Another League Championship Series (LCS) team is making a midseason roster swap.
Copenhagen Wolves will feature a new jungler when they take to the rift Thursday, bringing in former Elements man Ilyas “Shook” Hartsema to replace the departing Karim “Airwaks” Benghalia.
In a statement, Benghalia said he left the team due to “horrible” team atmosphere since the recent incident involving head coach Karl “Dentist” Krey and Riot Games commentator Martin “Deficio” Lynge.
“I started to lose my will to keep playing with the team,” Benghalia wrote. “For these reasons I shared with the team my desire to leave and asked them to find a replacement. I hope to have the chance to get back in the scene and wish best of luck to my old teammates.”
The Swiss jungler joined Copenhagen Wolves before the Summer Split in 2014, becoming a staple in their lineup through thick and thin. But a 2-6 record this Split after showing promise by reaching the playoffs in the Spring certainly seems to have put strain on the team.
That paves the way for the return of Hartsema, who played for the Wolves during the Summer Split in June 2013, helping them to a DreamHack and Gfinity title before he eventually joined Alliance to compete in the 2014 LCS. Long famed for his mechanics and playmaking ability, Hartsema was a mixed bag for Alliance, sometimes dominating games but other times playing invisible, leading to his removal from the lineup before the current season. But it’s clear he has the talent to bring a new dimension to an ailing Copenhagen Wolves lineup.
“It is with great pleasure that I today get to welcome back one of the original members of the team we picked up right before DreamHack Summer 2014, which eventually [led] us to where we are today,” Jakub Lund Kristensen, the team’s CEO, said. “Ilyas brings not only a high level of mechanical skill but also a large amount of experience to our team in a time where we need it more than ever.”
Coach Krey agrees, lauding Hartsema’s mechanics and experience.
“I firmly believe adding him to the mix will help us to control the pace of the games and acquire the much needed wins in the second half of the split to avoid relegations,” he says.
The team currently sits tied with three other teams at the bottom of the table with a 2-6 record, putting them in danger of relegation instead of building off an 8-10 Spring that saw them into the playoffs. Whether Hartsema is the catalyst to bring them higher remains to the be seen, but it’s clear the team could use a change.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
