Welcome to the world of franchising esports fans. With owners and investors to answer to, with guaranteed spots, sponsorships and more the world of esports is experiencing what sports franchises have for decades. They must try to win or get better or they will lose money, and the easiest way to improve quickly is by, trading.
On the heels of 100 Thieves trading Meteos it is clear that teams are no longer holding on to players who they perceive as problems in any sense. This means that trading might become much more common in the coming years. With that in mind, lets take a look at some trades that should be consider for these NALCS teams.
Ryu and Levi to C9 for Jensen
Yes they already traded Meteos but, if 100 Thieves want to not only stay in NALCS contention but also worlds, they need to make another move. In Rift Rivals Levi is actually looking like he could be a solid jungler, the problem is that if 100 Thieves wants to play him they can’t play SSumday due to the interregional rules. If you haven’t checked his stats Ssumday currently has the highest KDA of any top laner this split at 6.5, 100 Thieves needs to play him.
Luckily they acquired AnDa in the Meteos trade who has been lighting it up down in the Academy league. If they decide to play him and Ssumday over Brandini that will leave Levi without a spot and opening him for a trade.
100 Thieves could use an upgrade at mid, which, they could do by bringing in Jensen. Clearly C9 has been having issues with Jensen as they started the season with Goldenglue and only recently brought Jensen back up. Svenskeren has struggled and Blaber, although he’s played well, seemingly hasn’t done enough to be called up yet.
This will allow 100 Thieves to get their upgrade at mid while C9 also get an upgrade over Goldenglue and another backup option for Svenskeren if he continues to struggle.
Sneaky to Flyquest for Meteos
The whole Jensen, Sneaky, Smoothie debacle and a 1-5 start has shown that C9 has some real issues within their organization. In the previously proposed trade C9 fans are saying goodbye to Jensen and again in this one to Sneaky. But, this time they would be saying hi to an old fan favorite in Meteos.
With his trade to Flyquest it was clear that Meteos was not only unhappy but, also not wanting to play in academy. This already sets things up for major drama when Flyquest don’t need it, especially since they are actually in the playoff race.
Sadly WildTurtle seems to be past him prime and when the meta returns to a “normal” for adc’s it is unlikely that he will give Flyquest what they need to make playoffs. Bringing in Sneaky would allow for him to start in the LCS again and help a team that is desperately in need of a star player.
As for C9 this allows them to start over and at least give the fans something to be excited about with Meteos’ return.
Adrian to OpTic for Palafox
Adrian has been sitting in Academy for most of the season with Echo Fox using him on occasion. It seems as though they feel like Feng is their guy so far this split. That leaves Adrian open to trade and OpTic who have looked competitive compared to last split could use an improvement over Big.
While they may not want to, they may need to give up Palafox in order to get their upgrade at support. Echo Fox may not necessarily need him since they have Damonte and Fenix but, Palafox has been lighting it up so far in Academy and talent in NA is rare overall. It is possible that Damonte could even be the starter considering how well he has performed in Rift Rivals which could leave Fenix on the outside looking in come week 4.
These are just a few options but with NA being seemingly so close it is likely that teams will make sacrifices to get better quickly.
What do you think? Are there any trades you might make? Comment below and let us know!
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