»»» Samsung Galaxy Primer «««
Disclaimer: as I have learned recently, information about League players outside of their positions/KDA/team rosters is ridiculously hard to find. Some of the facts were found via lots of digging and translating through inven/weibo, so please bear with me + comment with any inaccuracies you find!
(last updated: 01/06/16)
Index
00 Introduction
01 MVP Era
02 Roster History
03 Samsung White
04 Samsung Blue
05 Key Matches + Moments
06 Variety Shows + Interviews
07 Additional Reading + Articles
08 Links
Brief Introduction
Hailed as the two strongest teams in the world at the time, Samsung White and Blue are “the Generation of Miracles” of League of Legends.
If you’ve read Kuroko no Basket before, this comparison will make a lot of sense. If you haven’t, the gist of it is this: a group of promising players live, practice, and breathe together for over two years. They win worlds, peak super early and then as quickly as they were on the top of the world, they disband and scatter all across the world (read: China) leaving the world wondering what could have been if fate had been a little kinder.
This is Samsung, White and Blue, and yes they have disbanded.
However that doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom! The players are still tight friends and their shared history and friendships make it all that more exciting when they inevitably meet up in China (to kick each other’s asses and make more people cry).
MVP Era
Before the Samsung teams were winning championships and worlds in 2014 under the flag of Samsung, the largest company in all of South Korea, they actually had their start in a small org known as MVP. MVP were primarily known for their StarCraft 2 team and it wasn’t until later they decided to branch out into competitive League of Legends by creating three teams: MVP White, MVP Blue, and MVP Red.
MVP White did passably well their debut season, placing 5th by OGN Winter and qualifying for several competitions. Their sister team MVP Blue did not fare as well and MVP Red failed entirely to make it off the ground due to roster complications.
Roster History
»»» 2012 «««
DanDy (formerly 'Ingoo') and imp (back then known as '4Seasons') were 2 of the 5 original members of MVP White when the team was first created on May 7th, 2012.
DanDy was signed on from another team (SuperStar) where he played support under the gamertag 'YaNgSin' and imp was scouted directly from the Korean Solo Queue ladder. MVP White went on to have a pretty good debut season, placing 5th in OGN (Korean League) by Winter of 2012. At the end of the Winter Season, MVP White was rebranded into MVP Ozone due to the sponsorship of OzoneGaming.
At the same time DanDy and imp were signed onto MVP White, Acorn playing AD Carry under the gamertag 'Cheonju'(his name) and Heart playing Jungler, then known as 'Solo', were playing with midlaner Easyhoon and Poohmandu on support on an amateur team* known as GSG. GSG didn’t do quite as well as MVP White in their debut season but they did find success in the NLB finals against CJ Entus.
(*For reference, an amateur team is essentially a team without company backing and more often than not it’s just a group of friends that get together to play league.)
»»» 2013 «««
On February 7th of 2013, GSG were merged with the MVP organization which led Heart, Acorn and Easyhoon to join MVP Blue. Along with the change of teams, Acorn was shifted up into the Top Lane role and Heart moved down to Support where they would stay for the rest of their careers. In the same month, MVP as an organization signed on several new players to MVP Ozone, namely: Dade for Mid Lane (from CJ Entus) and Mata for Support (scouted via tryouts). MVP Blue also picked up a young AD Carry from Korea's Solo Queue named Deft to complete their roster.
After the Spring Season, more roster changes would come due to retirement of players on both teams in June. The toplaner of SSO, Homme, retired from competitive play to become a coach for Samsung and was switched out for Looper. Meanwhile Spirit was added to the Jungle for SSB.
On September 7th, the two MVP teams were bought out by Samsung who were looking for their first main venture into eSports. The two teams MVP Ozone and MVP Blue were from this point on rebranded into Samsung Ozone and Samsung Blue.
Out of the two Samsung teams it was undoubtedly Ozone that were the better performing team. Samsung Blue did decently well during off-season tournaments but failed to convert their talent into actual results. Samsung Ozone on the other hand went on to win the OGN Spring 2013 championship in Korea and later qualified for Worlds 2013 (though they would later crash out of the tournament in a rather humiliating fashion).
Last but not least in October, pawN was scouted as the new Midlaner of Samsung Blue following Easyhoon’s departure to SK Telecom.
