Disclaimer: I have no idea if Dade will return to Korea, I think it's possible but it's also equally possible that he'll retire or stay in China. This article is purely speculative in nature.

Dade is the most polarizing and divisive player in the history of League of Legends. Some fans (probably those who haven't watched a lot of OGN Champions in 2013 or 2014) will have you believe that Dade was never good and they will tell you that Dade was exposed on the international stage two years in a row. I've even read people claiming that Dade was the worst player on Samsung Blue, the team would've become good without him and he only looked good because 'Korea has a surprisingly low level of midlaners'

LPL Caster Froskurinn ranked Dade as #4 on her 'Top 20 Players of All-Time' article and LCK Caster MonteCristo called Dade 'The Greatest Shotcaller in the history of League of Legends'. Controversial site lolesports even ranked Dade as #1 on their 'top 20 players at Worlds 2014 list' and called Dade 'the best player at League of Legends'.

The sheer amount of times I've seen people go beyond just down-playing his career to acting as if he was "never that good" is stupefying. The guy played in the most difficult competition in the history of LoL (OGN Champions) and delivered two of the best single tournament campaign performances of all-time (OGN Spring 2014 and OGN Summer 2014), as well as a monster play-offs run to add to those (OGN Spring 2013). The result of those performances was two titles, with different teams, and three finals.

When he was in form, he was one of most impressive impact players in history. Put it this way, if you made a "Top 20 hard carry performances of all-time", yes, Faker would dominate the list, but dade would have the next most entries.

A confusing, complex and yet unbelievably talented player.

- Duncan 'Thorin' Shields, eSports journalist [Source]

What do I think? Well first off let's look at Dade's OGN record:

Dade has the most OGN finals appearances, is the only player to win OGN Champions twice with two different teams, the only player besides Faker to win Season MVP twice and has only ever lost in OGN Champions to the eventual winner (even in Winter 2012 - 13 he lost to NaJin Sword). His domestic record is truly the best in the history of OGN Champions.

Disclaimer: LCK and OGN Champions are two very different things. Acheivements in LCK should not be held in the same high regard as OGN Champions, hence why Faker's acheivements in 2015 are unmentioned. Also, Dade was in the LPL for the entire of 2015 and therefore unable to protect his record.

I believe that Dade was and is the only true rival Faker has ever had. I believe Faker is an impossibility, it shouldn't be possible for a human to be as good at League of Legends as Faker is. It's almost as if Faker's some kind of twisted prank played on us by an apathetic ominipotent being, reminscent of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat: Deception or Achilles from Troy. Dade, on the other hand, is proof of just how great a mortal man can become who reminds me of Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing. If Faker is an unkillable demon King then Dade is a great General of men.

People don't give Dade enough credit for how he shaped, transformed and turned Samsung Blue around. No one ever considers that their two previous midlaners, Easyhoon and PawN, were both considered the best player on a mediocre team and never acheived a top 4 OGN Champions finish with the lineup (Easyhoon never made it out of groups). Dade gave the team a strong identity and turned them into the best team in the world almost immediately after joining. Thanks to the way Dade plays the game, suddenly they were a team of star players.

Masters 3

DreamS, Condi, Lovecd and SmLz do not look happy that Ruo gets to hold the puppy and they don't.

A key player in the great Korean exodus of 2015, Dade found himself on the highest salary in the world on the rebranded WE Academy, Masters 3 (M3 is WE upside down, get it?). Unlike Spirit on World Elite, Dade wasted no time in checking himself out and began fufilling his minimum contractual obligations. M3 were never relegated (a swift 3 - 0 over Energy Pacemaker in the Summer Promotion helped that) but they never made a deep playoff run either (they exited immediately from the Summer Playoffs). Struggling to adapt to China, he took issues with his teammates' personal hygiene, mannerisms and tendency to smoke at the computer (Dade is known for hating ciggarettes, but his Samsung teammates always went outside to smoke). Surrounded by one of the worst rosters in the LPL (even Looper was probably the worst player across both White and Blue), Dade decided to take a year out from the stress of being a pro gamer.

While I don't condone Dade's actions in 2015 I can't really condemn them either; I'd probably do the exact same thing in his situation. Especially if you hear Spirit, his former teammate, talk about the environment on WE (M3's sister team). M3 would've done signficantly better if he had gone all out, but they still wouldn't of made Worlds, so what does it matter?

Where Would Dade Go?

Disclaimer: I've tried to make all these rosters at least mildly plausible. They won't be like Fionn's CJ Entus dream lineup of Flame, Spirit, Coco, Deft and Heart.

Samsung Galaxy

A simpler tim- OH LOOK IT'S GAMSU! HI GAMSU!

