A world champion hopes to elevate OpTic in 2019

OpTic Gaming are hoping that a former world champion can help the team turn over a new leaf in the LCS.

OpTic announced the signing of former world champion Lee “Crown” Min-ho, where he’ll join recent acquisitionsWilliam “Meteos” Hartman and Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett.

After an underwhelming year, OpTic Gaming is making big moves. The team announced Crown as the new starting mid laner for the 2019 season. Crown won the World Championship 2017 with Samsung Galaxy, but after rebranding as Gen.G, the side failed to find similar success in 2018.

Meteos joins OpTic Gaming after a brief time with FlyQuest Academy. The jungler previously played with 100 Thieves but parted ways with the organization amidst some confusion.

OpTic surprised fans when it was announced that Dardoch would join the squad as a second jungler. Dardoch is a well-known player in North America. Despite his controversial behavior at the beginning of his career, his skill has kept him in the public eye and has earned him another shot with a pro team.

Meteos is currently slated to be the starting jungler for the spring, though Dardoch is likely to see playing time at some point in the new season.

The organization also renewed contracts with bot laner Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon, top laner Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, and support player Terry “BIG” Chuong. Thomas “Zaboutine” Si-Hassen continues as head coach.

OpTic Gaming was considered a lower-tier team during the organization’s first year in the LCS. The team finished the spring split in ninth place and the summer split in seventh.

The new recruits bring years of experience to the table. Dardoch and Meteos are considered aggressive junglers likely to make an impact on games, which contrasts with OpTic’s former jungler Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham. The team will hope the more proactive approach from the jungle pays off.

The LCS returns on January 26, 2019.