One of the most legendary junglers in League of Legends has joined Unicorns of Love for the 2016 League Championship Series (LCS) season.
Former Moscow 5 and Gambit Gaming jungler Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov signed with the team last week, sources close to the player and organization tell the Daily Dot.
Reshetnikov moved into the Unicorns house on Wednesday. He is replacing former jungler Berk “Gilius” Demir, who is reportedly joining Elements (which is rebuilding its LCS squad after failing to sell its spot).
Prior to signing with the Unicorns, Reshetnikov was offered a spot on Team ROCCAT—where his former teammate Edward “GoSu Pepper” Abgaryan is reportedly going to play, according to Brietbart.
Speculation that Reshetnikov would be joining the Unicorns first arose after Reddit user /u/DeadISnake found him trying out with the team, through online League of Legends account tracker OP.GG. But now sources close to the organization and player tell the Daily Dot he has signed a contract, solidifying his position on the squad.
Reshetnikov became a free agent after Gambit Gaming disbanded, looking to sell its LCS spot. Gambit manager Dmitry “Moo” Sukhanov told Russian interviewer Андрей Насковец that Reshetnikov was encouraged to find a new team after the organization decided to sell.
Reshetnikov is one of the most famous junglers in Europe, primarily due to his time playing with his former teams Moscow 5 and Gambit.
Known for being one of the best teams of all-time, Moscow 5 pushed European League of Legends to the forefront, most notably by dominating opponents from around the world throughout 2012—thanks to its stars Reshetnikov and mid laner Alexey “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin.
The team took home victories at Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Kiev and World Championship events in 2012, as well as placing third/fourth at the 2012 Riot Games World Championship. The team then left Moscow 5 and joined Gambit Gaming, taking home first place at IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne in 2013.
But most of its players moved on to other teams, leaving Abgaryan and Reshetnikov as the only remaining members after the 2014 season.
Now, the veteran will look to continue challenging European newcomers like Fnatic’s new jungler Lee “Spirit” Da-yoon, as well as fellow veterans Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski, Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider, and Ilyas “Shook” Hartsema.
Update 2:32pm CT Dec. 16: Unicorns of Love has announced that Reshetnikov has joined its team for the 2016 season, confirming this report.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
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Published: Dec 13, 2015 05:04 pm