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Offseason Roster Changes in NA, EU, and SEA

Riot··0 votes·7,110 views
The offseason has been anything but quiet with the onslaught of roster changes, and no region is safe. North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia all have experienced their fair share of retirements, team splits, and players trades all in preparation for the 2014 summer split and the road to the World Championships. Some of the LCS's biggest names have hopped onto new teams, while veterans have bid their farewells and a wave of new talent arises. Let's take a look at some of the key roster changes coming into the offseason.

North American LCS Roster Changes

Team SoloMid On May 3, Bryan "TheOddOne" Wylie announced his retirement. In the same announcement, it was revealed that Maurice "Amazing" Stuckenschneider of Copenhagen Wolves would be replacing him in the jungle. The following day TSM again made headlines as they announced the departure of longtime support player Alex "Xpecial" Chu and the acquisition of Challenger player Nicolas "Gleebglarbu" Haddad of Cloud 9 Tempest. New blood on the roster may bring about positive change as it has happened before with the acquisition of Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg in the mid lane. Amazing, in particular, boasts strong mechanics and an extensive champion pool, which may be just what TSM needs to become a great team as opposed to a team of great players.
Team SoloMid
Top Dyrus
Jungler Amazing
Mid Bjergsen
ADC WildTurtle
Support Gleebglarbu
Counter Logic Gaming On April 23, CLG announced that Zach "Nien" Malhas would be stepping down from the starting top lane position. While no official announcements have been made regarding Nien's replacement, rumors have circulated that CLG's management is currently seeking foreign talent to join the roster. During the spring split, CLG demonstrated strong teamwork in both lane phase and late game as they moved across the Rift as a cohesive unit, controlling objectives and excelling in team fights. Losing NiIen is a blow to the teamwork CLG developed over the course of the split, however, the offseason may provide enough time for CLG to pick up and practice with a new solo laner.
Counter Logic Gaming
Top TBD
Jungler Dexter
Mid LiNk
ADC Doublelift
Support Aphromoo
Team Curse On May 3, Curse announced their acquisition of support player Xpecial. Michael "Bunny FuFuu" Kurylo was subsequently moved to a substitute position. As an experienced support player, Xpecial may facilitate stronger playmaking and consistency in Curse's bottom lane. While ADC David "Cop" Roberson has surely improved over the spring split, his ability to shine may have been stifled by the constant roster changes; he played with three different supports in a single season. With Xpecial by his side, Cop may finally be able to stand out as a top ADC in the North American LCS and help carry his team to Worlds.
Team Curse
Top Quas
Jungler IWillDominate
Mid Voyboy
ADC Cop
Support Xpecial
Team Dignitas On May 2, Dignitas excited the masses when they announced their acquisition of Team Coast solo laners Danny "Shiphtur" Le and Darshan "ZionSpartan" Upadhyaya. William "Scarra" Li returned to his position as coach, while Cruz "Cruzerthebruzer" Ogden became a subsittutesubstitute. Shiphtur and ZionSpartan's assertive and confident playstyle may benefit Dignitas significantly. With two rising stars on their squad, Dignitas may finally have what they need to be a strong contender in the 2014 summer split and even Worlds.
Team Dignitas
Top ZionSpartan
Jungler Crumbz
Mid Shiphtur
ADC Imaqtpie
Support KiWiKiD

