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The NA professional league, the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), has begun its Summer 2022 season. It has had a ridiculous off-season, with many teams still trying to find that groove they need to qualify for this year's Worlds Championship.
Many teams have decided to revamp their rosters for Summer 2022, which resulted in multiple players being unable to find a team, as well as the return of some players that didn't play last split.
The LCS, being a major region, has three spots for Worlds. 10 teams compete for those slots, meet each of them here:
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses come straight out of the recent Mid-Season Invitational last May. As such, they have not reported any changes to their roster. They also hold the title of LCS Spring 2022 Champions, a title they earned after swiftly eliminating 100 Thieves in the finals last season.
- Top Lane: Jeong “Impact” Eon0young
- Jungle: Kacper “Inspired” Słoma
- Mid Lane: Joseph “Jojopyun” Pyun
- Bot Lane: Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki
- Support: Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme
The NA homegrown talent reached until the Semi-Finals in MSI 2022, before being sent to the airport by LPL team Royal Never Give Up after a 0-3 loss. This time, alongside the Rising Star Danny, the Geniuses will once again try to prove their prowess internationally.
100 Thieves
100 Thieves were the favorites to win last Season – an expectation that was curbed by EG. Despite falling on the last hurdle, 100 Thieves remains a strong squad overall and the org recognizes this. No changes to their starting roster has been made, but their substitute top laner Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij has been relegated to 100 Thieves Academy.
- Top Lane: Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho
- Jungle: Can “Closer” Çelik
- Mid Lane: Felix “Abbedagge” Braun
- Bot Lane: Victor “FBI” Huang
- Support: Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun
Team Liquid
Team Liquid also made some huge changes prior to Spring 2022, and has reported no changes to their roster. These changes also had fans betting on TL winning last season, but it seems like the new imports needed a little bit more time to meld together. Perhaps this Summer we will see a more solid… Liquid.
- Top Lane: Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau
- Jungle: Lucas Tao Kilmer “Santorin” Larsen
- Mid Lane: Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg
- Bot Lane: Steven “Hans sama” Liv
- Support: Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in
Cloud9
Cloud9 had an amazing Group Stage run last season after making major changes to their roster, despite being in the center of multiple controversies involving ex-Head Coach Nick “LS” DeCesare. Alongside LS, he brought with him talents from Korea, notably top laner Park “Summit” Woo-tae. Unfortunately for C9, the rest of the LCS teams has had their number by the time playoffs came, and got eliminated by eventual champions Evil Geniuses in a 3-0 match.
- Top Lane: Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami
- Jungle: Robert “Blaber” Huang
- Jungle (substitute): Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen
- Mid Lane: Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen
- Bot Lane: Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol
- Support: Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen
In Summer 2022, Fudge will return to the top lane with the return of veteran mid laner Jensen. Zven will finally see the Rift again, but as a support alongside Berserker. However, Berserker seems like he will not be present for the first few weeks of LCS Summer 2022, as he is experiencing some passport troubles.
Summit and support Jonah “Isles” Rosario has not been reported to be playing for any team this split.
Golden Guardians
Golden Guardians has been stuck in limbo for the past few seasons, forever barely not making the cut to playoffs. For Summer, GG is only making one change, but the aid of the veteran might be the secret sauce that the squad needed to finally make it far.
- Top Lane: Eric “Licorice” Ritchie
- Jungle: Milo “Pridestalkr” Wehnes
- Mid Lane: Nicholas Antonio “Ablazeolive” Abbott
- Bot Lane: Trevor “Stixxay” HAyes
- Support: Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung
Stixxay, previously a Positional Coach, has taken the place of Lawrence “Lost” Hui. Stixxay is quite the seasoned player, being in the professional scene since 2015 and built his name from the ground up as a member of Counter Logic Gaming. On the other hand, Lost isn't lost as he has found a home in Immortals.
