The CompLexity Complex
Riot·3/13/2014, 4:02:30 PM·0 votes·424 views
The 2013 compLexity ended on a sad note. After a last place finish in the spring split, the team struggled through the Challenger scene and eventually fell apart following the retirement of star jungler Lautemortis, and the sudden free agency of mid laner PR0LLY.
The team was surprisingly quiet after the complete dissolution of the team in early January. Many figured that the team was stepping away from League to focus on other games. However, a month later, they made two major moves that quickly put that rumor to bed.
On February 4, compLexity proudly announced that they were acquiring the roster of Skyline Gaming, an up-and-coming challenger team that was drawing increasing attention with solid play. The team was welcomed on board with the designation of coL.Red. "We are thrilled to be back in League of Legends," said Jason Lake, Founder and CEO of compLexity Gaming,“ "We see great potential in the coL.Red squad and are excited to assist them in their quest to join the LCS ranks.”
But then, less than four days later, CompLexity announced even bigger news. Determined Gaming, who had placed high in both NACL and MCS last year as “To Be Determined,” was also being added to the coL family. Branded as coL.Black, the team saw a re-visitation of CompLexity’s Red/Black theme from their World of Warcraft days.
Now, both teams are primed for potential LCS promotion after dominant finishes in the North American Challenger Series, beaten only by the Chinese LMQ.
Both teams have very notable players on them. Red has Velocity’s old jungler, Nk Inc, the mastermind behind the jungle Ezreal that got them into LCS in the first place. Red already has some fairly notable wins over other strong challenger teams, like Cloud 9 Tempest and Cognitive Gaming.
So far, Red have been nothing but stunning. One early star to arise is mid laner Goldenglue, who managed a 2.13 KDA against LMQ, even while losing.
Black, on the other hand, sees the return of ex-coL mid laner PR0LLY, along with several other top North American Challenger players. The roster stopped just short of LCS participation in January with a loss to Evil Geniuses, but if anything, the team looks even better now than they did back then.
PR0LLY, in particular, really stepped it up. Black’s semifinal match against Cognitive Gaming saw the returned player leaving destruction in his wake—7 kills, 14 assists, 0 deaths. Together, the team has all the experience necessary to make a breakout in 2014.
Red and Black both sit just short of a shot at the LCS. Combined, they only have four losses total in the Challenger Series (three of which were at the hands of LMQ). However, with their performances so far this year, both teams already qualified for the Challenger Series Playoffs.
Keep your eyes throughout this month on both teams as they compete in Challenger Series 2. They both have big matches this week to get into the semifinals, where a potential teamkill awaits them. If Red and Black do clash, they won’t be pulling any punches—both teams want to establish themselves as the dominant color in this reborn organization.
After all, for a team that has established a mantra to never give up, playing the best you can is a necessity. For these two Challenger teams, it’s likely only a preview of what’s to come.
