Changing Tides — The Oceanic stars headed overseas in 2020

This year, more Oceanic representatives than ever will be trading their star roles in the Land Down Under with fledgling careers in North America and Europe, and gunning to make their international dreams come true in new frontiers.

Snowball Esports have taken a look at all moves from Australia to the LCS and LEC systems, including their time in the Pro League, and what’s next for our Oceanic stars.

Aaron “ChuChuZ” Bland

Career highlights

• 3x OPL Runner-up (player)
• 1x OPL Runner-up (coach)

ChuChuZ was one of the pioneers of Oceanic League of Legends, proving his talent on the Rift before finding moderate success in his switch from the playing roster to the backroom staff.

The three-time OPL finalist was a foundation member with Legacy Esports, and was a key figure in the early years of the Chiefs vs Legacy rivalry that set the tempo of the league in its fledgling seasons. Through his transition to coaching, Bland has worked with LCS stalwart Nick “Inero” Smith and Order general manager Jake “Spawn” Tiberi.

ChuChuZ’s standout moment at the helm for Order came in the first postseason gauntlet of 2019, where he guided the Melbourne roster through a stacked bracket to score a 9-1 record on their way to a grand final showdown against the Bombers in Sydney.

Now, Aaron has landed himself an assistant coaching role at the Golden Guardians for the 2020 season, and will be working alongside Inero and Samuel “Spookz” Broadley as the LCS roster looks to make another bid for finals. It’s clear GGS have made a commitment to developing flourishing talent like Victor “FBI” Huang and Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer with an extended coaching roster, and ChuChuZ is sure to add to that in a big way.

Andrew Wray

Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw

Career highlights

• 2x Worlds Representative
• 1x MSI Representative
• 3x OPL Winner
• 2x OPL Runner Up
• 2x Rift Rivals Representative

Destiny has been a mainstay for the Oceanic Pro League since he first joined the competition in 2015 as the ill-fated Rich Gang’s support. Shaw moved from RG to Avant Garde, where he stayed until the end of 2016, spending time as both a bot laner, and as the team’s coach.

2017 saw Destiny finally break into the upper echelon of the league, winning both splits with a dominant Dire Wolves outfit, and making his debut on the international stage. The next year was a little harder for the star support, after he made the switch to the Chiefs only to watch his former team march to two more championships, and places at Worlds and MSI.

Shaw did, however, find international success that year, as he played a key role with the Chiefs, and the rest of the Pro League, in claiming Oceania’s first—and as it turned out, eternal—Rift Rivals title. Then, he made the switch to Mammoth’s super-team for 2019.

The star-studded roster struggled to find their footing in the first half of the year, falling behind a lethal Bombers outfit led by now-LCS starter Victor “FBI” Huang, and Mammoth dropped to fourth behind Order and the Chiefs.

Split 2 saw an uptick for the team, who surged to a 3–0 victory over the Chiefs at Melbourne Esports Open to claim the org’s first title, and book their ticket to the 2019 World Championship. While the campaign itself was disappointing, the appearance proved key for Mammoth’s stars, as one by one they were picked up by international organisations.

Now Destiny is forging a new path with Origen in the European Championship as the first Australian to claim a starting role on the continent. His LEC journey will begin in January.

Harry Taylor

Calvin “k1ng” Truong

Career highlights

• 3x Worlds Representative
• 5x OPL Winner
• 3x OPL Runner up
• 2x Rift Rivals Representative

K1ng has a long and decorated history in the OPL, which first began back in 2014 when he first competed under the Dire Wolves banner in the league’s founding season.

Unfortunately, he was still underage, and wasn’t able to play finals for the team. In 2015, he stayed with the Wolfpack, who managed to reach playoffs both splits. In 2016, he made the switch to Legacy Esports, where he finished as runner-up to the org’s rivals the Chiefs, and was left with silver medals for his efforts that year.

In 2017, he made the decision to return to the Dire Wolves, and proceeded to claim four consecutive championship titles with the team that would go on to become one of the strongest domestic rosters the Pro League has ever seen.

That success earned him the right to represent Oceania twice at the Mid-Season Invitational, and twice at the World Championship, though the Wolfpack struggled to find success against a host of dominant international teams in the Play-Ins.

This year, k1ng made the choice to again leave the Dire Wolves, linking up with newly-formed superteam Mammoth. Though 2019 Split 1 was a campaign to forget, the roster clicked in Split 2, and k1ng returned to the top with a 3–0 win over the Chiefs at MEO.

K1ng holds the record of being part of every Pro League playoff campaign since 2015 Split 1, and has won five of the ten postseason runs he’s been involved in. Three times he finished runner-up, and only twice has he missed the league’s big dance.

