Road to LCS - A look at Complexity's individual struggles to reach the LCS

Jonathan "Westrice" Nguyen is a popular face in the Legue of Legends competitive scene despite his struggling to stay relevant for several years. However, the famous "dirty Akali" player, who has since reframed his playstyle to be more team oriented, now resides as one of the only relevant North American players, along with former EPIK Gamer teammates Dyrus and Doublelift,who participated in the Season 1 World Championships with the exception of Xpecial.

While many of the "old guard" of North American talent such as Saintvicious, TheOddOne, HotshotGG, Scarra, and Reginald have stayed relevant for a longer period of time in the player booth, Westrice had been attempting the grind from the shadows of the amateur scene, clawing his way back up in an attempt to not be forgotten.

Not only has this been a long grind for Westrice, but a playstyle he once familiarized himself with had become obsolete as the game evolved. Any attempts at him playing assassin champions top rendered him abused in lane or by junglers and thus, it has always appeared as though he'd fallen off as a player.

Several times had passed where Westrice was demotivated to become a professional player. Failing to qualify for Worlds in their loss to CLG at the Season 2 Regionals was a heartbreaking example of this for the young player. Interestingly enough, only through the motivation of his mother did he find the drive to get into the LCS, an endeavor he would have otherwise not continued to pursue.



Ram "Brokenshard" Djernal started off his LCS career being teased with the glory and fame of an LCS player only to not actually participate due to medical reasons. Thus, he'd watch as Dragonborns played from the sidelines and attempt to assist the team through coaching.

Brokenshard faced quite a bit of misfortune leading up to his LCS qualification aside from his health issues, however. While Brokenshard could have traveled the road to another chance at glory with Sinners Never Sleep, a team that went on to become Lemondogs, he had ran into some issues with Dragonborns.

Not only was he denied money owed to him by the organization totalling about 2,500 Euros, he was denied a chance to play for a team that was bound to be the strongest European team of that era. In an excerpt of an interview with themittani, Brokenshard goes on to explain how he was denied this opportunity due to the binding from his contract and false promises from the organization's manager, stating:

He said, 'No... We want you to stay with the contract and stay with the team as a coach and do this full time. You're gonna get your salary and everything.' and me being naive I actually believed that to be the case and you know what happens. I never got money and I missed the opportunity to play for a really good team with some really good players."



In an attempt to brush it off and move forward, Brokenshard joined the then fully French line-up of TCM-Gaming, which only ended up rubbing more salt in the wound. Personality issues within the team meant certain players did not want to play with Brokenshard and from an organizational standpoint, it was a complete nightmare. Not wanting to rebuild the entire team, Brokenshard looked overseas for opportunities, where he found Determined Gaming.

Finding solid results in the amateur scene, Brokenshard once again found joy in knowing they are likely strong enough to secure an LCS spot against the Velocity line-up. To his dismay once again, an action took place that would currently be illegal in LCS' current ruleset. Evil Geniuses bought out their spot, handily 3-0ing Determined Gaming and clutching the LCS spot out of their hands, despite scrim records supposedly swinging in the opposite direction.

All the meanwhile, the pressure was on for Brokenshard to succeed so he could stay in the United States. In what many considered an upset victory over Coast, Brokenshard not only finally wrestled his way into the LCS, but also prevented himself from being deported due to the incoming acquisition of a sports visa, which would allow him to stay in the country.





While Neil "PR0LLY" Hammad may not have had a dramatic Hollywood-esque story to reach his goals, his journey has been tough as well. Out of all of the current Complexity Lineup, PR0LLY is the only one who can claim he's had previous NA LCS experience, or LCS experience at all on an official starting line-up if you consider that Brokenshard's primary role on Dragonborns was coaching.

When PR0LLY was first brought into the LCS a year ago, he brought innovative aggressive play and champions to the rift that are now commonly played today such as Ziggs. PR0LLY wasn't on Complexity for the entirety of the 2013 spring split however, and had to earn his way there after playing for Velocity until Chuuper was removed.

