SK Gaming made some big changes to its League of Legends starting roster and coaching staff today after a disappointing end to their 2020 Spring Split, including the addition of a new mid laner and head coach.
Janik “Jenax” Bartels will be role swapping from mid lane to top. This decision was made because the 21-year-old “can confidently say that this swap will enable [him] to show [his] potential” this coming season. Meanwhile, the team has signed Dirk “ZaZee” Mallner to take his previous spot. ZaZee is a rookie who last played for BIG Clan in the Prime League.
“Since the LEC is one of the best leagues in the world, it will take some time and a lot of work to catch up with the top teams,” ZaZee said. “However, as a short term goal, I am aspiring to get to the playoffs as an underdog which is where I find myself most comfortable.”
The team also made a big change to its coaching staff by signing Jesse “Jesiz” Le as its head coach. The 23-year-old veteran last coached for Team LDLC, where he helped guide the roster to a 2020 European Masters championship.
These changes come after a ninth-place finish in the 2020 LEC Spring Split. The team had a ton of problems from a lack of true firepower in the lineup to a lack of synergy between the players. As a result, they only managed to win four games out of 18 matches.
SK Gaming had a pretty poor split and the changes don’t seem to improve their standings too much going into the Summer Split. If they were the only team changing perhaps it would matter, but considering that most teams are looking to upgrade their rosters, this change seems insignificant. We will have to wait and see if SK will be able to deliver though next split or if they will succumb to the other LEC teams and stay at the bottom of the barrel.
Jenax’s lane swap could prove to be really good if he is confident and the team trusts him. Perkz and Caps lane swap has inspired more teams to try it out and even though they are not on that level, teams should explore other opportunities when players ask for it and if they’re confident they can pull it out.
You can catch the new-look SK Gaming on Summoner’s Rift when the 2020 LEC Summer Split begins on June 12.