With a move to the North American LCS system, k1ng is now looking to prove himself at an even higher level with the Cloud9 Academy roster.

Emma van der Brug

Tommy “Ryoma” Le

Career highlights

• 1x MSI Representative
• 1x OPL Winner
• 2x Rift Rivals Representative
• 2x OPL runners up

Ryoma first debuted in the Oceanic Pro League in 2017, where he immediately showed that he was brimming with untapped potential. In his first split, Tommy was able to help his team qualify for Rift Rivals, and forged the much-loved “Sinderella” story.

Last year, Ryoma managed to twice reach the Pro League final, but fell to an near-unstoppable Dire Wolves outfit. Despite that, the young mid laner continued his meteoric rise, and in 2019 he finally lifted the OPL title with the Bombers in Split 1.

Heading into 2020, Ryoma has the honour of being the first Australian star to start in the mid lane in an LCS team, after being named in 100 Thieves’ roster alongside superstar names like Williams “Meteos” Hartman and Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho.

While the LCS is a gruelling run for most players, general manager Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith has preached patience for his “building” roster in his first year at the helm, meaning Ryoma is sure to be part of that developing squad.

Andrew Wray

Shern “Shernfire” Tai

Career highlights

• 2x Worlds representative
• 2x MSI representative
• 4x OPL Winner
• 2x Rift Rivals representative
• 1x OPL MVP

Shernfire holds one of the strongest records in the Oceanic Pro League—there wasn’t a season that he entered that didn’t end with him lifting the trophy at the end.

The divisive jungler is one of two players to have featured in all four of Dire Wolves championship runs, alongside k1ng, and the Wolfpack’s dominance is synonymous with Shernfire’s strength in the jungle, and across the Rift.

Unfortunately, Shernfire’s career as also been dogged by competitive integrity sanctions, and the jungler was allegedly unable to find a team in Australia in 2019 due to a rumoured “shadow ban” that kept him from professional play for the year, though this was never confirmed.

In 2020, Shernfire is set to return with a vengeance, after signing with Team Liquid Academy in the LCS system. He’s had a chance already on the LCS stage in Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen’s absence, and it’s sure to not be the star jungler’s final time on stage in Los Angeles, and hopefully wherever his career with the four-time LCS champions takes him.

Andrew Wray

Samuel “Spookz” Broadley

Career highlights

• 4x OPL Winner
• 2x IWCQ Representative
• 2x IWCI Representative
• 2x OPL Runner-up

Spookz was part of the initial Chiefs Esports Club roster that will be remembered as one of the ‘Golden Generations’ of Oceanic League of Legends. The team dominated the region before the inception of the Pro League, and continued their success afterwards.

Spookz and the Chiefs collected four consecutive championships in the opening four splits of the newly-founded domestic league, and cemented themselves in history with their strength on the Rift, and their lovable nature off it.

Unfortunately, due to the way World Championship qualification has changed over the years, Spookz was never able to represent Oceania on the international stage properly, only playing through pre-tournament qualifier brackets.

Spookz, alongside long-term mid lane duo Swiffer and Order, created more history with their 9-1 run through the 2019 Split 1 gauntlet to earn a shot at the indomitable Bombers in the Sydney-hosted grand final, though they were unsuccessful at claiming a fifth title.

In 2020, Spookz will be making a career change as he transitions into a coaching role, adopting a two-way player role with LCS organisation the Golden Guardians. Spookz has been known as a positive influence on and off the Rift over the years, so it’s no surprise that experience will play well in his dual role heading into the new season next year.

Andrew Wray

Stephen “Triple” Li

Career highlights

• 2x OCE Worlds Representative
• 3x OPL Winner
• 1x Rift Rivals Winner
• 1x League of Origin Win

Triple first joined the Oceanic Pro League in 2016 as Avant Gaming’s mid laner, a spot he held until the end of the 2017 campaign.

After failing to find success in blue, Triple made the transition to the Dire Wolves at the end of the year, and went on to score two championship titles, and make his debut on the international stage at the World Championship in South Korea.

From there, Triple guided Team Victoria to a victory in the League of Origin, before making the swap to Mammoth in the pre-2019 roster swaps in the Pro League.

While the start of the year saw mixed results, Triple and Mammoth reversed the script in the second half of the year and the mid laner earned his second consecutive appearance at Worlds with a title victory at the Melbourne Esports Open in Split 2.

