E3 2018 Splatoon 2 World Championship Team Preview
The E3 2018 Splatoon 2 Championship is a milestone for the competitive Splatoon community. It is an event that features all four of the active Splatoon 2 competitive regions: North America, Japan, Europe, and Australia. It is an event where the best of each region will face each other, having dominated their respective regions. But above all, it is an event where all four teams will be tested on an international stage in their own unique way.
SetToDestroyX is a very interesting team to talk about of late. StDx has become the king of LAN events, taking consecutive wins since Squidstorm 2017. They have shown utter dominance of the North American scene, taking victories over fellow NA teams Saikai, TOMO, and quantuM. But while their strength has gone unquestioned, it’s hard to gauge their chances against European or Japanese teams because they haven’t faced any in recent months.
The big surprise is their lack of tournament matchups against European squads. Outside of an appearance of Team Olive at Genesis 5, StDx has no outstanding record against major European squads. And while they have had some success at Japanese events (8th at 3rd WFB, 3rd at Platinum Cup 3), their placement on average has them placing far below their usual performance at western events.
Last year saw the North American team take the win against a Japanese squad, but this time they will be up against teams with almost a year’s worth of experience. E3 will determine if StDx is simply a frog in a well, or a true international conqueror.
Gameplay
The combination of a suffocating frontline with a flexible backline to deal with any situation has been the backbone of StDx’s success. This is especially advantageous for a team who will end up playing without their star frontliner, Kiver. The last month has been especially enlightening to the flexibility of StDx’s players to accommodate both Ice for the qualifiers and Kyo for the Championship.
Whitt
Whitt has been regarded as one of the best Blaster players in the western scene, and continues that streak into E3. However, with the recent changes to their roster, Whitt has moved towards an anchor role with Rapid Blaster and Rapid Blaster Pro. His blaster sensibilities have not gone away with the change, however. iI fact the switch in roles have made him stronger due to needing better positioning and map sense to play the weapon well. He returns to the E3 stage to defend his title as champion with fellow teammate HXN.
HXN
HXN is a man who wears many hats for his team, where he will take any weapon to fill roles as needed. From Custom Blaster to Heavy Splatling and Dynamo Roller, HXN’s flexbility in weapon selection has been regarded by many to be among the best in the scene. For the E3 lineup, however, he may have to resort to sticking with backline weapons due to Kyo being a frontliner and Penguitt using only Rapid Blaster and variants. His Heavy Splatling and Dynamo plays, however, will be more than enough to make up for a more restricted weapon selection.
Fuzzy
Fuzzy has had an interesting saga through his Splatoon 2 career. He started on Team Olive, but then decided to exile himself into Japanese scrims in order to get better at the game. This experience may be what gives StDx the edge against the Japanese representative this year due to his familiarity with their meta. In terms of weapon selection, Fuzzy has been flexible in his frontline choice, but the gameplay style is the same: get map control and suffocate the enemy out of their position.
Kyo
Kyo is no stranger to the substitution game, having played on a multitude of teams and pickups whenever his own team, TOMO, is unable to play. Going onto the big E3 stage, however, will be a true challenge of his skill. What is interesting going into this event is that he too is a Blaster main like Penguitt, usually taking on the roles. This means that either HXN or Kyo will have to give up the Blaster role to avoid tripling up on weapon roles. As of late, Kyo has been practicing with other weapons, the Dapple Dualies of special note.
GG BoyZ are the superstars of Japan, celebrities of the online scene. However, they are also a team that have not competed in many events together, where instead much of their Splatoon 2 competitive appearances come in the form of pickup squads, as is the norm in the Japanese scene. In the few events where they do compete together, they showcase some of the best Splatoon ever seen.
Japanese Splatoon in particular is not dominated by any single team due to how competitively close the teams are. In one event a team can go undefeated, but in another the very same team can flounder in the initial rounds. Even teams who aren’t considered to be the best have the potential to upset the best. There are several reasons as to why the Japanese scene has been considered the best, from the enormous size of the competitive scene relative to others to the constant scrimmage culture that many of their players participate in.
