IEM Cologne’s Fierce Lineup
Riot·12/18/2014, 2:25:46 AM·0 votes·23,816 views
[UPDATE] Due to an editing error, we identified two players' positions incorrectly. The error has been fixed.
After a weekend of fierce competition at IEM San Jose, six more League of Legends teams are heading to IEM Cologne from December 18-21 to showcase their preseason progress. Here are the competitors who are looking to battle it out for a piece of the $30,000 prize.
One of the most important changes to the team is the introduction of Paweł “Woolite” Pruski as their new AD carry. While their former ADC Paweł “Celaver” Koprianiuk was never considered detrimental to the team, Woolite showed a lot of promise when he played with the Copenhagen Wolves. Even when the team was struggling, Woolite managed to solo carry games from the bottom lane with snowballing AD Carries like Twitch and Lucian. Now that he is surrounded by a stronger roster, he has the potential to become one of the best ADCs in the West, and a major asset for Roccat at IEM and in the coming season.
Roccat’s third and final roster change is actually a lane swap. Overpow, Roccat's former mid laner, is headed to the top lane. As shotcaller for the team, Overpow has been commended for his decision-making and strong communication skills. How well he synergizes with Ryu will be a major factor in their success at IEM Cologne, and his ability to adapt to the top lane will greatly impact their performance in the 2015 season.
Yeong-Jin “Gamsu” Noh was a Challenger top laner in Korean solo queue and a sub for Samsung Blue. He fills a much more traditional top lane role than ZionSpartan, focusing on helping his carries pick up kills and dominate their lanes. In the current tankier top-lane meta, this will allow Gamsu to lead his team to victory at IEM by peeling for his carries in teamfights and effectively using teleport.
Newcomer Yong-in “Core JJ” Jo played for Bigfile Miracle in the most recent OGN season. The AD carryhas a reputation built around his incredible mechanics, and he's already won the hearts of many NA fans since he began streaming in NA solo queue, quickly climbing to high-level Challenger. As a top-ten Korean solo queue ADC, Core will have the opportunity to prove at IEM that he will be a major threat going into the new season.
With the introduction of their new roster, viewers will have the opportunity to watch the new Dignitas play for the first time at IEM. With the added benefit of taking place in the preseason, Dignitas' manager, Michael “ODEE” O’Dell, says that IEM will be, “a great place to test our team, tactics, comms, and live-environment performance before LCS starts in January.”
Don’t let their fresh faces fool you though, as Odee assures that Dignitas is bringing their A-game to IEM and the 2015 season, adding that, “we do not compete to finish 5th!”
Korean top laner Shin “Seraph” Wooyeong has been replaced by former Dignitas member ZionSpartan, and jungler Marcel “Dexter” Feldcamp has been switched out for Jake
Xmithie” Puchero. ZionSpartan is known for his impressive mechanics, but struggles with adapting to tankier top lane metas and getting away from split-pushing. If he is able to adapt to CLG’s method of a more strategic top lane, ZionSpartan could be a major factor in their success.
Due to Visa issues, Xmithie will not be attending IEM Cologne. Subbing for him in the jungle is Thinkcard, formerly of Crs Academy. This is not Thinkcard’s first time playing with CLG. While the team was bootcamping in Korea, he subbed in for a week of the Season 4 summer split and has been hyped by the community ever since. IEM will be Thinkcard’s opportunity to prove that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
Gambit is bringing their new top laner Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet and ADC Kristoffer “P1noy” Albao Lund Pedersen with them to IEM Cologne. Although Gambit is not a favorite coming into the tournament, they have always been a team to surprise and impress. Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov is known for bringing out the next big jungle champion, from Evelynn to Volibear. Meanwhile Edward “Edward” Abgaryan was long considered to be one of the best supports in the world. He may have fallen off lately, but playing alongside impressive ADC P1noy, we might just see Edward shine again.
Roccat
Roccat is looking to be one of the strongest teams going into IEM, having made some excellent roster moves in the preseason. Although they still lack a confirmed mid laner, ex-Millenium player Ryu “Ryu” Sang-ook will be joining them for IEM. Ryu was widely considered to be one of the top mid laners in Korea during Season 3 when he played for KT Rolster B. His aggressive play brings a lot to the table for Roccat as their sub, as he is known for his coordinated tower dives with his jungler.
