Top laner Colin “Kumo” Zhao is finally getting a shot in the LCS.
Evil Geniuses revealed today that Kumo will be the League of Legends team’s starting top laner in the 2020 LCS Spring Split after playing for Cloud9’s Academy team for the majority of his career. He was able to play for C9’s LCS team for a couple of games in 2019, but this will be his first time as a full-time starter on a main roster.
Kumo joins former C9 teammates Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam and Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen on the squad, as well as former 100 Thieves AD carry Bae “Bang” Jun-sik, who joined EG four days ago. The only position that needs to be filled on the team is the mid lane—there haven’t been many reports on who the final player on EG could be, though.
With three former C9 players joining the team, EG will have plenty of synergy to work off of next year. Svenskeren and Zeyzal were essential parts of their team’s success this past year and should help this new roster find success right off the bat. Kumo also has some experience playing with the two former C9 players, which could make his transition into the league a bit easier.
As for mid laners, EG will need to reach into the North American resident pool for talent since Svenskeren and Bang are taking up both of the team’s import slots. One name that comes to mind is former FlyQuest mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park, but he recently confirmed that he won’t be playing in the LCS this coming season. Another possibility is Tanner Damonte, who’s showed plenty of promise and growth this year with Clutch Gaming.
EG’s current lineup looks decent, but there are plenty of question marks that surround this roster—from Kumo’s rookie season in the LCS to Bang and Zeyzal’s synergy in the bottom lane. Until EG announces its mid laner, however, it’ll be hard to judge this team’s true potential in the organization’s return to competitive League.
