SofM will officially switch to playing support in one or more upcoming matches for Suning in the LPL Summer 2021. This is perhaps the most exciting news for League of Legends fans worldwide, as they get to witness another S-tier star, following Xiaohu, ShowMaker, and Ambition, trying their hand at an off-role.
However, as many die-hard fans of Duy Cau Giay know, this is not SofM’s first time playing support. He officially became one of the few players in the world to have played all five positions in professional play (counting official tournaments including VCS, GPL, LPL, and Worlds).
SofM’s first appearance as a support was four years ago, during a match between Snake Esports and Team WE, in the 4th Week of the LPL Spring 2017 group stage.
In this match, SofM was chosen by SS to be the support player paired with marksman Ohq, while the jungle position was taken over by substitute player Mint. Unfortunately, Snake lost the match 0-2, but let’s break down how SofM performed in the support role against WE – the team that later became the champions of LPL Spring 2017:
In game 1 against WE, SofM used Lulu, paired with Ohq’s Ashe. Both are quite strong champions in the meta at that time, and the SS bot lane duo easily gained an advantage over WE’s Ezreal and Karma.
The superior champion match-up at the beginning of the game allowed SS to dominate WE’s bot lane, and after gaining a laning advantage, SofM continuously moved into the jungle to support Mint’s Elise, and was not afraid to venture deep into the enemy territory to control vision.
SofM’s strength lies in his ability to trade damage. He understands champion mechanics and match-ups very well, so in this match, even though WE’s Mystic and Ben initiated attacks, Ohq and SofM still gained a health advantage by retaliating while the opponents were waiting for cooldowns.
However, despite starting off strong with Zz1tai’s Talon snowballing early and dominating the bot lane, SS still lost game 1. The team composition lacked effective initiation options (Maokai’s ultimate is too easy to counter, Elise can only stun a single target, and Ashe’s Enchanted Crystal Arrow is also hard to land), which put SS in a passive position as they ended the laning phase. WE had Cassiopeia, Ezreal, Nautilus, and Karma – all excellent team fighting champions, leading to SS not even having a chance when forced into team fights.
Moving on to game 2, SofM used Zyra paired with Sivir. However, this match did not have many noteworthy moments. WE completely dominated from start to finish. By replacing Ezreal with Jhin to go along with Karma, WE’s bot lane completely overpowered SS. The quality of WE’s team and champion selection was vastly superior, and SS could not pull off any surprises against this team.
Personally, SofM maintained a strategy of wide movement, roaming, and continuous warding. But being a relatively weak support, coupled with his teammates being dominated in lanes, SofM’s control abilities were completely shattered in this match.
Currently, the game meta has changed completely compared to four years ago, and one of the key changes is the versatility of champions. Now, a champion considered hot-meta can fulfill at least three different roles. Combined with SofM’s diverse playstyle, he could definitely bring Lee Sin or Sett down to support.
Looking back at SS’s loss four years ago, we can see two fundamental points: First, this team chose a composition that could not initiate fights effectively, and second, they did not capitalize on their early game advantages. These key points are what SN needs to address if they want to utilize SofM in the support position. In terms of team fights, this is SN’s strength; however, in recent matches, they often self-sabotage by choosing a win-lane-win-game composition. Given that laning is SN’s weakness, if that composition does not achieve the desired advantage, SN will struggle significantly in team fights.
Taking advantage of early game strengths is also a weak point for SN, as they rarely gain advantages in the early stages. Bringing SofM down to play alongside Huanfeng may be a move to address this issue. If they draft well, SofM could create lane advantages for the bot lane thanks to his champion pool, paving the way for View to control the Dragon – a crucial objective in the first 20 minutes of the game.
At 6 PM today, July 4, Suning will face off against Royal Never Give Up – a team that, like WE in 2017, is currently the top dog in the LPL. This will undoubtedly be a challenge that SofM and his teammates must overcome if they wish to showcase their ambition for a ticket to the 2021 World Championship.