»»» 2014 «««
Following a disastrous showing at the 2013 World Championships in which Samsung Ozone failed to make it out of the group stages, the Samsung organization made a risky move in swapping dade with pawN in the mid lane. From what the interviews with the coaches imply, the roster switch was done in hopes of solving tensions within SSW due to dade, DanDy, and Mata being around the same age and them not knowing who the lead shotcaller would be. Prior to his retirement, Homme had always been the clear leader and captain of SSW but with him no longer playing on the team, it became clear that there was a bit of an unresolved hierarchy problem within SSW. In the end, dade was moved to Samsung Blue as the shotcaller there, DanDy became captain of SSW and Mata became the shotcaller of White. In retrospect it was one of the best uses of sister teams (one organization housing two teams), but at the time it was seen by many as a demotion of sorts for dade who had been heavily inconsistent during their failed run at Worlds 2013.
At the same time pawN had just been placed under the spotlight for solo-killing the best player of all time in lane, Faker. The switch however, worked out better for both teams in the long term. It gave Blue the shotcaller and backbone of decision making while providing better synergy among White’s squad. In addition to the roster swap, Samsung rebranded Ozone back into White in June as a result of the sponsorship from OzoneGaming ending.
2014 would be Samsung’s big year for both the organization as well as the two teams and their rivalry. As sister teams and rivals they would clash a total of three times at the semi-finals of three separate play-offs: OGN Spring, OGN Summer, and finally Worlds 2014.
In between those face to face fights, they would also play together under one organization to win the LOL Master’s tournament- truly cementing the “enemies on the rift and real brothers off” mentality. Which finally brings us to-
Players- SSW - SSB -
Top Lane
Looper
Acorn
Jungle
DanDy
Spirit
Mid Lane
pawN
dade
AD Carry
imp
Deft
Support
Mata
Heart
To kick things off, please direct your attention to this great graphic from Inven showcasing their answers when asked: who is your favorite on the other team?
(original article from naver)
(*Deft is indeed, very well loved)
(**From what I know they weren't allowed to pick within their own teams)
(***Looper simply wasn't available to answer, this doesn't mean he hates everyone lol)
»»» Samsung White/Ozone «««
TOP LANE
(*all cute player profile gifs are from this adorable video and all credit goes to pikaniuu @ tumblr)
ID: Looper |»| Real Name: Jang Hyungseok [장형석]
Birthday: 02/28/1993 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Singed, Dr. Mundo, Poppy
Current Team: Royal Never Give Up (2016), M3 (2015)
(Looper is a really mysterious guy. I literally can't find anything about him...)
It's rumored that he had very high grades in school/would have gone to a really good university if he didn't give up schooling for League.
dade likes him a lot...like a lot...all the members love pulling on his cheeks uwu
The running gag for SSW is that he's only close to people that were formerly on the team/roster (Flahm, Easyhoon, dade).
Actually tiny!! Not quite as small as imp, but since he's one of the oldest in SSW it makes him the resident tiny hyung
His birthday is one day away from Mata's! + apparently eats like a chipmunk (where he just shoves whole slices of pizza into his mouth)
Two words: Soulless Aegyo
JUNGLE
ID: DanDy |»| Real Name: Choi Inkyu [최인규]
Former IDs: Ingoo, YaNgSin
Nicknames: Prince of Thieves, Inferiority God*
Birthday: 01/03/1994 |»| Hometown: Busan
Favorite Champions: Rengar, Lee Sin, Graves
Current Team: Vici Gaming (2015-2016)
Notorious trash talker (see: inferiority god scandal) + during s3 worlds he boasted that "I don't think there's any way Korean will lose to a foreign team"
Looks quite a bit like pre-debut Baekhyun from Exo + cute smile u_____u
His nickname "Prince of Theives" comes from him being really good at stealing map objectives (dragons, barons, etc).
Known for his stylish, dominant plays on Lee Sin
Typical blunt, Busan boy with a surprisingly emotional side T_____T
Played Top Lane for the 2015 season due to roster issues at Vici Gaming, but will be returning to his rightful place in the jungle for s6
Is "awkward" with Mata and plays it up for jokes/variety despite the two of them having god-tier synergy in game
MID LANE
ID: pawN |»| Real Name: Heo Wonseok [허원석]
Nicknames: God Slayer*, 小胖 “Little Fatty”, The Little General**
Birthday: 01/26/1998 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Fizz, Talon,
Current Team: EDward Gaming (2015-2016)
The youngest player on both SSW and SSB!
Known as the God Slayer* for solo-killing Faker multiple times (as you can probably tell from the way the casters are screaming, it's a Big Deal)
Originally was added to SSB's roster after Easyhoon left but was swapped with dade at the start of the 2014 season
Incredibly strong-willed to the point he dragged himself out of the hospital despite having an infection in his intestines to save his new team EDG from elimination
Gets a lot of flack from his fellow SSW teammates for playing weird champions, but he somehow makes it work
Suffers from an undisclosed illness and has constant back issues/pain that makes him unable to practice/play
Lost quite a bit of weight this off-season probably due to health concerns
AD CARRY
ID: imp |»| Real Name: Koo Seungbin [구승빈]
Former IDs: 4Seasons
Nicknames: Carry Potter, 小婊 “bitch”*
Birthday: 06/07/1995 |»| Hometown: Jangheung, South Jeolla
Favorite Champions: Twitch, Vayne
Current Team: LGD (2015-2016)
(Where do I even start with imp...)
