That seven man Counter Logic Gaming lineup is finally going to pay off in the League Championship Series (LCS), but not for the reason the team implemented it.
This switch isn’t about improving strategic diversity. It’s more sports than esports—a player got injured.
Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes will fill in for Peter “Doublelift” Peng this week in the AD carry position after Peng suffered a hand injury that saw him taken to the hospital to receive stitches.
basketball hoops are no joke… never going outside again #LCSBIGPLAYS pic.twitter.com/jBkpchHs9a
— Yiliang Peng (@TSMDoublelift) June 18, 2015
Peng reportedly injured his hand while playing basketball, leading to a trip to the figurative disabled list for 1-2 weeks as pinky finger on his left hand recovers from the ordeal.
The move to bring in Hayes, the backup AD carry on the roster, is logical—though it’s not yet confirmed by the team. Instead, it was revealed on the LoLesports website, which updated its fantasy projections before this weekend’s matches. It will be Hayes’ first time competing in a live tournament, but the player has plenty of experience in the Challenger Series on which to draw, most recently as a member of Counter Logic Gaming Black.
As for the extent of Peng’s injury, he says it isn’t as bad as the picture in his above tweet makes it look, and that he’ll be recovered in a week or so.
Of course, a better question might be how he managed to reach a basketball hoop in the first place—Peng can’t possibly dunk, right?
Either way, his new coach, Chris “Blurred Limes” Ehrenreich, might be a little more careful in promoting the physical activity his sports management background
@ggCMonteCristo Peter left the hospital after getting stitches, said “only I could do something this clumsy” and immediately tripped n fell
— Coach Chris (@RiftCoach) June 18, 2015
It really is poor timing for Counter Logic Gaming, who currently sit atop the LCS standings with a 5-1 record but have a potentially tough match against the struggling Cloud9 on Sunday. Still, it’s chance for the team to show that their preseason planning worked.
