OGN Preview – NaJin White Shield vs Samsung Galaxy Blue
A battle of the underdogs erupts in Seoul this weekend. NaJin White Shield and Samsung Galaxy Blue have at least this in common: historically, they've been overshadowed by their sibling teams, with both Black Sword and Ozone taking OGN championships and World Championship seats while their scrim partners struggled in the lower brackets of Korea's hotly competitive scene.
But neither are content to stay in the shadows. They've stepped over their defeated siblings and onto the final stage: one last test of all they've learned in the intervening seasons.
NaJin White Shield
Technically, NaJin White Shield is the elder of the two teams – it was rooted in the em-Fire squad that predated the two-team system now common among Korea's top organizations, originally counting Yoon 'MakNooN' Ha-woon and coach Kim 'MOKUZA' Dae-woong among its ranks. But with MakNooN spun off to lead the former OGN Champions winning Sword roster, Shield spent the subsequent years in the shadows.
With MakNooN's absence, they spent all of 2012 struggling just to stay relevant in the group stages. The situation didn't improve for them much in Season 3 – even as Black Sword struggled to rekindle the fire of their victorious season, Shield found themselves loomed over by a yet bigger shadow. The year of SKT T1 K left everybody in the dark.
The Slow Roll
So what's changed between then and now?
"NaJin and Samsung management have made some really intelligent roster changes. For Shield, it's been a gradual process, but swapping in Watch (who is a gank-heavy player who loves to feed his solo lanes) has been the catalyst for great improvement by Save and Ggoong. NoFe was a fantastic jungler, but played a little more selfishly than Watch, which isn't a great fit for Shield's solo laners," said Alex Manisier, LoLesports and ggChronicle contributor.
Despite extensive roster changes, Shield's team style remained consistent throughout the splits – a passive, defensive bias that often made for long and methodological games. But their improvements in the standings have coincided with increased individual aggression. Said Manisier: "Game 5 against Blaze is the best example. Ggoong's instinct in the first gank, where he went all in on Ambition was an absolute sight to behold. Those double buffs being denied from Ambition likely saved Shield from losing. GorillA's Thresh hooks were insane as well, and he's able to make those plays on just about any champion."
Saving Grace
The spotlight's lately focused on Shield's top laner. Save's accomplishments this season has been extensive: utility top laners and a high degree of competence is naturally expected of a finalist team, but Save's extended his game presence beyond being a beefy mid- and late-game meat shield. His "pocket carries" have become a trademark of Shield's compositions – Kha'zix, in particular, offers both high-damage initiation to quickly turn tides in Shield's favor, while his damage mitigation mechanic often tricks teams into wasting high-value spells at inconvenient moments.
Samsung Galaxy Blue
If Shield's struggled to retain the dignity of the elder team, Blue's struggled to be noticed at all. When Samsung acquired MVP Ozone and Blue, it was clear that the spotlight was going to be on the team with Imp, Dade and Mata – a three-man core of raw talent that proved time and again to be at least equal to the best that the scene had to offer. Blue, however, didn't come into its own until after the end of their first season as they acquired Heo 'PawN' Won-seok in October – a player of superb mechanical execution, and seemingly an answer to the now world-famous SKT T1 K Faker.
They didn't get to keep him for long. Bae 'Dade' Uh-jin was moved to Blue in February, swapping places with the team's ace – a move that seemed on its face to be a downgrade for the suffering former OGN Champions winner. But there was more wisdom than initially apparent.
Out Of The Blue
During the winter OGN Champions split, Samsung Galaxy Blue was just barely able to make it out to quarterfinals before being summarily executed by SKT T1 K. To qualify for the spring split grand finals, they knocked out sibling team Ozone in a 3-0 feat of dominance that left the audience screaming.
The Deft/Heart bot lane has been especially solid as of late, with Deft being one of the few AD carries that still pilots a relevant Ezreal. Well-timed Trueshot Barrage snipes have been the bane of many a jungler, stealing away buffs and objectives with uncanny accuracy. Yet the true boost to the team's potential came from a seeming downgrade – a roster swap that was, during its time, highly controversial.
Dade Dreams Of Winning
"For Blue, Dade was definitely the x-factor. He brings a kind of aggression that Blue was lacking in PawN, combining well with Spirit and Heart, who both love making early game plays,"said Manisier, on the subject of Samsung Galaxy's roster changes. Dade was the star player in Ozone's meteoric rise last year, but also the magnet of criticism thereafter as patch changes and game rebalances dropped his performance metrics through the floor. Most embarrassingly, despite a show of confidence coming into the Season 3 World Championship, Ozone failed to move past the elimination stages – and Dade was a lightning rod for the team's critics thereafter.
But despite seemingly downgraded with his move into Blue, it seems to have renewed the competitive fire within him. The 3-0 victory over Ozone wasn't just an ordinary win – it was a statement of confidence from a besieged player.
What May Come
"Ggoong is just a beast this season but he faces off against Dade, who feels very comfortable on this meta, and he has the experience what playing in the finals feels like," said Team Liquid editor and LoLesports contributor Michael 'Chexx' Kiefer.
The games are expected to be close – and perhaps go all the way to blind pick. "I think it will be preparations and secret picks which will be the deciding factor. In terms of experience both teams are pretty much the same. They also have one person who is more experienced than his teammates. And normally both final teams will scrim not just their brother team but also other OGN teams, so there they are even too. That's why I think it will come down to preparation and who has one more ace up their sleeves," said Kiefer.
Manisier agrees. "The key matchup here is undoubtedly Ggoong and Dade. They've been the main forces driving their teams for much of Spring, and with the current mid lane metagame's focus on 1v1, I think that the game may be decided by which mid laner is able to break past the other. They're going to be explosive games, for sure."
Dade's return to glory, or Ggoong sounding the gongs of victory? OGN Spring 2014 Grand Finals are on May 24, 2014. Leave your predictions in the comments below!
