The lineage of mechanically-imposing junglers in Korea has, in large part, been marked by a failure to translate their dominance into competitive play, at least initially; the likes of Flawless, Crash, and Mowgli have all been picked up by teams after impressing in solo queue, yet none of them have found success in pro play.

Indeed, the transition from jungling in solo queue environment to a pro level can be jarring, not least due to the fact that teams tend to play safer overall, leaving junglers with far less potential to snowball games. Other hurdles such as getting acclimated to the Korean gaming organizational climate, and competitive play in general, lead to neitzens branding these rookies ‘disappointments’ when they do not succeed on their first or second teams.

Crash, for example, had what some would consider a disappointing tenure with Longzhu, marked with a few highs and several lows. Hyped as one of the best young prospects in 2016 when he joined Longzhu, having made the second spot of Challenger his own, the team suffered from constant roster swaps and an inability to be consistent in their gameplay. This obviously impacted on Crash’s own play as well, and while he was not appallingly bad by any means, some of the blame on Longzhu’s perceived poor split fell on him.

Peanut, star jungler formerly of Najin and ROX Tigers and now with SKT, had a similarly rough period during his time on Najin, and was overlooked in favour of more veteran talent due to his rawness. It was not until he joined ROX that he truly became a breakout jungler, and now he is enjoying his status as the unofficial best jungler in the world, having just won the Mid-Season Invitational with SKT.

Enter Cuzz, a 17-year-old jungling phenom who has dominated solo queue for at least a year and a half. He spent the entirety of 2016 as a trainee as he was still 16, but got no playing time even after his birthday in October as Crash became the preferred jungler for Spring. In any case, Cuzz was perhaps not ready to play competitively yet anyway. Along with BDD, once unfortunately hailed as a saviour of the CJ Entus team prior to their relegation, they represented the future of Korean pro play - except they were on Longzhu, an organisation infamous for their mishandling of talents.

Despite managing to recruit PraY and Gorilla, a top 2 bot lane globally, Longzhu’s 7th placing and lack of play time for both Cuzz and BDD led to no small amounts of bashing from the community aimed at the organisation.

And now, the community has finally gotten its wish. Having vacated the starting jungler spot, Crash is now going to make way for Cuzz. Potential is a hell of a drug; it represents all that could be, but also never considers what might actually happen in reality. In theory, Cuzz would replicate his solo queue success and lead Longzhu to victory, or at least be a big part of their wins. The truth is that many talented rookie junglers before him have faltered, at least on their first competitive team. LCK teams are so heavily team-focused and strategic in their game approach that they are likely to put in all their efforts into thwarting the opposing jungler’s efforts - needless to say, Cuzz will be heavily targeted and focused. Sometimes the ‘P’ word can be a curse.

It is difficult to not be excited about Cuzz, though. Something about his play titillates the viewer - his mechanics are such that he manages to gain an advantage simply through having superior jungle clear methods. His Nidalee is renowned for her remarkably quick clears even among pros, and before it was nerfed, his Rek’Sai was also feared.

In terms of talent, Cuzz is undoubtedly at the top. What of his teamplay, however? And what of his champion pool? Nidalee is an outside contender when it comes to jungle picks, and Rek’Sai has fallen even further down the list. His other signature champion appears to be Evelynn, whom may yet become a meta pick. Is Cuzz proficient on meta champions like Ivern, a champion even Peanut was forced to play? These questions are always expected of a newcomer - having been a trainee for five months, Cuzz’s preparedness can only be guessed at until he’s played his first LCK games..

Along with Longzhu’s newest iteration being more or less a new roster apart from PraY and Gorilla, the odds are already stacked against them even before the start of the season. Cuzz is being placed in an high-pressure situation: either he carries and improves Longzhu’s dismal fortunes, or he becomes another Flawless or Crash, disappointing in Korea and leaving to play in China. Yet history shows that rookie junglers need time before they can adapt to pro play, and time is certainly on his side as he’s still 17 years old.

No matter how Cuzz performs during LCK Summer, there must be considerations over his inexperience. Longzhu getting anywhere close to play-offs or Worlds will be a nice bonus, but the lack of either should not be seen as a failure or disappointment like what happened with Crash in Spring. I brought up Peanut as a player who had the talent and not the experience, but gained it along the way and blossomed into a fearsome team player. The bare minimum for Cuzz is for him to gain that much-needed experience - expecting him to light the world up on fire on his debut season will not do him, or the team, any good.

