Flash Wolves not competing in the League of Legends PCS in 2020

Olivia Richman Published 13/12/2019

Flash Wolves fans were distraught this morning when they saw a tweet from the Taiwanese organization declaring that they wouldn’t be competing in the League of Legends Pacific Champion Series next season.

“We are so sorry to tell every fans, Flash Wolves League of Legend team won’t participate PCS in 2020. We will help player to find new stage for their career. Hopefully, we will see you next game,” the team tweeted.

Flash Wolves were the most dominant team in the LMS’ history, winning seven domestic titles during their six years of League of Legends competition, including in the LMS 2019 Spring Playoffs. That’s the most titles for any team in any of the regional leagues.

Despite their great showing in the Spring Split, the fan favorite team finished an underwhelming sixth place during the Summer Split regular season. They clawed their way to third in the Regional Finals, losing to HK Attitude 0-3. This was the Wolves’ second worst season in franchise history and their first time missing the World Championships since 2014.

Flash Wolves give reasons for leaving League of Legends

The League of Legends community blames the team’s roster changes on this disappointing performance. During the 2018 offseason, Flash Wolves lost mid laner Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang and support Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, who opted to join Suning in the LPL. With their absence, it didn’t seem like Flash Wolves had enough talent to carry the team forward.

The departure from League of Legends could also be in part due to upcoming changes in the LMS. Next season, the LMS won’t even have its own regional competition, and will instead merge with Southeast Asia’s LST. This will form the Pacific League Championship Series that the Flash Wolves mentioned in their tweet.

But other fans blamed Flash Wolves’ roster changes on Riot’s decision to disband LMS as its own region. Flash Wolves fans were in agreement that Maple and SwordArt were perhaps the LMS’ last and only hope.

Others felt it was the tournament’s organizer, Garena, that made LMS unsuccessful, noting they were the only major region to never have an English broadcast. When news hit that the LMS would be merging with LST, many LoL fans blamed the unpopular event organizer for the LMS’ failure.

No matter the reason, Flash Wolves’ fans are sad to see the League of Legends team leave the scene. A reply on Twitter said they would deal with their grief over the news by watching old Flash Wolves games. Others simply offered “F.”

Flash Wolves still exists as an organization and will be competing in Hearthstone and Honor of Kings moving forward.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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