Gaming
Gaming
Get ready for League of Legends: All Star 2014
Voilà! Your introduction to Paris’ upcoming League of Legends All Star event.
Get ready for League of Legends: All Star 2014
© Riot Games
MOBA fans get ready, the League of Legends All Star 2014 event is heading to Paris next month. The top teams from five regions around the globe will be slugging it out for a $50,000 prize (as well as bragging rights which are, as we all know, priceless), but it’s not just your typical tournament. Alongside the Invitational, a series of All Star Challenge matches are taking place, dropping two global superstar line-ups into four fantastical match settings. In case you're new to the scene, here's what to expect:
Who?
The teams competing in the Invitational comprise some of the biggest names from all over the world. See what we mean:
Fnatic – Named as Europe's top seed for the LoL Season 3 World Championships, it's hardly surprising to see Fnatic representing the region at the tournament.
OMG – Regularly finishing in the top three of premier and major tournaments since their formation in 2012, OMG are representing China at the event.
SK Telecom T1 K – Coming to the All Star event with the first place at the Season 3 World Championships under their belt, SK Telecom T1 K will be doing battle on behalf of South Korea.
Taipei Assassins – Heading to Paris on the back of their GPL Spring victory, TPA will be representing Southeast Asia.
Cloud 9 – Ranked number one in North America, Cloud 9 were kept in third place for the IEM Season 8 World Championship by Fnatic. Perhaps All Star 2014 will let them settle some scores.
So what is it?
The All Star event is a cross between a regular competitive tournament and a daily WTF mode. The All Star Invitational is the more serious side of the event and pits each of the top teams from the five global regions against one another. The All Star Challenge meanwhile takes the two mixed region teams (as voted for by fans) and launches them into a selection of tweaked matches designed more for showboating, fast pacing and pentakill potential.
In other words, this is your only chance to see arch rivals from across the world setting aside their differences to serve up a slice of victory. If the Invitational was the football world cup, the All Star Challenge would be the equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Franck Ribery, Mario Balotelli and Manuel Neuer sneaking off each day to play a quick game of five-a-side involving ridiculous quantities of spells, unexpected changes to the offside rule and the occasional extra player being parachuted in for good measure.
What are the rules?
Not all of the Challenge modes have been announced yet but let's talk about two which have been confirmed. First up is Hexakill. It's a Summoner's Rift match with the twist that each team will field a sixth champion. The players for these extra champions were picked by a public vote so you'll see two former team captains returning to LoL.
One is former Taipei Assassins mid Toyz. Currently retired, Toyz has been dealing with the carpal tunnel syndrome which has prevented him from playing professional LoL. The other side gets Team WE mid, Misaya. Back in December, Misaya said he wouldn't rule out a return to the pro scene. While this is probably not quite what he meant we're definitely excited to see both Misaya and Toyz back in action.
The second mode is URF which stands for Ultra Rapid Fire, although an alternative name could have probably been 'Spellpocalypse'. In URF mode, champions will start with an 80 percent cooldown reduction on abilities, active items and summoner spells. Additionally, mana and energy costs will be removed and ranged champions will have their attack speed bonuses doubled. Oh, and a fan vote will pick one champion which each side must include on their team. In other words, spells will fly even faster than usual – who’s going to come out on top when the dust settles?
Two more challenge modes will be announced in the run up to the event.
Where?
The 2014 All Star event is taking place in Paris, specifically at the Zenith de Paris arena, but you’ll be able to stream all the action live at leagueoflegends.com.
When?
May 8-11
Who’s the favourite?
It’s hard to say. In terms of the Invitational, we're excited to see how Cloud 9 fare, but what we're really looking forward to are the challenge matches and the joyful chaos they're likely to bring with them.
Let us know who you're rooting for! We’ll be there covering the events as they happen so stay tuned.