FlyQuest
FlyQuest, much like Golden Guardians, have had an unflattering Spring. With a top laner swap, FlyQuest hopes to do a lot better this split and reclaim their former international glory.
- Top Lane: Philip “Philip” Zeng
- Jungle: Brandon Joel “Josedeodo” Villegas
- Mid Lane: Loïc “toucouille” Dubois
- Bot Lane: Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen
- Support: Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black
Their previous top laner, Colin “Kumo” Zhao, has taken up Philip's spot in FlyQuest Academy.
Dignitas
Dignitas is also making some changes in the top lane, letting go of Aaron “FakeGod” Lee in place for an import.
- Top Lane: Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jon
- Jungle: Kim “River” Dong-woo
- Mid Lane: Ersin “Blue” Gören
- Bot Lane: Toàn “Neo” Trần
- Support: Vincent “Biofrost” Wang
With a Korean top-jungle duo, we might see a better synergy in the top side of the map as some of the communication barrier is removed in that area. Gamsu started his professional esports career in 2014, before retiring in 2016 to pursue competitive Overwatch. He went on to play in the Overwatch League until 2021, when he made his return to Overwatch by joining 100 Thieves' third team 100 Thieves Next. In this move, he returns to his former org Dignitas, as well as to the LCS.
FakeGod has not been reported to play for any team this split.
Counter Logic Gaming
Following the trend of top lane swaps is Counter Logic Gaming, who swapped out their previous top laner Thomas “Jenkins” Tran.
- Top Lane: Niship “Dhokla” Doshi
- Jungle: Juan Arturo “Contractz” Garcia
- Mid Lane: Cristian “Palafox” Palafox
- Bot Lane: Fatih “Luger” Güven
- Support: Philippe “poome” Lavoie-Giguere
Jenkins will play for the CLG Academy team, taking up the spot that Dhokla vacated.
TSM
The eternal meme, TSM. They have had a rough split, both on the Rift and outside. Following controversy surrounding their CEO Andy “Reginald” Dinh, as well as communication problems cited by multiple members of their roster, TSM was at the end of many scalding words last split. This time, they will try to reclaim their org's lost honor, perhaps by qualifying and excelling in Worlds.
- Top Lane: Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon
- Jungle: Mingyi “Spica” Lu
- Mid Lane: Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang
- Bot Lane: Edward “Tactical” Ra
- Support: Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jie
- Support (substitute): Choi “Mia” Sang-in
Maple has spent half of his professional career in Flash Wolves, before playing for teams in the PCS (previously LMS) and LPL, such as Suning Gaming, Anyone's Legend, and PSG Talon. This move is Maple's debut in the Western region, and on paper he seems like a perfect fit in TSM. But only time will tell if he is enough to stop the dumpster fire that the organization is currently suffering from.
Ji “Takeover” Hyeun-min, TSM's previous mid laner, has been relegated to TSM Academy.
Immortals
Immortals was tied for last along with TSM, and their Spring 2022 was surely nothing to brag about. They were unable to find many wins, only earning 5 throughout the Group Stage. While IMT has found themselves a solid bot lane, the whole shuffle seems like a downgrade overall.
- Top Lane: Mohamed “Revenge” Kaddoura
- Jungle: Shane “Kenvi” Espinoza
- Mid Lane: Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage
- Bot Lane: Lawrence Sze Yuy “Lost” Hui
- Support: Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun
LCS veteran Jason “Wildturtle” Tran was unable to find a home after Immortals let him go, and will therefore not play for any team this season. Ignar returns to the LCS after not having a team last split.
LCS Spring 2022 Schedule
The LCS opening weekend schedule can be found below:
The 2022 #LCS Summer Split kicks off tomorrow!
Which match this weekend looks the most hype? #LCS10 pic.twitter.com/Dj2whreydC
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 16, 2022
For the full schedule, check it out at lolesports.com.
For more League of Legends news, click here.
