Meet the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split teams

Riot·Jan 7, 2016·4 votes·160,835 views

It's almost time for the return of the NA LCS! On January 16, North America's premiere League of Legends tournament will roll into the 2016 season with a slew of new teams and players on new rosters.

Check out who's going to be playing on the rosters in the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split with our infographic below, and stay tuned to Lolesports for more details and features about the NA LCS.

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Don't forget, the NA LCS returns on January 16! You can find the full 2016 NA LCS Spring Split schedule here.

As you wait for the games to start, you can also sign up and create your own dream team with Fantasy LCS.

Let us know which teams and rosters you're most excited to watch in the 2016 Spring Split, and which of these new teams you think is going to be best.

214 Comments

LunallanJan 7, 201637 votes

Yeah we finally have a female pro in the LCS

TyRamosJan 8, 20169 votes

[deleted]

Miestr SpounkJan 8, 201615 votes

[zombie-brand-facepalm]

GerominJan 8, 201611 votes

Well, biologically speaking, you are right. But society does not work through biological facts alone

KTFreshJan 8, 201626 votes

And that's why society is deluded and has no backbone. There are no boundaries or standards anymore. How is this a fair representation for women. If someone was born female and was LCS qualified, they would no longer have the achievement available of first female in LCS. I don't think there is any hard scientific evidence that males are naturally more skilled at mechanically challenging video games such as league, but there clearly aren't and haven't been any outstanding female players in challenger. In other words, it would be a big deal for a natural born female to accomplish something like this.

MalinthrosJan 9, 20163 votes

agree 110%.

TyRamosJan 11, 20163 votes

My comment got removed, and I got a warning, lame.

But I agree fully! Thank you so much for your support on this!

ParkwayyJan 8, 201610 votes

Still don't think (s)he is ready for all the vitriol that will be sent from reddit/twitter/twitch. I'm sure there's a decent portion of people that forgot or don't know she's on a team. Come LCS time, it's going to get sketchy. Hope the team can deal with it effectively.

We've seen other players go on super tilt, and basically resign from the team after all the negative comments they received.

ShadowflameJan 9, 201611 votes

Great to see that Remilia didnt give in to all the hate coming her way. Leaving her history aside, its good to see a female Player making it to pro. Apart from that though, this time NA LCS might actually be interesting for once. While i cant see anyone coming Close to RNG and Immortals, theres going to be a lot of competition among the middle of the pack. And we might have the Chance of seeing a worlds without TSM.

Didus ineptusJan 11, 20164 votes

I strongly disagree. If TSM get's their teamplay going they will definitely be among the top teams. On paper this is the best TSM-lineup ever imo.

ArticuJan 12, 20166 votes

Renegades look like crap compared to the other teams, what are you talking about

Old Man TeetoJan 10, 20164 votes

Doesn't matter, if she performs she could have been a genderless eunuch for all I care.

Sage IdallianJan 11, 20164 votes

It's not a female, it's the first transgender player. Nothing more, nothing less.

MrCavemanJan 8, 201634 votes

How is anyone supposed to beat TL this year? Every game with them is 10v5. Seems pretty unfair to me Trundle

Tal0rJan 8, 201614 votes

They all have to split XP, so we'll end up with 10 lvl 9's vs 5 lvl 18's.

Smart KittyJan 9, 20169 votes

Not if they play like Tandem mode.

EleshakaiJan 8, 201615 votes

TSM clearly has the strongest roster on player skill alone. That being said, with that many 'all star' players, it may be difficult to keep them from butting heads.

I think the smartest move was to have Hai switch to support. Support is the least technically demanding role, but is an incredibly good place to put a strategic mastermind like Hai. C9 may be a contender since they should have decent synergy for the most part. Assuming their new player can speak well enough to communicate with the team.

Liquid's team is going to be hard to beat 10v5 ;) But seriously... I think having that many subs may make synergy extremely difficult, even with the advantage unpredictability gives.

