Dignitas’ current LCS season has been below the standards so far, considering the disappointing results of the Spring Split, which saw them end at the bottom of the standings with only three wins on the scoreboard. For that reason, the organization is looking to shake things up for the upcoming split.
According to a report by Blix.gg, Dignitas’ top laner İrfan Berk “Armut” Tükek won’t be on the starting roster in the next split. In his stead, Dignitas is set to pick up Lee “Rich” Jae-won, who has reached a verbal agreement with Dignitas and will be joining them in the future. According to the report, other Dignitas’ players are also exploring offers in the LCS.
With this roster change, Rich will be the second Korean player on the roster after support player Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun. Unless other roster changes occur, the new lineup will look like this:
- Top: Rich
- Jungle: Santorin
- Mid: Jensen
- ADC: Tomo
- Support: IgNaR
- Head Coach: Enatron
Who is Rich, Dignitas’ new top laner?
Rich is a Korean top laner with several years of experience in the LPL and the LCK. But before that, he used to be one of the strongest players in Heroes of the Storm, often compared to Faker in how impactful he was within that game.
That said, Rich eventually transitioned to League thanks to Gen.G Esports, the organization he was playing for as a HotS player. He became a substitute mid laner and got the chance to play a few games in the LCK in the summer of 2019 before swapping to the top lane and joining Team Dynamics for the 2020 season. Despite being relatively new to the competitive experience, Rich and his team were able to qualify for the LCK by winning the Promotion tournament at the end of the Spring Split.
Rich started making a name for himself in the 2021 season when he and the newly rebranded NS RedForce clinched a third-place finish in the LCK. His strong performances got the attention overseas in the LPL, and he was picked up by Victory Five for the 2022 season.
Alongside other veterans like Karsa and Rookie, Rich was able to stay in the top five in both splits, achieving a best result of third in the LPL Spring Split.
This year, however, he was benched in favor of V5’s (now rebranded to Ninjas in Pyjamas) academy top laner Invincible. Rich only played one game throughout the split, losing the game against Rare Atom. He left Ninjas in Pyjamas in early March and became a free agent.
Rich joining the LCS will likely increase the competitiveness among top laners but his level of play will be crucial for Dignitas. If he can return to his 2021 form, then Dignitas will have a formidable player on their hands.
Published: Apr 16, 2023 10:46 am