Like all the matchups in All-Star Weekend, this duel is stacked with talent. For Korea, they have players hailing from four different teams. Shy and Madlife are both members of CJ Entus Frost, who finished 2nd place at the Season 2 World Championships and have appeared in three straight OGN Champions finals. Insec got voted in as the ‘carry’ Jungler from KT Rolster B, and Ambition and Pray round out the lineup. The European team, on the other hand, has three members of longtime powerhouse Gambit BenQ, with Evil Geniuses’ Yellowpete on AD Carry and sOAZ from Fnatic in Top Lane.

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The European team may aim to play like an improved Gambit BenQ, since they have the core of the team with Alex Ich in Mid, EDward on Support, and Diamond coming out of the jungle. The other two members need only to adapt to the Russian play-style for the team to flourish. Luckily for the EU all-stars, Yellowpete shares the same champion roster as Genja, Gambit’s starting AD Carry. Then we have sOAZ in the Top Lane; he’s an immensely versatile player who can adapt to any strategy, and this will be the match to show if the EU team mimics Gambit’s usual playstyle, or tries something new. The biggest adjustment that Gamb… er, the EU all-star team has to make is playing the game in English instead of Russian. Devoted fans of Gambit know that EDward and Diamond are actually quite proficient in English, even if they prefer to interview in their native language, so we’ll have to wait and see how much of an obstacle the language barrier actually presents.

The Korean all-stars will have a lot of choices to make when deciding their play-style against the European threat. Shy, Ambition, and Insec are all used to taking the coveted “free lane farm” in their teams, a term which refers to the large minion waves that build up in mid-late game. Shy, Insec, and Ambition are routinely the most farmed players in a game, in large part to the farm that their team gives them. But in an all-star roster, they may be forced to adjust to lower farm play-styles while they decide who they want to designate as the true carry for their team. Looking at player potential alone, the Korean team is absolutely loaded. Every member is a playmaker for their respective teams in Korea, so they may be able to out-aggress the EU all-stars and take this first matchup quickly.

EU Player to Watch: Paul "sOAZ" Boyer (Fnatic)
sOAZ was involved in the closest European all-star vote, winning by only .01% over EG’s Wickd and due in no small part to his victory over his rival in a streamed 1v1 best of five. Even though the game rarely features 1v1 matchups in side lanes anymore, his champion pool and versatility will be what defines the EU all-stars from the typical Gambit BenQ lineup.

KR Player to Watch: Hong "MadLife" Min-gi (Korea Champions Team)
Referred to as "God" by his Korean fans, Madlife received an overwhelming 80% of the vote in his region. He is respected as the best Blitzcrank, Thresh, Sona, and Alistar player in Korea, and expectations could not be higher for Madlife, even though he will need to adapt to a new AD Carry in Pray.

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