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If there was ever a time for CLG fans to anticipate another roller coaster of emotions between anxiety and excitement, now is the time. For anyone keenly keeping watch on the team since their roots have spouted, roster changes have never bode well for the organization directly following the initial reformation.
In light of this, however, every decision made by CLG turns out logical as opposed to previous decisions. Most questionable of all was when Voyboy was recruited to top lane, forcing both Hotshot and Voyboy to seclude themselves to playstyles they might not have been comfortable with.
Voyboy wasn't allowed to play aggressively due to CLG's playstyle and Hotshot took on a role that encompassed strong team presence when he is profound at his split pushing technique. Things might have changed for the better for the first time, allowing CLG to come back strong as described as below.
Nientonsoh's Shift to Top
? We saw Vulcun crawl from the bottom four up to knocking out Curse Gaming and taking a top 3 finisher. One very large part of the magic in the team is Zuna, who throughout the season was an AD Carry and also traditionally mains AD carry. However, that wasn't always the case. When Aphromoo was playing AD carry primarily, that was his role on the team that is now Vulcun (or Vulcun Techbargains, if they prefer.)
At this time, Zuna was playing in the top lane and though the team didn't have absolutely stellar results before the dawn of LCS practice, he seemed quite well and capable in this role. Nientonsoh is known as an extremely flexible player very capable of twisting his play to the whims of a team's best interest. Having had experience in both the AP and AD role, he has both the mechanics of an ADC while having the knowledge and awareness granted by playing an AP Middle Champion.
Though he'll take time to adjust, I think it's a fair assessment that going from a bottom laner to a top laner is very similar, and Nientonsoh will gradually fill the shoes of HotshotGG and even surpass him as he molds his play to fancy the style Counter Logic Gaming goes for, with superior mechanics and a capability of more threats on the team. Safe to say, the transition from AD to Top is probably easier than the opposite, and the lane mechanics are very similar. On the mental side of things, Nientonsoh is highly regarded in his capability of taking criticism and molding it into superior play coupled with his extreme drive to be the best longer than he's been largely relevant within the scene.
In the end, legends come and go in eSports, and if Brood War is any example, the rise and plummet of our favorite stars will always transition into a new era. HotshotGG went out with a bang and probably did so at the most opportune time he could. When we look back at Starcraft, we see this exemplified by players like SlayerS_`BoxeR` who innovated and encouraged preposterous growth both in stylizing his play and being instrumental to the growth of the eSport as a whole. As time goes on, they falter as a player and new, younger prodigies have a chance to shine and fill the shoes of their predecessors before them, like Lee Young-Ho (Flash) has done for Terran.
Similar to the Brood War example, HotshotGG has built a foundation of which top lane is played properly and now can share the wealth of his knowledge and expand his company without having to split his attention, allowing fresh and primed talent who are motivated to fill the shoes bring new success and victories to Counter Logic Gaming.
Bigfatjiji's Move to the Jungle
???This is probably the strangest of all the Counter Logic Gaming changes since Bigfatlp is essentially playing a role we've never seen him play. Assuming Chauster's statement of jungling being "easy" explaining the transitional ease from a solo lane to the role rather than the depth of it, then there can be some truth to how effect Bigfatlp will grow as a player in this role.
Though not an innovative, LoL eSports blooming deity-like figure for CLG like HotshotGG was once regarded, Bigfatlp took critical measures to enable the success of his team and does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work which often times will go uncredited. In Season 1, Bigfatlp was globally regarded as the undisputed best player in the game, at least for mid. However, just as things shift like they did for George, the same happened to Bigfatlp. Despite the mechanical faults, Bigfatlp still retains 3 years of professional gaming knowledge, which gives him a huge edge on the international scale.
With Bigfatlp back on the primary roster, the team now can shed more rays of brilliance upon their blooming teammates while performing in more suitable roles for their talent set. Though game knowledge is a key factor for the impact this has on CLG, Bigfatlp also will most likely resume his sub role of "father figure." When not practicing for the games ahead, Bigfatlp was known to wake everyone up, set scrims, and do a lot of the back-end work to keep CLG organized and professional, something North American teams have a notirious reputation for lacking.
Though the change may be strange for some, it makes a lot of sense if you've been following CLG since the days of old. Let's consider that although Bigfatjiji suffered in lane and generally got punished by the newer spectrum of players flooding the scene, He always shined in teamfights and worked his magic there pretty much exclusively. Being in the jungle, especially in Season 3, is a very effective role for him to shine and utilize the dynamics of his play without too much of an issue in being "outplayed" in his effective role. Coupled with the fact that the team still has two members experienced in the jungle who are both notoriously intelligent in game knowledge, he should be coached back to the standards necessary to compete in the LCS within a few weeks.
Chauster back to support
?Though this isn't obvious to everyone, this is definitely what everyone wanted to see: the return of Chaulift. This change is phenomenal for CLG in the long run for a number of reasons, but namely the synergy the two have developed. When identifying the potential of a duo lane, it's not just the skill of the pair at their role but also the link between the two. Bar none, Chauster and Doublelift have the most collective experience with one another than any other North American team at this very moment.
Coupled with that fact, it is no mystery by now that Doublelift has been taught everything he knows by Chauster, which helps the pairing for multiple reasons. First and foremost, even if Chauster is rusty, he has the knowledge and knows exactly what to do and how to improve for Doublelift. This is critical to their success primarily due to Doublelift no longer feeling held back and waiting for the support to play "catch up." Doublelift does best when he can rely soley on his mechanics and allow others to make decisions and dictate the flow of the game -- a task he was not capable of focusing on since the last time Chauster and Doublelift were a duo lane.
Something very important to consider is even if the lane will be a bit shaky early on due to transitional periods, the skill will come back due to confidence and former prestige alone. Though CLG didn't do so hot in OGN, Chauster and Doublelift were still considered the most feared duo in the world and started a trend of the Koreans constantly forcing 2v1's on the duo for that reason alone. Now that the two both have extended game experience, they will once again accelerate to a point they once were and even beyond due to the roster investment they have made.
Final Thoughts
CLG fans might not like it, and they certainly will not welcome the fact that every roster change they made is a "long term investment." After all, when changes for long term investments happen so frequently, it ends up as wasted effort and endlessly antagonizes fans who have so loyally followed them and seen their hardships, even as the eldest team of the bunch. CLG really sticking with this roster is going to be key if they feel it has the potential they've so confidently vowed it has in interviews, but this isn't the first time we've heard such a claim.
Though statements have always been bolder than their performances traditionally, there's sound logic to every one of the changes and allows them to utilize new young and talented individuals. Despite the popular saying of "you can't teach old dogs new tricks", CLG's success primarily relies on the success of Bigfatlp's transition into the jungle, allowing his team presence to shine in a role that exemplifies that quality and truly makes it stand out. Meanwhile, the bottom lane just has to play catch up and shake off the rust to perform at their former standards and excel beyond it in the ever-increasing strength of the North American scene.
Last but not least, CLG has a powerful "behind-the-scenes" crew who will focus exclusively on helping the team and foregoing practice with Hotshot most likely assisting Kelby in managing the team. With the scrim schedules finally working out for CLG where they find their exclusive balance on what feels like optimal practice, the team's future looks hopeful. However, we must also not pretend that it will be a pretty era at the dawn of the Summer Split for the LCS. CLG has historically been atrocious directly following a line-up change and CLG fans will need to stay through another thick slump if history is to repeat itself.
