2014 LPL Summer preview: what's changed in China's LoL scene

The summer season of China’s LoL Pro League is almost upon us. The newly-revamped Demacia Cup has already begun, and the LPL regular season will kick off on Saturday with a match between iG and Young Glory followed by what now might be called a grudge match between OMG and EDG.

We’ll be streaming all LPL matches and the Demacia Cup matches live in English, of course, but before you tune into the stream, you might want to catch up with what’s happened to all these teams over the break!

Old teams

The summer season of the LPL will feature six teams you’re likely quite familiar with by now: OMG, Edward Gaming, Invictus Gaming, Team WE, LGD, and Star Horn (formerly Royal Club). But just because the teams are familiar doesn’t mean the lineups haven’t changed. In fact, there’s been quite a shakeup in a few teams, so let’s dive right in.

OMG: After a surprising loss in the spring finals and a less surprising loss to SKT at All-Star 2014, OMG has made a few changes. Mid player xiyang and subs sicca and Ziv have all moved to PE, and in return, former PE support Dada7 has joined OMG. Cool will retake his midlane spot after recovering from his health issues. Allen has said he’s moving back to the jungle in the summer, so what’s really up for grabs is the OMG support position. We’re guessing Pomelo will take over given that he’s played that role for OMG before, but it’s possible he could be benched in favor of Dada7 or another sub.

• Top: GoGoing
• Jungle: Allen
• Mid: Cool
• ADC: San
• Support: Pomelo (probably)

Edward Gaming: The spring season champions are sticking with what works, and the team’s basic lineup hasn’t changed at all for the summer. However, EDG CEO Efeng did resign “temporarily” amidst rumors that he was involved in inciting LGD player Styz to agitate for a transfer. Styz was ultimately punished with a six month ban, but the EDG organization has not been punished, so it should be business as usual for them on the Rift.

Invictus Gaming: iG hasn’t made a ton of changes, but top laner PDD has been removed in favor of Korean player YongSu, formerly of Mook Comet. It’s not clear whether this is a permanent arrangement or just a temporary one; rumors are swirling that PDD will retire but that has yet to be confirmed. The rest of iG’s lineup remains the same.

Team WE: WE’s player lineup hasn’t changed, but its playstyle may look different this season, as the team brought in former Korean pro and coach Hiro to coach the team. Hiro was reportedly looking for Korean training partners to help the team during practice, too, so the summer Team WE may bring with it a new, more Korean-influenced style.

LGD: Because of Styz’s ban, he’s obviously not going to be playing ADC at LGD anymore, and in fact he has already been transferred to EP, according to L-ACE. LGD has brought in young talent We1less, who comes via Vici Gaming, but that’s not a like-for-like replacement as We1less plays mid (Rena’s position) and Styz was the team’s ADC. Rumor has it that a solo queue player named Killer17 will be taking over the ADC role, but in a recent interview LGD toplaner Star has said that this is just a trial run of sorts, and Killer17 may not be the team’s permanent replacement.

Star Horn (Royal Club): The old Royal Club is under a new name and new management, and it has a bunch of new blood in its roster to boot, so expect a new look when these guys take to the Rift this summer. The team brought in former KT Rolster Bullets players inSec and Zero to take over the jungle and support positions, respectively, and the team has also brought in Chinese player Cola, although he’s not expected to be a starter.

New Teams

The LPL is going to have a lot less energy this summer, as Energy Pacemaker and Positive Energy have been relegated. Promoted in their place are WE Academy (part of the WE organization) and Young Glory (part of Invictus Gaming). In case you’re not already familiar with these guys, here are their current lineups:

WE Academy:

• Top: xr
• Jungle: anj
• Mid: xiye
• ADC: SmLz
• Support: Yuzhe