100 Thieves’ League of Legends general manager Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith has explained why the team signed former OCE mid laner Tommy “Ry0ma” Le to the starting roster for the 2020 season.
The former LCK color commentator had high praise for Ry0ma, saying that he checked off all four boxes that he had when searching for a player. According to Papasmithy, Ry0ma had a “high baseline of skill with a clear upside,” English is his first language, had great performances in the NA tryouts, and also had good references.
“No player who we talked to and scouted this off-season better represented themselves than Ryoma, and it was a unanimous decision to bring him on as our mid laner,” Papasmithy said. “He’s got a lot of growing to do, but I’m excited to watch the journey up close!”
Papasmithy also mentioned that so many players come over to NA for different reasons, but for OCE players, the LCS represents a chance to play on a higher stage that they’ve never competed on before. As a result, players from OCE know that this is a huge opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered.
The transition from the OPL to LCS might be a bit hard for Ry0ma, but he has plenty of potential that could be unlocked alongside the rest of his teammates. The future is bright for 100 Thieves.
