Another struggling League Championship Series team is trying something new with its roster this week.
When captain and jungler Alberto “Crumbzz” Rengifo stepped down from the team on Feb. 3, Dignitas scrambled to find a replacement. They settled on challenger jungler Stephen “CloudNguyen” Nguyen. In his six games with the team, Dignitas has managed a 3-3 record, but Nguyen’s own performance was a bit up and down—a 5/28/51 KDA line, or a 2.0 KDA, thanks to a bit too much aggression, at times.
Andrew “Azingy” Zamarripa, a Dignitas substitute since Feb. 2014, will debut as the new jungler this week. A curt post on the team’s website confirmed the news with little discussion as to why it was making a switch.
Like Nguyen, Zamarripa is an LCS rookie, but he has more challenger experience than the man he replaces. Zamarripa built a reputation as a solid jungler thanks to becoming a popular streamer of high ELO play, where he developed a rivalry with former Team SoloMid jungle Bryan “TheOddOne” Wyllie. Most recently, he’s played for Team SoloMid Darkness in the challenger series, where he’s taken some flak for a small champion pool.
It seemed like Dignitas was improving with Nguyen in the lineup, as they fed off increased jungle aggression compared to what Rengifo brought to the table. It’s unclear what Dignitas expect to change with Zamarripa, considering his pedigree is similar to Nguyen’s.
It may not work out for Dignitas, but they have little to lose at this point in the season.
Dignitas’s second new trial jungler will kick off his LCS career against the top team in the league, Team SoloMid—the perfect chance to bring back the old stalwart known as “The General” for one game.
Of course, even without Wyllie’s anti-Azingy strategies, Team SoloMid is a heavy favorite against Dignitas. It seems unlikely Zamarripa will change that, but who knows? It’s worth a shot. At least, that’s what Dignitas seem to think.
