Will the Flash Wolves’ regional dominance continue with Doublered?

The Flash Wolves were the dominant LMS team last season, after they swept both the Spring and Summer splits, and represented the region at both MSI and the World Championship. However, their one weak link always seemed to be in the AD carry position, through Hsiung "NL" Wen-An. NL has now “temporarily retired” and moved to take on more of a streaming role in Taiwan, opening the door for former Flash Husky jungler Lu "DoubleRed" Yu-Hung, formerly known as Betty.

Replacing NL will be no easy feat for the rookie. NL has always copped flak for his failure to stand up to international AD carries, however he has consistently found success in domestic competition through strong bot lane synergy with support Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Jie. Simply put, if the Flash Wolves wanted to compete at a high international level, NL had to go. But as with all roster changes, there is risk involved, and if Doublered fails to live up to his predecessor, Flash Wolves may not even qualify for these international tournaments.

Doublered’s first performance in a Flash Wolves shirt came at IEM Oakland in November, where he failed to impress.

Can Westdoor survive the new 10-ban system?

Liu "Westdoor" Shu-Wei has been the mainstay mid laner for ahq e-Sports Club since 2013, and, despite numerous retirement rumours over the past years, he returns for 2017 alongside Singaporean mid laner Wong "Chawy" Xing-Lei. Westdoor has had a number of incredible performances over the years, and became the face of the Taiwan region for a number of years. However, for all the joy he has brought, he is just as responsible for a large amount of frustration he has given to LMS fans, particularly for his weak champion pool. His consistent need to rely on assassins such as his all-time most played champions: Fizz, Twisted Fate and Zed, makes him a clear liability for the team in champion select. Often,other team members will have to sacrifice power picks to accommodate the veteran mid laner. This will no doubt continue, as AHQ will now almost certainly have to pick their mid lane in one of the first three champion select picks, before the other team has a chance to drop even more bans on Westdoor.

AHQ have attempted to fix this problem over the past year by bringing in Chawy. However the under-utilisation of Chawy has angered many LMS fans and pundits, who believe he deserves a proper shot as AHQ’s number one mid laner. With Westdoor showing signs of decline, and the introduction of ten bans, 2017 might mark the end of the once godlike mid laner, and perhaps a return to the top for Singapore’s greatest player.

Can Machi improve on the foundations built last year?

Machi began the 2016 with a roster consisting of fresh faces Wang "BoBo" You-Lin, Lin "Taizan" Ching-Chia and Hsieh "Apex" Chia-Wei alongside the ever-present bottom lane of Chen "Dee" Jun-Dee and Ceng "Dreamer" Jian-Hong. That same roster now lines up to begin the 2017 season, alongside a few new back-up players. 2016 was a development season for the relatively new roster, and despite such low expectations they managed to come within a single match of World Championship qualification.

2017 has now arrived and it is go time for Machi. They have the talent, they have the experience, and they even have streamer SivHD on board. No team outside of Taipei Assassins, ahq e-Sports Club or Flash Wolves have represented Taiwan at a Riot Games international event since the Season 3 World Championship, and Machi currently look most set to break this streak. They were one match away last year, and things only look likely to improve.

Will Wayi Spider live up to the hype?

Wayi Spider acquired Team Mist’s LMS spot at the end of the last year, and is essentially a reunion of 2015 Midnight Sun Esports with Cheng "CorGi" Pin-Lun, Tang "Chunx" Hoi Chun, Lam "LOFS" Ka Chun and Anson "Empt2" Leung with the mid lane being filled by the only Team Mist survivor, Ke "K" Kai-Sheng. Chunx, LOFS and Empt2 return after a year of absence due to a poaching scandal which left them suspended for the entire 2016 season.

The hype for Wayi Spider comes from Midnight Sun’s 2015 Summer split, where they finished an impressive fourth in their debut year. The mid lane is the only position to differ from 2015, with K coming in for M1ssion. A downgrade for sure, as K can’t even make it out of Diamond 2. However it has not been enough to dampen the hopes of the MSE faithful, who are eager to see the return of quality players LOFS and Empt2, and get on the Wayi Spider bandwagon.

Can J Team recover after losing such a valuable part of their team in REFRA1N?

J Team’s first split after acquiring the Taipei Assassins roster couldn’t have gone better, with an undefeated regular season. Core players Chen "REFRA1N" Kuan-Ting, Chu "FoFo" Chun-Lan and Chang "BeBe" Bo-Wei were unstoppable when at their best, while Li "Jay" Chieh and Chen "Morning" Kuan-Ting played a strong supporting role. Then, just as quickly as they started, it all came crashing down. They were stomped by Flash Wolves in the Summer final, and were then knocked out by Machi in the first round of the regional final.

REFRA1N was a huge part of J Team’s regular season success, as his ever present jungling style ensured J Team’s game plan of “win lane; win game” never failed. However, when playoffs and regionals approached, he was one of the first to falter. He and Morning were heavily target banned, and he was invisible in games against Flash Wolves and Machi, resulting in J Team losing lane, and then predictably, losing game.

REFRA1N’s replacement comes in the form of Chen "Achie" Chen-Chi, veteran ex-Taipei Assassins mid laner, who also dabbled in the top lane. This is a clear downgrade, as Achie has rarely impressed in the mid lane, so the bar is set low for his foray into the jungle.