As we approach the end of the decade, every North American League of Legends team has finished up or is finishing up the last additions to its roster for the 2020 LCS season.
There’s been a lot of movement over the past month. Some veteran players left their longtime teams, while other young talents have joined the league, brimming with potential and looking to leave their mark in their debuts.
Some top-tier teams have taken big risks with their rosters. There are also three new teams joining the LCS in 2020: Evil Geniuses, Dignitas, and Immortals. They too will look to make the climb to the top of the standings in hopes of challenging for the title.
But the rich have gotten richer in NA and that quest might not be too easy to complete. Here are our offseason grades for each NA team in the LCS.
**Team Liquid: A+**
-Added Broxah
-Removed Xmithie
It’s easy to call Liquid’s offseason a success right off the bat. They massively improved by adding Broxah to the team while not even losing a single key player in the process. It feels like the 2018 offseason when the team picked up star mid laner Nicolaj Jensen and Jo Yong-in.
Broxah was easily a top-two jungler in Europe and adding his incredible mechanics and great game knowledge to an already-stacked Liquid squad should be perfect for the team’s hunt for an LCS six-peat. What everyone wants to see, however, is if his presence can improve the team’s performances at international events.
The strongest team in NA has gotten even stronger. There are virtually no chinks in Liquid’s armor heading into 2020.
**TSM: A**
-Added Dardoch, Kobbe, Biofrost
-Removed Zven, Smoothie, Grig
If there’s one team that needs a bit of a reboot in 2020, it’s TSM. The perennial NA champions haven’t won the regional championship in two years and haven’t gone to Worlds in that time frame, either.
Budding star AD carry Kobbe will look to take another big leap in a new region next to Biofrost, who’s making his return to TSM after spending a year on CLG. This duo’s success will dictate how far this team goes next year.
The biggest story, however, has to be Dardoch’s return to the LCS. He now has a chance to prove the doubters wrong on one of the best lineups he’s ever had a chance to play with.
TSM has taken some risks with this roster and the upside looks good on paper. The only problem is the possible synergy and communication issues that could arise if things start to go awry. Additionally, the coaching staff hasn’t really gone through any major changes, which could prove troublesome if this lineup doesn’t click.
**Cloud9: B**
-Added Zven, Vulcan, Blaber
-Removed Svenskeren, Sneaky, Zeyzal
Cloud9 was hailed as one of the best organizations at developing young North American talent, and next year, the fruits of their labor will be on display. Every player from the team’s original Academy roster will be starting for an LCS team in 2020.
The only thing, however, is that C9 lost multiple key players this offseason, including Summer MVP Svenskeren, support Zeyzal, and other pieces like Kumo and Goldenglue.
Once again, C9 fans will need to trust the team’s ability to develop and nurture its talent to its full potential. This roster still looks decent on paper, with former TSM ADC Zven joining 20-year-old support Vulcan in the bottom lane. The team has also promoted Academy jungler Blaber to the starting lineup.
C9’s potential upside is high if all their cards fall correctly. They’ll need to lean on their young NA core to get things done next year, though.
**Evil Geniuses: B**
-Added Kumo, Svenskeren, Jiizuke, Bang, Zeyzal
-Removed None
EG will be an interesting story to track next year because their ceiling looks equally as high as their floor looks low. The collection of players on this team has a mixture of decent experience along with some youth and flair. But can this team truly work in terms of style?
Many of these players are looking for bounce-back years, like Jiizuke and Bang, while rookie top laner Kumo is making his debut as a starting LCS top laner. It’ll be up to Svenskeren and Zeyzal to help guide this roster into a successful season.
**Dignitas: D**
-Added Grig, Froggen, Johnsun, Aphromoo
-Removed Lira, Cody Sun, Vulcan
Well, this was a disaster of an offseason for Dignitas fans, wasn’t it? After fans found out about Huni’s contract extension for a reported $2.3 million, people were skeptical about this roster’s future even before its life began.
It’s tough to have any faith in Dignitas’ chances next year. It looked like all the premier talents were swept up in the first week of free agency and Dignitas was left scrambling to find people to fill its roster. The only possible silver lining will be the debut of NA solo queue star Johnsun, who could blossom into a decent ADC talent for the region with some big stage experience.
**CLG: C+**
-Added Crown, Smoothie
-Removed PowerofEvil, Biofrost
Many of the teams in the LCS made roster changes that didn’t really move the needle for fans and analysts alike, including CLG. This team brought in former OpTic Gaming mid laner Crown and former TSM support Smoothie.
These moves didn’t really excite many people since it felt like CLG was moving sideways. Crown might be a bit of an improvement over PowerofEvil and Smoothie will be a good shot caller for the team, but these players might have a hard time pushing CLG higher in the standings.
**100 Thieves: B-**
-Added Meteos, ry0ma, Cody Sun, Stunt
-Removed Amazing, Ryu, Bang, aphromoo
100 Thieves’ lineup looks like it has some potential that could get unlocked with a bit of work and patience. The most exciting part of next year for 100T fans will be the debut of former OCE mid laner ry0ma. The 20-year-old has shown plenty of promise, and with enough time, could blossom into a great starter.
Meteos and Cody Sun have both returned to 100 Thieves, while Ssumday has re-signed with the team. This gives 100T a good mixture of veteran presence with a fiery, young mid laner ready to prove himself in a new region. The future looks bright for 100T fans in the 2020 season.
**Immortals: C-**
-Added sOAZ, Xmithie, Eika, Altec, Hakuho
-Removed Dhokla, Meteos, Crown, Arrow, Big
Immortals was able to win the sweepstakes for talented veteran jungler Xmithie, but the supporting pieces that the team acquired shortly afterward are disappointing. There simply isn’t enough firepower around Xmithie in any of the roles, and as a result, there isn’t too much to get excited about for this team in the next year.
The organization didn’t pick up any young growing talent, either. Instead, Immortals opted for some veteran names that might have hit their peak a couple of seasons ago. Not many people expect too much out of the new-look Immortals, and for good reason.
**FlyQuest: C**
-Added PowerofEvil, IgNar
-Removed Pobelter, Wadid
FlyQuest is yet another organization that’s moved a bit laterally after the 2020 offseason. The team picked up PowerofEvil from CLG, who’s an upgrade from Pobelter, and IgNar is set to make his NA debut in 2020.
But still, FlyQuest looks like a middle of the pack team at best and a bottom three team at worst. These new additions should help them stay afloat, though, and if V1per can make more improvements to his game, they could sneak into a playoff spot this spring.
**Golden Guardians: C-**
-Added Closer, Goldenglue, Keith
-Removed Froggen, Contractz
We aren’t a big fan of moving Keith to the support position, but if you’re in Golden Guardians’ shoes, you have to make things work somehow. This roster has plenty of good pieces, but we aren’t sure how they’ll all fit together.
Closer helped Royal Youth win a regional championship, but the LCS is a much different beast. Closer and FBI will aim to make some big leaps in terms of development, because on paper, it doesn’t look like Golden Guardians will be making big waves any time soon.