NA LCS Roster Moves: Aphromoo joins 100 Thieves

The news that Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black joined the 100 Thieves roster was announced on ESPN. He will join Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho, William "Meteos" Hartman, and Yoo "Ryu" Sang-wook in the 2018 NA LCS season. The lineup will be lead by the former H2K head coach Neil "Pr0lly" Hammad, and—according to many speculations—Cody "Cody Sun" Sun is likely to pair with Aphromoo in the bottom lane. 

So… how does this look for 100 Thieves?

Calling the shots

First impressions are important. And if a new team wanted to make a good first impression in the League of Legends scene, it would have to start with the roster. In this sense, 100 Thieves certainly hit a home run.

The 3-man core of Ssumday, Meteos, and Ryu already forms a formidable lineup, and Pr0lly is proven in the coaching role. But signing Aphromoo seals the deal. 

Having played for four years on Counter Logic Gaming, Aphromoo is widely regarded as the mind behind the team’s strong macro game and split-second decision-making. Of course, he was also assisted by CLG’s coaching staff. But the fact remains that Aphromoo is one of the best shot callers in the scene. Combine that with the veteran presence from Ssumday, Meteos, and Ryu, and we can already see the 100 Thieves lineup challenging endemic teams in the playoffs. 

But what about the bot lane?

If 100 Thieves end up signing Cody Sun, they could easily have a top-4 bottom lane in the region. Challenging TSM’s Zven and Mithy or TL’s Doublelift and Olleh might be a tall order for the pair, but we expect the 100T duo to perform well throughout the season. The only possible issue is Aphromoo’s laning phase that’s been lacking recently, but we expect the North American support to bounce back from this slump. 

Just like with most roster moves, there’s the other side of the coin to consider.

Aphromoo’s departure leaves his old team—Counter Logic Gaming—with a noticeable void in the macro department. CLG’s communication was built around a shot calling support, and it will take time for them to adjust to playing with a more passive player in Biofrost. 

Still, this change is for the better. Aphromoo has already achieved everything he could on CLG, and it’s due time he tried himself on another team. As for Counter Logic Gaming, being tied to a single player is never a good thing, and the organization will benefit from learning to work with a new support in the long run. 

We'll see how it plays out for both sides in North America's first franchised Split in 2018.

What do you think about Aphromoo joining 100 Thieves in the 2018 NA LCS season? Share your opinion in the comments below!