all i heard was
Shy's Singed completely shits on CLG
Worlds Championship Update - Grand Final
Taipei Assassins
It'd be a fair guess to say that almost nobody saw this coming. The Assassins, straight out of Taiwan, got tired of their local competition. Nobody in Taiwan can touch the Assassins. They practise harder, play harder, and work harder than any other team in their region. Under the leadership of their managers Erica and previous support player Lin, the Assassins have shown the world that teamwork trumps all. Five men ruled by two women, the Assassins stormed out in their game versus one of three non-M5 teams people had tipped to win the tournament - Najin Sword. MaKNooN and his men were
easily dismantled by the Assassins. The favourite, Moscow Five, was also dropped by the Taiwanese team in an amazing match. Though they have faltered a little, they look pristine coming into the final.
Stanley - it is not hard to say that Stanley is what HotshotGG was in his prime as a top laner. The guy plays everything, much like Pdd of iG. He terrorised the solo queue ladder with his five-Revolver Vladimir, and other ridiculous builds. He has one of the best understandings of the top lane displayed thus far, controlling creep waves and being a constant split push threat on Nidalee and Shen. As Jayce, his knowledge of the champion is very broad, being played both as an assassin and in more of a traditional carry role. Though he may have some mechanical shortcomings compared to the well-practised Shy, his performance will have a massive impact on the grand final. He is Taipei's anchor and will be relied on to bring up the vanguard against the Koreans.
Lilballz - a call back to the junglers of lore - the rarely seen, but always feared gankers. Lilballz was an absolute terror on CLG, and he is an absolute terror now. I can say with confidence that if he hadn't quit CLG to move back to Taiwan, our competitive scene would be vastly, vastly different right now. We would probably witness the HotshotGG/Lilballz/bigfatjiji troika stomp the everloving crap out of everyone. The best Alistar jungler in the world, Lilballz hasn't been able to touch the champion yet, and Azubu Frost would be very wise to keep the champion away from him. His synergy with Toyz is only matched by Diamondprox and Alex Ich - and one combo came out on top in that match.
Toyz - perhaps the MVP of this tournament thus far. He is to Orianna what Froggen is to Anivia. With godlike mechanics, an uncanny ability to farm no matter the situation of the game, and a gigantic threat near dragon and in the roaming phase, Toyz will be the highest priority on Frost's hitlist. CloudTemplar will have to devote a lot of attention to him - either that, or risk Toyz getting free farm, or worse, RapidStar actually losing lane. I doubt Toyz will be able to touch Orianna in the final, but like all of the Assassins, he is incredibly competent on most champions he might play.
Bebe - he got bored of stomping the NA solo queue ladder, and came to stomp the rest of the world instead. A household name on the ladder and in Asia, Bebe is everything you'd want in an AD carry. He is quite fortunate that he is coming up against (arguably) one of the weaker ADs in this tournament, Woong. Though Bebe lacks the raw skill to outplay those that dive onto him like WeiXiao and Doublelift, there is a reason those two carries are not in the final - they simply do not work well enough with their teams. The Taipei Assassins are probably the most synergised team in the world, and at the core of every team is an AD carry just looking at his watch to know it is his time to shine.
MiSTakE - forming the second half of one of the best AD/Support combos in the world, MiSTakE is no stranger to high-stake games. Handpicked by Riot to represent the pros against Riot's team, he has shown exceptional play throughout this tournament with an amazing play on Blitzcrank versus Najin Sword. MiSTakE is like Krepo, Chauster and Pepper in that he likes to initiate action in the bottom lane. What sets him apart from other supports is the fact that he used to play AD, like Chauster. They say the best supports were all carries at one point. Perhaps Frost will keep his Blitzcrank away from him, who knows. But Woong and MadLife will definitely be on the backfoot in this matchup.
