Esports Update: November and December are now the traditional months when moves are made in preparation for the upcoming season. This year was no different and new team compositions point to a number of sides to watch in 2018.
Team Liquid overhaul their roster
After an incredibly disappointing ninth-place finish within the Summer Split of the North American LCS, Team Liquid come into 2018 with astronomical expectations given their complete roster overhaul.
The basis of Liquid’s new line-up is the trio of Xmithie, Pobelter and Olleh, who played on Immortals last split. Completing the roster with Impact, formerly of Cloud9, and Doublelift, formerly of TSM, Liquid look to be a lock to be a top two team.
The only concern for Liquid is the overall quality of teams within the LCS has greatly improved, with every outfit looking competitive for the New Year. With such a star-studded roster, anything outside of reaching the Finals would be a massive disappointment for Liquid though.
Peanut added to Longzhu
Longzhu had a stunning Summer Split within Korea’s LCK, coming out of nowhere to dethrone SKT as the number one team before losing 0-3 in the Playoffs of Worlds to Samsung Galaxy.
Longzhu came into the off-season with questions about which members they would be able to retain, yet not only have they kept four players, but they have arguably upgraded their Jungle position with the addition of Peanut. Previously thought of as one of the best Junglers in the world while on the ROX Tigers, Peanut struggled to find his identity at SK Telecom. Peanut appeared to lose his aggression and dominant early-game focused mindset while on SKT, something he will look to regain with Longzhu.
The pairing of Khan in the Top lane alongside Peanut is one of the best topside duos in the entire world, with an emphasis on early game domination. If Peanut has any resemblance to his old self, which he appeared to have while playing for LZ in the KeSPA Cup in December (where they finished second), then Longzhu will be a dominant force within the Spring Split.
Fnatic should have a strong crew
Fnatic of the European LCS will look to build on their 2017 success with the addition of Hylissang to the line-up. Previously a long-standing member of Unicorns of Love, Hylissang is one of the best supports the EU LCS has to offer. This creates an incredibly powerful bottom side of the map for Fnatic, allowing the other members such as Broxah to play around that strength.
Fnatic may not immediately reach the same heights as the Summer Split, where they finished third in the Playoffs, but a higher ceiling of prolonged success is certainly on the cards. Fnatic, especially in what appears to be a weakened EU LCS in terms of overall talent, should be a top contender for first place at the EU LCS 2018 Spring Split.
Clutch Gaming a new entity
The former core of Team EnVyUs, who were not selected for franchising within the NA LCS and subsequently disbanded, are now the basis of Clutch Gaming, who appear to be a dark horse entering 2018.
Joining LirA, Apollo and Hakuho are Solo and Febiven; players who are much more consistent than the previous members of EnVyUs, in particular Seraph.
Team EnVyUs, despite having clearly the least productive Top laner within the league, still managed an impressive sixth place finish with an 8-10 record in the Summer Standings last season before falling to CLG in the Playoffs. At the core of any of EnVy’s success was the quality play of the Jungler and Bottom lane, both of whom remain within the Clutch Gaming line-up.
While Febiven is more of a known entity, Solo has a bit of a question mark over him. Most recently playing with Gold Coin United within the Challenger Scene, Solo appears to be a player whose play is based around making minimal mistakes, while having a fairly low ceiling compared to other Top laners in the region such as Impact, Ssumday, etc. If all goes to plan for Clutch Gaming, Solo will have limited need to outperform the enemy Top laner, as the other members of CG such as LirA guide the team to victory. Look for CG to vie for a playoff spot within the Summer Split.
So, here are four teams with significant changes and it will be instructive to see how well they do in the early going. Most teams take some time to gel and it would not be a surprise if that is also the situation in these cases, but overall the future looks positive for this quartet.
