The Spring 2020 Starting Rosters for LCS
The beginning of Spring Split is always one of the most exciting times for professional League of Legends. Players that had bad years look to redeem themselves, new faces enter the fold, and the best teams start to solidify their weaknesses in the hopes of an MSI run. In this article, we’ve collected all the roster changes including the new players for every team as well as the status of their previous players. Enjoy!
100 Thieves
- 100 Thieves are starting 2020 with a completely different starting five than the one that ended 2019.
- They’re bringing back Ssumday (played on the academy team during 2019), Cody Sun, and Meteos – 3 of 5 of the players that helped them make their finals run in Spring 2018.
- After a rough 2019, Aphromoo is being replaced by Stunt, who was on 100TA.
- To round out the roster, Ry0ma, a newcomer from the OPL will be starting at mid lane.
Cloud 9
- Despite consistently making it to Worlds, Cloud 9 has had quite the roster transformation, with Licorice and Nisqy as the only remaining members.
- Long-time C9 veteran Sneaky, is being replaced by Zven (formerly of TSM). Sneaky has left the pro scene for now to become an indendent streamer.
- The Summer 2019 MVP, Svenskeren, and Zeyzal are also departing, both going to the new Evil Geniuses team.
- In their places will be Blaber, who will finally see LCS time as a starter, and Vulcan, a rising young Support who just had his first Worlds with CG/DIG.
Counter Logic Gaming
- After having solid years, Ruin, Wiggily, and Stixxay return as core CLG members.
- PoE is being replaced by Crown, who had an MVP-candidate year for Optic in 2019.
- Lastly, Biofrost was traded for Smoothie in a direct Support-for-Support exchange.
Clutch Gaming –> Dignitas
- Despite managing to pull off an impressive run to secure a spot at Worlds, Dignitas has revamped their whole roster with the exception of Huni at Top lane.
- After bouncing between being a starter and academy for TSM, Grig is finally landing a starting role as Dignitas’s Spring Jungler.
- Young NA mid laner, Damonte, was replaced in favor of Froggen, one of professional League’s most experienced veterans.
- Bot lane is interesting as there will be two ADCs, Johnsun and Fenix. Johnsun, formerly of TSMA, is known to have a ton of potential as a young and upcoming player. Fenix, known for his mechanical ability at Mid, will be making the role swap to ADC.
- Lastly, these ADCs will be partnered with Aphroomoo at Support, who’s looking to bounce back with a better year.
Echo Fox –> Evil Geniuses
- Evil Geniuses will be replacing Echo Fox as an LCS team – none of their previous players remain.
- They have an interesting and international mix as they have two young NA players (Kumo and Zeyzal) playing alongside veterans Svenskeren, Bang, and Jiizuke.
- If you’re unfamiliar with Kumo (formerly known as Shiro), he briefly started in place of Licorice (who was having wrist pains) and played well, winning three of four matches.
Flyquest
- Flyquest remains mostly intact with three remaining players, V1per, Santorin, and WildTurtle.
- The newcomers, PowerOfEvil and IgNar, make for an intriguing duo as both were formerly teammates on Misfits during their run where they almost beat SKT at Worlds.
Golden Guardians
- Veteran Top laner, Hauntzer, and last year’s rookie from Oceania, FBI, return to GGS as the only starters.
- Closer, their new Jungler from the Turkish Championship League (TCL), joins to fill in their second import slot.
- After years developing in Cloud 9’s system, Goldenglue is getting is shot as a legit starter. We’re rooting for him!
- Lastly, Keith, who has been an ADC veteran as both a starter and academy player throughout his career, will be making a shift to the Support role. Check out the video below for more details.
Optic –> Immortals
- Similar to Evil Geniuses, Immortals are returning to League of Legends with a brand new roster.
- With players like sOAZ, Xmithie, and Hakuho, this team brings a ton of experience to the table.
- Altec, who was a free agent in 2019, spent the year training in the Korean solo queue ladder, reaching 795 LP.
- The last addition to the roster is Eika, who has spent 2019 as part of Team-LDLC, of the French league, La Ligue Française (LFL).
- To learn more, check out the video to hear explanations for signing every player from IMT’s general manager, Keaton Cryer, and their head coach, Zaboutine.
Team Liquid
- Even after four consecutive LCS championships and a finals appearance at MSI, Team Liquid is still tweaking their roster to improve their international showings.
- In an attempt to improve their early game, they’ve picked up Broxah from Fnatic, in the hopes that he’ll bring more of a carry style to TL – an angle they previously lacked due to Xmithie’s more controlled playstyle.
- The rest of the roster remains with Impact, Jensen, Doublelift, and CoreJJ, all contenders for the top 1-2 spots in their roles within the LCS.
Team Solo Mid
- Will this year finally mark the return to greatness for TSM?
- After the failed experiments of the past two years, only Broken Blade and Bjergsen remain as the starters from 2019.
- Another player making a return is Biofrost, who was replaced alongside Doublelift for Zven and Mithy. Does Regi regret that offseason move? Probably, but it sort of made sense at the time.
- We all know the big question mark for TSM has always been their Jungler. Well, TSM fans have been begging for him for years, and Dardoch is finally here. Hopefully, he’ll be able to complete his redemption arc.
- Finally rounding out TSM’s starters is Kobbe, one of the top EU ADCs in recent years. He’s been in better form than Zven is recent times but could be comparable to Zven when he originally came to TSM. It’s a sidegrade in the aspect but perhaps Kobbe’s personality may mesh better within the team.
All Roster Changes
Thanks for reading! We can’t wait for the new LCS season to start and we’re looking forward to seeing how these roster shifts pan out. Let us know in the comments below who you think made the best roster changes.
