2013 League of Legends World Champions: SK Telecom T1
2015 League of Legends World Champions: SK Telecom T1
In the (literal) middle of those two Summoner's Cup runs by the world's greatest League of Legends player, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, and his team was none other than Edward Gaming's Heo "PawN" Won-seok. A thorn in Faker's side since his early days as a pro player, PawN has continually been the only mid laner in the world to consistently get the best of Faker. The "Little General" won the Summoner's Cup in 2014 on Samsung White while Faker watched from home, and then defeated him less than a year later at the final of the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational where his new team from China, Edward Gaming.
After being inserted in and out of the lineup over the past year due to health concerns, it appeared as if PawN would be missing this year's World Championships. The team played with Faker's former backup on SKT T1, Lee "Scout" Ye-Chan, all the way through a perfect summer season where the rookie starter shined in the final against Royal Never Give Up. Despite the spotless record, however, as the curtain was lifted for the 2016 Worlds, there was PawN, seated in the mid lane as starter like the past two Worlds that have gone past.
"The team didn't go on tilt or anything after yesterday's game," said PawN, referring to the opening day upset his team suffered against Brazil's INTZ. "The team just got together and talked a lot about what to do to win today's game [against AHQ] and what they should do in the future."
The loss to INTZ will go down as the biggest upset in Worlds history to date. INTZ, a team from the wildcard region of Brazil, upended one of the odds-on favorites to hoist the Summoner's Cup by the end of the tournament. INTZ was able to snowball an early advantage on the top side of the map and never look back, leaving EDG to exit the venue as losers for the first time in months.
"It was really tough for [us] because the Gnar and Irelia [lost matchup] meant we were losing in the split push," he said. "And after the first dive in the bottom lane failed out, we lost a turret, and it set off [a series of errors]."
Friday's match was a different story entirely against ahq e-sports. EDG might not be in the form many expected from a title contender, but the Chinese champion was able to make sure it could keep afloat in a competitive Group C that has all teams tied at 1-1 after the first two days of competition. PawN supported his team on Karma while the ace of the team, Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, took over on his Lucian to smash the Taiwanese club's bottom lane. While the top lane remains a gaping hole in EDG's defenses, the other four players on the team, including PawN, contend for the title of best quartet in the entire competition.
"Before, I wanted INTZ to come in second because they beat us," he said, trying to pick which team will join EDG in Chicago for the bracket stage. "But this rock-paper-scissors thing is going on, INTZ lost to H2k, AHQ beat H2k, so I'm really confused on what's going to happen in the standings of the group."
When speaking of EDG's bootcamp in Korea, PawN echoed the thoughts of many other Chinese and Korean pros by saying Team SoloMid was the toughest test from the western region while scrimmaging. Although losing on day one to EDG's Chinese rival Royal Never Give Up, the North Americans did come back with a statement win over South Korea's Samsung Galaxy in a blowout you primarily don't expect a Korean team to be on the end that is getting run around the map.
"My [and EDG's] immediate goal, after underestimating a team like INTZ, is to make it out of groups, winning every other game, and coming out in first."
"I want to think about what to tell Faker [when we meet again] after I get out of groups as #1," said PawN, focusing on the here and now instead of looking ahead. One step at a time and before he knows it, he might be back where his road usually leads him: facing Faker, and once again being the thorn in the side of the Unkillable Demon King.