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11/22/2024 04:50:46 am

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League of Legends: Season 4 Finalists Fight for $1 million

finals

Ten "pro-gamers" are meeting in the final of a League of Legends event with a $1 million prize winning check.

Ten "pro-gamers" are meeting in the final of a League of Legends event with a $1 million prize winning check. This is Riot Games' fourth season of their "Worlds" championship, where teams from all regions compete for the grand prize.

Last year, South Korean favorites SK Telecom T1K won the championship, stomping China's Royal Club in a best-of-five series. It was the most watched event in the history of eSports, with 27 million views from around the globe and 15,000 in the packed Staples Center stadium.

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Season 4 Worlds

This year, another South Korea vs. China final awaits, this time hosted in Seoul. The final will be held in South Korea's Sangam Stadium, the 2002 World Cup stadium that holds more than 65,000 attendants at capacity.

The two teams, Samsung Galaxy White and Starhorn Royal Club, managed to push through the group stages, quarter and semi-finals, in order to get the finals spot. Here's a look at the two teams.

Samsung Galaxy White


samsung-galaxy-white
(Photo : Riot Games)

The Korean powerhouse, Samsung White (previously Ozone) arrived at the Season 3 Worlds and were crushed by Gambit Gaming and Fnatic, in what can only be described as one of the worst Korean video game performances ever on an international stage.

This year, all of the cockiness and lack of preparation has been accounted for, and Samsung White looks like an unstoppable machine. They beat the previous Champions SK Telecom T1K to get their seed into Words, and beat their sister team Samsung Galaxy Blue in the semi-final.

One of their benefits is every role is top-class, their Support Mata is recognized as the best in the world at his position, along with their Jungler Dandy. Mid laner Pawn and Top laner Looper are both solid rocks for the team, and AD Carry Imp is the cocky and extremely skilled player that forces the aggressive plays.

Samsung Galaxy White are the favorites to the win the final, like SK Telecom T1K last year.

Starhorn Royal Club


starhorn-royal-club
(Photo : Riot Games)

The returning finalists, Starhorn Royal Club were smashed 0/3 in the finals last year, but are now back with a new roster (bar one player) to compete again. The Chinese team beat two rival Chinese teams, OMG and EDG, in a best-of-five, winning both 3/2.

When Royal Club lost to SK Telecom T1K in the final, four of their players were either kicked or retired from professional play. The only player left was Uzi, the 17-year old AD Carry, who is widely regarded as one of the best and most fascinating players in the world.

To fill out the team, Starhorn Royal Club brought in two Chinese players, Top lane Cola and Mid lane Corn. Instead of rounding the team out with more Chinese players, Starhorn added South Korean Jungler InSec, a highly mechanical but overaggressive player who left the KT Bullets, a South Korean organization, earlier that year, along with Zero from the KT Arrows, another Korean organization.

It is hard to say what benefits Starhorn Royal Club have, communicating is difficult as two players speak Korean and three speak Chinese, normally relying on basic English and smart-pings to communicate during the game. Uzi is a wildcard and has carried his team through multiple games through pure mechanical skill alone.

If Uzi manages to win-lane hard and snowball that into a hold on the mid game, Starhorn Royal Club might stand a chance, but having that happen three times against Samsung Galaxy White is slim.

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