FORG1VEN: Taking a Gambit

With a new Split comes new stars and new stories. Here is one of the players you should look out for in Summer 2015! Team: Gambit Gaming Region: Europe Position: AD Carry For a while during the 2015 EU LCS Spring Split, FORG1VEN looked to be untouchable. In the first four weeks of the Split he barely died, never giving up more than a death in any game. He and Christoph "nRated" Seitz played an aggressive, lane dominant style that other bot lane duos in Europe just couldn't seem to figure out. While AD carries that excelled in bullying lanes and snowballing the mid game were in vogue, he was, yes, by far the best AD carry around. But then, the Cinderhulk meta hit, and he couldn't just blow up anyone that came across his path. With tanks constantly roaming the jungle, top lane, and occasionally even mid, he and SK Gaming struggled during the Playoffs, going down to Unicorns of Love in the Semifinals. It certainly didn't help that UoL aimed bans at his Lucian and his Graves in all five games, either. After an entire Split of sitting on top of the EU ladder, SK Gaming and FORG1VEN parted ways during the off-season. Quickly, Gambit Gaming snapped the star AD carry up, hoping to utilize his immense talent to earn themselves a bid to the 2015 World Championship.

A new team, a new run at Worlds

"I think Gambit are in a good spot for making Worlds," says FORG1VEN. Indeed, Gambit Gaming finished in 4th Place last split with Kristoffer "P1noy" Pedersen holding down the AD carry position. However, much like SK, they were knocked out of the Playoffs by eventual EU Playoff Finalists Unicorns of Love. However, with the veteran leadership of Eduard "Gosu Pepper" Abgaryan and Danil "Diamond" Reshetnikov, FORG1VEN hopes that his assimilation into the ranks of Gambit will catapult them to greater heights during the Summer Split. "Certainly [Gambit brings] responsibility, expectations, excitement and motivation," he says of his teammates. FORG1VEN is concerned as to where he'll fall in the role of the team, however. "I don't think I can judge right now what I bring to the team. We have to play some games to see our status," he says. Gambit may not be quite as aggressive as SK Gaming was in their prime, something that might take some getting used to for the hyper aggressive AD carry. Plus, he'll be entering the Summer Split in the midst of the tank meta, which could only exacerbate criticisms surrounding his champion pool.

He must go deeper

We know that FORG1VEN has the mechanics to be one of the best players in the world. But the question remains: does he have the champion pool? FORG1VEN is more than aware of those concerns. "I have displayed a pretty specific pattern into picking champions," he admits. However, he is confident that his time on Gambit will result in a more varied play style. "I am always going to play what I believe is the best for my strengths and deals with opponents' weaknesses, and fits what the team needs, or what the team asks me to play." As the Spring Split progressed, we saw him bring the likes of Caitlyn and Tristana onto the Rift, showing that he is willing to pull out late-game scaling champions when his preferred mid-game spiking champs are taken from him. He found more success on Caitlyn, as he could continue to bully out lanes effectively due to her long range, but struggled on Tristana. It remains to be seen if he'll be able to shore up some of the weaknesses in his champion pool. It's not like he's afraid to try out new champions on the Rift, either. "Just as a statistic, I have played more than ten champions in official matches," he says. What's more, with the aggressive Gosu Pepper at his side, he may have found a support who can match his ability to win lanes even harder than before, then scale hard into the late game. With the veteran support formerly known as "Edward" laning with him, Gambit Gaming may just have the best bot lane in Europe. FORG1VEN isn't ready to say that definitively yet, though. "I think it will be the most competitive AD split out of all three I have played," he says. He is confident in his new lane though, saying, "All my support pairings have proven to be really good alongside me. I don't think Edward is going to change this tradition." Despite not taking the EU championship home to SK, FORG1VEN doesn't feel like he has anything to prove. He simply want to play his best. "I will continue to display the same level of performance for my 3rd total Split," he says. "I will try to be someone worth mentioning for when you speak about ADCs." As the Summer Split warms up, FORG1VEN is going to be settling into his new roster. Will he be able to continue the trend of bot lane dominance on with Gosu Pepper at his side? Keep your eyes on Lolesports to find out. And for more players to watch in 2015 Summer, click right here.

Related Articles

• Dexter brings a new element to the EU LCS
• The new Incarnati0n