IMPIN' AIN'T EASY + the definition of tiny but deadly
Wears givenchy all day, every day. Uses chanel moisterizer as well...
Loves skinship in general, even more so with Deft
Known for his signature sneer and Harry Potter glasses (hence the nickname Carry Potter)
Infamous for his "did you see piglet cry?" taunt + his cocky attitude in general
Read through his hilarious AMA- highlights include (Q: You're a pro with that attitude? A: I'm sorry are you the one paying me? + more)
When asked what he thought about playing at the Seoul Olympic Stadium for the 2014 Worlds Finals, he answered: "I just want to roll around in the grass."
SUPPORT
ID: Mata |»| Real Name: Cho Sehyung [조세형]
Nicknames: Buddha, Matalife*
Birthday: 02/27/1994 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Thresh, Janna
Current Team: Royal Never Give Up (2016), Vici Gaming (2015)
Looks older than he actually is, much to the amusement of everyone around him
imp's biggest supporter, but also 1st to throw imp under the bus
MVP of Worlds 2014! considered by many to be one of the best supports of all time during S4
Claims to be awkward with DanDy, but then posts stuff like this, idk you tell me (lmao also tandem biking + emotional hugs)
*It's commonly said by fans of OGN that "If MadLife is God then Mata is Buddha".
A "royal-roader"- aka someone who joins a team and starts winning immediately (ex him joining SSW in February and then winning an OGN title by April)
»»» Samsung Blue «««
TOP LANE
ID: Acorn |»| Real Name: Choi Cheonju [최천주]
Nicknames: A哥
Birthday: 07/13/1990 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Maokai, Rumble, Lulu
Current Team: LGD (2015-2016)
Has the cutest eyebrows, I'm not even kidding
He and Looper together were considered the two best top laners in terms of using teleport plays in 2014
Loves cuddling + gets teased a lot for being very popular with fangirls~
Has ust with his former co-top laner flame (i mean look at that face, who wouldn't?), but says he prefers watch (true lol ep 3)
King of fanservice tbh, a fan sent him ramen and he posed with it
Originally played AD Carry back in his GSG days with Heart + is praised for having a huge champion pool
Recently moved to an Analyst role for LGD, though the roster says he will still be subbing in for top lane from time to time
JUNGLE
ID: Spirit |»| Real Name: Lee Dayoon [이다윤]
Nicknames: 小雪碧 “Little Sprite”
Birthday: 07/01/1996 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Kha’Zix, Lee Sin, Nidalee
Current Team: Fnatic (2016), World Elite (2015)
SHONEN HERO SPIRIT <3 who gives great hugs
2nd youngest member on SSB after pawN switched over to SSW
Prone to saying weird shonen hero things such as "i would put my life on the line to help him (dade)" + "i won't let you (deft) cry anymore. just follow me"
SUPER SMILEY + energetic at all times uwu
Has great sportsmanship and smiles regardless if his team is winning or losing
Even though he's normally 100% smiles, Deft isn't the only one who cries
he's just so cute, look at him flirt with watch
MID LANE
(*dade is the only person out of SSW/SSB that didn't show up in the cute happy parents day video, so he gets a srs bsns gif instead)
ID: dade |»| Real Name: Bae Eojin [배어진]
Nicknames: The General, King of Spring*
Birthday: 11/08/1994 |»| Hometown: Gyeongju
Favorite Champions: Twisted Fate, Kassadin, Yasuo
Current Team: ??? (2016), QG (2016), M3 (2015)
who's your dade? + unmatched swagger
*King of Spring refers to dade's dominance and him winning season MVP for both 2013 Spring and 2014 Spring
One of the greatest mid-laners of all time, but criticized for being very inconsistent (to quote: "when dade's a 10, he's a 10. when he's anything else, it's bad.")
