There are stars in the sky and on the screen for the All-Star Event of the year
East v West. Team Fire v Team Ice. This weekend sees a clash of the elements, as six of the finest League of Legends ‘dream teams’ face off for the year-ender.
In addition to the classic 5v5, we also have plenty of 1v1 action.
Thanks to the fan votes, you’ll be able to see the match-ups we all were hoping for.
Here are some of our most eagerly anticipated.
MaRin v Clearlove
What is there left to say about MaRin?
One of the most consistently popular LoL players among fans, he has gone from strength to strength since he first dipped his toe and then dived headfirst into eSports’ Korean scene with SK Telecom T1.
The relationship has been a fruitful one – culminating in he and SK1 winning the 2015 Worlds just a few short months ago.
By the same token, however, that relationship is now over.
Yes, it turns out that even one of the world’s finest eSports players isn’t immune to roster reshuffles in the offseason – and the Worlds’ MVP perhaps wants a new challenge out of the shadow of teammate Faker.
How will the top-laner react in his first professional match back? We’ll find out as he faces off against Clearlove.
Ming ‘Clearlove’ Kai is commonly acknowledged as being perhaps the finest jungler of his generation.
A veteran of the scene despite being just 22 years old, he is still with his latest team: Edward Gaming.
This year has seen him really grow as the main shot caller and be voted the world’s 9th best player, so he will be keen to prove his quality here.
The closest we have come to the two squaring off recently was when SKT T1 and EDG were both matched in Group C for the 2015 Worlds.
EDG didn’t win a game against them. Will it be the same this time?
Meteos v Rookie
Roster changes have also affected Cloud9, although not in the same way.
When Meteos voluntarily left their jungle slot (but not the team) in the midst of the summer split, they brought back retired leader and charter member Hai Lam to try and boost their fortunes.
They didn’t fare too well, but have now found a more than capable replacement in the off-season, MVP Rush.
The question now remains, what happens to Meteos? It is hard to gauge his mental state.
He has stated his intentions to remain with the Cloud9 team, but in what position we don’t know.
We may get some indication of his mind-set, and remaining hunger for LoL, when he faces a superstar in Rookie.
Recently voted the fifth best League of Legends player in the world, Eui-jin ‘Rookie’ Song flew under the radar when he first joined Invictus Gaming – mainly thanks to the fanfare over Korean superstar KaKAO, signed at the same time.
Hence, with less pressure, RooKie flourished, surprising everyone with his table mid-lane stability and presence of mind, providing the perfect foil for the flashier KaKAO.
Pressure, pressure, pressure is often his style – and it could prove too much for Meteos’ apparently fragile play-style.
It’s the hare v the tortoise – and we know who wins in the stories.
Froggen v Faker
It’s a battle of the mid-laners. One for Elements and one for SK1.
Froggen is one of few eSports powerhouses to have attempted to start a new team around themselves, which he did with Alliance and now with Elements – in the same way that xPeke did with Origen.
Ironically, xPeke was the player to drop out of the All-Stars tournament this time to give Froggen the much-anticipated duel with Faker.
Can the king of the ‘vanity project’ team beat the greatest of all time?
Faker. What more possibly needs to be said?
Dubbed the ‘Michael Jordan’ of eSports, he is comfortably the best League of Legends player alive, if not in history.
At the forefront of everything positive SK1 did on their way to winning their historic second World Championship this year, the 19-year-old mid-laner took 10 MVP titles in just 15 games to cement his dominance.
If anyone can give him troubles, Froggen can, but there is still the overwhelming sensation it won’t be enough.
Regardless, this is a match-up that eSports fans have been anticipating for a long time.
Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.
