The defending champions in the EU League Championship Series (LCS) is making another roster change to turn around its disappointing season.
Support player Mitch “Krepo” Voorspoels will enter the Elements lineup. He revealed the news last night, confirming a report from Esportsheaven earlier this week.
Voorspoels joins former Counter Logic Gaming EU teammates Henrik “Froggen” Hansen just as a third former member, top laner Mike “Wickd” Petersen, leaves the lineup. After a 4-4 start to the season, Elements replaced Petersen with Kevin “Kev1n” Rubiszewski in a bid to turn things around. But last weekend, the team lost both its matches, first blowing a massive lead against Giants Gaming with an inexplicable mistake and then falling to ROCCAT.
The team played the weekend with a loss of two bans due to submitting paperwork for Rubiszewski’s transfer late. Voorspoels’ Elements debut, at least, will include a more normal champion select.
Voorspoels replaces Patrick “Nyph” Funke, a support famed for his solid mechanics. But so far this season, Funke and lane partner Martin “Rekkles” Larsson have failed to impact the game in a positive way. The team hopes the swap will fix some of the issues that are holding them back.
“I don’t think Nyph was the source of all the problems, nor will I be the solution to everything,” Voorspoels said. “But together we can solve a lot of them.”
The biggest issue seems to be shot calling, as most of Elements’ games end up with the team seemingly unable to make a decisive action in-game, whether it’s to fight or fall back or take an objective. Thanks to his time on the analyst desk showing him to be a smart player, many fans see Voorspoels and his potential to shot call as an obvious fix. But the Belgian support has never taken that role in his career before, and applying that knowledge in-game instead of behind a desk is a tough task.
Plus, Voorspoels has his individual play to worry about, especially after half a season out of the game. Voorspoels himself admits his play has received mixed reviews. But he’s determined to prove his doubters wrong.
“As for my performance, it’ll be time to put up or shut up,” Voorspoels wrote on Facebook. “There’s a lot of people that have mixed opinions on me and I completely understand what they base themselves on. Time to prove them either right or wrong. I’ll probably be a little more quiet on the social media front for a while & focus on my play & the team.”
Voorspoels will have at least one day to acclimate to the lineup as Elements takes on last place team Meet Your Makers, perhaps the only squad in the EU LCS in more turmoil right now than Elements. But on Sunday, it’s into the fire as Elements battles first place SK Gaming and their amazing bottom lane talent Konstantinos “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou.
It’s a tough first test for Voorspoels on Elements, but if he hopes to return Elements to the top of Europe, he’ll need to pass it. The 4-6 Elements currently ranks seventh in the league, leaving them outside of the playoffs unless they turn things around.
Image via Riot Games/Flickr
