After days and weeks of speculation and rumors, Curse Gaming finally revealed their new marskman—and it was just the man everyone was hoping it would be.
Korean star Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin will join Curse for the upcoming season of the League Championship Series, giving the organization a powerhouse player capable of competing on the world stage.
In 2013, Chae’s team SK Telecom T1 K won the World championship. Chae himself took home the “Best ADC” title at the Korean Esports Awards. But 2014 was a different animal. He struggled with SK Telecom through 2014 before being let go after the team narrowly failed to qualify for this year’s Worlds, denying them the chance to defend their title.
Coming to America gives Chae a chance to rebuild his professional career.
“I thank Team Curse for giving me an awesome chance to play as a pro again,” said Chae. “I’ll play my best so Team Curse can become the world champions of Season 5.”
Chae’s new team hopes the new addition will finally lift the Curse curse—their seeming doom to place fourth place every season. In the Summer Split, Curse Gaming ended up finishing in fourth place after a playoff run nearly saw them qualify for the World stage.
Team Curse Manager Steve Perino calls him a “coach’s dream player,” and all-star support Alex “Xpecial” Chu “can’t wait to practice” with him. Chu built a reputation as the best support play in America, and now may have the right marksman to let him shine even brighter.
Curse replaces David “Cop” Roberson, a steady but unspectacular player, with someone capable of bringing more playmaking to the marksman position. That could be just what Curse needs—their team is often overly reliant on mid laner Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani to carry games, considering Diego “Quas” Ruiz and Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera often excel in more supportive roles.
Chae was released by SK Telecom T1 just one day after Roberson’s own release, spurring rumors that Curse might pick up the talented Korean. At the time it sounded like a pipe dream—while there other Koreans invaded the North American LCS this year, none had done so so shortly after competing on a top level Korean team.
But one month later, Chae is donning the orange-and-black of Curse Gaming. The move is a coup for the organization, a transaction fans hoped for but never seemed realistic until it was actually announced.
The pressure on Chae to perform will be astronomic, but if any player can live up to those expectations, it’s the former world champion.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
