Spanish esports organization MAD Lions has announced its League of Legends Academy roster as it enters the 2020 SuperLiga Orange Spring Season. Formerly known as the Splyce Vipers, the organization enters the scene for the first time after their rebranding. Most of the lineup has not competed in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), but all have previous competitive experience.
Bienvenidos a vuestra nueva casa.
Bienvenidos a MAD Lions Madrid.@werlyb @Koldo_LoL @HatrixxLoL @Flakked_LoL @Prime_0P(Pendiente de aprobación por Riot)#goMAD pic.twitter.com/qFemwnhcvf
— MAD Lions (@MADLions) January 6, 2020
MAD Lions Madrid in 2020
The MAD Lions Madrid roster consists of top laner Jorge “Werlyb” Moreno-Torres, jungler Luis “Koldo” Pérez, mid laner Jørgen “Hatrixx” Elgåen, AD carry Victor “Flakked” Lirola, and support Olivier “Prime” Payet. Werlyb should be the most experienced player on this lineup. He has experience competing for organizations like Fnatic Academy, MAD Lions, and SK Gaming.
While with SK Gaming, the team finished in 6th during the 2019 LEC Spring Split and 5 – 6th during Spring Playoffs. However, Werlyb’s transition to SK Gaming Prime did not seem to help the roster. Instead, the Academy team did worse at the 2019 Premier Tour Summer Split and ESLM 2019 Summer Season, with only a change in the support role other than him.
European Masters on the line
Former MAD Lions head coach Alvar “Araneae” Aleñar will continue in his role on the coaching staff. Similarly, Jesús “Falco” Pérez will assist him as Assistant Coach. MAD Lions Madrid enters the 2020 SuperLiga Orange Spring Season against nine other teams, including the likes of G2 Arctic, Movistar Riders, Origen BCN, and Vodafone Giants.
Teams will play in a double round-robin with best-of-one matches, with the top six teams qualifying for Playoffs and top two advancing directly to the Semifinals. In total, three teams will seed into the 2020 Spring European Masters event, with one going to the Play-In stage. The MAD Lions have previously taken the championship during 2018’s Summer Season, which boasts a €150,000 prize pool. Can they do it again?