Because of this, GG BoyZ have grown to be one of the strongest teams from the Japanese scene. A lot is riding on their E3 run, having lost the championship last year to the North American squad. For them, it’s their time to show why they’re the best.
Gameplay
One interesting trait of Japanese teams in general is that each team has evolved their own style of play through their unique compositions. GG BoyZ in particular play very active backliner roles, which Dynamo Roller and Foil Squeezer being common picks for the backline. They also have shown a strong sense for Special and push timings. Whenever the need to pop their Specials arise, expect an orchestrated effort as they push for map advantage.
Dynamon
As a returning veteran, Dynamon is hungry for a victory. One thing going his way is that his role as the backline anchor has been supplemented by the Dynamo Roller’s return to relevance in the meta. Previously having mained both Rapid Blaster and Heavy Splatling, Dynamon has now been replacing his Heavy Splatling’s appearance with the Dynamo Roller, both weapons ultimately fulfilling the same anchor role for Dynamon. His map sense and positioning has been nothing short of top notch to the point of single-handedly stopping any push opponents make.
Etona
Etona is the second half of GG BoyZ’s strong backline, flexing between Foil Squeezer, Custom Jet Squelcher, and Slosher Deco (among other weapons in his surprisingly large repertoire). Compared to Dynamon, Etona plays a much more aggressive and active role, often starting teamfights and poking at opponents. Of special note is his remarkable ability to follow up on retreating opponents to extend map control or take the numbers advantage.
Taiji
As the eldest member of GG BoyZ, Taiji takes the leadership role of the team to heart on the frontline. Many in the scene would remember him from his days on Samurai Kidz as an ace Tentatek Splattershot, and he continues to hold onto that title to this day. This time, however, he also is apt to switch to Custom Blaster or Enperry Dualies, both weapons that serve as powerful Inkjet frontliners. With three different weapons to use on the frontline, he is easily able to fill in roles as needed by map/mode combinations.
Yamamicchi
While ku is known as the Dualies god, Yamamicchi is the patron saint of Enperry Dualies, nearly solo-maining the weapon in his entire recent competitive appearances. He also is an example of the competitive norm in the Japanese scene, where the Enperry Dualies are much more widely used due to their aggressive nature. Of the frontline duo, Yamamicchi is definitely considered to be the more consistent player in the team.
Germany has always produced top tier talent in the European scene, and no team exemplifies that better than Backsquids. The players in Backsquids have a long-standing history in the western scene extending all the way to Splatoon 1. The Backsquids are determined to show America what European Splatoon is all about.
Backsquids competitively sit in a very similar spot as GG BoyZ, where the local talent serves as their fiercest rivals. Teams like Kraken Paradise, Oblivion, Chikara, and Team Olive are also chasing the top spot as Pandora. In fact, much of recent results from these European teams mirror that of Japan’s, where the top teams are all able to match each other well.
For Backsquids, this event marks an important period in their competitive growth. Three of the four players are currently in the team Pandora, and two of them have teamed in many other teams. Securing a big international victory would help keep the team stable, a problem that the team has had with its competitive history. Showing that they can compete with the best may help establish Backsquids as a mainstay in competitive Splatoon.
Gameplay
One word that describes the German teams is aggression. Individually the Backsquids players are very aggressive in their positioning and flanking routes, both to their credit and their detriment. What lends to this playstyle is their very rigid roles in their team, making them possibly the least flexible team heading into E3. And while individually they are masters at their respective weapons, they will have to work hard against teams who may flex counterpicks against their lineup.
