ROCCAT replaces Fnatic at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne
The first of two Intel Extreme Masters offseason tournaments for League of Legends begins this weekend in San Jose. It is followed by another in Cologne later this month. These tournaments aim to give fans a taste of League during the lengthy downtime between League Championship Series seasons. However, the fan vote to decide which teams appear in each event did not go as planned, as another vote winner relinquished their spot.
Fnatic declined their invitation to Cologne today, opening a spot for the next highest vote getter, ROCCAT. The Polish team will now get a chance to showcase their new lineup, featuring Korean mid laner Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook.
Curse Gaming dropped out of the event two weeks ago, citing the need to work out visa issues before the LCS season began. Counter Logic Gaming, who is still listed as a team at the event, hinted that they might have similar problems.
It is unlikely that Fnatic’s withdrawal is due to visa issues. More likely, it is because of the team’s internal problems. With team captain Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez considering leaving the organization, and possibly taking his teammates with him, Fnatic’s future remains unclear. However, they have found a replacement for the departed Martin “Rekkles” Larsson in Jesper “Niels” Svenningsen.
ROCCAT moved their 2014 mid laner Remigiusz “Overpow” Pusch to the top lane and added young marksman Paweł “Woolite” Pruski to their lineup earlier in the offseason. Their mid lane position was still undecided, with former Ninja in Pyjama Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm at the top of the list. Now, it appears that Yoo will get a shot to fit into the Polish lineup.
Yoo is an odd pickup for ROCCAT, considering the team features four Polish players. However, the move is only for this IEM tournament, and an LCS future with Yoo on ROCCAT may still be possible if he fits well with the team and communication issues are not too problematic.
While it’s disappointing that Fnatic won’t be able to showcase their new marksman in Cologne, ROCCAT’s new lineup will certainly keep things fresh.
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