One of the most important changes to the team is the introduction of Paweł “Woolite” Pruski as their new AD carry. While their former ADC Paweł “Celaver” Koprianiuk was never considered detrimental to the team, Woolite showed a lot of promise when he played with the Copenhagen Wolves. Even when the team was struggling, Woolite managed to solo carry games from the bottom lane with snowballing AD Carries like Twitch and Lucian. Now that he is surrounded by a stronger roster, he has the potential to become one of the best ADCs in the West, and a major asset for Roccat at IEM and in the coming season.
Roccat’s third and final roster change is actually a lane swap. Overpow, Roccat's former mid laner, is headed to the top lane. As shotcaller for the team, Overpow has been commended for his decision-making and strong communication skills. How well he synergizes with Ryu will be a major factor in their success at IEM Cologne, and his ability to adapt to the top lane will greatly impact their performance in the 2015 season.
Team Dignitas
Team Dignitas also enters IEM with several roster changes. Darshan “ZionSpartan” Upadhyaha and Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana have been replaced in the top lane and the ADC position by two Korean players who strive to impress.
Yeong-Jin “Gamsu” Noh was a Challenger top laner in Korean solo queue and a sub for Samsung Blue. He fills a much more traditional top lane role than ZionSpartan, focusing on helping his carries pick up kills and dominate their lanes. In the current tankier top-lane meta, this will allow Gamsu to lead his team to victory at IEM by peeling for his carries in teamfights and effectively using teleport.
Newcomer Yong-in “Core JJ” Jo played for Bigfile Miracle in the most recent OGN season. The AD carryhas a reputation built around his incredible mechanics, and he's already won the hearts of many NA fans since he began streaming in NA solo queue, quickly climbing to high-level Challenger. As a top-ten Korean solo queue ADC, Core will have the opportunity to prove at IEM that he will be a major threat going into the new season.
With the introduction of their new roster, viewers will have the opportunity to watch the new Dignitas play for the first time at IEM. With the added benefit of taking place in the preseason, Dignitas' manager, Michael “ODEE” O’Dell, says that IEM will be, “a great place to test our team, tactics, comms, and live-environment performance before LCS starts in January.”
Don’t let their fresh faces fool you though, as Odee assures that Dignitas is bringing their A-game to IEM and the 2015 season, adding that, “we do not compete to finish 5th!”
Counter Logic Gaming
Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) has always been thought of as one of the best teams in North America, with their star Yiliang ”Doublelift” Peng considered to be a world-class ADC. However, CLG has made some major roster changes in the preseason that will definitely affect their performance going into IEM and the 2015 season.
Korean top laner Shin “Seraph” Wooyeong has been replaced by former Dignitas member ZionSpartan, and jungler Marcel “Dexter” Feldcamp has been switched out for Jake
Xmithie” Puchero. ZionSpartan is known for his impressive mechanics, but struggles with adapting to tankier top lane metas and getting away from split-pushing. If he is able to adapt to CLG’s method of a more strategic top lane, ZionSpartan could be a major factor in their success.
Due to Visa issues, Xmithie will not be attending IEM Cologne. Subbing for him in the jungle is Thinkcard, formerly of Crs Academy. This is not Thinkcard’s first time playing with CLG. While the team was bootcamping in Korea, he subbed in for a week of the Season 4 summer split and has been hyped by the community ever since. IEM will be Thinkcard’s opportunity to prove that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
Gambit Gaming
Gambit is bringing their new top laner Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet and ADC Kristoffer “P1noy” Albao Lund Pedersen with them to IEM Cologne. Although Gambit is not a favorite coming into the tournament, they have always been a team to surprise and impress. Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov is known for bringing out the next big jungle champion, from Evelynn to Volibear. Meanwhile Edward “Edward” Abgaryan was long considered to be one of the best supports in the world. He may have fallen off lately, but playing alongside impressive ADC P1noy, we might just see Edward shine again.