Wadsm
The captain of the former Ethereal squad has been the OG Slosher main of the western scene. Much of his plays with Tri-Slosher and Slosher Deco are due to his keen sense of positioning and map aware, often netting kills that others would find impossible. Compared to the popularity of double frontline shooters in the recent meta, Wadsm’s role presents a unique trait in having a constant armor-focused Special, whether with the Ink Armor or Baller.
Kaito
Among the German players, Kaito has been a steady and consistent player with a long history of Splatoon. Because of that, his gameplay with the Tentatek Splattershot is nothing short of sublime. At times he’ll flex to Dapple Dualies or Enperry Dualies and even the .52 Gal weapons. However, because Backsquids lack a Custom Blaster user, don’t expect him to stray far from the Tentatek to ensure that the team has at least one Inkjet on the frontlines.
Majin
Majin has been known as a mercenary player for a long time, but he may have finally found a constant team to his liking. He is best known for his Rapid Blaster play, having long solo-mained the family tree since Splatoon 1, where the weapon was not as highly regarded as it is in the sequel. The other trait Majin demonstrates is his uncanny ability to play the weapon extremely aggressively, often become the third frontliner as a result.
Echo
Echo has been one of the few backliners that stuck with the Charger since the early days of Splatoon 2, and that stubbornness has helped make Echo a sniping monster. Even more impressively is that Echo has been performing well with the Splatterscope, the variant that many have considered to be inferior. Combined this with his patience in Sting Ray usage has allowed him to find unique anchor positions to lockdown enemies where they least expect it.
Yeah Nah is the underdog of the tournament, no doubt about it. When looking at the accomplishments of the team compared to the others, it’s hard to put the Australian squad as a contender for the Championship. However, the players have had a long history with the game, contributing much to its knowledge and meta advancements.
For Yeah Nah, this experience at E3 is at the very least invaluable to their growth. Having completely conquered the Australian qualifiers, the hopes and dreams of the Australian community have been placed on the shoulders of its players. This burden is nothing new to the players, most notably Latias, who will be returning to the E3 stage to compete once again.
Gameplay
Yeah Nah’s biggest strength coming into the event is the sheer flexibility of its roster. The frontline triplet of Gabe, Rivir, and FLC sees them rotating between different weapons to suit the needs of the map. This in turn helps Latias control positioning from a safe distance and take command of the battlefield.
FLC
FLC’s name alone is recognizable to anyone having anything to do with the Splatoon scene. An early pioneer from the Splatoon 1 days, FLC has now taken up the frontline mantle in the form of Splat Roller and Custom Blaster, giving him two different ways to control the battlefield. Of the three frontliners, FLC is a little more narrow in his weapon choices, but if there’s ever a stage for him to flex his picks, it’s at E3.
Gabe
Gabe holds an interesting role of frontliner as his weapon picks of Tentatek and Rapid Blaster Deco allows him his pick of providing either frontline or anchor pressure along with Inkjet. With FLC, Gabe has been able to grow as one of the stronger shooter mains in the Australian scene.
Rivir
Rivir provides a unique frontline role as an aggressive support. His weapon picks, ranging from Splat Brella to Zink Mini Splatling to Enperry Dualies, give him the reach and turf control to ensure that his specials are constantly up and ready for any teamfight. His flexibility also allows him to adapt to the needs of the map and mode, allowing him to fill any role that the team requires.
Latias
A fan favorite of the E3 stage, Latias returns to the limelight with a team she trusts will go far. Latias’s role as the backliner for the team has been a constant in the Splatoon scene. As one of the Charger mains that stuck with the weapon, she finds comfort in switching between the Splat Charger and Heavy Splatling. Beware if she is uncontested on the battlefield as she can snipe with the best of them, a fact that’s heavily backed up by the space creation Yeah Nah’s lineup will be bringing to the table.
The Data used in this article was collected by ganbawoomy spanning across the following tournaments and events:
- Splat Japan League Season 0
- United States & Canada Inkling Open (Top 8)
- Squidboards Splat Series May (Top 8)
- Splat Japan League Season 1
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