European LCS Roster Changes

Copenhagen Wolves Following a tough battle in relegation, ADC Konstantinos "Forg1ven" parted ways with Copenhagen Wolves. On May 3, Jungler Amazing also left to join TSM in the NA LCS. No official reports have been made of their replacements, though some contenders have been reported. The 2014 spring split was nothing short of stressful for the Copenhagen Wolves, who struggled to keep up with the middle of the LCS pack. The team's CEO Jakob Lund Kristensen said, "The fact that Forg1ven was not happy about the current situation in the team and that the team was neither happy about it, has been quite clear for a while." Releasing Forg1ven and bringing on new talent may just be what the Wolves need to make a comeback in the summer split.
Copenhagen Wolves
Top Youngbuck
Jungler TBD
Mid CowTard
ADC TBD
Support Unlimited
Gambit Gaming On May 3, Gambit Gaming announced that mid laner Alexey "Alex Ich" Ichetovkin decided to part ways with the team. No official announcements have been made of Alex Ich's replacement or his future plans with professional gaming. Despite being a world-class team with talented players, Gambit Gaming suffered from inner turmoil, ranging from travel fatigue to a lack of motivation. Alex admitted, "You could easily notice that victories didn't bring joy as much as they used to." Losing a leader like Alex Ich may be difficult for Gambit at first, but change may rekindle the enthusiasm and passion Gambit lost over time.
Gambit Gaming
Top Darien
Jungler Diamondprox
Mid TBD
ADC Genja
Support Edward
Supa Hot Crew On May 1, support player Maxime "Migxa" Pointsott announced his retirement from professional gaming after Supa Hot Crew removed him from the main roster. On May 5, it was announced that Supa Hot Crew would be picking up Bram "wewillfailer" de Winter to replace Migxa. SHC found what they wanted with wewillfailer, who boasted both the experience and positive attitude they desired for the team. In the announcement, SHC stated, "[wewillfailer] is easily one of the most experienced European support players in the scene right now and his in-game knowledge coupled with his continuous motivation to improve should prove invaluable in the upcoming 2014 summer split."
Supa Hot Crew
Top Mimer
Jungler Impaler
Mid SELFIE
ADC Mr RalleZ
Support wewillfailer

SEA Roster Changes

<-- SMALL PICTURE, can you put in the original larger file. Taipei Assassins On April 23, Taipei Assassins announced that Xue "DinTer" Hong-Wei would be stepping down from the starting jungling position, and Chen "Winds" Peng-Nien would take his place in the jungle. A week later, it was revealed that Wong "Chawy" Xing Lei of Singapore Sentinels would be transferring to TPA as the new mid lanera sixth man, who will rotate with . Chen "Morning" Kuan-Ting. subsequently moved to a substitute positions. Winds is a welcomed change to the TPA roster as Winds has proven his ability to singlehandedly carry teams to victory with his Kha'Zix plays.
Taipei Assassins
Top Achie
Jungler Winds
Mid Chawy
ADC bebe
Support Jay

Taipei Snipers On April 23, Taipei Snipers announced that Winds would be transferring to Taipei Assassins. His replacement in the jungle would be Xue "Mountain" Zhao-Hong of yoe Flash Wolves. Although Taipei Snipers placed third at 2014 GPL Spring, they struggled to perform at the 2014 Taiwan Promotion, where they failed to qualify for the 2014 GPL Summer. Furthermore, losing Winds was devastating for the team as he was their main shot caller and carry jungler. However, Mountain may be what TPS needs to rejoin the GPL.

Taipei Snipers
Top Zonda
Jungler Mountain
Mid OhReaL
ADC GoDJJ
Support Awei

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69 Comments

Legendoggy28 votes

i just don't see gambit without alex ich. he was the face of the team.

ZLY WEISIOR4 votes

I rather see Darien as a Gambit face cuz of sweg :P

thezlol2 votes

gambit out of lcs next split

GreyXpelliarmus2 votes

Now that he's gone I understand that I was a GMB fan mostly because of him :(

ZerobyDivided1 votes

who can they pick up to take his place? lol nukeduck? but genja doesn't speak good english.

Qwerty26319 votes

Crs_Xpecial just feels so weird and TSM_Gleebglarbu feels weird too Xpecial was one of the best best supports if not the best in NA. I just hope TSM know what theyre doing. Dignitas must be very happy, getting two star players!!!!! Im happy CST lost cause know zion and shiphtur wont have to carry all the weight.

