Melany M. December 4, 2018
Echo Fox and Clutch Gaming have announced the transfer of multiple players between the two LCS organizations.
Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Tanner “Damonte” Damonte are leaving Echo Fox and joining Clutch Gaming. In return, Echo Fox will welcome Colin “Solo” Earnest, Apollo “Apollo” Price, and Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent.
In addition, Echo Fox signed former KT Rolster jungler Lee “Rush” Yoon-jae and welcomed back mid laner Kim “FeniX” Jae-hun. The team also announced Kim "SSONG" Sang-soo as the new head coach. SSONG worked with Team SoloMid in 2018, the worst year yet in the organization’s rich history.
Clutch Gaming is wrapping up its own roster changes with Academy players Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme joining jungler Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo on the main team. The organization has not yet confirmed a new head coach.
Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett and Lawrence “Lost” Hui are still under contract with Echo Fox, but their future is uncertain given the new signings in the jungle and bottom lane.
The exchange between the two teams came as a surprise to many. Echo Fox was known for its unpredictable and aggressive play style last season. The team qualified for playoffs in both the spring and summer splits but failed to go far once there.
Clutch Gaming surprised LCS fans in the spring as the team finished in fourth place, but in summer the story was different. After a mix of roster and coaching changes, the team missed the playoffs and was beaten in the first round of the regional finals.
Solo, Apollo, and Hakuho are reliable players that play a safer style compared to the overtly aggressive style of Echo Fox.
Huni and Damonte require extra attention from roaming junglers, while LirA tends to play a passive game with few ganks.
Fans will have to see which team comes out the better for the swap.