In a game that featured two of the most completely-overhauled lineups in North American League of Legends, FlyQuest and Team Liquid debuted their new-look 2023 rosters on the LCS stage today, with FlyQuest taking the game in 31 minutes.
Today’s game got off to an immensely slow start, with just one kill being claimed by either side in the first 15 minutes. FlyQuest jumped out to a strong lead following a teamfight victory in the mid-game, though, and grew their lead from there, with the final kill total swinging on a score of 16 to 8 in FlyQuest’s favor.
It’s not unreasonable to say FlyQuest had the strongest offseason of all LCS teams, with the complete revamping of their roster including additions of Worlds participants, league MVPs, and top-level prospects from the LCS and overseas. Today, it was the LCK’s most exciting emerging player from 2022, former Liiv SANDBOX ADC Prince, who stole the show for FlyQuest.
Related: Is FlyQuest the favorite to win the LCS in 2023?
In his LCS debut, Prince cleaned house in the late-game with a near-Pentakill, wrapping up with a final scoreline of 9/1/2 on Zeri—his second-most played champion from the 2022 season, according to League stats site Gol.gg.
For Liquid, the experiment of bringing together players with Korean backgrounds could pay dividends in the long run—despite the loss today—especially when combining the experience of former LCS MVPs in Summit and CoreJJ with reigning world champion in Pyosik. Together, they could easily assist in the development of the team’s highly-touted prospects Haeri and Yeon, who will man the carry positions for TL this season.
Although the outcome wasn’t what TL expected in today’s opening contest, the team still has a high enough ceiling to develop into a contender later in the season.
For FlyQuest, the goal is to win now. The team had been in the midst of a steady rebuild for years, but after a complete overhaul of the starting lineup, coaching staff, and front office, the team is poised to sit atop the LCS standings throughout 2023. Today’s opening-day win only strengthened the claim they had made when assembling one of the region’s strongest on-paper NA League rosters during the offseason.
FlyQuest will return to the LCS stage tomorrow for another star-heavy matchup against another new-look squad, Dignitas, who boasts new signings Jensen, Santorin, and more.