MVP Vision4 votes

TSM didn't kick him because of his play, they kicked him because of his passive aggressive attitude.

justinmaxi7 votes

TSM didn't kick him, just Rageinald

Lokus3 votes

It was unanimous decision. meaning two or more players agreed with regi

YOU SO BAD11 votes

Thats not what unanimous means bud. What your talking about is called a majority. Unanimous means everyone involved. excluding Xspecial.

jessedude70414 votes

In my opinion, TSM has totally screwed themselves. Xpecial was arguably one of the best league players in all of NA, across any position. "just because you have the best players on a team does not mean you have the best team". This statement frustrates me. First of all, it's not even completely true. If you have a team of all amazing players, and you can't get them to "work well together" or something of that sort, it comes down to extremely poor coaching ability. In my opinion, it's totally ridiculous of them to get rid of an allstar support, and let alone one of the most intelligent league players in the game, who had a powerful drive to succeed and improve. However, the acquisition of Xpecial by Curse will help Cop shine, and show his true merit as one of the most solid ADC's in Na. Cop is often overshadowed by the likes of Sneaky, Doublelift and Wildturtle. I have thought for a long time that Cop could be in contention of a top 3 spot in terms of NA ADC. Dignitas, being a team that I have thoroughly enjoyed being a fan of, has made a very good decision in picking up Zion and Shiphtur. Team coast had little to no potential (again, in my opinion) other than these two players, and it's awesome that they get to continue their gaming careers on a strong team that will allow them to excel. The stepdown of Nien, i think, may have been premature.. I feel he was just coming into stride towards the end of the season with CLG, and he was only going to get better. It's a shame, and I hope he's not done with LCS. Again, back to TSM, I feel that if anyone should have either stepped down / been replaced, it would have been Dyrus. I love Dyrus as a player, but I feel he's been lacking very much as of late, and he has had an inability to play from behind, which has become a more frequent occurrence and will continue to happen due to everyone else in the LCS constantly improving.

Aesulni29 votes

Alright I'm going to break this one down as a wall of text hurts a bit. Also keep in mind that TSM is probably one of my least favorite teams in the LCS right now so this has nothing to do with fanboying or w/e. Anyway, moving on...

I agree completely on everything about Xpecial. He is most definitely one of the best, if not the best, supports in the world much less NA. I will say though that the decision might not have been completely TSM's to make. Xpecial himself may have had a desire to move on from the team. Just something to think about.

Furthermore however, you mentioned Dyrus as being someone that should have stepped down. Dyrus had his best year ever this split. He not only began to play at a level of competence for his position but went beyond that and obtained a status he hasnt had since season 1 and became one of the best tops in NA again. He does have a few bad tendencies when behind, but he's probably the most consistent player on TSM at this time.

Oddone was definitely the weak link of TSM's chain. I don't even like the team and I'd be the first person to tell you that losing him was a blessing. He's a good jungler but he can't play the style that TSM wants to. Amazing is a move that will send waves through the LCS the same way Bjerg did. He'll play brilliantly and be able to be a threat out of the jungle instead of just that afterthought.

Lastly I just want to touch on the whole ""just because you have the best players on a team does not mean you have the best team". This statement frustrates me. First of all, it's not even completely true. If you have a team of all amazing players, and you can't get them to "work well together" or something of that sort, it comes down to extremely poor coaching ability"

That statement is complete garbage. Coaching ability might come into play a little bit, but the abilities of a team to mesh is a VERY real thing. Too many shot callers for instance can lead to trouble in deciding who to follow when and what to do during a conflict. Some people just cant get along, even in a business relationship, much less a gaming house. So try getting those players to work at the top level of their capacity and you'll find problems. In the end it comes down very little to the coach. He can't fix attitudes as much as people may want him to. He can't make a grown man do something. The players have to be willing to work with each other and even then they have to have similar playing styles. You cant put two hyper aggressive players on a team where the other three players play like the old clg eu and run hour long games. It doesn't work.

Jathiel3 votes

I agree with you on all but one point, Dyrus. Yes, this past season he did well for NA tops, except that is the problem. NA is arguably a weaker region and some would say the weakest, and Dyrus does well in the LCS games, except watch him vs. C9 and Balls, and he always loses. C9 is a great team, they can do well internationally, and Dyrus has consistently shown he cannot keep up with them, that being said how can we possibly believe that he would do well in international tournaments?

Dyrus is definitely still a good player, and Oddone was the weak link on TSM this past season; but if Dyrus cannot step up his game I do not see him or TSM performing well internationally.