Renegades looked really good in the CS, we'll see if that can translate. Fortunately they have some veteran hands so ego shouldn't be too much of a problem.

TIP is... well, weird. We'll see how they go. Most of their players are relative unknowns so it's hard to evaluate where they'll stand.

NRG has some really strong players, and if the synergy is there could be tough to beat. Altec is still one of the best ADCs around afterall.

Immortals look like monsters. If I had to rank on pure player skill alone, Immortals would be second. Their lineup is crazy. And they've already got the jungle/top synergy from FNatic(poor FNatic losing almost everyone)

Echo Fox... why do teams keep sabotaging themselves by picking the walking ball of ego and bad attitude that is Froggen? He's skilled, although even that is waning, but he's got such an awful attitude that it's no wonder his teams self-destruct. Aside from him, their lineup is mostly fresh blood which can be a good thing but can also be a recipe for nerves.

Dig's lineup is not looking that great. We'll see, maybe they can pull synergy out of thin air, but I'm not hopeful for them, sad though it is since they've always been a favourite of mine.

It will be interesting to see how a team that revolved around their ADC for so long can adapt to not having a star ADC anymore. I'm looking forward to it, because CLG's lineup is still very strong and DoubleLift was far from the only good player on that team, but it'll be a big change for them.

SalamandersBenJan 8, 201610 votes

1-TSM 2-C9 3-IMT/CLG 4-CLG/IMT 5-NRG 6-TL 7-RNG 8-EF 9-DIG 10-TIP here are my prediction for the split

EleshakaiJan 8, 201611 votes

For me I'd go:

1 TSM 2/3) IMT/C9 - edging towards IMT in #2 but they're too close to call 4) CLG 5) RNG 6) NRG 7) TL 8) Dig 9/10) TIP/EF They're both not looking good.

Potential for upsets: TSM could falter HARD if ego gets in the way. C9 could easily take #1 if Balls returns to form and Rush is able to take Hai's shotcalling without letting ego get in the way TL could easily do far better than I placed them IF they're able to maintain 10 player synergy. I just don't see it happening. TIP and DIG are both wildcards. Wildcards have USUALLY proven to be bad in the LCS, but Unicorns of Love did crazy in their first split. If either of these teams works together well, they could place far far higher. CLG could falter hard if they aren't able to adapt to a new style and if aphro can't build synergy with his new lane partner. A bromance that long can be hard to replace. Edit: IMT could drop hard as well if they're not able to keep communication strong. If the team splits down the middle and comms break down, they could be VERY easy to isolate.

KetiaXJan 9, 20167 votes

I can't see TSM failing mainly because of Yellowstar. It's hard to not respect Yellowstar as a skillful player AND a charismatic leader to follow with all those experiences. The players' ego may be able to be controlled by Yellowstar, and if he does, then TSM is definitely gonna win. If not, their raw talent is enough to probably sit in top 5. C9 is I think the definite #2 if not #1 if TSM fails. I don't see Rush not following Hai as even Jensen, the EU star solo queue player that had issues with being toxic, follows Hai. It's just that if Balls doesn't return to form and BunnyFufuu (who is definitely a better player, but much worse leader as we witnessed in Gravity) isn't able to replace Hai as the leader, then C9 will just stay as a top NA team and won't be an international tournament contender. To be honest I don't see the hype in Immortals. Sure, on paper it looks great, but they're lacking a good shotcaller and a leader that can control the bold-and-insanely-risky Wildturtle and Huni. We have to remember that the reason Huni was great because Yellowstar controlled him, and Rekkles Febiven are there to back him up if Huni starts to tilt, also the reason Reignover looked good was again because of Yellowstar's roam and shotcall. We have to see if someone's able to manage this team ingame (because it's definitely not Turtle, Huni, and I don't see Reignover, Pobelter, and Adrian doing the job) and if no one can, then this team will probably place 4-6 or may even be worse. Not much comment on CLG. 2 threat team with Stixxay and Darshan, Huhi seemed to be better suited playing supportive mid laner style. Probably 4 is fitting, depending on Stixxay though. Didn't see RNG as a strong team until Freeze replaces frommaplestreet. Now we get to see the (who in my opinion) 2nd best AD carry in EU (after F0RG1VEN. Yeah suck it Rekkles fans) playing in a decent team (at least not as bad as Copenhagen Wolves) after so long. Crumbzz look as solid as he was but still inconsistent (he said it's because of bad team atmosphere, we'll see about that) and Alex Ich who looked much better than when he left gambit and joined Challenger teams. A lot of things needed, but if Crumbzz can play more consistently with his vision-centric jungling style, RF can buff up his skills a bit more (he looked slightly below average, but consistent), and Remilia can open up her champion pools more (she's only godlike as Thresh), then I can see this team contending for top 3. Don't see it happening, though. Still hyped up for Freeze though.

