This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　For a long while, the Bullets were considered one of the top two teams in Korea, boasting a presence that only ever lost out to eventual tournament winners. But the team, now beleaguered, finds itself set upon by a group of unusually dangerous opponents this season. Group C is a wild hunt: ambitious teams looking to prove the extent of their growth, gunning for the KT Rolster Bullets as a stepping stone towards greater things. But the Bullets are hardly an opponent to be considered a "mere" obstacle, even as they struggle to find their balance with KaKAO's absence. The team that makes it through Group C will have done so through a baptism of fire.

KT Rolster Bullets

　　Jungle – Yoon "Zero" Kyung-sub

　　Mid – Ryu Sang-wook

　　AD – Go "Score" Dong-bin

　　Support – Won "Mafa" Sang-yeon

　　The once-dominant silver Bullets have fallen on hard times as of late. Their organization's decision to move KaKAO to sister team Arrows has come as great and immediate cost to the team: nobody yet has figured out how to fill the void he's left behind. New jungler Zero hasn't cut it: his debut game at LoL Masters was painful to witness, underlined by a contagious passiveness spreading from him and on outward to the rest of the team. Putting InSec into his old role while using substitute player Lee "Leopard" Ho-Seong top lane was just as catastrophic: InSec's been a top laner long enough that his once-legendary jungle game was a shadow of its former self.

　　Yet it seems difficult to believe that they might not make it out of Groups, as this is still KT Rolster Bullets. Four of the five players yet remain. True, KaKAO's presence was a strong bond, highlighting just how crucial the jungler's role is in ensuring cohesive strategy, but the discrete elements that were formerly bound together are still individually strong. Ryu, in particular, was holding on all but equally to Faker during their legendary bout over Champions Summer, and must not be underestimated.

NaJin Black Sword

　　Jungle – Shin "Helios" Dong-jin

　　Mid – Kim "Nagne" Sang-moon

　　AD – Kim "Pray" Jong-in

　　Support – Jang "Cain" Nu-ri

　　In many ways, and to many observers, NaJin Black Sword's showdown against SKT K was the true finals of the Season 3 World Championship. Outside of a group stage exchange of wins between the eventual world champions and OMG, Black Sword was the only team in Los Angeles to give SKT K much of a fight – an intense brawl of Korean peers that, unfortunately, left the actual grand finals overshadowed. Yet, though the proof of their valor was in the match results, Black Sword had even worse odds than Royal Club to topple the current kings: their OGN Champions performances in every split since their victory in Winter 2012 has been astonishingly poor, often failing to make it out of group stages.

　　Black Sword perhaps deserves the title of underdog kings. There is no disputing that they are among the fiercest of Korean competitors – consecutive successes in the NLB circuit and their jugular-hunting performance at Worlds attests to as much, as does the simple fact that they were the only Korean team to attend back-to-back world championships (at least thus far). But the true test this year will be if they can sustain that level of championship performance.

Samsung Galaxy Blue

　　Jungle – Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon

　　Mid – Bae "Dade" Un-jin

　　AD – Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu

　　Support – Lee "Heart" Gwan-hyung

　　Before Samsung acquired MVP Blue, there was team GSG. And GSG played the best game of League of Legends in professional history. It might not have been the most technically adept or the cleanest, but the moment that Heimerdinger was locked in, everybody knew that they were in for a wild ride. Acorn, Heart, Deft – they delivered upon that promise, and at least cemented their place in Korean history for one of the most entertaining matches ever pulled off.

　　Sadly, that glorious moment translated poorly into the more rigorous general environment, as Blue consecutively failed split after split to get out of the OGN Champions group stages. But, this time, signs are favorable: though mid laner Dade was much derided for his performance in Ozone, back during the World Championship, his tenure on Blue's seen them defeat NaJin White Shield and Jin Air Falcons during the LoL Masters. Too early to celebrate in the face of KT Roster, CJ Entus and SK Telecom, but nonetheless an auspicious start.

Jin Air Green Wings Falcons

　　Jungle – Lee "RealFoxy" Sang-hyun

　　Mid – Lee "Ganked By Mom" Chang-seok

　　AD – Jin "Mystic" Sung-jun

　　Support – Kim "Kish" Beom-seok

　　KeSPA teams tend to carry significant expectations. The resources and infrastructure offered by Korea's premier esports body demands a certain exacting quality from the players under its aegis, and the same was expected of the Jin Air Green Wings team upon their acquisition last year. Only, expectations and reality didn't quite match up: The organization now known as Jin Air Green Wings was one of the least-successful of the eight KeSPA teams, and their newly acquired League of Legends roster was one of the least-impressive performers last season.

　　That said, the recent roster turnovers in Korea have given the Falcons a second wind. Ganked By Mom, former mid laner for CJ Entus Frost, might be moving from one troubled team to another, but his talent remains significant all the same. AD carry Mystic is also an upgrade over previous player Roar, who was all bark and no bite compared to the ever-more-competitive field of peers. Thus far, sister team Stealths has been more successful in the transition to 2014, but the Falcons may yet take flight.

　　OnGameNet Champions returns March 12. Group C's first game will be on the 14th, featuring NaJin Black Sword versus Jin Air Green Wing Falcons. Will Black Sword clip the Falcons' wings yet again? Let us know in the comments below!

　　Image Credit: Leaguepedia, Cloth5