During the first week of Nova League, Lilballz begins his casting career, the Taipei Assassins continue to run their marksman-less dive and siege composition, and ahq E-sports gets revenge against the Taipei Snipers.
The Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong Nova League is under way for its first season this winter, and many teams fight to redeem themselves after a seemingly one-sided qualifier. Azubu Taipei Snipers and Assassins became clear favorites, losing only one game each and cementing their spots in LNL and GPL two weeks before the qualify rounds ended. The first week of the new league gave viewers a couple surprises, however.
The first pleasant surprise was the appearance of Season Two World Champion, Lilballz, on the caster's desk. His cooperation with Garena over his suspension for elo-boosting no doubt put him in a favorable position to acquire the job, and his expertise and exuberance is a welcome addition.
On his first day, Lilballz presided over the rematch between his former team, Taipei Assassins, against Hong Kong's YouCantStopMe, the only team to take a match off TPA in the qualifiers. Their new composition allowed TPA to get revenge and close the game fairly easily. Surprisingly, however, TPA has foregone the use of smites on Bebe and Jay. They prove, however, that the siege and dive potential is still just as strong without them.
In the day's remaining matches, Cyber Games Arena LEGENDS, the bottom team to squeak into the league, took a game off the number three team, HK Attitude after a shaky start, but lost their next game against TPA. TPA continued to run their marksman-less composition, even with Fiddlesticks, Shyvana, and Jax bans, happy to pick up Janna and a couple assassins instead. To round off the day, HK Attitude redeemed their earlier loss against YouCantStopMe; their new support, UCAN HKA perhaps, pulling his weight with well-timed flash-ults on Sona.
In day two, fan favorites Azubu Taipei Snipers, ahq E-Sports, and yoe Flash Wolves—previously Gamania Bears—took to the rift. HKA Priest failed to pick up any games against these Taiwanese leaders, but that did not mean the day went without surprises. ahq E-Sports, despite barely securing a spot in the upcoming Garena Premier League Winter after yoe Flash Wolves were disqualified due to age restrictions, managed to win both their games, including the one against Taipei Snipers in which they crushed GoDJJ's Kog'maw early. Later, however, the Azubu Taipei Snipers beat the yoe Flash Wolves with GoDJJ on the safer long range hyper carry, Tristana. This was likely a small respite for their handy defeat against the Flash Wolves in the regional qualifier.
Right now, all eight teams look a little shaky, but this first season of the League of Legends Nova League is sure to provide opportunities for the region's development. Until the next season of GPL starts, LNL is a great way to keep tabs on Taiwanese icons like Westdoor, Mistake, Bebe, Maple, and even Lilballz on the caster's desk. It might also be rewarding to watch the rise of potential Hong Kong stars like MyticQ and Stony as these newer teams gain momentum.
Source: League of Legends Nova League
Headline Image Source: Leaguepedia
