It's been two years since Toyz and Stanley stood upon the confetti-strewn stage of the Galen Center -- triumphant despite incredible odds, as world champions.
The heyday of Southeast Asian esports has since passed. China and Korea raced ahead of the rest of the world to monopolize tournament placements and World Championship titles. But the names of the Season 2 Taipei Assassins still command respect, and the return of two of the most celebrated players of the Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Macau scene is big news for the newly formed League of Legends Master Series.
FAMILIAR FACES
Top: Wang "Stanley" June Tsan
Jungle: Xue "DinTer" Hong Wei
Mid: Kurtis "Toyz" Wai
ADC: Wang "GoDJJ" Yong Jie
Support: Chang "Awei" Jia Wei
Substitute: Ye "Yezi" Zhi Hua
Toyz and Stanley aren't the only ones returning to the spotlight. This is technically Hong Kong Esports' second time in the running, after they participated in the Garena Premier League last year under the name Hong Kong Attitudes. But while their group stage performance back then was a very respectable tie for first place with the Azubu Taipei Snipers, they fell apart against the Saigon Jokers during the quarterfinals. That demoralizing blow might have lingered, as they were subsequently defeated in the 2014 spring split qualifiers by Yoe Flash Wolves.
Their poor performance since was undoubtedly a major contributing factor to the total roster overhaul -- though the form of that overhaul might raise a few eyebrows. Except for substitute player Yezi, every single name on the list is a well-known player... all of which, in fact, came from the twin teams of Azubu Taipei Assassins and Snipers.
"It wasn't a deliberate choice at all," protested HKE executive Andrew Leung, when asked about their acquisition of former Azubu players. "Hong Kong Esports values players the most -- therefore, when it came down to pick up new players to form a team, we provided Toyz and Stanley almost every available candidate at the time, and let them choose the ones they think would fit in the team well."
To be fair, AD carry GoDJJ and support player Awei have long since proven their mettle, as their bot lane performance led to the Snipers' co-dominance of last year's GPL alongside eventual three-time GPL champions Taipei Assassins. And while jungler DinTer caught a lot of flack during his time in the Assassins, he had demonstrated a better knack for the jungle than in his old support role and is a lot more in tune to the current competitive environment than his more storied seniors. In fact, the new recruits have arguably less to prove than their senior teammates.
RUNNING A RISK
Technically, this was all supposed to start close to a year ago. Toyz was supposed to rejoin competitive play in the spring of this year -- the triumphant return of the Orianna that won over the world. But the same health issues that caused him to retire in the first place had not yet fully healed. "We were really concerned with Toyz's physical issue, so we postponed the plan to create a new team, and even canceled all of his streaming schedule on Twitch," said Leung. "After months of medical consultation and physiotherapy, Toyz was officially announced fully recovered in August."
No such problem existed for Stanley, though he was otherwise preoccupied as a coach for the teams under the HKE aegis. But that's no reason for him, or anybody else on the team, to take it easy. Their position on the team is far from a sure thing, especially in context of the hot and heavy international transfers happening across the world.
"We think the trend of bringing in Korean players or staff into different regions makes massive and positive impact to the esports scene in general," said Leung. "There is no doubt that, currently, the way Korean players train and dedicate themselves to esports is the best. With that said, we have been trying to recruit a Korean coach, and we are open to getting Korean players too."
That said, they're not in a hurry to dump the roster yet again, as the LMS hasn't even started yet. "Being relaxed for one whole year, jumping back into the pro scene and trying to compete on the current level that every other team is on is going to be challenging," acknowledged Leung. "However, we do believe in our players' talents and potentials. In HKE we trust."
That trust will be put to the test as both HKE's new roster and the new LMS circuit debuts in 2015.
