TSM gets two new members & Optic gets Crown!

Smoothie and Broken Blade join TSM

Following a fairly disappointing year for Team SoloMid, failing to qualify for the 2018 League of Legends World Championship even after one of their strongest years in 2017, TSM is embracing change. Smoothie was signed first as the team’s second support alongside Mithy. Smoothie has experience in both the NA CS and the NA LCS, his most recent home in Echo Fox.

A day later, Team SoloMid announced that they acquired Broken Blade as their new starting top laner. The same announcement stated that TSM has recently been in talks with other teams to transfer Hauntzer, their top laner of three years since November of 2015. Broken Blade is a Turkish player that had competed in both the EU and TR scene since 2016 with seven different teams! While Broken Blade has found success in the TCL, being voted as an All Star representing the scene, it is unknown how his performance will fair in the NA LCS. TSM are placing a great amount of trust in Broken Blade having announced their desire to release Hauntzer.

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Crown joins Optic Gaming

Likely the most earth shaking roster news in 2018, former world champion Crown will be joining the ranks of Optic Gaming. This news surprised the whole League community considering Optic had shown signs of downsizing and reducing costs, cutting their relationships with a multitude of teams particularly in Mexico, South East Asia and Brazil. In addition, Crown has only competed in the LCK alongside Korean teammates, his transition to the NA scene is deeply uncertain. Considering China’s public reputation for offering highly favourable conditions to top talent, Crown’s decision to join Optic likely means they have taken a gamble and allocated a very considerable portion of their budget to secure Crown. This has been reflected in Reddit community comments memeing that Optic has blown “their whole budget on one player”.