League of Legends reporter Travis Gafford announced the news, revealing that CLG would also sell off their long-held LCS slot. The layoffs are expected to start as early as this Thursday.

The parent company of CLG, The Madison Square Garden Company, reportedly informed all CLG staff at the start of the week that they would be laid off by Saturday – including George ��HotshotGG�� Georgallidis, the company president.

The esports organization��s LoL division will be the only sector left and will continue competing until the company is sold. NRG Esports are reportedly the lead candidates to purchase the team; however, it is not certain whether the Los Angeles-based outfit would buy just CLG��s LCS team and slot, or the entire organization.

NRG participated in the 2016 season of the LCS and currently compete in a number of esports leagues, like OWL and ALGS. They also hold a franchised spot in Riot Games�� VCT Americas VALORANT league.

The fate of CLG��s other active lineups remains unknown. The organization also runs a Super Smash Bros roster and a female CS:GO lineup, CLG Red.

Just days before the news, a report circulated about TSM, another foundational LCS organization, and their intention to sell their LCS spot and move out of esports due to financial troubles. CLG and TSM are the only squads to have participated in every LCS split dating back to 2013.

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CLOUD9 vs COUNTER LOGIC GAMING LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

Counter Logic Gaming produced their best run through the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) regular season since 2019. But now they must face off against the reigning LCS champions, Cloud9, who enter the first round of LCS 2023 Spring Playoffs as heavy favourites to advance.

Cloud9 collected another LCS regular season trophy on Saturday when they defeated FlyQuest in a hard-fought tiebreaker, solidifying themselves as the strongest North American League of Legends team ahead of the playoffs. Cloud9 could’ve easily not been able to contest the top spot in the league, but the combination of FlyQuest slowing down in the final weeks and Cloud9 finding a new identity with rookie midlaner Jang “EMENES” Min-soo played a significant role in C9 reclaiming their throne.

Counter Logic Gaming were never in the conversation of the next LCS champions; however, they did extremely well for themselves, ending the season in fourth place after losing the tiebreaker match against 100 Thieves. Although an incredible accomplishment for the oldest League of Legends team, losing against 100T puts a bit of a dent in CLG’s run to the finish line.

On a more positive note, the final week of the regular season saw CLG beating Golden Guardians, Team Liquid, and Cloud9, who CLG crushed with 31-8 in kills and close to a 10k gold lead.

Still, we’re talking about a best-of-one game which is much easier to win than a best-of-three. So even though Cloud9 looked hopeless on Thursday, it was apparent they had an off-day, so we wouldn’t expect a repeat performance on Friday.

Cloud9 are significantly better than CLG, and we expect that to show in the playoffs. Counter Logic Gaming are no pushovers and will offer some resistance, but if Cloud9 play their game, it’s hard to imagine CLG winning more than one map.

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CLG unveiled the coaching staff roster which included the former top laner as its latest addition.

The 28-year old Frenchman is well-known for his time with Fnatic, where he played as the top laner from 2012 to 2018. During his time with the team, sOAZ helped lead Fnatic to four LEC championships and a second-place finish at the 2018 World Championships against Invictus Gaming. Since then, he has played for Misfits Gaming and Immortals but has not found the same level of success.

While this will be sOAZ’s coaching debut in the North American region, he has previously coached in the LFL with LDLC OL and Mirage Elyandra. He also had a brief stint as a pro player with WAVE Esports in the PRM.

SOAZ took to his Twitter page to confirm his appointment with Counter Logic Gaming, expressing his excitement to begin his new journey with the LCS franchise.

“I’m joining @clgaming as positional coach ! Very excited for this new chapter and looking forward to the new LCS season,” sOAZ tweeted.

Joining sOAZ on the coaching staff are a number of other former pro players, including Tanner “Damonte” Damonte, a former CLG mid laner, and Apollo “Apollo” Price, a former Immortals AD carry, who will serve as positional coaches for the LCS team. Thomas “Thinkcard” Slotkin will remain the franchise head coach as Tahm “ionz” Rahman joins the team filling the position of an analyst and Chris “Croissant” Sun as the main team strategic coach. In addition to the elaborate lineup of the main roster, Mash, a former FlyQuest marksman, will be the strategic coach for the Challenger team.

