Japan is the youngest esports scene being represented at Worlds in several ways; it has the lowest server population and has hurdles such as a lack of PC gaming culture to contend with. However, Japanese players have been participating in tournaments from as early as late Season 2, even before they received their own server.

Aided by imports from Korea to fill out key roles in teams, the LJL has steadily carved out a niche for itself as a league with few teams but a consistent top level in Rampage and Detonation.FM, both of which have represented the LJL at previous IWC events.

While DFM dominated early thanks to their early advancements in professionalism, such as acquiring a bevy of sponsors and obtaining a gaming house, allowing its players to fully turn pro, Rampage have steadily built its way from the ground up to eventually dethrone DFM, and now frequently represent Japan at international events.

The secret to Rampage’s longevity and success may well be in fully embracing and playing around their Korean imports. Tussle and Dara are a jungler-support duo who have been with the team since 2015, and in-game they tend to call most of the shots. Tussle favors aggressive junglers and looks to gain advantages in lanes whereever he can, while Dara is known in Japan for never dying; his KDA is consistently high. 

(Credit: Inven)

It is worth taking a look at the intangible properties which have made Rampage such a success in the LJL. For both Tussle and Dara, Rampage is their first ever pro team, and this makes them stand out from other Korean imports like Daydream, Shrimp and Steal -- all of whom have had experience training in Korean organizations. Understandably, organization loyalty is high as a result.

Rampage was also literally built up from nothing. When Dara first joined, they were unable to even secure a gaming house for the team to practice in, while DFM had larger resources and have had one since 2014. In the days before the Japanese server opened circa 2013, they had to scrim against teams from South East Asia; this is where Tinikun, currently coach of the Gigabyte Marines, came in. He set them up with information on how to build a pro esports team and presumably also offered to scrim with the Rampage squad. As a result, Tinikun has become something of a benefactor to the Rampage organization.

Rampage’s lower budget compared to their rivals in DFM has also seen the team recruit rookies such as Ramune to fill up the roster, a necessary move considering the lack of suitable native players. While not the highest-skilled player, Ramune lacks the ego that many mid players have and is willing to work hard for the team’s needs. Although his weak champion pool was exposed in his first international event at MSI, Rampage stuck with Ramune for the summer and the show of faith paid off.

YutoriMoyasi, a veteran who has been playing League since beta, joined the team late last year and has solidified Rampage’s consistency in the bot lane. Their passivity has bitten them on many occasions, but the team believes in its ability to come back from any deficit.

Internal player upgrades have also had to be made as the metas shifted. Evi, a top laner known mostly for playing tanks, diversified his champion pool during summer this year to include carries such as Camille and Fiora, a move which led to Rampage’s victory at Rift Rivals 2017.

It is worth noting that the victories at Rift Rvals and LJL Summer 2017 came after Rampage exited the MSI Play-Ins with a 1-5 record. Normally such a result would have precipitated panic roster swaps, especially since there were notable weak points in some of their players: the bot lane’s passivity, Ramune’s champion pool, and Evi’s refusal to play non-tanks. Instead they dug deep, fixed their issues, and came back stronger than ever to lead LJL once more. 

Throughout these changes and difficulties, Tussle and Dara have remained the constants, providing a bedrock on which Rampage can enact their strategies in-game. Granted, it makes little sense to drop players which have carried the team to successive titles since they joined.

One can draw a comparison to Counter Logic Gaming’s 2015 iteration, where despite having to play with a rookie ADC and a mid laner many saw as weak, were able to mastermind victories in the NALCS and place runners-up at MSI 2015. These are the sort of teams and players that the community are adamant will not score highly on any power rankings, but ones which more than make up for that with a willingness to play for the team, as well as out-of-game solidarity.

(credit: Riot Japan/LJL)

Rampage have reason to be wary of their Group D opponents; the likes of Frozen from Fenerbahce and Riris from Hong Kong Attitude will pose an imposing challenge for Ramune and Evi respectively. The skill difference may prove too overwhelming, and there are even more fearsome challengers awaiting them if they survive this group. This will be the major stumbling block facing Rampage and extra work has to be done to mitigate these skill differences if they are to make their mark at Worlds.

Wildcard teams often do not get to qualify for a major event more than once; this is the third time in a row that Rampage is representing the LJL. The third time may just be the charm for Rampage finally fulfilling their potential on an international stage despite being considered on a lower level than other minor regions. They may not be the most skilled or have the best macro, but -- at the risk of making it sound like a Power of Friendship™ story -- being able to use their accrued experience and longer time spent together than other teams might, at the Play-In stage, prove to be the difference, as it has done in the LJL. 

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