Some major changes to the League of Legends landscape have taken place in two short months! This league overview series will get you caught up on the major takeaways as well as which teams/players you should keep your eyes on. So sit back, relax, and get ready for the return of pro League of Legends!

 

Opening Day:

The Spring Series will begin on Jan 14th and run through March 6th. 

 

New Teams: 

Team BDS has purchased the franchise spot of Schalke 04.

 

Major Roster Moves: 

Like in most years, almost all teams made significant shifts in rosters. Some big ones to highlight are below:

  • 100 Thieves: There are no changes to this lineup. They are running back the same five starters.
  • Cloud9: Two major additions to this lineup for this split. They brought in the Korean superstar Summit to take over top lane duties (Fudge has moved into the mid lane) and they brought in Isles to play support alongside Zven. 
  • Counter Logic Gaming: After their debacle at the end of the summer split, we saw a complete overhaul to this squad. They brought in former TL top laner (Jenkins) and the other major highlight is the addition of Contractz in the jungle. CLG is hoping that these two will bring in enough play making to turn this historic organization around. 
  • Dignitas: Dignitas saw some shifting on their roster but none more hotly debated as the European import in Blue (mid). He was not a stand out by any means in 2021 and a lot of Dig fans were upset with the import slot being filled with a more lack luster player. They also added seasoned vet in Biofrost (support) to help shotcall in game and guide this younger team. 
  • Evil Geniuses: The high note addition to this squad was former Rogue jungler Inspired. He brings a sense of consistency that players like Danny will need. They also filled the mid vacancy with an academy player Jojopyun. While a risk for EG who was so close to making the World Championships in 2021, it should be noted that EG has one of the most robust talent development programs in the league. 
  • FlyQuest: FQ has added a great veteran and LCS legend in the support role with aphromoo. I think the hope here is that he will help the younger ADC in Johnsun continue to develop as well as help the European mid laner import (toucouille) transition into playing in the LCS.
  • Golden Guardians: The most exciting addition is the European jungler brought in named Pridestalkr. He is aggressive and will help set the tone for GG. Lost also joins from TSM in the ADC role, so that presence of a player who has played deep in the LCS playoffs will help a lot. 
  • Immortals: Immortals pick up two huge names in PowerOfEvil (mid) and WildTurtle (ADC) for their lineup in 2021. Both are strong veterans with long histories of success. 
  • Team Liquid: TL only brought back their support (CoreJJ) and jungler (Santorin) in 2022. They added European superstars in Bwipo (top) and Hans sama (ADC) as well as the LCS legend Bjergsen to round out the squad. 
  • Team Solomid: TSM added the former TL ADC (Tactical) to the roster for a boost in consistency in the bottom lane. In addition to that they picked up two LPL academy players/subs in TT Young’s mid (Keaiduo) and FunPlus Phoenix’s support sub (Shenyi).

 

Players to Watch: 

These are some of my projected big performers for this upcoming year and some of my reasoning why. Big things should be in the future of each of these players. 

  • Summit (C9): Cloud9 failed to get the team they wanted together (thanks to Team Liquid) and they began to find other superstars to round out their lineup and they fell on Korean top laner, Summit. Summit was wildly aggressive in lane and could easily take over a series for Liiv SANDBOX in the LCK. Arguably, he is moving to a region with far less competition in the top lane and we could see him really explode and take form. 
  • Bjergsen (TL): I didn’t want to add all of TL (but I easily could have) but there isn’t a story line that is deeper and more compelling than the return of Bjergsen. He is one of the most storied players in LCS history and his return (especially a return that isn’t to TSM) will captivate everyone. He has been bootcamping in Korean for a while and I do not expect any rust on him as he enters the beginning of 2022.
  • Pridestalkr (GG): I don’t have a ton of faith in the lineup that Golden Guardians have put together. The exception is their topside of the map with Licorice in the top lane and Pridestalkr in the jungle. I think he could be one of the most influential imports brought in this year. Yes we see people like Summit, Hans Sama, and Bwipo join the LCS this year. All of those pieces are just that, a piece of larger lineups. Pridestalkr will have the opportunity to hard carry this team into the LCS playoffs with his individual skill alone. Definitely watch out here.  

 

Projected Standings for Spring:

  1. Team Liquid
  2. 100 Thieves
  3. Cloud9
  4. Immortals
  5. Evil Geniuses
  6. Team Solomid
  7. Golden Guardians
  8. FlyQuest
  9. Counter Logic Gaming
  10. Dignitas