizz to see the light of day is SK Telecom T1, and they would pay for it to a small degree as BlisS claimed First Blood on Lee "Faker" Sang Hyeok's LeBlanc. Realistically, though, BlisS is not the second coming of Faker, and should not be treated as such. His most notable strength (apart from his Fizz play) is his wide champion pool, and Samsung should not have much trouble building compositions around his play.
BlisS will need to work hard against some of the veteran OGN mid-laners, and deepen his champion pool if he is to avoid becoming the next Hu "Xiyang" Bin and fade into obscurity. If he is able to develop threatening play on some other champions, he will be able to take some of the banning pressure off his teammates and take advantage of his overall flexible style.
Lee "Fury" Jin Yong
Fury may seem like a new face in Yongsan, but he's actually played in Champions before under the moniker ZetNjin. Considered one of the redeeming elements on the struggling Prime Optimus roster, Fury made a name for himself with his terrifying Jinx and Lucian play. Fury's preference for shorter-ranged duelling marksmen is representative of Samsung as a whole - fearless, if unrefined.
The frontline is Fury's battlefield, as his preferred playstyle is to deal damage even in the face of a lumbering tank or threatening assassin. Most of Samsung's team compositions rely on Fury's ability to snowball a teamfight, and it would not be a stretch to call him the ace of the new Samsung Galaxy. Although Corki and Lucian are his currently-preferred champions, his Varus did make an appearance against SK Telecom T1 after all three SKT T1 bans were spent on his favorite picks.
Fury is one of the best reasons to watch Samsung, as one of the most exciting carry players in Korea, if not the world. There is a certain thrill in watching his Lucian walk forward against the enemy team with an air of arrogance, gunning them down from front to back. Keep your eyes on Fury, because Samsung's success will largely ride on his carry play.
The frontline is Fury's battlefield, as his preferred playstyle is to deal damage even in the face of a lumbering tank or threatening assassin. Most of Samsung's team compositions rely on Fury's ability to snowball a teamfight, and it would not be a stretch to call him the ace of the new Samsung Galaxy. Although Corki and Lucian are his currently-preferred champions, his Varus did make an appearance against SK Telecom T1 after all three SKT T1 bans were spent on his favorite picks.
Fury is one of the best reasons to watch Samsung, as one of the most exciting carry players in Korea, if not the world. There is a certain thrill in watching his Lucian walk forward against the enemy team with an air of arrogance, gunning them down from front to back. Keep your eyes on Fury, because Samsung's success will largely ride on his carry play.
Kwon "Wraith" Ji Min
Like his partner Fury, Wraith isn't an OGN rookie either. Wraith played under the ID of Casper in place of Lee "PoohManDu" Jeong Hyeon during the world champion's break from SK Telecom T1, and brings a wealth of competitive experience to the rookie Samsung squad. Wraith has always been respected in Korea as a mechanical genius, but his performance on SK Telecom T1 was less than stellar, owing to his inexperience in shot calling and team fighting.
That seems to have changed with his transition to Samsung Galaxy, as Wraith seems to be playing with a lot more confidence. As a hyung to his rookie teammates, Wraith protects them with more passive picks in Janna and Nami and leads Fury in lane with liberal use of his ranged auto attack. Though Janna and Nami are not the most exciting support champions to make plays on, Wraith stretches their kits to their limit, making clutch plays with Monsoon and Aqua Prison with the 'killer instinct' that is not seen in many players.
Together with Fury, Wraith is one of the more dangerous support players in Champions, and this bot lane should be observed closely as they serve to carry Samsung through to victory. It isn't often in Korea that a team is built around its bottom lane, and the development of Samsung as a team will be interesting to follow for this reason.
That seems to have changed with his transition to Samsung Galaxy, as Wraith seems to be playing with a lot more confidence. As a hyung to his rookie teammates, Wraith protects them with more passive picks in Janna and Nami and leads Fury in lane with liberal use of his ranged auto attack. Though Janna and Nami are not the most exciting support champions to make plays on, Wraith stretches their kits to their limit, making clutch plays with Monsoon and Aqua Prison with the 'killer instinct' that is not seen in many players.
Together with Fury, Wraith is one of the more dangerous support players in Champions, and this bot lane should be observed closely as they serve to carry Samsung through to victory. It isn't often in Korea that a team is built around its bottom lane, and the development of Samsung as a team will be interesting to follow for this reason.
Against monstrous competitors like SK Telecom T1 and NaJin e-mFire, Samsung can hardly be blamed for not seeing success in their first season. Samsung arguably have one of the highest ceilings in Korea as a team, however, making them a particularly interesting team to follow. Expect to see sloppy games at first, anchored by Fury and Wraith's strong bottom lane play. As time progresses, Samsung Galaxy will hope to see development in their three rookie players, and the refined play that fans came to expect of Blue and White.
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Writers: Manisier
Graphics: 상똘 (Naver Blog), Zess
Photos: OGN Global, Inven
Editors: SunsetSC2, Zess
Graphics: 상똘 (Naver Blog), Zess
Photos: OGN Global, Inven
Editors: SunsetSC2, Zess