2020 looks to be a very exciting time for Triple, as he steps into the mid lane for FlyQuest Academy in the LCS system. Triple, as always, will be hungry for success, and will look to bring his consistent performances to the North American team. With strong team members across the board, 2020 is looking like another year where Triple can shine.

Emma van der Brug

Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami

Career highlights

• 1x OPL Winner

New to the league for 2019 having just become old enough to be eligible to play in our top league, Fudge impressed in his short professional career so far as one of our brightest talents in the top lane. Willing to take it to anyone, Fudge impressed both domestically and internationally, with breakout performances in the playoffs against both Order and the Chiefs, as well as respectable performances in the playins.

Set to join Cloud 9 academy for 2020 with teammate K1ng, Fudge will look to continue to develop his skill sets whilst fighting for a potential call-up to the bright lights of a premier international league.

Harry Taylor

Victor “FBI” Huang

Career highlights

• 1x MSI Representative
• 1x OPL Winner
• 1x Rift Rivals Representative

FBI burst onto the scene in Split 1 of 2017, as part of the Sin Gaming lineup, where he helped his squad qualify for Rift Rivals and come close to running the gauntlet and making the finals in split 2, falling at the last hurdle in a game five loss. Their attempts to replicate their “Sinderella” story in split 2 saw them run into a resurgent Chiefs line up in the second round, who sent them packing after a quick 3-0. 2018 saw FBI move to ORDER, where he saw a pair of 4th place finishes, failing to qualify for the Rift Rivals on home soil.

In 2019 FBI became a bomber, where he helped lead the AFL club to a first-place finish in the Regular season, before sweeping his former team ORDER in the grand final to lift his first OPL title and jet off to Vietnam for MSI Playins.

Despite his team finishing in 3rd place at 2-4 in a stacked group, the eyes of international teams were on him and he impressed. Shortly after Playins he departed the Bombers, bound for the Bright Lights of North America, joining the Golden Guardians Academy for the Summer split. After an impressive start to his NA career, he was called up to the Main Squad after Week 5, becoming the LCS starter for the rest of the split. A heartbreaking loss to OpTic Gaming in the final tiebreaker game saw the Guardians finish in seventh place, outside of the Playoffs and unable to qualify for the regular season.

2020 will see FBI become the full time starting AD for the Golden Guardians in the LCS, and despite low expectations of this squad by the community, FBI will want to bring his best for his team and try to once again live above the expectations set upon him as he did whilst at Sin Gaming.

Harry Taylor

Lawrence “Lost” Hui

Career highlights

• 1x Rift Rivals Representative
• 1x NA Academy Runner Up
• 2x OPL Runner Up
• 1x OCS winner

Lost first showed his face in the competitive scene in 2013, but soon left the scene for two years. In 2016, he returned with a splash into the OCS as he joined the Chiefs Black. Here, he absolutely dominated in the bot lane, with his team almost undefeated for the entire split. In 2017, he joined the Oceanic veterans in Legacy, playing in the OPL and even representing Oceania at Rift Rivals, but little did he know his ‘legacy’ was still yet to be established. 2018 was the year that Lost was discovered by the rest of the world as he was picked up by Echo Fox to play in their NA Academy team – he became the first New Zealand player to compete outside of the OPL.

Results of the Kiwi prodigy were soon seen, and he ended up placing 2nd in the first split of his North American debut. This NA success story will continue into 2020 as Lost has been picked up by TSM Academy. With some familiar faces from home on rival teams, he’ll have the advantage of prior and past knowledge of both regions and its players. After two successful years, Lost aims to prove that he’s here to stay.

Bernadette Wong

Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos

Career highlights

• 4x IWC representative
• 4x OPL champion
• 2x OPL runners-up
• IEM Oakland 2016 representative

While Swiffer wasn’t a part of the original Immunity roster that formed back in 2012, he helped put Australian League of Legends on the map. When the Oceanic Championship transformed into the Oceanic Regionals, and then the Oceanic Pro League, Swiffer was there, dominating at every turn.

Throughout his eight-year playing career, he was the gold standard when it came to local mid laners, expressing an insane amount of skill on his signature control mage picks like Orianna, Viktor, and Cassiopeia.

He took home the first four OPL titles at the Chiefs, and was a select handful of players to appear in every OPL playoffs until he made the transition into coaching in 2020 in Europe with Excel Esports’ academy team, BT Excel.

While the curtain may be downed on his illustrious player career, his years of knowledge will be greatly appreciated by a host of Europe’s rising stars. Although he won’t be bringing his mouse and keyboard onto stage anymore, he’s still got the fire burning inside to help lead the next generation of League talent, and there’s hardly a player more qualified to do so than Swiffer.

Andrew Amos