Intel Extreme Masters San Jose begins tomorrow. A League of Legends tournament is once again being hosted at the SAP Center, where six teams will battle it out for their share of a US$50,000 prize pool and the Intel Extreme Masters trophy.
One of the competing teams will be Counter Logic Gaming, who received the most votes in the North American team vote for the event. The 2015 NA LCS Summer Split was great for the team as they emerged as the winner, beating Team Impulse and Team SoloMid 3-0 in the playoffs. The title was long-awaited by the team and their fans, with both ecstatic when the trophy was lifted.
The end of the fairy tale
Next stop for Counter Logic Gaming were the also much-awaited 2015 Worlds. CLG got seeded into what many considered the easiest group - group A with paiN Gaming, Flash Wolves and KOO Tigers.
The group stage started off well for CLG as they won their first two matches against Flash Wolves and paiN Gaming. However, those were the only two wins the North American team earned at Worlds. After those, they proceeded to lose twice to the KOO Tigers, then to Flash Wolves and finally to paiN Gaming, thus ending their Worlds journey.
New era, new potential?
Counter Logic Gaming underwent a roster change that took most by surprise: the team’s most recognizable player, Doublelift, has left the squad to join Team SoloMid. It is truly a new era for CLG, who will now play without their stable ADC. How will the new roster perform on the international stage?
Top: Darshan “ZionSpartan” Upadhyaha
- Member of the original roster
- 2015 Worlds statistics: Games: 6 | Wins: 2 | Losses: 4 | Win Percentage: 33.3% | Kills: 14 | Deaths: 25 | Assists: 25 | KDA 1.56
Jungle: Jakie “Xmithie” Puchero
- Member of the original roster
- 2015 Worlds statistics: Games: 6 | Wins: 2 | Losses: 4 | Win Percentage: 33.3% | Kills: 8 | Deaths: 19 | Assists: 41 | KDA 2.58
Mid: Choi “HuHi” Jae-hyun
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Previously a sub for Counter Logic Gaming
ADC: Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes
- ADC for CLG Black
- Substituting as ADC for CLG specifically for Intel Extreme Masters San Jose
Support: Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black
- Member of the original roster
- 2015 NA LCS Summer Split statistics: Games: 19 | Wins: 13 | Losses: 6 | Win Percentage: 68.4% | Kills: 19 | Deaths: 55 | Assists: 225 | KDA 4.44
CLG’s big test begins tomorrow!
Intel Extreme Masters San Jose begins tomorrow, and with it CLG’s new roster’s first test at a LAN event. We are looking forward to seeing the revamped squad perform! Grab yourself a ticket if you want to witness everything live at the SAP Center and, if you would like to support the teams by contributing to the prize pool, you can do so with Amazon’s crowdfunding initiative.
For all the important information about Intel Extreme Masters San Jose, visit the event’s official website as well as follow Intel Extreme Masters on Twitter and Facebook.