Couldn't care less about the rest of the team. I loved DIG until Crumbzz left. That was as far as I'd go to support DIG. Was disappointed watching the team from scarra-imaqtpie-patoy (forgot the support before patoy)-IWDominate-crumbzz kinda climbed up, became the best team when Kiwi entered as top laner, go downhill right after and just further and further down until this point where the just take random-ass players to play.

EleshakaiJan 9, 20166 votes

Yellowstar is an amazing leader, but he's got to adapt to a new environment and a team that isn't used to revolving around a support. Fortunately doublelift worked with the next best support in western leagues in my eyes for years... so he's going to have that to work with. The concern is that TSM has never really had a support try to lead them... and I don't know how well they'll deal with the change.

Rush is used to doing his own thing though. Look at his entire time in the LCS, he basically just does crap and it works out and his team has to adjust for his successes. That works when you have a hyper-aggressive team and the enemy teams can't deal with chaos... but we've got a lot of players in the NALCS now who DO know how to deal with chaos. Yellowstar, Huni, etc. That's my only concern with regards to C9.

As far as Immortals goes... you're right. They're a group of risky players... but they're a group of risky players whose risks frequently pay off. And Reignover is extremely good at capitalizing on risks taken. But yes, there is some real potential for failure there too. Basically, my thoughts overall is that they're either going to be top 3, or going to fall apart completely. If they can keep communication channels open, I don't see them not being top 3 though.

RNG has a good dynamic going. Although it'll be interesting to see how freeze shakes that dynamic up... and if they can keep morale up. Honestly, I really feel bad for them 'cause they're going to have to deal with the drama that the ignorant masses are going to create for Remilia. Just let her play and stop harassing her people. Holy shit. Yes, she's a girl. No she wasn't born one. Ya, she's kinda cute. WHO THE HELL CARES? Okay, I've got that out of my system now.

KazooeyJan 10, 20161 votes

I think competitive spirit and drive concerning froggen, since he's been around forever, outweigh any sort of bad attitude he has. How can you say Altec is still one of the best adc's? I haven't seen him stream, and I don't know his NA username because it isn't Altec anymore. I haven't seen him perform since the NA lcs so you can never say for sure that he is still one of the best. I've seen Rush on stream with Sneaky a couple times, communication is there and it doesn't take much; here is your guide for communicating with a korean jungler you need to know like 4 words : "Gank", "Push" "Ward" "Help" You're on your way to diamond. Also the fact he was rank 1 on Korea means he doesn't exactly have to type to his solo queue team and find out where they are at every2 seconds, I think he's just really talented and will look for gank opportunities even if his team doesn't call for them. But that's just me.

