Team Liquid picked up Adrian yesterday to compliment their recent signing of Doublelift, and Stunt fills the void that Adrian left on Phoenix1. We're going to look at who these guys are, and what these changes mean for the league.
Man of the Hour
Adrian Ma is no stranger to roster moves. He came into the LCS with Team Impulse, spent a season with Immortals, and spent half a season with Phoenix1 before finally joining Liquid yesterday. He's been regarded as a high tier support throughout his time in the league after great performances with Immortals and Phoenix1, and is well known for his Soraka and other sustain supports. He is also very good at playing aggressively, and has a seventy percent kill participation throughout Season 7 thus far. Paired with Doublelift, he may be one of the deadliest supports for the remainder of the season.
New Blood
Phoenix1 signed William “Stunt” Chen to take over where Adrian left off. Stunt is a support that also has serviceable mid lane play, if necessary. He has a bit of Challenger Series experience, but has yet to make a name for himself on the LCS stage. He was most recently the backup for Xpecial on Team Dignitas, so he does a have a bit of experience of playing with pro players. The jury is still out on whether or not he can keep Phoenix1 as a top four team in the league, as they have been all season.
What This Means
These moves have the potential to have a gigantic impact across the whole league. Team Liquid has been making big strides to avoid relegation in the past two weeks. They've moved Piglet to the mid lane, picked up Doublelift, and secured Adrian to shore up their botlane woes. With only six games left, they're only two wins back on the rest of the pack and playoff contention. All of these roster moves mean that the team will have to learn to play with each other on the fly, and it's important to note that Adrian will not be playing this week, so Doublelift and Matt will have to click for two games if they want to keep the team in the playoff hunt. They face Cloud 9 and fellow 10th place EnVyUs this weekend.
Phoenix1 has a healthy three game lead on anyone that hopes to sneak into the playoffs on the back end, but that doesn't mean Stunt doesn't have to perform. We’ll have to see what kind of chemistry he and international sensation Arrow have to offer, as they have a very trying schedule heading into the end of the season.
Dignitas isn't out of the woods yet. With Liquid making so many moves, their spot in the league is in jeopardy, and they've made a recent acquisition as well. They signed Johnny “Swifte” Ngo, a Thresh main that often duos with Doublelift in ranked play. He's currently only going to fill in as a backup support to Xpecial, but Dignitas might be forced to shake things up with relegation looming.
Three weeks remain, and the energy is high. Let me know who you think will make the playoffs, and who you think will fall short.
