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Fnatic head coach leaves team
While Fnatic has undergone significant roster changes during the past two years, one constant has been head coach Luis “Deilor” Sevilla. The unexpected announcement that Deilor will be stepping down as head coach of Fnatic is sending shockwaves throughout the EU LCS.
Deilor was the master behind the curtain of Fnatic’s 18-0 undefeated split, as well as the guiding force of Fnatic making a run in the semifinals at Worlds last year.
The 2016 Spring Split wasn’t up to Fnatic’s standards, but the team rebounded somewhat this split. It appears their mediocre success in the Summer Split was unacceptable for Deilor.
In a statement on Fnatic’s website, Deilor detailed his reasons for leaving:
Our results are the consequence of how the team has been working and it’s clear that there are issues that I’m not able to fix. For the last couple of months my work hasn’t lead us to a healthy environment, the team has barely improved and we didn’t have positive results. From my point of view, this is not acceptable with such a talented roster.
As a coach, if you are not able to fix the issues it means that you are not doing your job properly or players aren’t willing to cooperate. In any case, changes need to be made as soon as possible so the team continues growing looking into Worlds.
With the addition of Nico and Wolle it’s clear to me that leaving the team is the correct decision. Both are really talented, have immense drive to succeed, and energy, something that the team really needs moving forward.
Deilor will be replaced by Nicholas “NicoThePico” Korsgård. NicoThePico is a former head analyst for Origen. He’s also the former jungler and strategic coach for Enigma Esports, a European challenger team. NicoThePico had been working under Deilor for the past few weeks leading up to his departure.
He acknowledged Deilor’s success in a statement on Fnatic’s website:
It’s a bittersweet feeling, taking over the wheel from Deilor. While working under him the last few weeks, I got to see the man that lead Fnatic into battle in the last two years. I have nothing but respect and gratitude towards him. He took me and Wolle into Fnatic with open arms, and gave us a shot to prove ourselves. I wish him nothing but the best moving forward, and I will not take the trust he has put in me to waste.
It appears the inclusion of NicoThePico and Wolle played a role in Deilor leaving, in addition to his stringent terms for success. Fnatic was looking for a new voice, and they now have one.
Piglet says goodbye to NA LCS
Following Team Liquid Academy’s disappointing finish in the 2017 Spring Promotional Tournament, Piglet announced he will no longer be staying in the NA LCS.
Piglet said goodbye by tweeting a picture of his plane departing Los Angeles:
Piglet is a former world champion ADC for SK Telecom T1. His initial move to the NA LCS a few years ago was well-received. While he never found the success he was hoping for in the NA LCS, this year was perhaps his lowest point.
After being benched by Team Liquid and replaced with Fabbbyyy, Piglet was assigned to play ADC for Team Liquid Academy. Their loss to Echo Fox in the promotional tournament was evidently the last straw for him.
It’s not clear what Piglet’s immediate future plans are, but it’s safe to say he won’t be returning to Team Liquid.
Santorin, KIWIKID, GBM leave NRG
After being swept by Echo Fox and relegated, it comes as no surprise that many of the veteran players for NRG eSports are looking to make a lateral move to an LCS team.
Santorin, KIWIKID, and GBM have announced they will return to free agency and are currently looking for a home this upcoming 2017 Spring Split.
GBM has stated he will look to play in Korea and plans to transition from mid lane to jungler.
KIWIKID, a longtime staple of the now defunct NA Team Dignitas, has not stated whether any teams have contacted him. It was rumored that KIWIKID was set to retire after leaving Dignitas last year before Shaq reached out to him to play for NRG eSports.
Santorin has stated he will continue his League of Legends career, but it’s unclear which team will pick him up at this time.
Rumor: NRG eSports disbanding LoL team
Following our previous news of Santorin, KIWIKID, and GBM leaving NRG, ESPN’s Jacob Wolf is reporting that NRG will cease all operations pertaining to its League of Legends team.
Diego “Quas” Ruiz and Oh “Ohq” Gyu-min both have clauses in their contracts that they can be legally released from the team if NRG is relegated. It appears NRG will now look to sell its NA Challenger Series spot.
There has been no official announcement from NRG eSports at this time.
Jensen makes history
Cloud9 is moving onto the semifinals after taking care of business against Envy 3-1 in a series that saw some stellar performances. Cloud9 dropped Game One, but it was all domination after that, sweeping the next three games.
Jensen was out of this world in the series, continually pushing the barrier of what greatness is with each game. In their Game One loss, he blind picked Syndra and went 9-3-5. He once again blind picked Syndra in Game Two, this time carrying his team to victory with a 14-2-6 stat line and tying the record for most kills in an NA LCS playoff game.
That apparently wasn’t enough though. In a decisive Game Four, Jensen outdid himself once again. He secured a ridiculous 20 kills, shattering the record he tied two games ago. Twenty kills also breaks the regular NA LCS record of 19 kills in a single game, previously held by William “Scarra” Li.
You can check out each of Jensen’s historic 20 kills on YouTube:
