The first of two Intel Extreme Masters League of Legends offseason tournaments kicks off this weekend in San Jose, with another in Cologne later this month.
They’re well placed to give fans a taste of League during the lengthy downtime between League Championship Series seasons. But the fan vote to decide which teams appear in each event has not gone as planned—another vote winner relinquished their spot.
Fnatic declined their invitation to Cologne today, opening a spot for the next highest vote getter, ROCCAT.
The Polish team will get a chance to showcase a new-look lineup, now featuring Korean mid laner Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook, who failed to qualify for the LCS in the expansion tournament after being imported to Europe by Millenium.
Fnatic has not revealed their reason for dropping from the competition.
Curse Gaming dropped out of the event two weeks ago, citing the need to work out visa issues before the LCS season began. Counter Logic Gaming, who currently is still listed as a team at the vent, hinted they may have similar problems.
In Fnatic’s case, that’s unlikely to be the issues. More likely are the team’s internal problems. With team captain Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez considering leaving the organization, and possibly taking his teammates with him, Fnatic’s future remains unclear even after finding a replacement for the departed Martin “Rekkles” Larsson in Jesper “Niels” Svenningsen.
That gives ROCCAT an opportunity to showcase their new lineup on the international stage.
ROCCAT moved their 2014 mid laner Remigiusz “Overpow” Pusch to the top lane and picked up young marksman Paweł “Woolite” Pruski to bolster their lineup earlier in the offseason. Their mid lane position was still in flux, with former Ninja in Pyjama Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm at the top of the list, assuming Riot Games would lift his year ban. Now it appears Yoo will get a shot to fit in the Polish lineup.
Yoo is an odd pickup for ROCCAT, considering the team features four Polish players. While Yoo likely has at least a little exposure to English, his Polish is likely lacking. Still, the ROCCAT post clearly states the move is only for this IEM tournament—an LCS future with Yoo on ROCCAT may still be in the cards, but only if he fits with the team, and the communication issues are not too prohibitive.
While it’s certainly too bad Fnatic won’t be able to showcase their new marksman in Cologne, ROCCAT’s new lineup will certainly keep things fresh.
Image via Team ROCCAT/Facebook
