Bwipo, Closer and Abbedage exploring options, as Evil Geniuses search for a new ADC

2022 became the year of super teams failing to meet expectations. Vitality and Team Liquid are the first ones to come to mind, with many more being brushed aside as the offseason rolled out. 

Team Liquid make top laner Bwipo available

After Hans Sama and the entire coaching staff had their contracts terminated, top laner Bwipo is the next one on the chopping block. Reports surfaced a few days ago that the organization has informed Bwipo that he isn’t in their plans moving heading into 2023. Apart from the hefty price tag, him taking up an import slot is one of the main reasons for the recent development. It will be interesting to see what’s next for his career moving forward, especially with the developments in the scene. 

While Bwipo has proven to be an above-average player in two roles at the highest level(top lane and jungle), the LCS landscape seems to be heading for a turbulent offseason. He has mentioned on stream that he’s planning to stay in the LCS for the foreseeable future, but the question remains. Is anyone willing to pay his buyout or negotiate another contract for an import? With Valorant franchising hitting the North American continent, and continuous failures at international events, LCS organizations are starting to look the other way.

100 Thieves looking to make changes

100 Thieves were another candidate for a fire sale, and just weeks into the offseason, they are already making moves. The 2021 Summer LCS Champions got bounced out in groups at the 2021 World Championship by the eventual winners in EDG, but came into 2022 hoping to build off that. Instead, they lost in the spring finals to Evil Geniuses in devastating fashion and followed it up with a third-seed placement at Worlds only to win a single game.

The entire year was a roller coaster for the team, as they committed to a six-man roster from the get-go in January. Top laner Tenacity ,who had just come off two straight first place finishes at the Proving Grounds circuit with 100 Thieves Academy, was enlisted as a substitute for the main LCS roster. But he never got a chance to play in impactful matches, as incumbent top laner Ssumday just had his best year, being the most consistent player on the roster.

Now with CEO Nadeshot looking towards the future with the 100 Thieves Valorant roster, who just got franchised, the LCS roster is up for sale. Tenacity isn’t the only one looking for a change of scenery, as 100 thieves have made both Closer and Abbedage available to teams. The mid-jungle duo saw tremendous success after Abbedage was bought from Schalke 04, who sold their LEC spot and roster. 

After general manager Papa Smithy and half of the LCS roster he constructed, have gone out the door in the last three weeks, only one thing is certain. LCS teams are scaling back on their investments, and the remaining players and teams should take notice.

Evil Geniuses in the ADC market heading into 2023

With the competitive year being over, every team is looking to make changes heading into 2023. Evil Geniuses gracefully bowed out of the World Championship, despite having a 1-5 record. Apart from having the most competitive games of the LCS representatives, they were also severely under manned. EG Academy ADC Kaori stepped into the starting role heading into the international event, in place of the incumbent starter Danny. Danny stepped away from the team in late August, during the LCS Finals weekend in Chicago.

 EG managed to get past Team Liquid in a frantic five-game series but fell just short of the finish line in another five-game banger against 100 Thieves. It seems that EG think they can find a significant upgrade on the market, with names like Doublelift and Neon floating around. Regardless oif what happens, Kaori is under contract for one more year, and he was already looking like one of the best prospects in NA Academy. He showed great resilience while debuting on the biggest stage, showing that he is capable and has potential. The main question is, are EG willing to play through him. 

C9 searching for ERL talent

C9 comes in a long line of LCS team making roster additions with smaller budgets in mind. Sources reveal that Dimitri “Diplex” Ponomarev and Jang “EMENES” Min-soo have reached a verbal agreement with Cloud9 to compete with them in 2023. Reports say that the 19-year-old Diplex will be the main team mid laner with Emenes slotting in the academy roster. Diplex was one of the most promising ERL players, with the young German taking LFL powerhouse Vitality Bee to the quarter-finals at the 2022 Summer EU Masters circuit. Emenes is a Korean import who is coming from the ranks of JDXL, the NLC team for Excel Esports who finished second in the summer split. 

Header: Twitter/ Abbedage