Every Korean team has a franchise player. For SK Telecom T1 it's obviously Faker, for KT Rolster it's Ssumday (RIP KaKAO), for NaJin it's Watch (still cute as a button) and for Samsung it's Dade. Yes, Dade hasn't played on Samsung for a year now, but the Samsung leather and winter jackets are still most fitting for Dade.

Toplane: Gamsu

Jungle: Move

Midlane: Dade

ADC: Fury

Support: Wraith

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Top and Jungle for Samsung aren't great. Gamsu and Move, fresh off the back of largely unsuccesful NA LCS splits, would probably enjoy a return back to Korea. While neither were a starter back in Korea (well... Gamsu was on Alienware Arena), both of them were a standout player on Dignitas and Gravity. I actually don't believe that Gamsu is a resource demanding selfish toplaner, I just believe that's how he felt forced to play on Dignitas due to not trusting his teammates. Also, with rumours of Gamsu having personality conflicts with the other Dignitas players, his reintroduction to life in Korea will be a welcome change for the toplaner.

I loved Move's jungling on Gravity and considered him a top 2 NA jungler last split, falling just behind Rush. While Rush would look to hard carry a game through relentless ganks and aggressive plays, Move would excel in providing vision control for his team and allow them to grind out small advantages in the laning phase. Providing Dade with all the vision he needs, Move would be a solid jungler for Dade. Different to the two junglers he had on Samsung, but still a welcome ally for the General.

I still consider Fury and Wraith the best players on Samsung's current lineup and a premier Korean botlane. On both Ozone and Blue, Dade's 1 - 2 punch relationship with his elite ADC was a big part of the team's strength. Fury, being an elite KR ADC, would fit in nicely. Dade would also help Wraith shore up his weaknesses in vision control and give the team a lot more strategical depth than Crown (their current midlaner) ever could.

I believe this lineup could not only challenge for top 3, I also think they'd be capable of giving SK Telecom T1 a run for their money. Yes, certain players would have to improve but I feel there's a lot of room for growth potential in all these players. Plus when you consider SK Telecom T1's 'inevitable' fall from grace (no King rules forever and all that), all Samsung would need to do is invest the money they have lying around as one of the richest companies in the World.

NaJin e-mFire

Toplane: Duke

Jungle: Peanut

Midlane: Dade

ADC: Ohq

Support: Pure

This roster would be a dream come true for me. NaJin's lineup is as talented as it is confusing -- the individual skill on this team is so high and the teamwork, strategy and shotcalling is so terrible. NaJin either crush you in the laning phase and snowball it (sometimes they struggle to do that) or they just roll over and die.

Dade would fix all of that. He'd shotcall this team and be the reliable midlane carry that Ggoong never was. With Dade, they'd find themselves being the top Korean team they were born to be. Duke could soak damage and zone on tanks, Peanut's aggressive ganks would snowball the lanes and Ohq would destroy teamfights after Dade had soaked up all the attention and cooldowns. It'd be the second coming of Samsung Blue

Shame the finnancials of the team are held together with duct tape and bits of string, Oh well; a man can dream.

Longzhu Incredible Miracle

Longzhu.com has decided that they will generously support their team, Longzhu IM in an attempt to achieve tangible results in Korea.

If LZIM are serious about becoming a competitive team and challenging SKT then Dade is the best choice for the team. Build the roster around Dade and you won't be dissapointed. If they're planning on spending a lot and dropping all their players then the sky is the limit but just for fun:

Toplane: Acorn

Jungle: Spirit

Midlane: Dade

ADC: Deft

Support: IgNar

Yeah I really rate IgNar. Also yes this roster would be terrifying, history proves that.

KT Rolster

Toplane: Ssumday

Jungle: Score

Midlane: Dade

ADC: Arrow (really would want to see a proper ADC sub as well though)

Support: Piccaboo

Dade on KT Rolster might be a match made in heaven. KT Rolster vs. SK Telecom T1 is the greatest and biggest rivalry in the history of eSports but the biggest disparity between the current LoL teams for KT and SKT is Nagne vs. Faker. Faker is the best player in the world, Nagne is a below average midlaner who suffers from confidence issues. Nagne and Dade aren't even that different as players given that Nagne's strengths lie in his teamfighting.

Dade would level up the current KT Rolster lineup and give them a ridiculously strong carry threat in the midlane. Ssumday wouldn't feel so pressured to carry every game and KT could stop giving Arrow so much resources because they wouldn't be desperate for a secondary carry. With Score and Piccaboo as the best support jungle pairing in the world, imagine how well Dade would benefit from the vision and information they'd provide him with.

Conclusion

Dade is an astonishing player who would increase the level of nearly any LCK lineup and the region as a whole. A domestic powerhouse, Dade is one of the most misunderstood and unappreciated players in the history of League of Legends, and fans of Korean League of Legends should be praying for his return more than any other player.