Azubu Frost
On the other side, we have Azubu Frost. The classic Korean team, Frost's dedication matches the Assassins' in all aspects. However, their road to the final has not been as smooth as the Taipei Assassins. They were shaken up by all three teams they played in the group stage in the early game. They couldn't get it going against TSM in the second game, relying on CloudTemplar to claw the game out from TSM's hands. They were stomped into the dust by CLG.EU in the first game of the match, but they also came back to punish errors and give the world a repeat of the OGN finals. Masters of long teamfights, Azubu Frost is looking to pull a hail Mary and win the tournament from the group stage, proving that Korea is the premier region for League of Legends.
Shy - a lot of attention has been put on the man this tournament. Years of experience of DotA have molded Shy into an amazing top laner, easily one of the best in the world, and he's only been playing the game
since March. Shy has shown great play on Jax and an uncanny ability to always know where the enemy jungler is. It's not surprising - the Korean metagame is heavily based around aggressive lane switching and attempting to shut down the isolated solo laner. Shy's battle scars will carry into the game versus Stanley - I won't be surprised if the two never actually play each other in lane. If Shy does manage to beat Stanley in lane, I would expect him to carry the whole game.
CloudTemplar - a tactical genius and a very solid jungler. CloudTemplar's play on Skarner has been nothing short of exceptional, and Taipei would be wise to ban the lobster out. CloudTemplar has an affinity for counterganking - by predicting the enemy jungler's movements, he is able to turn it around and create openings for his team. CloudTemplar seems to be everywhere at once when he disappears into the fog, with amazing map presence. This style of heavy roaming and naked Oracles purchases can, however, heavily backfire against Lilballz' more traditional style of jungling. CloudTemplar will be on a timer against Lilballz - if he can impact the game enough early, he should be able to push the game to a win. But when Taipei gets in their rhythm, it will be a long fight back to the top for Azubu Frost.
RapidStar - considered to be the 'perfect Reginald' by foreign observers, RapidStar's roaming has been unparalleled this tournament. His play on Anivia is highly respected across the world, almost matching Froggen's play. RapidStar carries Azubu Frost often, and in spectacular fashion. His weakness seems to be a weaker map awareness and gamesense in the laning phase - but when he leaves the lane, he is a true terror that must not be taken lightly. RapidStar is on top of his game, and Toyz will have to work hard to take him down. The lane could swing either way - even a mutual agreement to farm and let their teams decide the advantage. Either way, look out for his coordination with CloudTemplar.
Woong - perhaps the only member of Azubu Frost to be overestimated, though that does not say much considering how powerful the Korean team have shown themselves to be. Woong loves his Ezreal, and plays a very safe AD carry. He has made a great play on Ezreal versus Chaox's Graves, blinking over skillshots and taking the TSM member down. However, he has a tendency to lose his lane and as such Bebe will likely have a comfortable time against him - that is unless, of course, Frost decides to pull a switcheroo and have Stanley take on Bebe and MiSTakE instead. Though when babysitted through to the lategame, Woong is just as good as any other AD carry, avoiding death in the most pressuring of situations.
MadLife - one half of the legendary LocoLife combo, MadLife now finds himself training his new lane partner in the ways of the bottom lane. MadLife is considered to be the best support player in Korea - indeed, when he was partnered with Locodoco, it was often joked that MiG stood for MadLife is God. With exceptional play on Alistar and Blitzcrank, MadLife has not made too many mistakes this tournament and should be able to babysit Woong enough that Bebe and MiSTakE do not run over Frost. MadLife's gamesense and decision making in teamfights is a splendour to watch, and often he will carry a teamfight despite dealing no damage.
The Match
I expect this game to be either a 3-0 for TPA, or a 3-2 for Frost, with Taipei taking the first two games. However, anything could happen. If there is a time to reveal cheese, it is now. Azubu Frost is considered to be weaker at standard play when compared to their brother team Blaze, though their early game aggression has caught many a team offguard. The Taipei Assassins, on the other hand, are comfortable with standard play and seek to take objective after objective throughout the game. Azubu Frost is more comfortable in a low-economy situation, and will be looking to force this as much as possible. Either way, I believe these two teams deserve the most to be in the grand final, and they will give us a great show for sure.
