OpTic Gaming is capping off their 2019 roster with their ADC, Dong-hyeon “Arrow” Noh. He will be rejoining the roster after spending the 2018 season on the team.
He’s back!
Former Spring Split MVP Dong-hyeon "Arrow" Noh returns to OpTic and will be our starting ADC in the bot lane along with BIG for the upcoming season! pic.twitter.com/tHa8rrj0RK
— OpTicLoL (@OpTicLoL) December 10, 2018
This news comes after the team would pick up two new junglers in the offseason. Just recently, OpTic would acquire star NA resident, Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, as well as veteran William “Meteos” Hartman. With most of the team chosen, they would only need an AD Carry to fill out the roster. It looks like Arrow will be coming back looking to redeem himself after a less-than-stellar season. However, we need to look at OpTic and their inaugural season first.
A Difficult Introduction
OpTic Gaming would struggle for most of 2018, as many people would predict. Their first iteration would have European mid laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage at the forefront. Behind him would be Arrow, but not much was expected from him either. He had a pretty underwhelming Summer Split following his MVP campaign and would continue the trend into 2018. The rest of their roster would be just as disappointing. Terry “BIG” Chuong is one of the worst supports in the league, and he is also returning for another stint with OpTic Gaming.
In the spring, OpTic Gaming would surprise no one and finish in second-last place in the NA LCS. After switching out Derek “zig” Shao for Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, they would improve in the summer, but not by a lot. The team would finish in seventh place, just out of the playoff picture. It was a learning experience for the organization and they would make some big additions in the offseason.
OpTic Gaming would make a huge splash by scooping up Lee “Crown” Min-ho, a former World Champion from Gen.G. They would also pick up Dardoch and Meteos, who were two of the hottest jungle free agents on the market. It still remains to be seen how they will implement both junglers, but having the flexibility in that position can be good.
Doubts and Reservations
This lineup still doesn’t scream anything special, even with the additions of Dardoch and Crown. Team synergy will be a huge obstacle for this team, as well as teamwork and perseverance. As we saw last year, the bottom lane duo of Arrow and BIG was not really working for OpTic Gaming. Arrow hasn’t had a great season ever since his MVP-winning split in 2017, and BIG was one of the worst support in the NA LCS in 2018.
Dhokla is young and growing but hasn’t shown any signs of a blossoming star. Granted, many players have only needed one season to truly explode onto the scene. Additionally, Dhokla was decent during his stint with OpTic, so if he can continue improving, he could become a mainstay in the league. Of course, Crown will be the centerpiece of the team, as he should be. However, how will Crown adapt to his first year outside of South Korea? Also, how will he react to a non-Korean speaking team?
Another big problem to discuss is the timeshare between Dardoch and Meteos. Both players are LCS-caliber players, and neither of them wishes to play in NA Academy. They will need to choose between the two, as juggling time will not be so easy. All in all, this team has plenty of issues to work out before the season even begins. Still, we wish OpTic Gaming and Arrow the best of luck in the upcoming season!
What are your thoughts on Arrow signing with OpTic Gaming? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more NA LCS coverage, check us out here!
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