The League of Legends All-Stars tournament just got a lot more exciting. Next month in Paris, the world’s best players and teams are going to throw down in the first real international competition since last October’s World Championships.
Earlier this week, Riot announced the players that would make up the teams for the All-Star Challenge. Each of the five major regions—North America, Europe, China, Korea, and South-east Asia—voted for their top two players. Now, they’ll be mixed to create two world-class superteams who will fight in a variety of game modes.
The first team, Ice, is going to be lead by Alliance’s Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, who just led his team back from the brink to take third place in the European LCS. Joining him will be the North America’s top marksman, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, who also just helped his team to a third place finish.
Photo via Riot Games
But the real big hitters come in the form of the Chinese top laner Wei “CaoMei” Handong, whose aggressive style has set the tone in China, and Korean support Hong “MadLife” Min-gi, whom many consider one of the best supports in the world. Hong is affectionately known as the “God of Grab” due to his skill with support champions like Thresh and Blitzcrank who can hook onto enemies and drag them into fights.
Rounding out Team Ice is Vietnamese star Trần “Archie” Minh Nhựt, a stylish marksman from the Saigon Jokers, and Yu “Misaya” Jingxi as a substitute. Yu retired last January, but is widely known for popularizing the champion Twisted Fate, who came to dominate the game at times last year.
Photo via Riot Games
Facing off against those players will be Team Fire, who will be headlined by an All-Stars pro, Gambit Gaming’s Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov. Reshetnikov has been competing internationally since 2011, and last year, he reached the finals of the All-Star jungler skills challenge.
North America’s Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg will be backing him up. Recently named North American MVP, Bjerg will be sure to bring his A-game.
Others joining Team Fire include Park “Shy” Sang-myeon, a Korean top-lane phenom, and Gao “WeiXiao” Xuecheng, the Chinese marksman who has led Team WE to multiple first place finishes over the years. Along with top laner Nguyễn Trần “QTV” Tường Vũ of the Saigon Jokers and substitute Kurtis “Toyz” Lau, a retired player from Hong Kong, Fire will provide more than an equal match for Ice.
These two teams will both premiere at the All-Stars Paris tournament that begins on May 8. The event, which also hosts the top teams from every region, promises some of the most exciting games of the year.
Photo via Riot Games
