Team Dignitas secured another piece of their lineup last night when they signed mid laner Danny “Shiphtur” Le.
Le was a superstar signing for Dignitas heading into the Summer split, helping the team get off to a meteoric start to the season. Down the stretch they faded, culminating in a playoff collapse, but the mid laner still put together a solid season statistically. Le’s 7.23 KDA for the Summer split ranks second all-time among mid laners, only behind the 7.28 mark set by Henrik “Froggen” Hansen in the same season. That KDA was the best descriptor of Le’s performance that season, both good and bad—he rarely died, always leaving him capable of pulling off big plays, but that passive style also saw him miss opportunities to do more.
Still, Le’s performance ranked him as one of the top mid players in America.
“I’m happy to be a part of Team Dignitas again,” Le said. “I feel like I can play a stronger game plan to practice very hard between now and January.”
Dignitas hopes they can succeed this year while returning three players—Alberto “Crumbzz” Rengifo in the jungle, Le in the mid lane, and Alan “KiWiKiD” Nguyen at support. Rengifo takes over as captain of what could be a more focused Dignitas.
The team already announced they will hold tryouts seeking the replacement for long-time marksman Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana, the last holdover of the Rock Solid team that first became the Dignitas lineup in 2011.
Bringing back Le while removing the last vestige of the Dignitas old guard, with Santana leaving and former mid laner and coach William “Scarra” Li moving on, signals a changing of the guard in Dignitas. It’s Rengifo and Le’s show now, and this season we’ll get to see just how far they can take Dignitas.
Image via Riot Games/Flickr
