China – Khan
Perhaps the departure of Khan after the 2019 World Championship left T1 fans with a lot of regrets. Partly because Khan’s skill had been established, and partly because it had been a long time since T1 was seen as having such a Super Team lineup. However, Khan’s performance with FunPlus Phoenix somewhat diminished that regret as he seemed to be completely “invisible” in his new colors.
Khan played too little in his new outfit, and even when he did play, the team often lost. In the recent 0-3 defeat against JD Gaming in the LPL semifinals, he didn’t even get to play a single game. It wasn’t until the results were settled, and FunPlus Phoenix could no longer compete, that Khan appeared in the lineup for the 3rd-4th place match. Perhaps Khan has “retired” too early.
Europe – S04. Forg1ven
Introduced as the super ADC of Europe, Forg1ven was seen as a key factor to help Schalke 04 break the dominance of Fnatic and G2 Esports at the start of the season. However, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment; Forg1ven’s performance was so poor that the team had to replace him while the LEC group stage was still ongoing.
The effectiveness was immediate as the new ADC – Innaxe brought 5 wins to Schalke 04 while Forg1ven only managed 1 win in the same number of games. The Forg1ven of 2015 was indeed a super ADC, but it’s now 2020, and his form is no longer what it used to be.
Korea – GRF.Tarzan
The LCK region always produces outstanding junglers, from the era of Bengi and Dandy to more recent players like Clid, Cuzz, and of course Tarzan. While his two colleagues from the same generation are competing at the top of the LCK, Tarzan is having what might be the worst season of his career. It’s hard to believe that a team that competed closely with SKT (T1) in 2019 has found itself at the bottom of the LCK Spring standings with only 5 wins.
For Tarzan himself, partnering with Chovy in the mid-lane has completely disoriented him in the jungle. Poor decision-making and insufficient control have become more frequent, and most of Tarzan’s stats have declined significantly compared to last year. The peak of disappointment might be losing even to a second-tier team in the promotion round; Tarzan seems to be sinking along with the sinking ship that is Griffin.
North America – Doublelift
It’s hard to believe that just six months ago, Doublelift was the number one ADC in North America. Watching him play now reveals only fatigue and outdated movement patterns and champion pool. Skill is just part of it; what disappoints fans the most is that Doublelift has completely lost his competitive drive, even stating he doesn’t care much about performing poorly.
The result was that Team Liquid went from LCS champions to one of the worst teams in North America, and Doublelift was traded shortly after the Spring season ended. Ultimately, Doublelift returned to Team SoloMid after a short stint. Many have speculated that TSM only bought him because he was the boyfriend of the owner, resulting in very low expectations for Doublelift.
VCS Region – Zeros
Disappearing for half a season, Zeros returned to the VCS with the sole purpose of winning the highest tournament in Vietnam once again. However, this return has been more disappointing than expected; in his first game back, the “demon king” fed uncontrollably and ended with a terrible score of 0-8, which is truly hard to accept.
Of course, GAM Esports still topped the VCS group stage, but that was due to their collective strength compared to the rest, not due to Zeros’ dominance anymore. The peak of disappointment surely came during the finals, where Zeros could not help GAM surpass the younger and more ambitious Team Flash, resulting in failure. A lackluster return, with the team losing the championship, may very well be the worst season of Zeros’ career.