The inclusion of sOAZ and other experienced players on the coaching staff shows CLG’s commitment to improving its team and achieving success in the upcoming 2023 LCS season. SOAZ’s extensive knowledge and experience in the LEC will no doubt be a valuable resource for the younger members of the LCS squad.

CLG has not had the best track record in the LCS in the past 5 years, with its highest finish being third place in the summer split of 2017 and 2019. However, the franchise has made several changes in recent years, including revamping its roster and coaching staff, in an effort to improve its standing in the league. With the addition of sOAZ and other talented coaches, CLG is hoping to make a strong showing in the 2023 LCS Spring Split and beyond.

Overall, the announcement of sOAZ as a positional coach for CLG is exciting news for fans of both the franchise and the player himself. His return to the North American scene and foray into coaching marks a new chapter in his career, and it will be interesting to see how he and the rest of the coaching staff can elevate the team’s performance.
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For the 2023 season, many franchises in the LCS made significant alterations to their rosters. Some teams even released their star players in an effort to achieve greater balance within their squads. Due to their poor performances at Worlds 2022 and MSI 2022, the LCS teams have an even stronger motivation to improve their play on the international stage.

The Spring Split of the 2023 season of League of Legends LCS will start on January 26th, and as such, players have limited time left to prepare for the stage games. Full details on the rosters for this split are outlined below.

The following are teams that will be participating in the LCS 2023 Spring Split:

• Evil Geniuses
• FlyQuest
• Cloud9
• Dignitas
• Team Liquid
• Team SoloMid
• Golden Guardians
• Immortals
• 100 Thieves
• Counter Logic Gaming

The following are the confirmed rosters for the LCS 2023 Spring Split, which have undergone significant changes and modifications to each of the teams:

While all the teams are strong, the 100 Thieves stand out, owing to the return of Doublelift to professional League of Legends and his partnership with Bjergsen.

Doublelift and his duo partner are considered by many to be among the most successful in North American history, so fans are eagerly anticipating the 2023 season. If Doublelift can maintain his high level of performance, it’s possible that North America could become a competitive force in international competition once again.

Team Liquid is the second most attractive team. Their decision to put Pyosik in the jungle role shows their confidence in him, as he has previously won the League of Legends Worlds Championships.

Although Pyosik may not have been the top player for DRX in 2022, he greatly impressed during Worlds. In fact, among junglers in North America, it is possible that none can compare to Pyosik’s skill, giving Team Liquid an advantage in competition.

Diplex has recently been added to the Cloud9 roster as the team seeks to bring in younger players rather than experienced veterans. While this move may not work out, it represents a positive change for the team.

For the 2023 Spring Split of the League of Legends LCS, Evil Geniuses has made two significant changes to their roster. They have replaced Impact with Ssumday in the top lane position.

Additionally, Danny has been replaced by Evil Geniuses, who have brought in the FBI. The main reason for this replacement is because Danny has been struggling with personal issues, rather than a decline in performance.

Finally, TSM has made alterations to its roster, but it appears to be weaker compared to other teams. It is uncertain whether TSM will be able to compete for the trophy, but all will be revealed in due time.

According to most esports betting sites, Team Liquid are favorites to win the League of Legends LCS Spring Split, and Christopher ��PapaSmithy�� Smith��s FlyQuest as close contenders with an all-new roster led by Korean superstar Jeong ��Impact�� Eon-young.

Defending champions Evil Geniuses are third-best favorites with the core of their title-winning roster still available and the addition of former 100 Thieves LCS Summer 2021 title-winning duo Kim ��Ssumday�� Chan-ho and Victor ��FBI�� Huang.

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During its tenure in the LCS, the franchised North American League of Legends league, CLG developed a strong relationship with VALORANT creator Riot Games. This relationship continues to this day. The organization has been around for more than ten years, making it one of the more venerable ones.