Weetabix Posse2 votes

I totally agree that Dyrus is a good player and also agree that C9 is the dominant team in NA, but I think Dyrus will do better against teams in worlds than tops in the NA LCS. First he has the experience as an all star player and secondly he is consistent, plays well, he almost never loses lane and for those who say Balls > Dyrus I think you are wrong, thats because Meteos puts so much aggression early for Dyrus and he is constantly ganked with out Oddone there, as oddone still has his utility pool champion which was only good for s3, but I am sure Amazing will be a major improvement for the team, adding another play style to tsm.

JustJayson2 votes

The oddone leaving is likely a good thing, he just seemed to have reached his peak years ago and other top junglers have surpassed him with he changes to the game. Dyrus is one of the most consistent top laners, he just stays too predictable with his champion pool. once in awhile you want to see him pick a champ like jax when available. Against top teams like c9 and international teams he gets shut down by enemy jungler, get killed before lv6 and tsm always falls behind relying on waiting for the other team to make a mistake to comeback which doesnt happen much anymore. Will be interesting to see if Amazing can add more map pressure than the oddones controlled jungle. I know next to nothing about the support pickup. Guess we will see how that works out.

jessedude7041 votes

Also, i feel very strongly that a proper coach CAN and SHOULD be able to help solve any problems with teams meshing together well. it comes down to practice regiments and playstyle adapting. A coach NEEDS to be respected by his team and they NEED to want to respect him, which comes from a coach giving respect in the first place. I've watched some "behind the scenes" videos of TSM, and I can't say how much of this is accurate, but based on what I've seen, Reginald is a complete and total douchebag and a HUGE instigator. Xpecial seemed to always be passive when in arguments with regi but the respect never went both ways. Regi did this with all the players, but bjergsen and xpecial were (seemingly) the only ones to stand to him and argue back. They wouldn't get rid of bjerg because of what he brings to the team as a mid lane powerhouse. Again, I can't say for sure how accurate that really is, but I've seen it more than enough times to think it's true.

What are your thoughts?

warpedmind13 votes

that alex ich one really got me suprised. imho genja is the weakest link of gambit with darien nearby. but family comes first

ps: TSM looks scary now. not only that with the newest roster changes i will 100% watch the NA LCS summer split

Solumindra3 votes

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Alex Ich supposedly on the new super team v2 rising up in EU??

khagne2 votes

Rest in peperonis! He is playing top with kou (C9e jg) and former NIP like nukeduck (mid), freeze (ad) and Mithy (sup). Actually they are playing TSM eu invitacionals right now.

Junebuck12 votes

This is just my opinion, don't hate, but these roster changes honestly make me very sad. item 3070 item 3070

Dainjah11 votes

i can agree... im not a huge fan of TSM but seeing both oddone and xpecial leave is kinda sad... Nien was starting to get better at the end, dont think he should have left yet. However, kinda glad shiphtur and zion are still around =)

Palavko693 votes

Amazing will make them a much improved team, although xPecial leaving is not good at all...

DeltaRaven12 votes

Kind of sad to see TSM breaking apart, I really liked the old TSM. But time will tell if these changes are what they needed. I think getting rid of xpecial was a big mistake, he was a really good player. On a positive side, I'm glad that shiphtur and zionspartan are staying in the LCS, they were Coast's rising stars. I really want to see who will be replacing nien in CLG though, I wasn't expecting CLG to replace him.

cube mine8 votes

TSM, why no nightblue for jungle

Pteor PhD2 votes

Nightblue has said he's not interested in going pro right now. He's only on as a sub.

darioSRB8 votes

R.I.P Alex ich item 3070

bkLav6 votes

I'm so pumped, TSM will actually be able to get on C9's level now.

justinmaxi3 votes

I don't see the logic in your comment, C9 first becouse they are good players, but more important, BECOUSE THEY PLAY AS A TEAM, and first TSM kicks Xpecial becouse a team of good players isn't enough and then TSM gets Amazing becouse he is a better player than TheOddOne, also having a worse supp and no shot caller don't help to have a better "team". You don't even know how Amazing and the new supp playes with them, so don't be too excited.

bkLav1 votes

I say this because a huge part of the meta now is the junglers impact on the game. TheOddOne is good and undestands the game, but Amazing is a lot better at pressuring the entire map. He's more of a play maker. Xpecial was an amazing support aswell, but honestly Turtle will play good no matter what support he's with. And gleeb can play meta support (karma, and others) better than Xpecial. 90% of xpecials highlights are on Thresh, and what support main doesn't have this.

