All-Star 2014 Preview – Taipei Assassins

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

It's been a while since the letters "TPA" had any impact upon the international scene. Their descent since Season 2 had been ugly – internal strife and degrading domestic standings led to the eventual attrition of the world championship team until, finally, only AD carry Bebe was left to carry the torch. But as the Taipei Assassins enters its third year of competition, some of its faded luster's been given a polish. The Taiwanese team that once terrorized the likes of Moscow 5 and Azubu Frost have reclaimed the top position in Southeast Asia's Garena Premier League, and though their showings at IEM Katowice were unfruitful, the team that enters All-Star Paris is packing heavy firepower.

Into The Darkness

The dissolution of the original world championship team started off slow. First was what it took to found their sister team: in an effort to foster Taiwanese esports, team captain and founder Mistake was taken off the Assassins roster to jumpstart the Taipei Snipers in time for the pan-Asia StarsWar League Season 2 as well as the newly formed Taiwan eSports League (the precursor to the current LoL Nova League). But while the Snipers started gathering steam, including victory over the original SKT T1 roster, the Assassins were finding it increasingly difficult to hold onto their former dominance in the second year of the GPL.

Things swiftly grew worse. Stanley was having a hard time adapting to the top lane changes in Season 3, and Toyz was not adjusting well to stewardship as the new team captain – an issue compounded by carpal tunneling. Both eventually left for the Hong Kong Attitudes – though nearly a year's rest was unable to solve Toyz's health issues, while Stanley stayed behind the scenes as the Attitudes' coach.

Three down, two left – and as Lilballz was implicated for account sharing, netting him a year's ban from competitive play, only Bebe remained. A roster of relative unknowns replaced his teammates, one by one: DinTer was formerly GPL production staff, while others were drafted as promising high-ranking solo queue talent.

But there are few examples of solo queue talents translating into tournament performance, and the new Taipei Assassins was not one of them – at least, not for Season 3. Local rivals AHQ outfought them for the GPL championship title, while both of them as well as the Taipei Snipers were caught by surprise as the Gamania Bears, originally a draft team from the TeSL, came in from a blind spot to take the world championship seed.

But they wouldn't be headed for Paris if there wasn't a turning point – and that came upon the heels of yet another titanic seasonal shift. 2014 returns the spotlight to Taiwan's original champions.

There And Back Again

The Gamania Bears' sudden ascendancy was a shock to both Azubu teams, leading to an intensive training period during the 2013-2014 preseason. The efforts were immediately obvious and fruitful – dual leadership of the new GPL format's two groups, and an eventual fratricidal showdown in the grand finals itself. TPA had also been significantly strengthened by yet another bought of roster changes: DinTer was now out of the AD carry role and into the jungle, Bebe was back in his original position, and new mid laner Morning was proving a fateful addition to the second generation of Assassins.

Notably, he single-handedly carried the team during IEM Katowice against Gambit Gaming, piloting a Ziggs that left the Russian team in shambles. Unfortunately, it was a flash-in-the-pan performance, as the rest of their matches – including the Gambit rematch – went poorly.

But thought Katowice was a disappointment for the second generation, their domestic performance was unquestionably at a new peak. They were undefeated in the GPL spring split's group stages – a flawless 10-0 record in stark contrast to sibling Snipers, who had suffered a twofold setback in the form of Mistake's leave of absence from professional play and the ascendancy of a newly powerful Saigon Jokers. They would be cannibalized a third time in the aftermath of the Assassin's attainment of the spring title and the Snipers' defeat in regional qualifiers: core player and jungler Winds, formerly of the Gamania Bears, was transferred over to the Assassins, replacing DinTer – sealing the last perceived weak point in the Assassins' gameplay.

Notable Players

Cheng 'Bebe' Bo-Wei

Role: AD Carry

Notable Champions: Twitch, Draven

Team captain Bebe, the last torchbearer of the Season 2 world championship team, has only gotten better in the intervening time. Though once considered a relatively unremarkable presence on the roster, especially when overshadowed by Toyz and Stanley, the rebalancing and nerfs to his role seems to have had the opposite effect on his gameplay. He's become harder to catch, harder to kill, and harder to run from – wins for the Assassins usually end up with him holding the highest KDA as two prior years of competitive service across multiple roles translate into his positioning and shotcalling.

Chen 'Winds' Peng-Nien

Role: Jungler

Notable Champions: Elise, Lee Sin

The Taiwanese scene is hotly anticipating the impact of Winds' second team transfer: on both the Gamania Bears and Taipei Snipers, Winds was a crucial keystone to their playmaking capabilities, and is considered the "king of thieves" of Southeast Asia on the back of a litany of successful Dragon and Baron steals. Though his synergy with the Assassins is as yet untested, the best jungler in Taiwan is considered a strict upgrade over DinTer, who has been moved down to the substitute position.

Outlook

To be blunt: nobody's expecting much from the Assassins at Paris. Southeast Asia is commonly considered the weakest of the world regions, and the evidence backing that assumption is nigh-insurmountable. Their one-off victory over Gambit at Katowice is essentially meaningless in the face of the rematch defeat, as well as dismal results over North America's Cloud 9.

But to fans of the team since Season 2, that ought to sound extremely familiar. Back when Moscow 5 and Azubu Frost were the odds-on favorites for the world championship, the only ones expecting anything other than a prompt dismissal at eliminations was Counter Logic Gaming, who had first-hand experience with the team during their Season 2 training for OnGameNet Champions. This roster might be 80% new, but the Southeast Asia dominance is undeniable - and they've learned much from Katowice. The Assassins have a history of assassinating front-runners, and cannot be readily dismissed.