Team Liquid has officially confirmed their Academy roster for the upcoming 2019 season. Their team is made up of some familiar faces that we’ve seen around the league. Let’s check out who the team is made up of!
We're locked in for the 2019 Academy season #LetsGoLiquidhttps://t.co/MQSEsQlt4f
— Team Liquid LoL (@TeamLiquidLoL) January 8, 2019
Team Liquid Academy has some newcomers, as well as a couple LCS veterans joining the lineup. For example, Mike “MikeYeung” Yeung was picked up from free agency back in November. Additionally, Matthew “Matt” Elento is returning to the Team Liquid brand after playing out a few seasons with other teams. It will be interesting to see how these two players will bounce back from the last few lackluster performances they’ve had.
Meet the Roster
Alongside MikeYeung and Matt, the roster consists of some players familiar to the League of Legends Academy scene. In the top lane, they have Thomas “Jenkins” Tran, who was last playing for Super Nova. Super Nova is an amateur North American organization that focuses on training players in a pro-like environment. The last time he played for an Academy team would be with Golden Guardians Academy.
David “Insanity” Challe has been a known high-elo North American mid laner for some time now. However, this will be his first foray into the world of Academy. Hopefully, all his time playing at a high level has prepared him in some sort of way come the start of the season. Quentin “Shoryu” Pereira will also be making his Academy debut with Team Liquid, so hopefully, all the newcomers gain some valuable experience for their careers.
The big story around Team Liquid’s Academy team is the possible return of MikeYeung and Matt to the LCS stage.
Redemption Arc?
For MikeYeung and Matt, this stint in the Team Liquid Academy could be their ticket to an LCS appearance sometime in the future. Both players have a pretty mottled past, especially over the last year. For MikeYeung, he would go through a pretty rocky 2018 with TSM. In the spring, he and the perennial NA champions would struggle but manage to take third place in the regular season. However, they ended up with an early exit from the playoffs at the hands of Clutch Gaming. In the summer, TSM would bench him for Jonathan “Grig” Armao. He would also reveal that the reason he was benched was that he played too aggressive a style for TSM’s liking.
As for Matt, he has been moving from the LCS to the NA Academy for most of his career. Last year, he would play for the Golden Guardians where they would end up in last place in both splits. Additionally, this is a homecoming of sorts for Matt, who spent most of his career with Team Liquid. He was also on the team during the most turbulent time in the organization’s history alongside Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett.
These two former LCS players are hoping that by being with one of the top LCS teams, they can show the world that they are still LCS caliber players. Mike Yeung might even get some starts on the LCS stage if Xmithie needs some time off. There isn’t a lack of aggressive players on the LCS team either, so his playstyle could benefit from the roster.
What are your thoughts on Team Liquid’s Academy team? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more League of Legends news, check us out here!
