2016 NA LCS: Everything you need to know
The North America 2016 Spring Season begins on 16 January after an off-season that has seen some of the most exciting and interesting roster changes in the history of the eSport, with a wealth of imported talent and players switching to their biggest rivals to the dismay of long-term fans.
The goal this year for NA teams has to be putting together squads capable of competing at the World Championship. All three North American teams failed to qualify from their groups at Worlds and for a region as big as this – particularly in terms of sponsorship and size of the fandom – that is simply not good enough.
Last year’s NA Spring Split made things appear as though 2015 would be business as usual, with TSM and Cloud 9 leading the charge with 13-5 and 12-6 records respectively. Meanwhile, CLG were unlucky to place third after sharing a 12-6 record with Cloud 9 before losing a tiebreaker.
Moving into the play-offs, CLG’s traditional problems resurfaced (an inability to translate good seasonal form into a performance during the play-offs), while TSM and Cloud 9 continued to look like the uncontested best two teams in North America.
This was of course turned on its head in the Summer Split, where CLG finally showed their potential and won their first NA title, beating arch-rival TSM in the final. Cloud 9 meanwhile collapsed worryingly in the Summer season and only made it to Worlds thanks to some roster fiddling and an unlikely unbeaten run through the regional qualifiers.
Spring Split Format
The format for the Spring Split is a continuation of the LCS format from last season before big changes are implemented prior to the Summer Split.
As such, it’s a nine week league, using double round robin rules (every team plays each other twice). The teams who place 1-6 will then move into a play-off bracket, with the teams who finished 1st and 2nd receiving byes to the semis. In the quarter-finals, 3rd will play 6th and 4th will battle against 5th.
The team who finish 10th are automatically relegated to the Challenger Series, with the teams finishing 8th and 9th having to play in the Summer promotion tournament against the 2nd and 3rd best placed Challenger teams. The side who finish seventh neither qualify for the play-offs nor have to play in the promotion tournament, but will still get to participate in the next LCS Split.
Teams are playing for Championship Points and pride in the Spring Split, with 90 points on offer to the top placed side, going down in 20 point increments to the 5th/6th placed sides, who earn 10 CP each. It’s expected that the winning side will also earn an invite to the Mid-Season Invitational international tournament (although the event has not yet been announced for this year).
Let’s have a closer look at the teams:
TSM
By signing star ADC Doublelift from their long-term rivals CLG, TSM kicked off a summer of major roster surgery for almost every NA team in explosive fashion. TSM only retain their excellent Mid Laner Bjergsen from their previous line-up.
Legendary Support YellOwStaR leaves behind EU champions Fnatic, while former SK Gaming Jungler Svenskeren crosses the Atlantic too. They are joined by Hauntzer in the Top Lane, a long-time Challenger Series player hoping to step up to the big time.
While it can often be risky to back a team of star players thrown together for their first season, this TSM line-up is possibly the strongest that North America has ever seen.
EU LCS Summer Split MVP YellOwStaR is no stranger to leading a team of strangers to glory, having done just that with Fnatic in Spring 2015. However, it is Doublelift who will be key to any success, boasting a KDA of 5.04 and 79% kill participation in the Summer Split for former team CLG.
Cloud9
Cloud9 have signed just one player for their first-team roster since their struggles at Worlds – Team Impulse Jungler Rush. The NA LCS’ Summer Split MVP is a terrifying presence in the jungle, averaging the most kills per game (3.95) and the highest gold per minute of any Jungler in the 2015 Summer Split.
Meanwhile, their shot-caller Hai moves into the Support role, which has been vacated by the retiring LemonNation. Their success will likely hinge on Hai’s ability to perform in his third different role in two years. The former Mid Laner moved to Jungle last season to steady a sinking ship, largely on the strength of his decision-making and ability to co-ordinate his team-mates. Now he has been asked to move into an unfamiliar Support role while performing the same duties. Time will tell whether this will work out.
Counter Logic Gaming
After losing Doublelift to TSM and replacing Mid Laner Pobelter with their substitute HuHi, CLG fans fear that they might return to their old ways of not quite being good enough to challenge for NA success. New ADC Stixxay will have to deal with the pressure of replacing all-time NA great Doublelift, while HuHi needs to show fans that allowing Pobelter to leave was the right decision.