The lineage of mechanically-imposing junglers in Korea has, in large part, been marked by a failure to translate their dominance into competitive play, at least initially; the likes of Flawless, Crash, and Mowgli have all been picked up by teams after impressing in solo queue, yet none of them have found success in pro play.

Indeed, the transition from jungling in solo queue environment to a pro level can be jarring, not least due to the fact that teams tend to play safer overall, leaving junglers with far less potential to snowball games. Other hurdles such as getting acclimated to the Korean gaming organizational climate, and competitive play in general, lead to neitzens branding these rookies ‘disappointments’ when they do not succeed on their first or second teams.

The contrasting fates of Crash and Peanut

Crash, for example, had what some would consider a disappointing tenure with Longzhu, marked with a few highs and several lows. Hyped as one of the best young prospects in 2016 when he joined Longzhu, having made the second spot of Challenger his own, the team suffered from constant roster swaps and an inability to be consistent in their gameplay. This obviously impacted on Crash’s own play as well, and while he was not appallingly bad by any means, some of the blame on Longzhu’s perceived poor split fell on him.

Peanut, star jungler formerly of Najin and ROX Tigers and now with SKT, had a similarly rough period during his time on Najin, and was overlooked in favour of more veteran talent due to his rawness. It was not until he joined ROX that he truly became a breakout jungler, and now he is enjoying his status as the unofficial best jungler in the world, having just won the Mid-Season Invitational with SKT.

The wait 

Enter Cuzz, a 17-year-old jungling phenom who has dominated solo queue for at least a year and a half. He spent the entirety of 2016 as a trainee as he was still 16, but got no playing time even after his birthday in October as Crash became the preferred jungler for Spring. In any case, Cuzz was perhaps not ready to play competitively yet anyway. Along with BDD, once unfortunately hailed as a saviour of the CJ Entus team prior to their relegation, they represented the future of Korean pro play - except they were on Longzhu, an organisation infamous for their mishandling of talents.

Despite managing to recruit PraY and Gorilla, a top 2 bot lane globally, Longzhu’s 7th placing and lack of play time for both Cuzz and BDD led to no small amounts of bashing from the community aimed at the organisation.

The P Word

Now, the community has finally gotten its wish. Having vacated the starting jungler spot, Crash is now going to make way for Cuzz. Potential is a hell of a drug; it represents all that could be, but also never considers what might actually happen in reality. In theory, Cuzz would replicate his solo queue success and lead Longzhu to victory, or at least be a big part of their wins. The truth is that many talented rookie junglers before him have faltered, at least on their first competitive team. LCK teams are so heavily team-focused and strategic in their game approach that they are likely to put in all their efforts into thwarting the opposing jungler’s efforts - needless to say, Cuzz will be heavily targeted and focused. Sometimes the ‘P’ word can be a curse.

It is difficult to not be excited about Cuzz, though. Something about his play titillates the viewer - his mechanics are such that he manages to gain an advantage simply through having superior jungle clear methods. His Nidalee is renowned for her remarkably quick clears even among pros, and before it was nerfed, his Rek’Sai was also feared.

In terms of talent, Cuzz is undoubtedly at the top. What of his teamplay, however? And what of his champion pool? Nidalee is an outside contender when it comes to jungle picks, and Rek’Sai has fallen even further down the list. His other signature champion appears to be Evelynn, whom may yet become a meta pick. Is Cuzz proficient on meta champions like Ivern, a champion even Peanut was forced to play? These questions are always expected of a newcomer - having been a trainee for five months, Cuzz’s preparedness can only be guessed at until he’s played his first LCK games..

Along with Longzhu’s newest iteration being more or less a new roster apart from PraY and Gorilla, the odds are already stacked against them even before the start of the season. Cuzz is being placed in an high-pressure situation: either he carries and improves Longzhu’s dismal fortunes, or he becomes another Flawless or Crash, disappointing in Korea and leaving to play in China. Yet history shows that rookie junglers need time before they can adapt to pro play, and time is certainly on his side as he’s still 17 years old.

Promise has to be nurtured

No matter how Cuzz performs during LCK Summer, there must be considerations over his inexperience. Longzhu getting anywhere close to play-offs or Worlds will be a nice bonus, but the lack of either should not be seen as a failure or disappointment like what happened with Crash in Spring. I brought up Peanut as a player who had the talent and not the experience, but gained it along the way and blossomed into a fearsome team player. The bare minimum for Cuzz is for him to gain that much-needed experience - expecting him to light the world up on fire on his debut season will not do him, or the team, any good.