Close to the members of SSW since he was on their team for nearly a year
Doesn't like talking about Gragas...actually don't you even dare mention it around him
Owner of the legendary ~General's Jacket~ that dade wore to all his matches and never took it off...until the semi-finals where SSW beat them and he passed it off to pawN (more on this later).
dade in general tends to wear heavy jackets/parkas even in the spring/summer which makes it look like he's hibernating all the time
AD CARRY
ID: Deft |»| Real Name: Kim Hyukkyu [김혁규]
Nicknames: Alpaca, 妲己 “Da Ji”* (idk man, china is a weird place of memes)
Birthday: 10/23/1996 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Ezreal, Kog’maw, Corki
Current Team: EDward Gaming (2015-2016)
SAMSUNG ALPACA <3
TnT is actually just his face all the time
Plays so hard with just about everyone, even with players from overseas
Looks like a cinnamon roll, but could probably kill you (in theory)
Was scouted off of Korean Solo Queue for being high ranked (he was ranked #1 at one point too!)
His mentality "is as frail as glass" which results in Blue babying him a lot; Mata flat out calls him a "crybaby"
Prefers skillshot based champions such as Ezreal or Corki and is really admired among pro-players for his ability to hit/dodge skillshots
SUPPORT
ID: Heart |»| Real Name: Lee Gwanhyung [이관형]
Former IDs: Solo, Sense
Birthday: 12/13/1988 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Nami, Thresh, Sona
Current Team: LGD Head Coach (2016), Unlimited Potential (2015)
Oldest hyung/team dad of the Samsung crew + has a lot of female fans (but he blocks them all apparently lol)
Had amazing rainbow hair as a promise to the fans for making it to finals of OGN Spring 2013
Has retired T___________T (now the coach for LGD in China which is imp and Acorn's team!!)
Really admired for being a pro-player at his age (for reference- most pros retire around 22-23, Heart played until he was 28)
Has known Acorn for a long time, the two of them are practically Deft's + Spirit's parents
Has the coolest hair colors (blueish purple, rainbow, etc)
Says some weird stuff...the most prominent example being his infamous "women are like wards" comment
Key Matches + Moments
*just a heads up, these games tend to run pretty long (roughly 40min-1 hr each). So if you don't have the time to watch them I suggest skipping to the bulleted sections under each match for some key moments
As mentioned above, the two Samsung teams' rivalry didn't truly peak until they came face to face for 3 semi-finals playoffs at 3 major events. The first of the three occured at the OGN Spring Semi-Finals where SSB for the first time since their creation made it past the RO16 in a playoff series. After defeating their sister team, Ozone, they went on to win over the favored NaJin White Shield for their first Championship win!
1. [04/30/2014] OGN Spring Semi-Finals [SSB Win 3-1]
Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
2. [06/08/2014] LOL Masters 2014 [Samsung Galaxy wins the entire tournament]
Grand Finals vs SK Telecom [ Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 ]
3. [08/01/15] HOT6iX Summer Semi-Finals [SSB Win 3-1]
Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
4. Worlds Semi-Finals
Full Broadcast | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Variety Shows + Interviews
If you watch nothing else, give the ex-Samsung episodes a shot. They take place a couple months after the Samsung exodus occured, which makes it a very nostalgic, bittersweet reunion- especially given that some of the players had a really tough time acclimating to China.
Additonal Reading
Just some extra reading if you're still curious for more/a collection eSports articles that highlight their rivalry/relationship
Links
Twitter: Acorn | Spirit | Deft | Heart | imp
Stream Links-
ex-SSB: Acorn | Spirit | dade | Deft | Heart
ex-SSW: Looper | DanDy | pawN | imp | Mata (old and has probably changed since he switched teams)
*If any of the links are broken, or if any of the material on here belongs to you and you would like me to take it down, please let me know! Thank you!
**Almost all subbed material is here thanks to OGN Global + krbnu (tumblr | twitter | yt channel).
(last updated: 01/06/16)
Index
00 Introduction
01 MVP Era
02 Roster History
03 Samsung White
04 Samsung Blue
05 Key Matches + Moments
06 Variety Shows + Interviews
07 Additional Reading + Articles
08 Links
Brief Introduction
Hailed as the two strongest teams in the world at the time, Samsung White and Blue are “the Generation of Miracles” of League of Legends.
If you’ve read Kuroko no Basket before, this comparison will make a lot of sense. If you haven’t, the gist of it is this: a group of promising players live, practice, and breathe together for over two years. They win worlds, peak super early and then as quickly as they were on the top of the world, they disband and scatter all across the world (read: China) leaving the world wondering what could have been if fate had been a little kinder.
This is Samsung, White and Blue, and yes they have disbanded.
However that doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom! The players are still tight friends and their shared history and friendships make it all that more exciting when they inevitably meet up in China (to kick each other’s asses and make more people cry).
MVP Era
Before the Samsung teams were winning championships and worlds in 2014 under the flag of Samsung, the largest company in all of South Korea, they actually had their start in a small org known as MVP. MVP were primarily known for their StarCraft 2 team and it wasn’t until later they decided to branch out into competitive League of Legends by creating three teams: MVP White, MVP Blue, and MVP Red.
