The Italian Stallion, Daniele “Jiizuke” Di Mauro is officially a free agent. His former team, Team Vitality, have brought up and named Aljoša “Milica” Kovandžić as their starting Mid Laner, according to Jacob Wolf of Espn. This means that Jiizuke will officially be looking for a brand new team in 2020. The firey Mid Laner has had plenty of highlight moments since his rookie split in 2018 where he won Rookie of the Split. He has also been known to be a bit too aggressive. While this is the style that Team Vitality were known to play, it cost them a lot of games in 2019. It will be interesting to see what teams may want to bring him on and see if his style fits theirs or if they will work around it. Here is a look at three potential teams that Jiizuke could land on.
It is worth noting that Jiizuke announced that he is open to EU and NA offers.
https://twitter.com/JiizukeLoL/status/1196449968204271618?s=20
Excel Esports
After bringing on former Origen Bot Laner, Patrik, it is clear that Excel are looking to upgrade. Jeskla was one of the better performing members of Excel last season and the team still felt that bringing in Patrik was the right move. This means that just about every position with Excel could still be up for grabs as the team’s new head coach Youngbuck, is ready to make the team a contender. A place they could look to upgrade is their Mid Lane.
While they have Exile and Special still under contract, Special has already announced that Excel have told him that he can be looking at other offers. This normally means that the player will be leaving. While Exile has not done the same, Jiizuke would be a clear upgrade. His aggressive style and ability to move around the map would bring a lot to Excel as they head into their second season in the LCS. What Jiizuke could bring in terms of taking away pressure in the side lanes would do wonders for a young roster like Excel. Bringing him in would be a clear change in style from their 2019 season, but this would likely be a welcome change as the team struggled throughout most of the year. If Jiizuke wants to stay in EU and has a starting LEC position, his options are very limited. Excel would be a solid option and on this team, he would be the star attraction.
Team Dignitas
To start, there are some rumors that Huni may end up playing in the Mid Lane after signing his massive contract. If that is not the case, he is currently the only known player on the Dignitas roster, which means they have a lot of work to do. If they are not bringing back Damonte then Jiizuke would be an excellent choice. Plus, he already looks good in black and yellow.
Huni loves to play aggressively. This was what Dignitas were known for, along with a 10-minute Rift Herald, when they made their run to Worlds. The prevailing thought would be that this team is building around Huni and bringing in Jiizuke would be a really crazy, but solid piece of the puzzle. He, like Huni, is extremely aggressive and would be willing to make plays with Huni that most other Mid Laners wouldn’t. The thought of these two playing together would make this team a must-watch. Their downside would be that they would also be a boom or bust team. This style could work well in a league that is generally very passive but, if they got behind, they would likely teamfight themselves to a loss. That said, they would be the most explosive team in the LCS and Dignitas would be starting their rebuild with two very strong laners. With import Mids being the LCS special, Jiizuke and Dignitas are perfect for each other.
Immortals
Immortals are back and fans around the LCS are excited as they have brought in some solid talent in their first year back. Signing the biggest LCS free agent, Xmithie was a huge win for the team. He will bring an incredible amount of experience and much-needed poise to his new team. Immortals also announced that sOAZ, Altec and Hakuho would all be brought in to start at their respective positions as well. This leaves only the Mid Lane for them to fill.
While Jiizuke would not be a perfect fit for this team, he would be the strong laner that this team seems to need badly. Hakuho will be able to make sure that the bot lane is mostly in check and sOAZ can hold his own but, neither lane will likely have massive advantages over their LCS opponents. If the team were to sign Jiizuke then the whole team dynamic would change. As mentioned before he is aggressive and this team would need the jolt that he provides. With a very talented Jungler like Xmithie, these two would make for a formidable duo and would, in turn, be able to take their advantages into their weaker side lanes. He would also take the pressure off of Xmithie as teams would not only focus his champion pool in draft. Also, Jiizuke would give the team another big face for their franchise. Immortals have a loyal following and having a solid team in their first year back should be a priority, especially after signing Xmithie. Jiizuke would help to finalize what should be an above-average roster.
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