Welcome to the prereview of the LJL’s most decorated team DetonatioN FocusMe. For those who are unfamiliar with DetonatioN, here’s a brief look back at their Worlds 2019 run.
Worlds 2019
In group B of last year’s play-in stage, DetonatioN FocusMe were placed in a group that contained two teams who matched up very well against them. Both the LEC’s Splyce and the LLA’s Isurus Gaming excelled at dominating their opponents with a slower, controlled style. FocusMe, on the other hand, are a very chaotic team, specializing in frantic skirmishes and high mechanical skill.
DetonatioN were not afraid of experimenting with creativity, with Kyohei “Ceros” Yoshida pulling out the Nocturne mid counter pick into the Ryze. Nocturne is one of the few champions who has faster wave clear than Ryze in the early levels and his spell shield protects him from Ryze’s root.
Splyce vs DetonatioN FocusMe
DetonatioN FocusMe had very mixed results during Worlds 2019 and nothing describes it better than the games played on day three of the play-in stage. In the first game against Splyce, DFM drafted a teamfight composition that revolved around the combination of Nocturne and Galio. This combo was extremely popular at the height of Galio mid in patch 9.1 of last year. By starting fights with Nocturne engaging onto enemy backline, Galio can follow up to both protect the Nocturne and threaten enemy backline. In addition to this, Shunsuke “Evi” Murase had a spectacular game on the Gnar, one of his signature picks.
They kept even with Splyce, until a crucial pick onto Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss’s Kennen allowed them to gain vision control over the Baron pit. Splyce were then forced to contest, and DFM turned onto them taking down three and securing the Baron. DetonatioN proceed to use the Baron buff well, splitting up the pressure into two different lanes. FocusMe were able to finish the game shortly after the buff runs out, with Yuta “Yutapon” Sugiura playing the final teamfight beautifully.
Isurus Gaming vs DetonatioN FocusMe
This game is considered by most to be the lowest quality game of the entire 2019 World Championship. Slightly over an hour-long and with plenty of egregious errors, Isurus caught DFM trying to take Elder Drake. This resulted in four people dying on the side of FocusMe and Isurus ended the game shortly after. This ended the 2019 season for DetionatioN.
Offseason Changes
Despite no changes to their starting roster during the offseason, there is an important addition to DetionatioN FocusMe to discuss. Joining the team is head coach Kang “OnAir” Hyun-jong, previously of LCK’s Hanhwa Life Esports. OnAir has been in the Korean League of Legends scene since its inception. As the coach of the legendary Frost and Blaze sister teams OnAir led these teams to multiple championships. This vast amount of experience should be an incredible addition to this mechanically gifted team.
Week 1 Preview
DetonatioN FocusMe vs V3 Esports
The opening match of the LJL is a rematch of the 2019 summer finals. V3 Esports have a very different look to them. They have kept native solo laners Shirou “Paz” Sasaki and Kotoji “Ace” Mugita. Rounding out their roster are former Flash Wolves jungler Lee “Bugi” Seong-yeop, support Shin “Raina” Okubo and rookie adc Lee “Archer” Keun-hee. Bugi actually started his career in the LJL’s Challenger Series before joining the LMS in the summer of 2018 and will be facing a difficult opponent in his first game back.
These two teams are fairly even on roster strength alone, but the solo laners of DetonatioN FocusMe should lead their team to a victory. However, due to the limited information surrounding him, V3’s Archer could be a deciding factor of this game. Also depending on jungle matchup, Bugi will have a larger impact than DFM’s jungler Moon “Steal” Geon-yeong.
Burning Core vs DetonatioN FocusMe
Burning Core only had one change to their starting roster this offseason. Former support Kim “Medic” Ji-ho left the team after one split in the LJL, and has been replaced by former Afreeca Freecs support Lee “Proud” Jeong-jae. Burning Core was a very consistent fourth place throughout the 2019 summer season, but had a difficult time closing the large gap of the top three. One of the bright spots of this team is top laner Minato “RayFarky” Shinohara. He was a rookie last split and was able to improve over the course of the split. He likes to play ad bruisers, and will occasionally break out the Darius. Sett seems to fit his playstyle quite well, and Aatrox is also strong in this meta.
DetonatioN FocusMe should find this matchup to be easier than their game against V3. DFM has an advantage from each position in this game and the pick/ban should become a major factor in determining the winner of this game. With being on red side, DetonatioN have a clear strategy for “winning the draft”. A common drafting strategy on red side is to leave open two or three of the strongest meta champions. With blue side getting first pick, they are usually always able to secure one strong champion at the least. By leaving multiple open, this allows red side to pick up an extra power pick in the first round.
In addition to this drafting strategy, red side allows for DetionatioN FocusMe to give either Evi or Ceros a crucial counter pick. This may be a game where Ceros may pull out one of his signature pocket picks, like the Ziggs, Karma, or Heimerdinger, all of which can be excellent counter picks.
Need More?
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Featured Image Courtesy of Riot Games
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