MVP White did passably well their debut season, placing 5th by OGN Winter and qualifying for several competitions. Their sister team MVP Blue did not fare as well and MVP Red failed entirely to make it off the ground due to roster complications.
Roster History
»»» 2012 «««
DanDy (formerly 'Ingoo') and imp (back then known as '4Seasons') were 2 of the 5 original members of MVP White when the team was first created on May 7th, 2012.
DanDy was signed on from another team (SuperStar) where he played support under the gamertag 'YaNgSin' and imp was scouted directly from the Korean Solo Queue ladder. MVP White went on to have a pretty good debut season, placing 5th in OGN (Korean League) by Winter of 2012. At the end of the Winter Season, MVP White was rebranded into MVP Ozone due to the sponsorship of OzoneGaming.
At the same time DanDy and imp were signed onto MVP White, Acorn playing AD Carry under the gamertag 'Cheonju'(his name) and Heart playing Jungler, then known as 'Solo', were playing with midlaner Easyhoon and Poohmandu on support on an amateur team* known as GSG. GSG didn’t do quite as well as MVP White in their debut season but they did find success in the NLB finals against CJ Entus.
(*For reference, an amateur team is essentially a team without company backing and more often than not it’s just a group of friends that get together to play league.)
»»» 2013 «««
On February 7th of 2013, GSG were merged with the MVP organization which led Heart, Acorn and Easyhoon to join MVP Blue. Along with the change of teams, Acorn was shifted up into the Top Lane role and Heart moved down to Support where they would stay for the rest of their careers. In the same month, MVP as an organization signed on several new players to MVP Ozone, namely: Dade for Mid Lane (from CJ Entus) and Mata for Support (scouted via tryouts). MVP Blue also picked up a young AD Carry from Korea's Solo Queue named Deft to complete their roster.
After the Spring Season, more roster changes would come due to retirement of players on both teams in June. The toplaner of SSO, Homme, retired from competitive play to become a coach for Samsung and was switched out for Looper. Meanwhile Spirit was added to the Jungle for SSB.
On September 7th, the two MVP teams were bought out by Samsung who were looking for their first main venture into eSports. The two teams MVP Ozone and MVP Blue were from this point on rebranded into Samsung Ozone and Samsung Blue.
Out of the two Samsung teams it was undoubtedly Ozone that were the better performing team. Samsung Blue did decently well during off-season tournaments but failed to convert their talent into actual results. Samsung Ozone on the other hand went on to win the OGN Spring 2013 championship in Korea and later qualified for Worlds 2013 (though they would later crash out of the tournament in a rather humiliating fashion).
Last but not least in October, pawN was scouted as the new Midlaner of Samsung Blue following Easyhoon’s departure to SK Telecom.
»»» 2014 «««
Following a disastrous showing at the 2013 World Championships in which Samsung Ozone failed to make it out of the group stages, the Samsung organization made a risky move in swapping dade with pawN in the mid lane. From what the interviews with the coaches imply, the roster switch was done in hopes of solving tensions within SSW due to dade, DanDy, and Mata being around the same age and them not knowing who the lead shotcaller would be. Prior to his retirement, Homme had always been the clear leader and captain of SSW but with him no longer playing on the team, it became clear that there was a bit of an unresolved hierarchy problem within SSW. In the end, dade was moved to Samsung Blue as the shotcaller there, DanDy became captain of SSW and Mata became the shotcaller of White. In retrospect it was one of the best uses of sister teams (one organization housing two teams), but at the time it was seen by many as a demotion of sorts for dade who had been heavily inconsistent during their failed run at Worlds 2013.
At the same time pawN had just been placed under the spotlight for solo-killing the best player of all time in lane, Faker. The switch however, worked out better for both teams in the long term. It gave Blue the shotcaller and backbone of decision making while providing better synergy among White’s squad. In addition to the roster swap, Samsung rebranded Ozone back into White in June as a result of the sponsorship from OzoneGaming ending.
2014 would be Samsung’s big year for both the organization as well as the two teams and their rivalry. As sister teams and rivals they would clash a total of three times at the semi-finals of three separate play-offs: OGN Spring, OGN Summer, and finally Worlds 2014.
In between those face to face fights, they would also play together under one organization to win the LOL Master’s tournament- truly cementing the “enemies on the rift and real brothers off” mentality. Which finally brings us to-
Players- SSW - SSB -
Top Lane
Looper
Acorn
Jungle
DanDy
Spirit
Mid Lane
pawN
dade
AD Carry
imp
Deft
Support
Mata
Heart
To kick things off, please direct your attention to this great graphic from Inven showcasing their answers when asked: who is your favorite on the other team?
