Tim Sevenhuysen is the founder and sole developer of Oracle's Elixir and provides a variety of consulting and contracting services throughout the esports industry. He is the former Director of Esports Analytics for 100 Thieves, served as Head of Data Science for Esports One, led Shadow.gg from 2017 to 2019, and was Statistical Consultant for Fnatic in 2015. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimSevenhuysen.
Korea has a long lineage of superstar Jungle talent. Players like KaKao, Spirit, Dandy, and Bengi are international household names. After the 2015 exodus of Korean talent to China and elsewhere, the LCK Jungle talent pool was heavily depleted, with three of the four players I just listed leaving the Korean scene.
Other players stepped up, trying to fill the void. One stood out above the rest: Chaser of the Jin Air Green Wings. Now he has declared free agency, and may be following his better known compatriots overseas, or perhaps simply looking to find a better chance to win at home.
What makes Chaser worthy of comparison to the great names I’ve listed? Let’s start with his Summer split stat line.
A month ago, when the unthinkable happened and Doublelift left Counter Logic Gaming for their archrivals, Team SoloMid, the esports world erupted with commentary. Beyond the drama and storylines, most of the analytical work focused on TSM’s prospects and the partnership between Doublelift and Bjergsen. CLG’s side of the transaction was thoroughly dissected for drama and mined for memes, but there was far less conversation about the roster that had been left behind, and what might become of it.
The CLG fanbase was rife with skepticism, some fans saying their loyalty would follow Doublelift to TSM, others simply bemoaning the team’s future. Significant questions were being raised: how might roster changes at AD Carry and Mid lane—where Huhi had already supplanted Pobelter—change the team’s dynamic? Who could possibly fill Doublelift’s shoes?
At Intel Extreme Masters San Jose, we got to watch the new CLG roster in action as they made a run to the Finals. During those games, some questions about the new CLG were answered; others were raised. It was clear that we were watching a different CLG, but how different? Let’s take a look.
