Clutch Gaming Makes Major Roster Shakeup in NA LCS
Clutch Gaming had an impressive run in the NA LCS semifinals during their first competitive split last spring. However, they have been struggling in the NA LCS Summer Split, currently tied for eighth place in both the standings and power rankings. In an effort to turn things around, Clutch has announced a major shakeup to their starting roster.
Starting jungler Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo, ADC Apollo Price, and support Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent have been benched. They will be replaced by Galen “Moon” Holgate, Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin, and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme in the same positions.
Clutch fans had suspicions when LirA, Apollo, and Hakuho played in the Academy team’s games yesterday, but it is still a significant surprise this late in the season. LirA was the foundation of the team and the driver of their early-game strategy, while Apollo and Hakuho had standout moments this year. Apollo even made key objective steals and Hakuho had a standout performance in the playoff victory over TSM.
Fortunately, Clutch still has experienced players on their roster. Veteran mid laner Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten and rookie top laner Colin “Solo” Earnest remain on the team. Moon has been playing in the LCS for years and had a successful season with FlyQuest last year before joining the Academy squad. Piglet, a former world champion with SK Telecom T1, joins the team after facing challenges in recent years in the LCS.
The wild card in this new roster is Vulcan. He and Piglet have performed well in the Academy league, but competing at the LCS level is a whole different challenge. Vulcan will have an opportunity to prove himself tomorrow when Clutch takes on the league-leading 100 Thieves at 7pm CT.