(original article from naver)
(*Deft is indeed, very well loved)
(**From what I know they weren't allowed to pick within their own teams)
(***Looper simply wasn't available to answer, this doesn't mean he hates everyone lol)
»»» Samsung White/Ozone «««
TOP LANE
(*all cute player profile gifs are from this adorable video and all credit goes to pikaniuu @ tumblr)
ID: Looper |»| Real Name: Jang Hyungseok [장형석]
Birthday: 02/28/1993 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Singed, Dr. Mundo, Poppy
Current Team: Royal Never Give Up (2016), M3 (2015)
(Looper is a really mysterious guy. I literally can't find anything about him...)
It's rumored that he had very high grades in school/would have gone to a really good university if he didn't give up schooling for League.
dade likes him a lot...like a lot...all the members love pulling on his cheeks uwu
The running gag for SSW is that he's only close to people that were formerly on the team/roster (Flahm, Easyhoon, dade).
Actually tiny!! Not quite as small as imp, but since he's one of the oldest in SSW it makes him the resident tiny hyung
His birthday is one day away from Mata's! + apparently eats like a chipmunk (where he just shoves whole slices of pizza into his mouth)
Two words: Soulless Aegyo
JUNGLE
ID: DanDy |»| Real Name: Choi Inkyu [최인규]
Former IDs: Ingoo, YaNgSin
Nicknames: Prince of Thieves, Inferiority God*
Birthday: 01/03/1994 |»| Hometown: Busan
Favorite Champions: Rengar, Lee Sin, Graves
Current Team: Vici Gaming (2015-2016)
Notorious trash talker (see: inferiority god scandal) + during s3 worlds he boasted that "I don't think there's any way Korean will lose to a foreign team"
Looks quite a bit like pre-debut Baekhyun from Exo + cute smile u_____u
His nickname "Prince of Theives" comes from him being really good at stealing map objectives (dragons, barons, etc).
Known for his stylish, dominant plays on Lee Sin
Typical blunt, Busan boy with a surprisingly emotional side T_____T
Played Top Lane for the 2015 season due to roster issues at Vici Gaming, but will be returning to his rightful place in the jungle for s6
Is "awkward" with Mata and plays it up for jokes/variety despite the two of them having god-tier synergy in game
MID LANE
ID: pawN |»| Real Name: Heo Wonseok [허원석]
Nicknames: God Slayer*, 小胖 “Little Fatty”, The Little General**
Birthday: 01/26/1998 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Fizz, Talon,
Current Team: EDward Gaming (2015-2016)
The youngest player on both SSW and SSB!
Known as the God Slayer* for solo-killing Faker multiple times (as you can probably tell from the way the casters are screaming, it's a Big Deal)
Originally was added to SSB's roster after Easyhoon left but was swapped with dade at the start of the 2014 season
Incredibly strong-willed to the point he dragged himself out of the hospital despite having an infection in his intestines to save his new team EDG from elimination
Gets a lot of flack from his fellow SSW teammates for playing weird champions, but he somehow makes it work
Suffers from an undisclosed illness and has constant back issues/pain that makes him unable to practice/play
Lost quite a bit of weight this off-season probably due to health concerns
AD CARRY
ID: imp |»| Real Name: Koo Seungbin [구승빈]
Former IDs: 4Seasons
Nicknames: Carry Potter, 小婊 “bitch”*
Birthday: 06/07/1995 |»| Hometown: Jangheung, South Jeolla
Favorite Champions: Twitch, Vayne
Current Team: LGD (2015-2016)
(Where do I even start with imp...)
IMPIN' AIN'T EASY + the definition of tiny but deadly
Wears givenchy all day, every day. Uses chanel moisterizer as well...
Loves skinship in general, even more so with Deft
Known for his signature sneer and Harry Potter glasses (hence the nickname Carry Potter)
Infamous for his "did you see piglet cry?" taunt + his cocky attitude in general
Read through his hilarious AMA- highlights include (Q: You're a pro with that attitude? A: I'm sorry are you the one paying me? + more)
When asked what he thought about playing at the Seoul Olympic Stadium for the 2014 Worlds Finals, he answered: "I just want to roll around in the grass."
SUPPORT
ID: Mata |»| Real Name: Cho Sehyung [조세형]
Nicknames: Buddha, Matalife*
Birthday: 02/27/1994 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Thresh, Janna
Current Team: Royal Never Give Up (2016), Vici Gaming (2015)
Looks older than he actually is, much to the amusement of everyone around him
imp's biggest supporter, but also 1st to throw imp under the bus
MVP of Worlds 2014! considered by many to be one of the best supports of all time during S4
Claims to be awkward with DanDy, but then posts stuff like this, idk you tell me (lmao also tandem biking + emotional hugs)
*It's commonly said by fans of OGN that "If MadLife is God then Mata is Buddha".