Top Laner Darshan (formerly known as ZionSpartan) had a tough time at Worlds, but has shown he is one of the more consistent North American Top Laners over the years, boasting a KDA of 4.17 during 2015’s Summer Split.
Echo Fox
Echo Fox are a new team owned by former NBA player and actor Rick Fox, who purchased Team Gravity’s LCS spot for the Spring Split.
Two of the roster’s players will be very familiar to western fans of LoL, with legendary Mid Laner Froggen moving to NA, while Yuri ‘Keith’ Jew finally gets a starting spot in the LCS after impressive performances as a substitute for both Team Liquid and TSM.
They are joined by Big (formerly known as Baby), Hard and Korean kfo.
Froggen’s 2015 Summer Split KDA of 3.2 belies the fact he was in an underperforming side, but if Echo Fox are to succeed, he’ll need to keep on wearing those carry pants of his.
Immortals
Another new side – this time after Team 8’s spot was purchased – Immortals quickly assembled a top-tier line-up.
Huni and Reignover move after a very successful season with Fnatic, while Pobelter, WildTurtle and Adrian are all veterans of the NA scene.
Huni is the player to watch, with him and Reignover usually combining in the early-game to deadly effect last year (their first blood participation was 55% and 50% respectively during the Summer Split). Huni is a mercurial talent, hugely gifted at the game, but unpredictable and occasionally prone to tilting.
However, if he and Reignover can dominate the top side of the map as they did for Fnatic, Immortals could well challenge for the top spot.
NRG eSports
Another fresh team for 2016, NRG were formed when two co-owners of the NBA side Sacramento Kings bought Team Coast’s spot in the LCS.
Their roster includes former world champion Impact in the Top Lane. He’s joined by Korean veteran GBM, the only Coast player to retain his spot in KonKwon, rookie Jungler Moon and former WinterFox ADC Altec.
Impact’s Summer Split KDA of 5.43 demonstrate that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Renegades
Winning promotion from the NA Challenger Series, Renegades are fan favourites thanks to their affiliation with popular analyst and OGN caster MonteCristo and their roster of veterans.
Alex Ich was the driving force behind Moscow Five at their peak and is a fearless presence in the Mid Lane. Jungler Crumbzz and talented ADC Freeze are no strangers to the LCS either. Support Remi and RF Legendary both make their LCS debuts, rounding out an interesting roster.
Team Dignitas
Team Dignitas have been part of the NA LCS since its conception, yet they usually hover around the middle of the pack. This year they’ll hope to make some waves with former Impulse ADC Apollo boasting one of NA’s highest KDAs last year with 7.29 in the Summer Season. Mid-table mediocrity once more looks likely for Dignitas though as significant improvements have been made to the teams above them.
Team Impulse
Impulse narrowly missed out on a trip to Worlds last year, while losing their Mid Laner XiaoWeiXiao to a suspension certainly didn’t help matters. With their entire roster leaving except for substitute Gate, they are poised for relegation.
ADC Mash is the most recognizable name in the line-up, having been part of the LoL professional scene since 2011. During his last stint in the LCS for Team Coast during Spring 2015, he racked up a KDA of 3.78
Team Liquid
Team Liquid missed out on Worlds narrowly after finishing in first place in the regular 2015 Summer Split – they managed only 3rd during the play-offs, forcing them into the regional qualifiers. Despite a bye into the final of that competition, Cloud9’s momentum carried them to the World Championship at Liquid’s expense.
New Top Laner Lourlo is the only roster change, while Locodoco joins the coaching staff. ADC Piglet is the one to watch with an astounding 9.86 KDA in the 2015 Summer Split.
Conclusion
To conclude, this is shaping up to be a very competitive split for the NA LCS. TSM look very strong indeed, but they are not the only team to come into the season with an imposing roster.
Immortals could well be the not-so-surprise package, boasting two of the players that turned EU’s Fnatic into such a dominant force last year, while the rest of their team are no strangers to winning.
Cloud9, Liquid and CLG will all want to start 2016 strongly as form and confidence are likely to be vital during the Spring Season as teams hope that their new rosters can gel quickly.
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