On July 7th at 20:15 China Time (14:15 CEST), Acfun and Hangong Club will faceoff in the Demacia Cup Round of 32. The Demacia Cup can be an intimidating thing to get into if you only know the LPL. We're making an effort to help you get to know the rising Chinese contenders from LSPL and the TGA Grand Prix.
AcFun
Top: 
Minoko
Jungle: EM
Mid: nct
ADC: Viktor
Support: Shine
AcFun is an LSPL team returning from last LSPL Spring with a few key roster changes: their star ADC quit to focus on school, and their mid laner has been replaced by nct from last Royal Club's roster in LPL Spring. Acfun placed eighth in LSPL Spring with a map record of 17-13 (56.7% win rate), and they are currently twelth in LSPL Summer with a map record of 6-6 (50% win rate).
Though the team hasn't been performing exceptionally, they have a decent support staff with a structure in place. Max, a top laner from EHOME, a team for which PDD used to play mid lane, currently coaches Acfun. You can even find a Chinese video tour of their gaming house here.
AcFun's most recent claim to fame was a $60,000 fine at the hands of L.ACE for attempting to contract former LGD Gaming AD carry, styz, during his period of contract with his team. Since then, the team has acquired Viktor—also a former AD carry from LGD, though he left them team when LGD acquired styz—and some believe Viktor is only a shadow of the team's former bottom lane carry and a source for their slightly worse record in the season of LSPL so far.
Other members of the team include Minoko, who is sometimes referred to as the team's mentor or big brother, and we can expect the team to follow his lead. The support, Shine, has a reputation as a promising player who was considered by OMG before they settled upon Cloud.
As already mentioned, however, the most familiar face on Acfun is their mid laner, nct, who played both top and mid lane for Royal Club during 2014 LPL Summer. It was clear during his stint that nct wasn't a promising top laner, but he was moved mid once Uzi returned to the bottom lane. There, he seldom had a strong performance, sometimes mistiming Lulu ultimates and costing Royal Club fights.
On his new home with Acfun, nct has taken a much more central role. It may be a case of champion pool or necessary time to adjust to a new role, but nct has been the main focal point of Acfun when they do well. In a recent set against Dream Catcher, a team that put up something of a fight against King, the current first place LSPL team, in the Demacia Cup before their elimination, Acfun split even. In the first game, nct's Nidalee went 9/0/5.
Click the above image to be directed to the VOD.
This game saw Acfun rely upon a disengage composition with Gragas in the top lane and nct's Nidalee available to poke Dream Catcher away from objectives. This was one of the team's more sophisticated compositions in LSPL recently, and it resulted in a strong performance, replete with wards to protect Nidalee's laning phase and frequent visits from EM, the jungler.
Hangong Club
Top: Suda
Jungle: Kro
Mid: CK
ADC: Bml
Support: Wy
Hangong Club is one of four semifinalists from Tencent Games Arena Grand Prix. Only the top two teams from the tournament were invited into LSPL, and HC did not qualify independently. This naturally doesn't mean they should be taken lightly. Four of the five members of Hangong Club come from Team CC Club, the team that knocked OMG from the G League Qualifiers last winter.
Though Hangong Club lost out to ??, or Zoo, in the TGA Grand Prix, the set extended to all three games in the best of three with Hangong Club proving they can take a win from steep opposition.
Despite the success of some of the roster's members against a formidable team like OMG in the past, Hangong Club failed to qualify for LSPL. Even so, AD carry Bml, or Bumeili enchanted TGA audiences with flashy Jinx and Lucian play, and Kro worked well witht he bottom lane, ganking bottom and understanding the source of a great deal of the team's power.
Click for a VOD of a crazy game that involves Jinx hunting down Ryze.
Verdict
Even with a bright spot on Hangong Club's history, with many of their members having successfully faced off against OMG, they are ultimately an inexperienced team that failed to qualify for LSPL. Though Acfun hasn't been performing in LSPL as well this split, they ultimately have the infrastructure and an experienced coach to guide them.
Hangong Club has a great deal of talent on their roster, and it's possible for them to brute force the series, but with the overall level of team play experience for Acfun, it's likely the set will ultimately fall into their hands. That said, Acfun has looked scattered in best-of-twos, splitting four of six of their sets. If Hangong can win a game, they can throw Acfun on the back foot and push for an upset.
The winner of this set will face Team MD on August 11th. Check out the Demacia Cup coverage hub and the LPL English stream for coverage on July 7th at 14:15.
Thank you to darkregim for providing valuable contextual information on both teams.