A "royal-roader"- aka someone who joins a team and starts winning immediately (ex him joining SSW in February and then winning an OGN title by April)
»»» Samsung Blue «««
TOP LANE
ID: Acorn |»| Real Name: Choi Cheonju [최천주]
Nicknames: A哥
Birthday: 07/13/1990 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Maokai, Rumble, Lulu
Current Team: LGD (2015-2016)
Has the cutest eyebrows, I'm not even kidding
He and Looper together were considered the two best top laners in terms of using teleport plays in 2014
Loves cuddling + gets teased a lot for being very popular with fangirls~
Has ust with his former co-top laner flame (i mean look at that face, who wouldn't?), but says he prefers watch (true lol ep 3)
King of fanservice tbh, a fan sent him ramen and he posed with it
Originally played AD Carry back in his GSG days with Heart + is praised for having a huge champion pool
Recently moved to an Analyst role for LGD, though the roster says he will still be subbing in for top lane from time to time
JUNGLE
ID: Spirit |»| Real Name: Lee Dayoon [이다윤]
Nicknames: 小雪碧 “Little Sprite”
Birthday: 07/01/1996 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Kha’Zix, Lee Sin, Nidalee
Current Team: Fnatic (2016), World Elite (2015)
SHONEN HERO SPIRIT <3 who gives great hugs
2nd youngest member on SSB after pawN switched over to SSW
Prone to saying weird shonen hero things such as "i would put my life on the line to help him (dade)" + "i won't let you (deft) cry anymore. just follow me"
SUPER SMILEY + energetic at all times uwu
Has great sportsmanship and smiles regardless if his team is winning or losing
Even though he's normally 100% smiles, Deft isn't the only one who cries
he's just so cute, look at him flirt with watch
MID LANE
(*dade is the only person out of SSW/SSB that didn't show up in the cute happy parents day video, so he gets a srs bsns gif instead)
ID: dade |»| Real Name: Bae Eojin [배어진]
Nicknames: The General, King of Spring*
Birthday: 11/08/1994 |»| Hometown: Gyeongju
Favorite Champions: Twisted Fate, Kassadin, Yasuo
Current Team: ??? (2016), QG (2016), M3 (2015)
who's your dade? + unmatched swagger
*King of Spring refers to dade's dominance and him winning season MVP for both 2013 Spring and 2014 Spring
One of the greatest mid-laners of all time, but criticized for being very inconsistent (to quote: "when dade's a 10, he's a 10. when he's anything else, it's bad.")
Close to the members of SSW since he was on their team for nearly a year
Doesn't like talking about Gragas...actually don't you even dare mention it around him
Owner of the legendary ~General's Jacket~ that dade wore to all his matches and never took it off...until the semi-finals where SSW beat them and he passed it off to pawN (more on this later).
dade in general tends to wear heavy jackets/parkas even in the spring/summer which makes it look like he's hibernating all the time
AD CARRY
ID: Deft |»| Real Name: Kim Hyukkyu [김혁규]
Nicknames: Alpaca, 妲己 “Da Ji”* (idk man, china is a weird place of memes)
Birthday: 10/23/1996 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Ezreal, Kog’maw, Corki
Current Team: EDward Gaming (2015-2016)
SAMSUNG ALPACA <3
TnT is actually just his face all the time
Plays so hard with just about everyone, even with players from overseas
Looks like a cinnamon roll, but could probably kill you (in theory)
Was scouted off of Korean Solo Queue for being high ranked (he was ranked #1 at one point too!)
His mentality "is as frail as glass" which results in Blue babying him a lot; Mata flat out calls him a "crybaby"
Prefers skillshot based champions such as Ezreal or Corki and is really admired among pro-players for his ability to hit/dodge skillshots
SUPPORT
ID: Heart |»| Real Name: Lee Gwanhyung [이관형]
Former IDs: Solo, Sense
Birthday: 12/13/1988 |»| Hometown: Seoul
Favorite Champions: Nami, Thresh, Sona
Current Team: LGD Head Coach (2016), Unlimited Potential (2015)
Oldest hyung/team dad of the Samsung crew + has a lot of female fans (but he blocks them all apparently lol)
Had amazing rainbow hair as a promise to the fans for making it to finals of OGN Spring 2013
Has retired T___________T (now the coach for LGD in China which is imp and Acorn's team!!)