EleshakaiJan 12, 20162 votes

[{quoted}](name=Love ZYX Hate,realm=NA,application-id=9hBQwnEU,discussion-id=Zm379I1y,comment-id=00120001,timestamp=2016-01-10T17:53:01.931+0000)

I think competitive spirit and drive concerning froggen, since he's been around forever, outweigh any sort of bad attitude he has. How can you say Altec is still one of the best adc's? I haven't seen him stream, and I don't know his NA username because it isn't Altec anymore. I haven't seen him perform since the NA lcs so you can never say for sure that he is still one of the best. I've seen Rush on stream with Sneaky a couple times, communication is there and it doesn't take much; here is your guide for communicating with a korean jungler you need to know like 4 words : "Gank", "Push" "Ward" "Help" You're on your way to diamond. Also the fact he was rank 1 on Korea means he doesn't exactly have to type to his solo queue team and find out where they are at every2 seconds, I think he's just really talented and will look for gank opportunities even if his team doesn't call for them. But that's just me.

No meaning any offense, but if that was TRULY the case, then Froggen's teams wouldn't self-destruct time and time again.

You're right about Altec. We don't know, but he didn't seem like the type of person to slack just because he wasn't in the LCS, and he used to be REALLY good. But he could prove to be really crappy.

That type of communication works for solo queue, but in team competition, you need a bit more than that. Communication has proven time and time again to be a huge factor in teams doing well vs not, and language barriers can often break that. Not necessarily saying that WILL happen, but I think you're underestimating the importance of communication at the professional level.

KetiaXJan 12, 20162 votes

Altec was the best ADC after Doublelift and Sneaky in NA LCS because he was the only consistent member in Gravity. He carried Gravity in a lot of their winning games and on their losing ones Altec was ALWAYS the only threat in the team. By playoffs, teams figured out how to play against Gravity, which was by shutting Altec down early game and it was the main reason why Gravity horribly lost all the playoff games.

The ADC competition definitely gets a tad harder in NA LCS with the addition of Freeze and the potential of WildTurtle resetting his mindset and becoming as good as he was when he first joined TSM, but I think we still need to pay attention to Altec as he's possibly the only rising NA talent right now.

gavalon55Jan 8, 20168 votes

Did Incarnati0n change his name to Jensen?

RiotSpinneliJan 8, 201618 votes

Yes

KaggomeJan 8, 20167 votes

I think TSM has the most solid roaster of all the team it all comes down to chemistry to a whole new one. Also i think IMT has the 2nd most solid lineup very close to TSM it will be a very close fight between the 2 all year long. For the rest i still think TL is pretty good will depend on their ability to keep off tilt. Special mention: DIG was very impressive at IEM cologne for a last min invited team they performed really well against top tier team world wide so in NA they have a legit chance at top 4 imo.

Blind MinionJan 8, 20164 votes

Unfortunately individual skill doesn't always transition linearly to team synergy and wins.

Doge the altJan 8, 20165 votes

Honestly feel like both NA and EU look so much stronger this year. But with all of these roster shuffles they all seem like such new teams

ParkwayyJan 8, 20163 votes

Feels stronger. No one will know until the season starts to unfold though.

Probably feels stronger because so many of the lower tier teams bowed out. But for all we know, they got replaced by more fodder for the top tier teams, like every season.

Cripple OracleJan 8, 20165 votes

OH YEAH! NA just got a whole lot better! So many good teams this split! [slayer-pantheon-popcorn]