CLG maintains a lineup of VALORANT Game Changers, which the organization most likely will utilize as a point of differentiation when applying for a partnership.

Within the next several months, the company plans to make an effort to deploy a male VALORANT roster. However, it should be aware that it will face severe competition from other prominent companies who are also trying to have a team in the partnered league.

CLG, along with virtually all of the other leading organizations in North America, has submitted a partnership application with Riot for VALORANT. In the event that CLG was granted acceptance, the organization would join the partnered league to compete against other granted organizations. This league will begin play next year and will include teams not just from Brazil but also from Latin America.

By September, teams will receive notice as to whether or not they have been admitted into their respective associated leagues. This is the time period that is closest to the beginning of VALORANT Champions, the most awaited tournament of the year.

Several institutions may explore the possibility of joining the North American league because it is anticipated to have the biggest number of viewers. For instance, the European-based organization G2 has reportedly submitted a proposal for a franchise in the North American region. This was initially reported by journalist neL and has since been verified by various individuals. According to the reports, G2 has also submitted an application to play in the European league as a fallback alternative.

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“This will be my first and the last photo of me in 2020. I am joining the army on November 30. Thanks for all the support, and I wish you all the best,” he said via Twitter.

On Monday, Rush took to his Twitter page to make his return public, giving insight into the time spent undergoing military training.

He said: “I just have finished mandatory military service. I have changed a lot!

“Things i got from military: Toxicity, Fat, 8000$ (18 months total)

“Things i lost: Humanity, league skills (gold 2)

“Also i lost an ability to speak English. So all these tweets are helped from google. Please understand. ty”

Meanwhile, the streamer has gotten back to work and climbed the ranking ladder. Although he stated he was at Gold 2, his solo queue account shows that he has now reached Diamond 2.

Rush gave up competitive play in 2019 and has since been a streamer. While his return is celebrated in the esports industry, he will only be creating content for Counter Logic Gaming.

Although the organization has teams competing at different levels globally, Rush is only on board as a streamer. CLG’s LoL team, which is the oldest existing League of Legends side, finished eighth in LCS Spring 2022 and will be looking for a top-three finish in the summer for a chance to compete at the 2022 LoL World Championship.

Rush started his career with LMQ but joined Team Impulse a month later. He had a somewhat successful run with Impulse, reaching the playoffs of the spring and summer splits in 2015. Although they finished fourth in the 2015 summer split, he was awarded the MVP award for his efforts.

Rush’s best run as a professional player came during his short stint with Cloud9. They finished third in the 2016 summer split and had a better run in the playoffs. They came close to clinching the top spot in the event but fell to Team SoloMid 3-1 in the finals. The loss also translated to them missing the 2016 LoL World Championship.

The 29-year-old officially retired from competitive gaming in 2019 after a disappointing season and has since been a streamer for CLG. However, that was not his first shot at retirement.

In 2016, he hung his boots and opted to focus on streaming. After 18 months, he returned to competitive play for KT Rolster.

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?Counter Logic Gaming are guaranteed to finish outside the top six this split, but they have been playing significantly better of late and might have made it into the postseason had they performed that way from the get-go. In their defence, CLG were dealing with visa issues, so it is not fair to put too much weight on their early-season struggles.

Cloud9 are looking like the strongest LCS team of 2021, so it is not surprising to see them priced so low in the match betting at LoL bookmakers. Even though we can agree C9 are the most likely victors, we cannot quite understand why the kill handicap line is set at 10.5.

On recent form, the $1.80 on CLG with a +10.5 kill handicap is way too good to pass on. Alternatively, you might want to consider a bet on over 24.5 total kills since C9��s games tend to be very bloody.

?Evil Geniuses enter this match on the heels of back-to-back losses against Dignitas and Immortals, which saw them drop down to fifth place with an 8-7 record. Although they are still a good chance to appear in the LCS Spring playoffs, EG are not looking as sharp as they did a few weeks back.

As noted in some of our previous LoL betting previews, EG can defeat anyone on their day but can also lose to any team in the league. That is largely due to their volatile and aggressive playstyle, which has earned them a few big wins, but we don’t see how that approach will work against more disciplined teams such as TSM.

