Its not often that someone gets the opportunity to make a second first impression. Truly a band of misfits, No Org’s group of five players and three coaching staff members have created one of the best amateur scene line-ups.
Formerly representing ANEW Esports, No Org continue to watch their value rise as they look great tournament after tournament. Understanding how and why they have four players that could potentially be hot commodities for LCS organizations is not only important for others to take note of, it’s important in terms of valuing the individual aspects of the team.
The Bad Resumes
A resume can only explain so much. Often, people are condensing information about themselves to one page. Leaving off one word could dissuade a potential employer.
Omran “V1per” Shoura for example, was the solo queue top-laner that couldn’t transition into the professional style of play. Despite performing at times above expectations and succeeding when resources were invested into his lane, he wasn’t put in situations to succeed towards the end of his stint in the LCS. FlyQuest would bring in Colin “Solo” Earnest to provide stability in the role. While when he was on Dignitas, they would struggle as an organization with finding a sense of identity.
Andy “AnDa” Hoang was the “good player, bad team” jungler. His individual performances, when looking back, weren’t terrible. It was just terrible how little his teams were able to accomplish. He didn’t receive “Rookie of the Year” honors and wasn’t seen as a star player. His biggest individual accomplishment seemed to be his excellent Taliyah performance at 2018 Worlds against G-Rex.
Aidan Joseph “5fire” Reckamp was one of the most talked-about mid-lane prospects yet he found himself struggling to find a gig with a LCS organization. It still is a head-scratcher to this day.
Almost every single member of No Org — outside of Ross “Value” Luppino — were known players that just had “buts” to them. V1per is good but he isn’t built for competitive play. Terry “Big” Chuong is a great in-game leader but he isn’t a standout at his role. These are player’s who are getting a chance to show that those “buts” can change.
Playing to Earn Everyone’s Attention
Their 41-9 map record in their last 50 games is incredible. After being knocked out by their sister team ANEW Blaze (whose core currently makes up Zoos Gaming) in RCL Winter, they’ve been somewhat untouchable. In fact, they’re on a ten-game winning streak, including series wins over Golden Guardians Academy, Not Academy Team, Zoos Gaming and TSM Academy.
Finding a unique balance in resource allocation has allowed for their roster to all showcase their abilities. V1per is dominating in lane and turning a large percentage of his team’s economy into team victories. 5fire and Value are switching from a large number of resources to a small number of resources and continuing to put up numbers. AnDa has been able to get the ball rolling with his excellent early game jungle presence. And Big has been the much-needed leader, helping call an incredible game.
And they are so impressive in teamfights.
V1per has seen a lot of playtime on ranged top-laners like Vayne, Kalista, Tristana. But when he gets his hands on Gnar, it’s a thing of beauty. His ability to disrupt fights with excellent focus have allowed for other members to shine. 5fire has followed suit with champion flexibility — shifting from control mages to roaming mid-laners. Meanwhile, Value is showing a lot of poise and excellence in what is a smaller yet expected champion pool.
Whether intentionally or not, they’re performing at a level and in a manner that grabs the attention of LCS organizations. V1per isn’t just winning lane, he’s dominating lane. 5fire isn’t just playing different champions to play, he’s filling the role the team needs at any given moment. AnDa isn’t just playing the jungle role well, he’s outclassing other opponents, showcasing what it takes to be a great competitive jungler.
But All That Glitters Is Not Gold
It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is perfect. What No Org has created is comparable to a really good college basketball program that secured a ton of transfers. They can build the best team but the individual pieces don’t necessarily transition well into a different style or to a professional line-up.
One of the biggest misses from organizations has been talent evaluation pre-and-post the relegation format. The shift in focus has improved, with teams honing in on what players are individually performing well. However, understanding what a player provides to a team and how that translates into a new roster is still being worked on.
Good players on good teams don’t necessarily mean they will be good players on another team. It is why every single sports team continues to improve their formula when it comes to drafting talent. It is also why players from a collegiate national championship team aren’t often the first overall pick.
A lot of what plays in the amateur scene has to be mended for the professional stage. It isn’t realistic for V1per to average 25-30% of his team’s post-fifteen-minute creeps. While 5fire’s ability to play well on control mages and roaming mid-laners, he isn’t necessarily excellent at either. He’s just really good at both. Value is fine with blind picking his marksmen but this may not necessarily be the strategy from another coaching staff.
For the Future
All of these players deserve recognition and consideration from LCS franchises. 2021 has showcased that there is still a lot of improvement to be made in Academy line-ups and how organizations approach their roster construction. Truthfully, it does feel as if some amateur teams can battle with the professionals, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.
No Org is making the most of their opportunity. Four players that appeared to be on the outs of the scene are fighting their way back into the spotlight, along with Value really showcasing what he can offer as a prospect. It has been one of the best stories to follow in the amateur scene this season and doesn’t get enough love.
But it’s also the story that concerns one a bit – what is “reusing talent” versus what is missed potential. The other line-up featuring known commodities in the scene – Not Academy Team – also performed well but weren’t as dominant.
Either way, tip of the cap to No Org.
Stay Connected
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Con!
“From Our Haus to Yours”