VirtualPlay6 votes

Does anyone actually proofread these things before they get posted? They misspelled Nien's name once and left in a massive typo that said Cruz became a "subsittutesubstitute."

As for the content, the only NA news that makes me happy is seeing Dignitas pick up ZionSpartan and Shiphtur. I'm upset that Xpecial's attitude pushed him off TSM, but just as upset he was picked up by Curse; if he had attitude and a dedication problem on TSM, what's to say he can improve those on a different team? And of course Nien's departure is saddening, but it was his decision to step down, not something forced on him.

maydog6 votes

SaintVicious was let go of CLG for attitude and not meshing with team there, and came to Curse where he found new life again in Season 2. So a move of teams may be exactly what Xpecial needs.

Piscesky2 votes

Elementz left Curse because SaintVicious's attitude...

ligitbeast75 votes

My two favorite teams meshing together into one all star team? Im calling a Dignicoast championship in the summer split.

Synval5 votes

CW = another team after NiP that is gonna be screwed by TSM poaching. But hey, they must pay them better in the US, somehow we don't see Gambit or SK taking players from XDG etc. the path only goes one way. One good news, we won't have to stare at Forgiven's acne infested face, with all that money pros are making he could afford a Clearasil by now.

Únstópâblè3 votes

You won't have to fear his raging on NA streams aswell.

ScarletEzreal4 votes

Goodbye Baylife... Gonna miss the ol' TSM

Qwerty2633 votes

Would be fun if they added coaches in the background because they are part of the team.

CrayonDragon3 votes

If the roster changes for TSM dont produce results fast, its GG for them. Reginald gone and screwed himself over then losing Xpecial gonna hurt like mad

CrayonDragon2 votes

I hope Seraph becomes the new to laner for CLG. Then there will be two koreans :D

khagne1 votes

same was said when Chaox was benched for one week due to his amateur attitude... just hope gleeb does well :)

Awstan3 votes

RETURN OF HOTSHOT GG for CLG Nidalee

Lokus2 votes

Nop. Seraph

Rinced Player2 votes

Xpecial joins Curse, ZionSpartan and Shiphtur join Dignitas.Now, with LMQ and Complexity, I don't see how EG can't finish 8th this summer split 0o

kon133 votes

C9T lost to EG pretty convicingly..C9T won Complexity + Complexity made LCS with REALLY chaotic games..These games don't happen vs really experienced LCS team (Coast was a bit of a soloqueue team although a very strong one). Offcourse this doesn't mean EG are ahead of Complexity (for example Royal beating OMG, OMG being almsot even with SKT T1 while Royal got stomped...All i mean some team are "kryptonite" for others.

Anyway though EG seems slightly ahead imo since they are currently doing tryouts on jungle-adc-supp. They will probably end up with Altec adc, Krepo supp and whatever jungler. I think they can be a really strong team with Innox having stepped up and if Pobelter becomes a little bit more consistent.

Not to hate on Complexity, they are a strong team and in Spring Split they would do good but in Summer with all the changes happening i think it will be really hard for them to not be 8th

TheTortured2 votes

Holy editing failures. Having one or two minor errors would be forgivable, but every paragraph has one issue or another.

Try reading your post before clicking submit.

Splatticus2 votes

...I wonder how much Curse offered Regi...hmmmm

ZerobyDivided1 votes

I am still not sure what was TSM thinking of removing Xpecial. He was the best support on NA by a mile.. Even if Xpecial joined curse I don't everything would go that well. curse line up aren't better than TSM's individually.

ZerobyDivided1 votes

maybe if xpecial starts carrying with thresh every single game. he can make a difference on curse. but that will just be ban 100% like they did against bunny.

Tréeman1 votes

I am really sad to watch the Classic TSM roster that i was used to and loved being broken apart :( I'm not saying that all of their choices were bad but how would it feel for Xpecial to play against his ol'friends at the Summer Split? :(( I was honestly really shocked.item 3070 item 3070

SleepingChemical1 votes

Aatrox

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