PSG Talon Preview showcases the strongest team of the Play-In Stage – can they make it to the Main Event as well?
There’s only one day left of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship’s first segment, the Play-In Stage. 4 teams have already said goodbye to the competition, with Movistar R7 and DetonatioN FocusMe getting knocked out on October 13th, and LOUD and CTBC Flying Oyster following them home on the day after. There are 4 teams still in the run for the Swiss Stage – and among them is PSG Talon, one of the strongest teams of the batch.
PSG Talon Preview
PSG Talon Team History
PSG Talon became a household name in the international scene and a monster domestically after their 2020 inception. The team which came to be after Talon Esports and football team Paris Saint-Germain entered a partnership has won every single PCS Playoff of the last 3 years bar from two: the 2020 Summer Playoffs, which was the first one they attended after joining the league; and the 2022 Summer Playoffs, where they failed to find their footing after some roster changes.
They also attended almost every international event that the PCS got an invited to. They were there at the 2020, 2021 and now the 2023 World Championship, and competed in the last 3 Mid-Season Invitationals. Their biggest achievement was in 2021, where they managed to make it to the quarterfinals of the MSI – but couldn’t get through Royal Never Give Up in the Playoffs.
This year, they won both Regular Seasons and Playoffs of their region but couldn’t get as far in the MSI as they did years ago. They beat DFM and LOUD in Group B of the Playoffs, and faced Golden Guardians in the Last Chance Qualifier, but could score a single point against them. Luckily for PSG, GG never made it to Worlds after their 0-3 finish in the Worlds Qualifying Series.
PSG Talon Roster
- Huang “Azhi” Shang-Jhih
- Yu “JunJia” Chun-Chia
- Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang
- Tsou “Wako” Wei-Yang
- Lin “Woody” Yu-En
PSG Talon Playstyle
PSG Talon has an incredibly strong early game, where they excel at everything. They can get leads through macro plays and turret platings, get the first Drake and Herald, but they are also not afraid to fight their opponents – and beat them, as their high K/D before 14 minutes show.
They have the second-best early Gold Lead number in the Worlds just behind G2 Esports, while also the second-best K/D@14, only beaten by their compatriots CTBC Flying Oyster (who are out of the competition). All 5 of their players have good early games, getting farm and plating leads often to snowball into the midgame. Their jungle, JunJia is the most outstanding in this regard, who has the highest GD@14 out of all junglers attending Worlds.
In addition to their strong early game, their late game is also good, as they tend to focus Drakes hard – even though the team rarely plays around Wako. They also die the least amount of any Worlds team, but tend to slow down in the later game, only picking fights when needed. This can sometimes turn into a weakness, as they are prone to play a bit slower than they should compared to their gold leads.
While JunJia, Maple and Wako are exceptional players, there’s no true standout among the members of PSG Talon. Woody has the highest KP of all Worlds 2023 supports, and Azhi had some incredible games on Rumble so far, so anyone could be a player to watch for this team. One things for sure, after JunJia or Woody engages, the team makes great collapses onto their opponents, getting deciding victories out of most engagements.
JunJia also has a signature pick: Zac. The Secret Weapon was picked by the Taiwanese jungler 2 times in the Summer PCS Split, but it’s always there if PSG Talon wants to surprise their opponents. They did so against Beyond Gaming in the Summer Semifinals, when they picked it in game 1 and 4, going 1-1.
Wako deserves a mention, as he’s not the typical AD Carry. He is quite self-reliant, as the team tends to leave him alone in the early game to scale while they find other ways to get leads. This relieves pressure from Wako, who can scale until a point where his picks become unstoppable, becoming a true carry for the team.
PSG Talon have already proved to be among the best of the best in the Play-Ins. They beat Movistar R7 and LOUD 2-0 in Bracket A, leaving no room for counterplay. Their next opponent will be none other than LEC’s 4th seed, Team BDS, who had their ups and downs even in the short time the Worlds has been marching on. Can the calm and collected PSG beat ChAdam and BDS, and join the greats in the Swiss Stage?