In the end, PR0LLY was removed from the team and the first iteration of the Complexity LoL squad would meet its demise. For a long time PR0LLY lurked in the shadows of the amateur scene, only to show his remarkable talent as he handled arguably the strongest mid-laner Shiphtur as if it was a walk in a park, going even and often surpassing him in lane.

After a full year of only seeing LCS from the scope of a viewer, PR0LLY's hunger to re-enter the LCS had shown and his ability to adapt paid off. Even utilizing "meta" champions, PR0LLY has shown he can go on par with the region's elite and has showcased that his flexibility of "out-of-meta" champions is merely an additional tool in his repertoire rather than a crutch.



Robert "ROBERTxLEE" Lee has been a well known player of the streaming community for awhile, primarily for his reputation as an elo booster. RobertxLee's woes of LCS being out of reach began pre-Season 3 due to a "ghosting" incident of his team at the time, Absolute Legends, in their games against Team Dynamic in a prior tournament. RobertxLee was banned from qualifying for LCS along with two of his teammates.

While Robert watched LCS for all of Season 3 from the sidelines as well as Season 4, he's always had the skill and competency of other AD carries in the LCS. In fact, many regarded him as the strongest AD Carry outside of the LCS in North America for a very long time. Despite these claims, RobertxLee was never once able to play a match for Vulcun / XDG Gaming, of which he was a sub for, despite the alleged weakness of Zuna in the role.

The largest obstacle for RobertxLee, however, was his two week long amnesia resulting from an accident where he fell down a set of stairs. During this period, Robert experienced the most frustrating experience of his life, nearly ruining it entirely from his carelessness. From champions to teammates to loved ones, RobertxLee had a shaky memory at best. Here's an excerpt from a prior AMA by RobertxLee regarding the experience:



The amnesia lasted for two weeks, and the incident just made me frustrated at myself. Throughout my life, I have always been a clutz and I almost ruined my whole life because of being careless. Most importantly, I was mad of the pain and worry I caused my parents. My parents have always been loving and supported my league career. It was hard relearning the game, I played horribly, and could only play for a few hours a day otherwise i would get horrible headaches. My parents explained to me about my dream to play competitively meanwhile i was thinking about giving up on LoL and think more about life (ex-gfs, old friends, school). It's kinda weird, but if i wasnt playing league, which was only a few hours a day, i would watch my old VoDs on my stream and it slowly came back and i remember certain moments, champions, skills, all that good stuff.

Skip to 2:41:30

Luckily, RobertxLee would soon find peace in the Season 4 Promotional Series in their match against Coast. Similar to Westrice, RobertxLee was fueled by supportive parents to not give up the good fight and to continue pursuing his dreams. In fact, positive influences and helpful reminders in a difficult time for Robert from his parents ended up being the key component in helping him thrive and achieve his status that he holds today.



Royce "Bubbadub" Newcomb is not only one of the few married professional players in pro League of Legends, but also is one of the oldest at 27 years old. Bubbadub almost lost his chance at pushing Complexity Gaming into the LCS by failing to meet his end of a deal with his wife.

Outside of that, Bubbadub also didn't end up making enough streaming revenue from his small fanbase. Additionally, he also couldn't acquire any substantial income from his pursuit of becoming a professional, despite dropping everything, including his stable job, in his attempt to get there.

With the help of a contractual job, Bubbadub was able to have enough money while training to accomplish his dream. Times were rough for Bubbadub once the team had to face off against Evil Geniuses and they'd surrender their entrance into the LCS to them, meaning he'd once again have to come home empty handed. With the extension of the deal with his wife as well as some assistance from his fanbase, Bubbadub had the resources to train effectively and narrowly secure an LCS spot with his team.

Now, Bubbadub will work together with his team in a gaming house and will have to settle for a long distance relationship with his wife, outside of breaks, in order to focus his efforts in being the best support he can be for his team.



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