After years of milling in mid-table mediocrity, Team Liquid are reportedly ready to step up to the plate with some heavy roster swaps. With NA LCS star Jungler, Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin supposedly having already signed a deal that would see him playing in the sky blue of Liquid next season, the speculation regarding TL’s 2017 roster is whirring into a frenzy. Reignover surely wouldn’t have joined a historically-average squad without the promise of additional talent?
Team Liquid’s bolstered finances have been well-publicised over the course of 2016, with cash rich sponsorships flying in from a number of directions including Monster Energy, Razer and PokerStars.com. Despite their relative wealth within the North American League of Legends scene, 2016 ultimately left the team with nothing to show for all their stashed capital… except for a movie highlighting the team’s crippling flaws.
Source: liquidpro
If the film highlighted anything, it was that the Team Liquid roster required a complete overhaul. With the addition of Reignover, TL have made a significant step towards their goal, but there’s still plenty of room to make improvements. Team Liquid were reportedly in talks with both Reignover and Immortals Support, Adrian “Adrian” Ma as early as September.
The speculation regarding Team Liquid’s future roster additions continue to excite their fan base, to the complete bewilderment to the wider North American League of Legends community.
Reddit trying to figure out rosters is like infinite monkeys with typewriters.
To break things down, here is a list of the main contenders for a spot on Team Liquid’s 2017 roster:
Jungle – Reignover
Reignover's move from Immortals to Liquid is already being reported as fact by many major news outlets. The official announcement is on the horizon.
Top Lane – Smeb
This rumour birthed ahead of the ROX Tigers Semifinal matchup at the World Championship. ROX Tigers were reportedly disbanding, with Smeb set to join his friend Reignover in a lucrative deal.
Top Lane – Lourlo
Hoping to retain his spot on the roster, Lourlo showed potential during a turbulent season. Lourlo has reiterated his intentions to stay with the team, but his future remains uncertain.
Mid Lane – Pobelter
Pobelter has bad blood with Team Liquid owner, Steve Archanet. But amidst an Immortals' meltdown and a limited number of native mid laners available - Liquid may need to break the bank to balance their team.
Mid Lane – Arcsecond
The top player in the North American Challenger ladder, Arcsecond made his debut appearance for Liquid in the Jungle last season. A return to the Mid lane would be a natural switch for the NA talent.
Mid Lane – Fenix
Team Liquid's forgotten man. Fenix seemed certain to retire at the end of last season after yet another disappointing split. But after dispelling the rumour he would leave the team, Fenix will need to fight for his precious import slot.
Support – Aphromoo
This rumour came out of nowhere. The CLG veteran has a similarly bitter relationship with Team Liquid. After some interesting social media action - twitter followings etc - there's a slim chance of Aphromoo joining Team Liquid to form powerhouse team.
Support – Matt
Matt certainly won't take kindly to the rumours that he's set to lose his slot. The experienced Liquid support was one of the team's most mature members last season.
AD Carry – Piglet
Piglet has been completely silent on his future plans. The former World Champion spent the later part of last season playing in the Challenger Series.
AD Carry – Freeze
The AD Carry role is certainly the most difficult role to fill for TL. It's considered a plug and play position, as a free agent with previous NA experience, Freeze shouldn't be ruled out.
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