The League of Legends 2018 Spring Split has come to an end for all regions, and it was by far the most competitive one as of yet -- filled with surprises around every corner. Soon, in Berlin Germany, all the regional champions will gather together for a legendary battle. 

The Play-In Stage that will serve as the starting pistol to sound the beginning of the tournament has many unfamiliar names. Among the regions competing in the Play-In Stage - Korea, China, EU, NA, and Taiwan - a good number of them are considered 'wildcards'. However, if you look closely, you'll likely find a couple of familiar names.


■ "Hi, it's been a while" - CBLOL's KaBuM! e-Sports 

'KaBuM! e-Sports' is the team representing Brazil's CBLOL at this MSI, but this is not the first time global fans have seen this uniquely-named team.

KBM was a previous contender for Worlds. Although the entire roster of the team has been overhauled since then, KBM is coming back to the international stage to re-engrave their name in the minds of fans worldwide. 

At the 2014 World Championship, KBM was a dark horse. A well-rounded team that left a mark on every team they encountered. The most memorable moment during KBM's previous run was when they defeated EU's Alliance during the tournament.

Following Worlds, after losing all of its original players, the team went downhill -- even being relegated at one point. However, the team didn't give up, and after many improvements, the team won their regional league. 

The midlaner of the team, Dynquedo, is undefeated as Azir. In addition, his average death count per game is incredibly low -- his highest average deaths are from Malzahar and Galio, but even that number sits at a mere 1.5. KBM's toplaner, Zantins, has scored CS on par with the team's midlaner and ADC.


■ Taken aback by Vietnam? GPL's Ascension Gaming

GPL is the league that housed the Season 2 World champions, TPA. However, when the Vietnamese teams left the GPL for their own league (VCS), GPL's popularity dwindled along with the attention that TPA had once brought. 

Amidst all that, a team called Ascension Gaming showed up and won their ticket to MSI -- displaying incredible performance despite having been in the league for only a short amount of time. A chunk of the team's success was brought to them through the help of the former coach and players of the Bangkok Titan. 

But oddly, the players of ASC have a small champion pool. During the 2018 Spring Split, the team had only played a total of 26 different champions. The midlaner, G4, had the most diversity, having played a total of 8 different champions. The team also carries an incredibly high win rate -- excluding Swain and Echo who were only played once with no success, the team has a 100% win rate on everything else. 

ASC had no surprise or off-meta picks during the regional league, and each player's champion pool ranges from only 4 to 8 champions. Was there no need for the team to utilize surprise tactics during the GPL? Will they pull out some surprises during the MSI? We'll soon find out.


■ That's Gambit alright - CIS LCL representative, Gambit Esports

There have been many incredible junglers throughout the history of League of Legends, but according to many, there was no jungler who understood the EU meta than Diamondprox. He was regarded as the best -- a legend -- and he's still in the scene as a player along with his long-time teammate, Edward. 

The current Gambit is a bit different from the Gambit that we knew in the past. After leaving the EU LCS for the LCL, new teammates were added and seated next to Diamondprox and Edward. The new players were from ANX, a team that had previously caused a massive upset at Worlds. The toplaner and midlaner were the source, having led the team to the quarterfinals of the tournament. 

Although Diamondprox is well-known for playing a wide variety of jungle champions, during the Spring, he only played meta champions. The thing to keep an eye on is whether or not Diamondprox will play any off-meta picks. 

Another interesting thing about Gambit is that the ADC of the team, Lodik, has only been with the team for a short amount of time. Having joined the team in March as a substitute ADC player, Lodik will play as the starting ADC for MSI -- a strong sign that he has adapted well to the team. In addition, he has been playing as a professional since 2016, so there isn't a need to worry about whether or not he'll choke from the pressure of being on the stage. 


■ Japan's Pentagram, a strong contender

Japan used to have an image of not being too interested in esports or online PC games in general. However, LJL, their regional league, has been around since 2014 and has been popular ever since. 

LJL always had a fierce rivalry between the top teams: Detonation and Pentagram. During the regular season, Pentagram came in 2nd, but during the playoff Finals, they defeated Detonation with a score of 3-0. Having defeated their rival, Pentagram is now on their way to MSI with heads held high, ready to take on the world.

Pentagram had their first experience playing on an international stage in 2017, and it wasn't a good one. In the 2017 MSI, Pentagram was eliminated from the tournament during the 1st round of the Play-In Stage. Having scored 1-5, Pentagram was the bottom team in Group A. Pentagram was put to a halt by the high walls of MSI even before getting the opportunity to show the world LJL's unique playstyle. How much they have improved for their second attempt at the tournament is yet to be seen.

Strangely, the team's support player, Gaeng, has the highest KDA. He's died the least out of all of his teammates and has the highest assist score. In most cases, it's the support player on each team that tries to divert the enemy's attention to himself, often leading them to be the first to go down in a fight. The team's jungler, on the other hand, has the lowest KDA -- most likely filling in for the role of taking enemy aggression.


■ The addition of GBM and Snowflower, who's in full bloom - SuperMassive eSports

Turkey's TCL has been showing massive improvements year after year. During last year's Worlds, TCL's 1907 Fenerbahçe Esports broke through the Play-In Stage to enter the tournament's Group Stage. Afterward, many Korean players were imported into the region, and with the increase in competition, the region as a whole grew strong. And the representative of TCL for this year's MSI is SuperMassive eSports. 

Although it has been a while since GBM set out to play abroad, he didn't make any remarkable impact -- until now. Representing Turkey alongside GBM will be the MVP of the split, Snowflower. For the LCK fans that miss the synergy that Snowflower shared with Sangyoon in the past, this year's MSI will be the perfect opportunity to watch him play -- though of course, he won't be playing with Sangyoon.

Even when putting aside the two Korean players, SUP has many familiar names in its lineup, especially Dumbledoge, the support player who made a name for himself with support Poppy. SUP has also maintained its core roster and has made many appearances in World tournaments. 

The player to look out for will be GBM, as he boasts a huge champion pool. During the Spring split, he played a total of 17 different champions. And within that 17, he even played and won using midlane Illaoi and Ezreal.

Perhaps he had an influence. The other players of SUP (excluding the ADC) have also played more than 10 different champions during the Spring. If you consider the fact that there aren't too many ADC champions available, you can also say that Zeitnot has a big champion pool.