If you had told me the team name without telling me what competition it was, I would have simply dismissed the team as a casual one. I have been proven wrong this time as the Unicorns of Love (UOL) absolutely toppled EU competition in the quarterfinals and semi finals of IEM San Jose, reaching the Grand Finals of the first ever patch 4.20 major competition.

UOL first made their mark in professional EU League of Legends by qualifying for the Riot League Championships for Europe by defeating winning their opponent, Millenium 3-2.

This gained them many fans, who then voted for them and Cloud 9 into IEM San Jose. UOL gained 47.9% of the fan vote, and it is no surprise – UOL has unique players and their team members are all-challenger ranked in EU.  There is Vizicsacsi, well-known for his unstoppable Poppy, and their jungler Kikis, who played an innovative Twisted Fate jungle to surprise TSM 2-0. All team members play unconventionally even at high-level League of Legends, a truly entertaining spectacle to watch.

In a reddit AMA, UOL have expressed their desire to maintain their team image as it is no matter what sponsor picks them up. They also discuss specific tactics for champions, such as Poppy as a Mundo/Maokai counter as she can play more greedily against these champions. They look to be a more unconventional team in champion select as they pick heroes to actively counter their opponent’s heroes in ways untested in the competitive scene, largely due to their ranked-play background and experience.

The UOL displayed willingness to innovate on the champion select strategy in IEM, picking up Lux in Game 1, Poppy in Game 2 and Hecarim in Game 3. Although they did not win any of their games in the Grand Final, they were not freebies for Cloud 9. They looked strong in all 3 games, only losing because of errors on their part.

UOL was often caught out overextending rather than forcing Cloud 9 to make mistakes, a recurring mistake throughout the series. It was most saddening when they dropped game 2 despite having a lead in the early to mid game.

UOL lacked solid shockcalling as evidenced by Cloud 9’s Hai outsmarting their baron surround in-game 2. Cloud 9 took baron and were stuck in the pit, with a Poppy teleporting in from the tri-bush north of baron, the other 4 UOL members at the mouth of the pit.

As UOL tried to go in to fight C9, their lack of co-ordination really showed. Kikis went in alone with an infinite duress and was quickly turned on by Cloud 9 and finished off while the other UOL team members were still trying to find their flanks. UOL’s morgana (Hylissang) flashed in for a 4 man Soul Shackles, but C9 quad flashed out of the pit towards the north side in response, leaving only Balls behind to prevent the teamwipe.

Compared to C9 who had a plan, UOL seemed to be winging it, being unable to cleanly close out a C9 team trapped in the baron pit as they jumped into their 5-man one by one.

Even as Vizicsacsi tried to make plays with his Poppy in-game 2, it was solo plays. Cloud 9 plays as a unit, having years of competitive experience which allowed them to take turns in escaping with less than 15% health against an invulnerable Poppy, and take her down eventually 5v1.

These mistakes will only give them more experience for they are a solid team with solid players. It was no accident that they were able to take both Lyon Gaming and TSM down 2-0, much like how Alliance played a perfect game against Najin White Shield when they were underestimated. UOL definitely has what it takes mechanics-wise to be a top-tier team. All they need now is the experience and co-ordination to carry them through.

You can find UOL on facebook, twitter and their reddit AMA which details the contact information for individual players. You can catch them playing in LCS EU 2015 for a spot in League of Legends Worlds. If you like my work, give me a follow on my twitter @TheFreakofnatur!

Chen Yiji
The Gaming Ground

More by Chen Yiji:

• MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries PC review – A time-demanding but action-intense Mecha game
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Tags: E-Sport, IEM San Jose, League of Legends, LOL, Unicorns of Love