We have been cautious about TSM’s recent surge in form, but now it is time to accept that this a good team. It will take a lot more than EG to stop them.

?Much like the other teams in the bottom four, Immortals are very inconsistent; however, we could say the same for 100 Thieves, who seem to have lost their mojo of late. Although they boast plenty of talented individuals, 100T’s apparent lack of synergy often leads to iffy plays and unnecessary deaths.

100T need this win, so they will come out with all guns blazing, but we don��t expect Immortals to just roll over and dye. This will be a bloody match with well over 20 kills on the board.

?Dignitas have picked up a few lucky wins this split, but if you are entering the final week with a 10-5 record, you have to be doing something right. While we still believe Dignitas have overachieved a bit and likely won’t make it far in the playoffs, they are still a solid team.

People seem to be putting too much weight on Team Liquid’s 9-6 record. They might have slipped a couple of times, but Liquid are still more than capable of winning the league, which they proved last week with a dominant win against Cloud9.

Liquid have averaged 13.8 kills and 7.20 deaths in their wins, meaning they rarely win with more than six kills to spare – and that includes games against significantly weaker teams than Dignitas. With the kill handicap set at 7.5, the choice is obvious.

LoL streamer Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera was the first to unveil the news with a post on his Twitter page, where he voiced his disagreement with CLG’s decision to bench Pobelter for the upcoming week of LCS matches.

“You know I got my ear to the ground with this s***, so let me inform you that for some god forsaken reason Pobelter is benched for this week of LCS,” read IWillDominate’s tweet.

Counter Logic have yet to confirm or deny the statement, but IWillDominate��s reputation in the American LoL scene and the follow-up responses from other prominent names in the industry suggest Pobelter’s benching is all but confirmed.

Pobelter joined Counter Logic Gaming in February 2020 as a replacement for Lee “Crown” Min-ho, who left to play for OZ Gaming in the Challengers Korea (CK) league. Despite his renown as one of the most experienced still-active players in the North American LoL scene, the 23-year-old star has failed thus far in his attempt to bring CLG back to their former glory.

With Pobelter, Counter Logic finished last in the LCS 2020 Spring with a disastrous 3-15 record, which marked the organisation��s worst-ever split in the competition. While things started to look up for the two-time LCS champions at the start of the LCS 2020 Summer when they climbed to second place with a 4-2 record in Week 3, CLG have since gone to pieces with nine losses in 10 outings. They enter the ninth and final week of the LCS 2020 Summer ranked eighth with a 5-11 record, which puts them dangerously close to a bottom-two finish.

Even though Pobelter has averaged the worst KDA (2.11) out of all LCS mid laners this split, there are arguments to be made that he is not the real reason for Counter Logic’s downfall. Besides the experience and the deep champion pool he brings to the squad, Pobelter has also put up solid KPAR (70.7%) and CSPM (9.11) averages.

With Pobelter benched, it��s likely Counter Logic Gaming will promote academy mid laner Jean-S��bastien “Tuesday” Thery to the main roster for their final two matches of the LCS Summer against FlyQuest and Cloud9. While Tuesday has no previous experience playing in North America’s top flight, this split has taught us that the academy rosters are filled with LCS-calibre talent – as Immortals have found out.

Counter Logic Gaming will face FlyQuest next on Saturday, August 8 at 16:00 PST, followed by their final match of the split against Cloud9 on Sunday at 14:00.

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING vs CLOUD9 LOL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING vs CLOUD9 LCS SUMMER BETTING PREVIEW

Cloud9 will look to pick up their seventh consecutive win of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) 2020 Summer Split this Friday when they take on the surging Counter Logic Gaming.

It’s somewhat shocking to see how dominant Cloud9 are this season. While this is a massive positive for League of Legends esports in North America, the remaining nine LCS teams are not too keen with the fact this split is turning into a one-horse race.

Although there are still five more weeks left to be played before LCS Summer 2020 comes to a close, it’s fair to say Cloud9 are by far the most powerful team in the league right now. They have already defeated FlyQuest, 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses, Golden Guardians, Team Liquid and Immortals, meaning they only need to take down Counter Logic and Team SoloMid to complete the circle.

