OpTic acquire PowerOfEvil, zig, and LemonNation


The news that Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage, Derek "zig" Shao, and Daerek "LemonNation" Hart joined OpTic Gaming came up in an investigative ESPN article. The trio will join Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham and  Noh "Arrow" Dong-hyeon in the 2018 NA LCS season. And let’s be honest, we’re not holding our hopes high for this roster.

Haphazard changes

OpTic entered the League of Legends scene with a lot of fanfare. Signing Arrow and Akaadian seemed like a great first step to building a very solid roster, however, everything went out of the window with this announcement. 

Of course, PowerOfEvil is an amazing prospect. Previously a member of Misfits, POE had a strong domestic showing, making it all the way to the finals before falling 0-3 to G2 Esports. But the real kicker is his 2017 World Championship performance where PowerOfEvil went toe-to-toe with some of the best mid laners in the scene.  Naturally, fielding a player like this would be a good sign for most teams.  

But not for OpTic.

This is mainly because of the other additions to their roster. For one, zig has been nothing short of mediocre on the Phoenix1 lineup. Of course, a part of it was because his team didn’t give him a lot of resources and often sacrificed top lane in favor of other positions.

But even then, zig’s 2.2 KDA and 7.8 CS per minute over the 2017 Summer Split aren’t exactly making the best impression, and it’s rare to see him pull off carry performances on anything other than Kled or Renekton. 

Still, the real point of contention is OpTic’s other recruit, LemonNation. After seeing his play on FlyQuest, it’s clear that the legendary support player is past his prime. His laning is riddled with holes,  his roaming isn’t as sharp as it used to be, and his playmaking is almost non-existent. Not only that, but his 2.3 KDA and 67.1% kill participation in the summer puts him at the very bottom of support rankings. 

The only hope is that Arrow will be able to salvage the bottom lane. After all, he did receive an MVP title in the 2017 Spring Split. But we’ve already seen what happens when Arrow is paired with a mediocre support on P1, and we don’t expect things to change much now.

With these moves, the NA LCS newcomers are very likely to end up with two losing side lanes, and even a player of PowerOfEvil’s caliber won’t be enough to save them. 

What do you think about OpTic Gaming signing PowerOfEvil, zig, and LemonNation? Share your opinion in the comments below!

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