After weeks of fan speculation, Clutch Gaming has finally revealed its starting lineup for the upcoming NA LCS Spring Split.
Clutch Gaming’s lineup is composed almost entirely of veteran talent, featuring Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten, Colin “Solo” Earnest, Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo, Apollo Price, and Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent.
LirA, Apollo, and Hakuho are no strangers to one another. The three spent the entire 2017 season playing together on the now defunct NA LCS organization, Team Envy. And although they didn’t advance past the quarterfinals in both spring and summer playoffs, LirA, Apollo, and Hakuho were all regarded as highly-talented players.
One of the best EU mid laners, Febiven will make his NA LCS debut on Clutch Gaming. Febiven is a highly-regarded player in the West, as he was a part of the legendary 2015 Fnatic roster that made the World Championship semifinals, and almost beat SK Telecom T1 at the Mid Season Invitational.
Among the five announced players on Clutch Gaming, Solo is the roster’s biggest wildcard. Aside from the few games he substituted in for Echo Fox in 2016 when the team dealt with visa issues, Solo has spent almost his entire career playing in Challenger. Previously the top laner of former North American Challenger Series team Gold Coin United, Solo won both NA CS splits in 2017, but failed to advance to the NA LCS through the promotion tournaments.
Backed by the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Clutch Gaming was one of the four new teams accepted into the NA LCS through the permanent partnership program. Clutch Gaming joins 100 Thieves, the Golden Guardians, and OpTic Gaming as the four new teams in the league in 2018.
The 2018 NA LCS Spring Split is set to start on Jan. 20.