NimmerJan 8, 20165 votes

C9
IMT
TSM
CLG
TL
NRG
Renegades
Fox 9/10) TIP/DIG
C9 will have Hai shotcall to victory as usual, might lose out to IMT depending on how well they do and whether or not Balls cleans up his act. Rush will dominate early game and Hai will take over late. Sneaky is always top tier, consistently, and Jensen shows a lot of promise.
IMT is the best new team we have seen since C9 took to the rift in S3. Everyone on the team seems very good, solid organization, shows true promise. I just hope Loco didn't permanently tilt Turtle and he returns to form.
Everyone is hyping up TSM and I think they will get third on mechanical skill alone but it's a brand new team and I think that Doublelift, as talented as he is, is just the most passive aggressive cancer for a team. He won't last after the season. Aphro is a very honest guy and he basically condemned Doublelift, this mechanical god, and got him kicked off the team because he was so toxic EVEN AFTER WINNING THE NA LCS! To be that good and get kicked off of a team after that much success says A LOT about your attitude and personality.
Still a great line-up except for their Doublelift replacement. I would have thought this one through, guys. I don't think Stixx is very good.
Piglet just isn't what he used to be. Maybe he's perma tilted or just passed his prime. But I think Sneaky beating him in the gauntlet repetitively when he's playing his own champ and Sneaky beating him AS his own champ.... that's gotta be rough for a former world champ. He's really not that good and he's the main highlight for the team.
Wild card, maybe they do well, but like most LCS wild cards they will have a mediocre finish.
Lots of potential here, but Remi will be tilted after the first few weeks for sure. You already know it's coming.
Seems like a very hasty compilation of players that they just decided to throw together. Some good players, some okay. Not expecting anything at all from them, really. 9/10) Apollo is terrible. I'm sorry. He does absolutely nothing for your team and in a season that is poised to make Marksmen carry hard like the old days I don't see him fitting the bill for this at all. Apollo is going to carry harder than Double? Sneaky? Piglet? I don't see it happening. Poor Dig. Should have brought have THE PI. Oh and TIP replaced Impact with Mash. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah I don't need to say anymore.

305 GÆBJan 9, 20166 votes

Have you watched the TSM vids? the team actually seems to get along better then any other TSM team before. A fresh start seems to give all of them a fresh new start and they all have the same goal and since double now has a world class player like Bjerg and arguably one of the best shot callers ever in the LCS in Yellowstar with time more then 4 days to mesh and get some type of shotcalling going they look like a very scary team. IMT btw may have some heavy strugles with some language barriers. They are definitely a top team in NA but TSM should be able to come up on top every time on both mechanical skill and shot calling. C9 shot calling will be good as you said do to Hai who is the reason why C9 has been able to be succesful. However, DO not forget that TSM have a mastermind shotcaller of their own who was the shotcaller for a nearly perfect FNC last EU LCS split. And Not only do they have Yellowstar, but they also have Mechanical skills which outclass C9 in every lane except jg and paussibly top depending on how balls performs.

VarilightJan 9, 20163 votes

Bjerg and Jensen are equal in my eyes. Sneaky>Doublelift however. I don't think TSM has C9 as outclassed as you think. I've seen a C9 fan post something and a TSM fan completely negate what he said. As a fan of neither team I have to say C9 and TSM are very close when it comes to the overall game. C9 has the synergy already. They also have shot-calling that IMO is probably a little better than even Yellowstar's shot-calling. Balls is not as much of a problem as people tend to see him as. He is a great team player. He does what he needs to do perfectly when with the team. He doesn't need to be a mechanical god because his synergy with the team makes up for it.

That being said I think that this split is not just between C9 or TSM. Too many teams have too much potential to pick only 2 or 3 top teams. At this point fan bias takes over and chooses who they think will be at the top. I honestly expect to see a bloody split with no team sticking too far out in front of the rest. Should be fun as hell to watch!

SalamandersBenJan 10, 20163 votes

I feel that 6 team could finish 1st this split.

Earl EulrichJan 10, 20164 votes

They also have shot-calling that IMO is probably a little better than even Yellowstar's shot-calling

now that´s just delusional. Hai is brilliant, but Yellowstar has brought several teams to world semifinals+ and last season managed the impossible 100%winrate throughout the EU season (not to mention leading a brand new team to world semi-finals)...

THE KILLER GUYJan 9, 20165 votes

Everyone's debating gender vs sex and I'm wondering why Renegades is shown here as REN and not RNG

JhinfamyJan 9, 20163 votes

https://twitter.com/Renegades/status/685647922742964225 Renegades ‏@Renegades Although we are using REN in the LCS, RNG will be accepted as well, on and off social media for us. For anything LCS related, use REN.