Two weeks ago, Winterfox implemented one of the most head-scratching roster swaps of the League of Legends season, moving their rising star marksman player Johnny “Altec” Ru to the support position and plugging their coach into the lineup.
Well, you can forget about those shenanigans. This time they’re going with something that, you know, makes sense.
The team is sending Ru back to the role that had many calling him one of the region’s best young talents. Joining him in the bottom lane will be his long-time support Nicolas “Gleeb” Haddad.
“We had high hopes of separating ourselves from the pack through role swaps and roster changes, when in fact we already had something that worked at the season’s start,” reads a post on the team’s Facebook.
Haddad manned the support position for Winterfox during the first eight games of the League Championship Series (LCS) season, posting a 4-4 record with the team. Since Korean import Jang “Imagine” Hyeon-su took over for him, the team is just 1-5. Haddad, once considered a rising talent like Ru, tabbed by powerhouse franchise Team SoloMid to replace Alex “Xpecial” Chu, has a long history with his fellow marksman. The two played together on Cloud9 Tempest in the challenger scene last year, and they carried that chemistry with them into the LCS.
On Team SoloMid, Haddad struggled with mental health issues that prevented him from performing at full capacity through the season. He eventually landed on promising challenger side Team Fusion, but missed most of their matches.
On Winterfox, though, back with the player with who he built his reputation, he was solid as a playmaking support.
That’s good news for Winterfox. It’s good news for Ru. While the marksman acquitted himself well last week at the support position, for a rookie, he’s still a top marksman player. Even if he himself requested the change last week.
Now Haddad and Ru will hope to revive a Winterfox team that’s spiralled into relegation. The 5-9 squad currently sits at eighth in the standings, two games behind the three teams just out of a relegation position. With Team 8, Team Impulse, Team Liquid, and Team Coast remaining on the schedule, Winterfox has a shot at clawing out of the pit, as long as they get some of that Gleeb plus Altec magic.
Image via Riot Games/Flickr
