OpTic Gaming is bringing back a few recognizable faces for the 2019 NA LCS year. The team is re-signing Niship “Dhokla” Doshi and Terry “BIG” Chuong for another year.
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Support ✅Happy to welcome back Terry "BIG" Chuong & Niship "Dhokla" Doshi to the 2019 LCS Season! #Greenwall pic.twitter.com/lyi6xdwsb6
— OpTicLoL (@OpTicLoL) December 5, 2018
This news comes right after the team would acquire star jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett yesterday. Additionally, the team will also be bringing back head coach Thomas “Zaboutine” Si-Hassen, as well as general manager Keaton Cryer. All the team needs to solidify their roster is an AD Carry player, seeing as their current ADC, Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon, hasn’t been signed to a deal yet.
Building Blocks for OpTic
OpTic Gaming has a lot to work on for the upcoming year, especially with how their 2018 shaped up to be. In their inaugural season in the NA LCS, they would end up in second-last place. However, the following season would be a bit better for the Green Wall. In the 2018 Summer Split, OpTic would bring in Dhokla and BIG to replace Derek “zig” Shao and Daerek “LemonNation” Hart.
They would see a bit of improvement, going from ninth to seventh in the regular season. In fact, OpTic would barely miss the playoffs, but FlyQuest would edge them out in the meantime. Dhokla would play pretty well for his first split in the NA LCS. He would pull out some unorthodox champion picks, some of which would help earn OpTic some victories. They were a better team than their record was suggesting, and could have been a playoff team that split.
However, OpTic Gaming would still struggle in many of their games. Many people would state that OpTic Gaming simply lacked the talent to stand up against the top teams in the region. Additionally, some of their players would regress during the split, such as Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon. He was a former NA LCS MVP but hasn’t been playing that well these past few splits.
Looking Forward
As for the 2019 season, OpTic Gaming has plenty to look forward to. Having former World Champion Lee “Crown” Min-ho should bring some excitement to the team. Also, having Dardoch and Meteos in the jungle could give OpTic some good options and flexibility in the match-ups. Dhokla could have a good season of growth once again, and become another great North American top laner.
However, there are a few problems that can be seen in the lineup as well. For one, how will Crown adjust to living in North America, and playing with North American players? NA has a pretty different play style and system, and it will be a good challenge for Crown moving ahead in his career. Additionally, both Dardoch and Meteos will want to start full-time and could cause some unwanted tension in the team. They will probably need to make a long-term decision on their jungle situation soon.
Finally, their AD Carry position is still open and with the thinning market for ADC’s, they may have a weak bottom lane this year. Last year, their bottom lane was a pretty big weakness, especially with Arrow and BIG as their duo. BIG hasn’t been the best support over the past few years, and OpTic will need a solid duo to help support Crown and Dardoch.
What are your thoughts on Dhokla and BIG joining OpTic Gaming? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more NA LCS coverage, check us out here!
