Preseason

We're gearing up for the first split of the Sunshine League Showdown, and everybody is excited! I talked with a few of the team captains just to get their thoughts on the upcoming split, and here's what they had to say.

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Spectres' captain and support, Summer Grimm, had a lot of thoughts coming into it. Spectres has been part of the Sunshine League the longest out of any of the competing teams, so I asked her how that affected the team's confidence level with all these newer teams coming in to compete. She states that they're feeling more than confident, with "really strong team synergy" and feeling "comfortable and at ease" with one another.

Their team structure, between Snow2Funky shotcalling in lane and Kirtastrophe shotcalling in late game, is certainly unique, but it leads to a great dynamic of trust and confidence between the players. With extensive champ pools for their carries and strong lanes, they're a force to be reckoned with.

Summer concluded by saying she's most looking forward to taking on Mediocre at Best and Lionheart. They've clashed with MAB in previous tournaments, and a couple LHE members are old ex-Spectres players, so keep an eye out for the upcoming matchups!

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On the other side, Mediocre at Best's captain, BigBlackRainbows, had a few thoughts as well. He says that the tournament is going to be a "wild ride", but feels confident in his team. He says the majority of his confidence is in his teammates' abilities to perform when the time comes and when it matters most. They haven't had much time to scrim the other teams, but after a few roster shuffles they should be primed and ready for the split.

He says his players seem "interested and dedicated to not only improve, but to win the whole thing," which he concluded by saying he thinks is "the most important quality in a team". MAB's great communication, strong top side of the map, and a terrifying jungler means a flexible draft and playstyles, being able to utilize a mixture of comfort and priority picks.

When it comes to the other teams in the Showdown, BigBlackRainbows didn't seem overly concerned. Despite the lack of scrims versus them so far, he knows his team will be able to compete when it comes down to it.

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Team Imouri Chan is one of the newer teams in the Sunshine League, but despite the lack of experience, they've already shown they can talk the talk. When I talked to their captain and midlaner Cold Soba, he had quite a lot to say. He opened the interview by confidently stating he would "be the Faker of this league", so he's got a lot to live up to. Despite his confidence in his own carry abilities, he had a lot to say about the rest of his teammates. He says the team definitely gets along, and the only obstacle they have in terms of synergy is adjusting playstyles to fit one another.

As a newer team, they have a lot to prove, but Cold Soba doesn't seem worried. He says the player that impresses him most is the ADC, JessExpress69, who he says "if she gets a lead, she can solo carry". With a wide champion pool in almost every lane, he's confident they have a wide range of strats and compositions to pull out on their opponents. He says that all the players play well and play well together, and if they "can keep the team's morale high throughout the game, it's as good as ours".

When asked about any teams or matchups he was worried about, his only comment was "I want to see Kirtastrophe in the midlane." Looks like we've got a rivalry on our hands already, so keep your eyes open for that one.

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We've got a lot of dynamic players, comps, and strats to look out for. Best of luck to each and every team, GL and HF, and we'll see you on the Rift for the Sunshine Showdown!