Attack of The Titans

Attack of the Titans

Bangkok Titans will be representing Southeast Asia in the upcoming International Wildcard Tournament held in Turkey. They will be facing off against Japan’s Detonation FocusMe, Australia’s Chiefs eSports Club and Turkey’s Dark Passage. BKT had undergone numerous personnel changes over the past years, but finally managed to settle down with their current iteration of the roster.

Top Laner: Pawat “Warl0ck” Ampaporn
Mid Laner: Nuttapong “G4” Menkasikan
Jungler: Chayut “007x” Suebka
Marksman: Juckkirsts “Lloyd” Kongubon
Support: Sorawat “Moss” Boonphrom

Team History

Two years ago, Bangkok Titans were terrible. Coming off a disappointing Winter split in the Garena Premier League with a 9W-19L record, and failing to win domestic tournaments. They were a walking living meme, with more roster changes than the number of wins in their three year history of the GPL.

All that changed in 2014. With deep pockets in their organization, BKT signed the best Thai players from the other local teams. Within one year, Bangkok Titans started to challenge the elite Singaporean & Vietnamese teams, reaching the finals of GPL Spring 2015 after stomping Insidious Gaming Legends, a crowd favourite amongst the Vietnamese fans. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be their split as Saigon Fantastic Five destroyed them 3-0 in the finals, exposing their limited win lane win game strategy.

A Lucky Break

One can call it fate or destiny, as the winners of GPL Spring, Saigon Fantastic Five, faced several visa issues and had to give up their slot in the International Wildcard Qualifiers for MSI 2015. Bangkok Titans thus inherited the slot and were flown over to Turkey, where they would compete against the best International Wildcard regions. With no time to prepare, hopes were low for the team from Thailand.

Before they flew over to Turkey, Bangkok Titans made their final roster change, replacing their support player. Sorawat “Moss” Boonphrom would join their ranks as the replacement support. The new addition strengthened BKT as they replaced their weakest player. Moss also had a few unconventional support champions such as Gragas, making their champion picks more unpredictable.

BKT proceeded to swept the group stages with ease, smashing their opponents with their flamboyant and aggressive playstyle, dropping only one game to INTZ e-Sports from Brazil.

In the knockout stages, BKT were exposed due to their lack of preparatin and crashed out 3-0 to the eventual champions, Besiktas. Finishing 3rd/4th in the International Wildcard Qualifiers, BKT took the next plane back home, their heads held high as they proved to the world that Southeast Asia was not a weak region.

Back to Conquer

Shortly after the IWCI, Bangkok Titans returned to compete in the GPL with newfound confidence and the knowledge they have gotten from competing with the other wildcard regions. BKT stormed through the first phase of the GPL with three straight victories to proceed to the next phase. In the next phase, they ended up joint second with a 5W-2L record, losing games to Vietnamese super team, Boba Marines and a Lê “SofM” Quang Duy led Full Louis, who was known as Vietnam’s prodigal son with his insane mechanical prowess.

This was a cause for concern for the Thai fans, as Bangkok Titans were expected to sweep the tournament easily. However, to the delight of their fans, BKT had more tricks up on their sleeves as they pulled out several different team compositions which no one expected them to pull off.

In the semi final match against Full Louis, Bangkok Titans pulled off a Jayce/Corki poke composition in the first game to great success. In a region where teamfighting compositions are the norm, Full Louis were unable to adapt and crumbled under the unrelenting pressure from BKT. In the next game, BKT decided to go for a late game oriented teamfighting composition. BKT’s mid laner, G4, was put on Vladimir,where he pushed the champion to its limits, dealing tons of AoE damage and baiting enemy cooldowns with well timed sanguine pools and immaculate use of his Zhonya’s Hourglass. With a 2-0 advantage, Bangkok Titans went back to their roots in game 3. Picking Ahri for G4, they controlled the game from the beginning, and grabbed the win purely through their superior laning phase to secure their spot in their second successive GPL Finals.

Their next opponents, were the Saigon Jokers, the oldest and most successful team in Vietnam, having attended the Season Two World Championships. Saigon Jokers had just undergone a major roster reshuffle, and surprised everyone by beating pre-tournament favourites, Boba Marines 3-0. Led by their Korean head coach Lee “icaruse” In-cheol, they had success in the tournament by playing a safe stall strategy, where they would outscale and out-teamfight their opponents.

Bangkok Titans adapted accordingly, and pulled out several mid-game team compositions in response. With BKT’s stronger laning phase, Saigon Jokers were unable to stall the game long enough, and were systematically beaten by the Titans, losing every game of the finals with over a 10k deficit in each game.

Of course, the run wouldn’t have been perfect without some Bangkok Titans swagger, as G4 pulled out his famed Zed in game 3. Being up 2-0 and with the series pretty much in the bag, G4 showed off his world class abilities, making several picks and insane outplays to clinch game 3 and the GPL title for Bangkok Titans.

Closing Thoughts

After winning yet another regional tournament, Bangkok Titans have finally usurped the Vietnamese stranglehold over the region, proving themselves to be worthy representatives of the region in the upcoming IWC Worlds qualifiers. Bangkok Titans will be competing against the top teams from Japan, Oceania and Turkey and are looking to get revenge for their previous defeat at the hands of a Turkish team. This time around, they will be ready.

WILDCARD HYPU!

Nelson Sng is a League of Legends hipster stuck on a little island called Singapore, so come register on LiquidLegends.net and join him in the discussion on our forums!