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The New Revolution in League of Legends Korea
Korea gets a new champion for a new era.
Najin W Shield
© onGamers
Korea's premier League of Legends tournament just concluded its spring season, one that saw a tectonic shift in the Korean League of Legends landscape. After months of fierce competition, Samsung Galaxy Blue finally clawed their way to the top of the field, edging past NaJin White Shield in a series that was closer than the 3-1 final would suggest.
The Main Event
That final, in itself, shows just how much has changed in Korean LoL in the last six months. Samsung Galaxy Blue was the junior of the two Samsung teams coming into 2014, and their mid laner Bae "dade" Uh Jin was sent down to the team from Samsung Ozone following a terrible performance at Worlds and some disappointments in the Winter season. If any Samsung team was going to making a challenge for a championship, it was going to be Ozone, and dade would be trying to redeem himself playing with the junior squad.
Yet that's not how it played out. Dade seemed to click with the Blue team, and soon started turning in championship-level performances on a regular basis. The Blue squad matured around him, and by the time they faced their "big brothers" on Ozone, Dade and Blue were an unstoppable force. Perhaps there was also a bit of spite mixed into Dade's brilliant games against Ozone, as he proved beyond doubt that he is the MVP of the entire Samsung League of Legends organization by beating his former squad 3-1.
We're Going Through Changes
NaJin White Shield is less of a surprise, but their runner-up finish brings to an end a long campaign to become one of the best teams in Korea. White Shield started making waves in the Winter tournament, finally coming out of the shadow of the more-famous, star-powered NaJin Black Sword team. But their play this season epitomized the kind of "slow-but-steady" approach that brought them past so many rivals. They played carefully and methodically all year, grinding opponents down and wearing them out rather than running away with games. Yet when push came to shove, they showed that they can play fast-paced fighting games or go for aggressive ganks. No team has evolved more since last fall, and they will remain a force to be reckoned with in the Summer season.
The Big Picture
Looked at in the broader scheme of things, SKT's hegemony was always unlikely to last. Korean eSports are too competitive, and the other KeSPA teams were working too hard to stay a rung below SK Telecom for much longer. Samsung Blue showed just how deep is the well of Korean LoL talent, and NaJin White Shield showed just how much a strong training regime and experience can change a team's fortunes. So the improvement from their opponents, plus their own difficulties with replacing and then welcoming back team captain Lee "PoohManDu" Jeong Hyun, made SK Telecom's season a particularly troubled one.
And it might be they've already turned the corner. In the SK Telecom Masters tournament (if there were a championship for sponsorships, SK Telecom would win in a shutout), the SK Telecom team has already gone 6-0 in the round robin stage against several of their rival organizations. Plus, they easily handled the world's best at All-Star. If SKT's top squad can keep this form, then they stand a good chance of reclaiming their throne in time for the World Championship.
But first, they've got to guarantee their place. They are now tied with Blue in terms of League of Legends Circuit points, which means they can't afford any more slip-ups this summer. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the Korean scene has finally reached their level.
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