With the return of the LPL, there will be a weekly look at a each team competing. This week’s team is LNG, who will want to use their veteran status and move into the upper table.
Top: Flandre
Flandre has once again renewed his contract with LNG. He has been on this team ever since they were called Snake. In fact, he has played every game for Snake/LNG and is one of the few players from any region that can make the claim that they played every game for an org. Known for his large champion pool, Flandre will often bring out new picks in the top lane. The most recent example being Sett, where he was the first competitive we saw, in a loss versus TOP in Week 1 of the LPL. With his vast experience in the game and due to his long-time service to the team, he has become LNG’s leader. In a roster full of veteran talent, will his voice still be heard?
Jungle: Xx
After being replaced on TOP by Karsa, Xx found himself a new home as the jungler for LNG. A role previously belonging to SofM, Xx has some big shoes to fill. Despite not being as aggressive as SofM, Xx does bring something else to the table: his versatility. From tanks to duelists to assassins, if the hero can jungle, Xx can play it. He even played Urgot jungle in last summer’s playoffs, to mixed results. He also is usually one of the first to hop on new junglers like Sylas or Camille, when they stop being just laners and starting to show up in the jungle. Looking at his new team, he will fit right at home with an innovative top laner and an aggressive mid laner that can play almost any hero in the game.
Middle: Maple
After an unsuccessful year on Suning, Maple decided to move on and join LNG. Maple is another legacy player on this roster, previously known for his time playing in the LMS. He has experience going to MSI, Worlds and even All-Stars events. In game, Maple is known for his aggression and roaming potential. He loves to play heroes with great roaming potential, with Taliyah and Ryze being two of his most played mid laners. Also known for playing side lane, he doesn’t shy away from the assassin picks, with Leblanc being his all-time favorite. During his time in the LMS, he and Karsa became known as one of the best Mid-Jungle duos in the world. He was unable to replicate this success with H4cker. Will he be more successful with Xx?
Carry: Asura
The only one with only a single major competitive split under his belt, Asura will be looking to gain experience alongside his teammates. Joining Snake at the end of 2018, he was a promising rookie to take on the mantle of kRYST4L. Despite having solid performances, the team around him struggled and due to his inexperience, was unable to help them. When Snake became LNG, Asura got paired up with a new support, Duan. It took some getting used to, but by summer playoffs, Asura and Duan were looking good and helped the team take down IG. Now with a new mid-laner and jungler, Asura should be getting more of the support he needs to help carry the team.
Support: Duan
The final player of the main roster, Duan is another player who has played in the LPL for quite some time. Previously known as Caveman, he played for Vici alongside Martin. Together, they were the bot lane for a struggling Vici for three years, before they got sent their own ways. Taking last spring off, Caveman renamed himself to Duan and joined LNG in the Summer split. Known for his engage supports, Duan has always played tanks in the bot lane, even during the infamous Ardent Censer meta. Now in a meta where he can play his tanks, he receives continuous bans on Braum, Nautilus and even Alistar. Alongside Duan, they looked vastly improved by playoffs last year. This improvement will need to continue if LNG wants to contest the top half of the table.
Team Review:
Snake may be gone and rebranded into LNG, but their curse might still be around. During their time in the LPL, Snake was known to do well at the beginning of the split, only to fall flat on their face in the middle and end of the split. This split has once again started off well by LNG, picking up a three-game win streak as the LPL returned. In Week 4, however, they started to underperform and lost both of their games. As we approach Week 5, LNG will face three teams that are fairly near them in the current standings. Will LNG break their curse and make it into playoffs? Or will they once again fall to the wayside?
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