Counter Logic Gaming have waved farewell to long-time mid laner Austin “Link” Shin, who will be replaced by a mid lane by committee approach, consisting of Winterfox’s Eugene “Pobelter” Park and former Team Fusion mid laner Choi “HuHi” Jae-hyun.
For CLG, a change in the mid lane comes as little surprise as Link’s struggles were often highlighted as a significant factor in the teams late season collapse.
Link began his noteworthy career with CLG as a member of the original CLG Black before being elevated to the main roster for the 2013 Spring Split. After his struggles during the 2014 Summer Split, Link narrowly hung onto his job after the team tried out several mid lane candidates.
"It has been a huge pleasure working with the CLG organization, especially George. It has given me a lot of fond memories, but unfortunately the time has come for us to part ways. I'll be making a more in depth post on why I'm leaving elsewhere" said Link via CLG’s website.
CLG seems to be adopting a strategy currently used by SKT T1 in which Faker and Eazyhoon are used interchangeably to incorporate different playstyles between matches. While Pobelter and HiHu won’t be mistaken for Faker and Eazyhoon, CLG hope the flexibility of their newly adopted strategy will give them a much-needed head up on other North American teams.
The first of CLG’s new arrivals is Pobelter, who is leaving the Winterfox team he joined prior to the 2014 Spring Split when they were still known as Evil Geniuses.
"Eugene was a pleasure to work with, and he deserves the right to pursue other opportunities. In my time working with him he showed great dedication to any coaching method I implemented and he was always willing to respect my opinion. I hope he finds success with CLG" said Winterfox head coach Tristan “ElderPeko” Young.
Pobelter’s mid lane roommate will be the Korean HuHi, who was the starting mid laner for the recently disbanded Team Fusion. He also served as a member of Bigfile Miracle, a South Korean team who took part in the HOT6iX Champions Summer 2014.
"I think I have finally got to a point where I can show everyone what I am capable of. I’ll never lose this motivation that I have right now and never gain an ego,” said HuHi via CLG’s website. “I think it can be really good because not only can me and Pobelter discuss a lot about how to play mid and play each other, but also we can take care of each other when one of us gets stressed,” he added.
With the Summer Split around the corner, Winterfox have a few weeks to fill their open mid lane position. Also still open is CLG’s coaching position and perhaps, with this roster change, the vacant role becomes mildly more intriguing than it did yesterday.