Really admired for being a pro-player at his age (for reference- most pros retire around 22-23, Heart played until he was 28)
Has known Acorn for a long time, the two of them are practically Deft's + Spirit's parents
Has the coolest hair colors (blueish purple, rainbow, etc)
Says some weird stuff...the most prominent example being his infamous "women are like wards" comment
Key Matches + Moments
*just a heads up, these games tend to run pretty long (roughly 40min-1 hr each). So if you don't have the time to watch them I suggest skipping to the bulleted sections under each match for some key moments
As mentioned above, the two Samsung teams' rivalry didn't truly peak until they came face to face for 3 semi-finals playoffs at 3 major events. The first of the three occured at the OGN Spring Semi-Finals where SSB for the first time since their creation made it past the RO16 in a playoff series. After defeating their sister team, Ozone, they went on to win over the favored NaJin White Shield for their first Championship win!
1. [04/30/2014] OGN Spring Semi-Finals [SSB Win 3-1]
Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
- Short + cute skit (unsubbed, but the gist of it is Mata sneaks into the Blue's training room to spy and plays a game in Heart's position while Heart snoozes in the corner)
- Winning Moment for SSB over SSW
2. [06/08/2014] LOL Masters 2014 [Samsung Galaxy wins the entire tournament]
Grand Finals vs SK Telecom [ Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 ]
- Awards Ceremony!!! (lots of cute moments and hugging TnT)
- LOL Master's Finals Hype Video (SK Telecom vs Samsung Galaxy)
- Behind the scenes (Special shoutout to Acorn's abs and the Samsung boys passed out around each other)
- LOL Master's drawing game ("Spirit you're making it too obvious we dropped out of middle school")
3. [08/01/15] HOT6iX Summer Semi-Finals [SSB Win 3-1]
Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
- Trash talk OGN Summer 2014 (Korean League of Legends loves their trash talk and this season delivered exceptionally, although why imp decided to use it as an opportunity to flirt with Deft is anyone's guess)
- SSB @ Finals the infamous RAP BATTLE parody of SMTM3 (Granted, since this is a parody of SMTM3, there's no way it would have been anything but majorly cringe inducing but whatever, they had fun with it)
- SSB @ Finals Deft's Diary Skit (aka protect the Deft team composition goes meta)
4. Worlds Semi-Finals
Full Broadcast | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
- Sibling Rivalry Pre-Worlds Hype
- Blue in tears after being eliminated in such a brutal manner and SSW picking them up and hugging them T_______T
- Dade passing on his legendary "General's Jacket" to pawN which was a HUGE MOMENT in the eyes of the community ;;
- Samsung White's winning moment of Finals (Mata running across the stage to pick DanDy up in a hug ;~~~~~~~;)
- imp congratulating SSB for making it to the semis all the way back in Spring
- SSB comforting SSW in their booth after winning over them in Spring
- Samsung get together @ Christmas (after a year separated in China, they're still tight T________T)
- Samsung all dressed up + helping each other look good
- Samsung @ Homme's wedding!! (pawN and Deft were busy at MSI so they couldn't make it)
Variety Shows + Interviews
If you watch nothing else, give the ex-Samsung episodes a shot. They take place a couple months after the Samsung exodus occured, which makes it a very nostalgic, bittersweet reunion- especially given that some of the players had a really tough time acclimating to China.
- True-LoL show- Ex-Samsung episodes (subbed) ep 1 | ep 2 | ep 3
- True-LoL show- Mata & DanDy @ Worlds (subbed)
- True-LoL show- SSW + SSB (minus imp) + this video isn't subbed but a full translation can be found here (credit to @krbnu for all these videos subs)
- True-LoL show- Heart + Imp (subbed)
- OGN Global 2014 Worlds Interviews: Acorn | Spirit 1 & 2 | dade | Deft (feat. Rekkles) | Heart | DanDy | pawN | imp 1 & 2 | Mata (again, Looper is the hardest person to find, ever)
- Reflections with Thoorin: (to be added)
Additonal Reading
Just some extra reading if you're still curious for more/a collection eSports articles that highlight their rivalry/relationship
- Hype vs Trophies: Battle of the Samsungs
- Samsung Galaxy's Emerging Empire
- Samsung White & Blue torn apart by roster changes
Links
Twitter: Acorn | Spirit | Deft | Heart | imp
Stream Links-
ex-SSB: Acorn | Spirit | dade | Deft | Heart
ex-SSW: Looper | DanDy | pawN | imp | Mata (old and has probably changed since he switched teams)
*If any of the links are broken, or if any of the material on here belongs to you and you would like me to take it down, please let me know! Thank you!
**Almost all subbed material is here thanks to OGN Global + krbnu (tumblr | twitter | yt channel).