North American squads have undergone fewer changes than their European counterparts, but almost no team has gone without roster swaps. With the NA LCS starting up on Friday, it's high time we break down each team's changes during the offseason and evaluate their chances for success in the coming split.
Top: Hauntzer
Jungle: Svenskeren
Mid: Bjergsen
ADC: WildTurtle
Support: Biofrost
The perennial favorites of North America survived the offseason with their roster mostly intact. The biggest change they suffered was simply swapping from one world-class ADC to another, meaning that TSM is certainly still one of the best teams in North America. Their competition will be much stiffer this Split, but whereas other teams have to deal with new players, TSM still have their synergy built up.
Top: Balls
Jungle: Moon
Mid: Hai
ADC: Altec
Support: LemonNation
Though they’re technically a Challenger team who just joined the LCS, make no mistake – FlyQuest is anything but rookie. Their roster is about as close to the classic Cloud 9 as it gets, featuring three members of the original squad alongside veterans Moon and Altec. It looks good on paper, but most of their team haven’t played outside of the Challenger scene in a long time. Success will be dependent on how well the vets adapt to the new scene.
Top: Looper
Jungle: Akaadian
Mid: Froggen
ADC: Keith
Support: Gate
No matter how often they get knocked down, Echo Fox just keeps on trucking. Their unwavering faith has been rewarded with some new acquisitions, including RNG’s old toplaner Looper and Challenger player Akaadian. It may not be the best squad in the league, but Echo Fox is certainly looking to make this year better than last.
Top: Impact
Jungle: Contractz
Mid: Jensen
ADC: Sneaky
Support: Smoothie
Cloud 9 has stayed remarkably intact since Worlds, keeping the majority of their veteran talent while picking up a rookie jungler for their starting roster. Contractz is the biggest question mark on the roster, as the current meta means that he’ll have to be the backbone for the team. No pressure – but then again, it’s not like C9’s lanes have gotten any weaker.
Top: Seraph
Jungle: Lira
Mid: Ninja
ADC: Apollo
Support: Hakuho
Though their first split in the LCS went well, Envy has quickly become a middle-of-the-pack team, finding some success but never managing to stay relevant. Their new roster this season includes two recent additions, Apollo and Lira, to hopefully give the team a much-needed boost going into the Spring Split.
Top: Lourlo
Jungle: Reignover
Mid: Goldenglue
ADC: Piglet
Support: Matt
While Team Liquid released a lot of talent at the end of the 2016 season, they’ve acquired just as much since then. Reignover’s addition to the team is sure to give Liquid a huge boost, especially as they managed to retain world-class ADC Piglet. With the current jungle-dominated meta, Reignover’s addition may be what Liquid needs to break their fourth-place curse and take a Split Championship.
Top: Ssumday
Jungle: Chaster
Mid: Keane
ADC: LOD
Support: Xpecial
Dignitas has returned to the LCS – albeit in a roundabout way – and their new roster looks fantastic. A mix of domestic talent and international stars means that Dig can’t be overlooked going into the Spring Split – though as always, it’ll be interesting to see how their players mesh with each other.
Top: Zig
Jungle: Inori
Mid: Ryu
ADC: Arrow
Support: Adrian
It’s too early to call it a comeback yet, but Phoenix1 certainly look like they’ll be rising from the ashes this split. With three high-profile acquisitions in the offseason, Phoenix1’s roster looks downright deadly to face on paper. Performance as a team will be key though – it wouldn’t be the first time a super-squad has fallen apart once the LCS starts.
Top: Darshan
Jungle: Xmithie
Mid: Huhi
ADC: Stixxay
Support: Aphromoo
Despite a disappointing end to their Worlds dreams, CLG have come back to the NA LCS prepared. Their roster hasn’t changed a bit in the offseason, but it’s not like they’re short on talent. If anything, they look like the strongest team in North America at the start of the season.
Top: Flame
Jungle: Dardoch
Mid: Pobelter
ADC: Cody Sun
Support: Olleh
Despite the fracturing of their roster at the end of the Summer Split, the Immortals have recovered quite nicely. Flame and Cody Sun’s acquisitions will go a long way towards preserving Immortal’s reputation as a top-tier team, while hopefully giving the team the clout they need to find playoff success. Only time will tell if they can break their curse.
EDIT 1/19/17, 10:48 AM: An earlier version of this article listed Cloud 9's jungler as Controlz instead of Contractz. This has since been fixed.
