After being cast out of the world’s biggest esports league, Copenhagen Wolves League of Legends has rebuilt, replacing four of its members in the process, sources close to the team tell the Daily Dot.
The sole remaining player from its previous lineup is mid-laner Søren “Soren” Frederiksen, who played with the squad during its League Championship Series (LCS) run last year. Frederiksen had other offers, including from amateur teams in North America, during the offseason, sources say, but he’s ultimately chosen to stick around.
Filling out the rest of the squad are two LCS veterans and two rookies.
The LCS veterans are former Alliance and Elements top-laner Mike “Wickd” Petersen and former Winterfox and Gambit Gaming AD carry Kristoffer “P1noy” Pedersen. Both competed in the LCS in the Spring before finding themselves moving on to Challenger squads in the Summer.
The last two Wolves will be rookie jungler Admir “Trowen” Spahic and support Risto “SirNukesAlot” Luuri. Both players have competed with several amateur squads previously, but none as popular and notable as Copenhagen Wolves.
Spahic was not the team’s first choice, unlike the remainder of the squad. The team originally tried to sign former Vortex and Gamers2 jungler Tri “k0u” Tin Lam. That move was unsuccessful, however, as Tin Lam has reportedly joined LCS squad GIANTS! Gaming for next season.
As for its support staff, the team has not found a new coach at this time. Former head coach Karl “Dentist” Krey and the squad split in November, with Krey moving on to new Challenger squad Team Huma.
The Copenhagen Wolves were forced to rebuild after getting relegated from the LCS after a poor Summer season. Star marksman Aleš “Freeze” Kněžínek received interest from many teams across the United States and Europe—including Team SoloMid, H2k Gaming, Immortals, and others, sources say—but he ultimately bootcamped with Renegades in Korea during the offseason and will be moving to North America to play with the team for next season.
As for the remainder of the previous regime, former veteran jungler Ilyas “Shook” Hartsema left immediately after the team’s relegation. He later joined Team Vitality, a team which purchased Gambit Gaming’s LCS spot.
Rookies top laner Lenny “Lenny” Uytterhoeven and Christophe “Je suis Kaas” van Oudheusden also left, with the latter finding a home with former coach Krey on Team Huma.
Now the Copenhagen Wolves will need to regear for next split. Competition has already solidified, including recently formed Inspire Esports, currently rebuilding SK Gaming, and mousesports, each of which has confirmed European Challenger Series spots for the next season.
Update 6:38pm CT Dec. 28: Copenhagen Wolves has released its final roster for the 2016 season, confirming this report.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
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