The preseason brings more than just new gameplay and the third instalment of League of Legends. It is going to be a chaotic storm of rumours and whispers that will slowly reveal the true faces of the teams and rosters as each day passes. Instead of trying to say which are going to be the most accurate, I want to focus on a few possibilities that could come up for the new teams trying to make a statement. While there have been many arguments against imports in the past, the amount of money in the NA LCS will attract some of the best talent around the world, not just Korea. And with that money will come some interesting moves that can be made to try to garner fans early on for the new teams.

LMS Exodus?

We all know about the great exodus of 2014 that happened to LCK with players leaving for China for bigger paychecks, but now it might be a mass departure from Taiwan to North America for similar reasons. We have seen some players from Taiwan go to the LPL in the past, but the teams in China weren’t out there trying to make a statement like those within NA are going to be attempting.

FW Karsa. Photo Credits: http://www.lolesports.com/

It still would have seemed like a stretch to imagine that players like Karsa, Maple, or even Westdoor could even contemplate leaving the LMS until a rumor began to circulate from some ahq streams where conversations about Karsa and Steak leaving for TSM came to light. Honestly, this would be some amazing movement for NA if they want to try to become more competitive. This is a region renowned for being Korea Killers internationally. Place a player that is popular in both Taiwan and the West like Maple, that would be an astonishing pick up for any new team to begin building around.

GIGABYTE Marines players to NA LCS?

I think everyone was expecting to see this name on here. And even though I didn’t dive too much into the LMS thought train, I promise to more with GAM. Well, not all of GAM. It is pretty clear that Levi isn’t wanting to leave GAM any time soon and wants to make a legacy for the Vietnamese region. It will be thrilling to watch how Vietnam and the rest of the GPL grows with a team as strong as Levi’s GAM.

But, half of the triumphant duo is gone. Optimus already declared his independence from GAM back mid-October. While many hyped up Levi, there is a great injustice to not think that Optimus was a part of the equation. Assassins, control mages, carries, Lucian. It didn’t matter for Optimus, he was aggressive and ready to take kills on any opponent. I recall him getting consistent solokills on Bjergsen back at MSI and that level of play wasn’t absent during his time at the League of Legends World Championship 2017.

GAM Karsa. Photo Credits: https://thethao247.vn

Imagine the storyline for any team that picks up Optimus at this point in his career. Part of the GAM that beat TSM, Immortals, Fnatic, WE, and so many others. Not just any part of that squad either, he was one of the centerpoints of the roster that was so dominant. Add this man to NA and you get a team that will have someone that will consistently try to prove he is better than all others in his way. Who needs a Faker when you have an Optimus.