Team Dignitas have been more than patient with Benjamin “LOD” deMunck. Now, with the arrival of new bot lane talent to the squad in the form of Johnny “Altec” Ru and Adrian “Adrian” Ma, LOD’s window of opportunity appears to be closing.
Following a wave of investment and with a considerable fanbase already established from their glory years, great things are expected of the Team Dignitas organisation within the NA LCS.
The team signalled their intent for the 2017 season with the announcement of KT rolster’s star top laner Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho’s signing in the pre-season.
The team’s major question marks resided with the team’s bot lane combination, with many critics doubting LOD’s ability to compete with the AD carries of Dignitas’ perceived top-tier rivals.
Team Dignitas had their fair share of issues in the Spring Split, resulting in a disappointing playoff finish after an inconsistent split. In addition to communication issues, the performance of LOD was far from the standard required for a top-tier team to be competitive.
Whether it was Alex “Xpecial” Chu, Terry “Big” Chuong or William “Stunt” Chen by his side, LOD was consistently unable to win – or go even – in his lane. The Dignitas ADC placed last in almost every metric that highlighted lane performance during the Spring Split.
As a deadweight to his team, often LOD would hold back Ssumday from carrying the team from the top lane. Opponents would simply focus their resources on the Korean, knowing bot lane was almost always a guaranteed win.
The arrivals of Altec and Adrian have rejuvenated Team Dignitas’ World Championship ambitions. The duo combined for the first time during DIG’s Week 7 fixtures against Phoenix1 and Counter Logic Gaming, displaying a natural synergy as the team swept the weekend.
Altec and Adrian possess the ability to exit the laning phase with an advantage, something LOD was unable to do with any support.
Even when pitched against one of the most dominant bot lanes in the NA LCS in Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes and Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black, Altec and Adrian’s harmonious Kalista and Thresh play was able to provide Team Dignitas with a significant advantage.
Feels good to be back in LCS! Slowly expanding my champ pool XD gg @clgaming
— Adrian Ma (@AdrianMaLOL) July 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/AltecLoL/status/886328540295077888
Given the effectiveness of the team’s new bot lane combination and the lack of development shown by LOD over the course of the Spring Split, there is little incentive for Team Dignitas to return to the underperforming AD carry.
With Adrian and Altec already developing within the roster and posting promising results, LOD’s fate may soon follow the same paths as Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun and Xpecial before him.
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