Looking back at Cloud9’s match against Team Liquid, the two squads went back and forth throughout the early-mid game before Eric “Licorice” Ritchie and his crew once again showcased their strong macro play to claim the win. As for the recent bout against the new-look Immortals roster, the reigning LCS champions needed less than 26 minutes to close out the game with a commanding 18-3 kill lead.

The Cloud9 roster might be one of the best LoL teams North America has ever produced, but Counter Logic Gaming will look to prove even the best can bleed. While Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes and co. are far from one of the top LCS teams, they have been holding on well this split.

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Throughout the opening three weeks of LCS Summer 2020, CLG lost only to Evil Geniuses and FlyQuest while taking down Immortals, Dignitas, 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians. Those, however, are not exactly top-tier teams.

Raymond “Wiggly” Griffin is shaping up to be one of the most impactful junglers in the league, Eugene “Pobelter” Park is holding his own in the mid lane, and the bottom-lane tandem of Stixxay and Andy “Smoothie” Ta have shown they can go toe-to-toe with some of the strongest duos in the league.

Top laner Kim “Ruin” Hyeong-min has also run into some good form, thanks in most part to his proficiency on the recently reworked Volibear. While he has yet to lose a single game on The Thunder’s Roar, we are not sure how long that will continue. Sooner or later, people will learn how to play against Volibear, which will likely see Ruin’s stats plummet.

Nevertheless, CLG are playing much better than expected and should head into Friday’s clash feeling confident they can make a real game of it.

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING vs CLOUD9 LCS SUMMER BETTING PREDICTIONS

Cloud9 enter this bout as massive favourites, but they are by no means a perfect team. Their main strength comes from a very aggressive playstyle and high activity across the map, which usually pushes their opponents on the back foot early on. That approach is a double-edged sword, however, as it can easily backfire and put C9 at a disadvantage.

Even if Cloud9 fail to execute their gameplan early, they should still come out ahead due to their strong macro play, individual quality and exceptional team fighting ability. However, the kill line for this match is set way too high.

Counter Logic Gaming are by no means a top dog in the LCS, but they never give up and rarely get stomped. They held their own against FlyQuest last week and while this match will be a much higher mountain to climb, CLG should at least keep the score within nine kills.

CLG had high hopes after finishing third in the 2019 LCS Summer Split, but their venture into 2020 soon turned grim as they endured one of the worst starts to a season in the organisation��s 10-year history. Six weeks in, Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes and his squad sit bottom of the standings with a 2-10 record.

While every player on the roster has left a lot to be desired, all fingers were pointed towards the iffy displays of Crown. Although a respected player due to his 2017 LoL World Championship title and a solid season with OpTic Gaming in 2019, the mid laner has struggled to find any consistency since joining CLG.

Crown’s aggressive playstyle and tendency to look for flashy plays has created a few highlights, but that swashbuckling approach has backfired more often than not this season. That has not sat well with the management at Counter Logic Gaming, who are desperately seeking stability in a bid to gain some traction and climb the LCS standings.

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Crown has accumulated some of the worst stats out of all mid laners in the LCS 2020 Spring Split, namely his KDA (1.60) and CSPM (7.48). His early-game stats are notoriously weak and he has done the least amount of damage out of all North American mid laners this term.

In a bid to bounce back and save their name from humiliation, Counter Logic Gaming opted to freshen up their roster at the end of Week 4 when they re-signed Eugene “Pobelter” Park to take over from Crown in the starting lineup.

With Pobelter controlling the mid lane, CLG defeated Team SoloMid in Week 6 to claim their second win of the season. The former Team Liquid coach’s leadership and poise were on full display in that result, so it was no surprise when Crown’s fate was sealed this week.

Although this marks the end of the Korean pro’s time at Counter Logic Gaming, his career in League of Legends esports is far from over. However, with the Asian LoL scene at a standstill due to the coronavirus epidemic, his options are limited at the moment.