When [Counter Logic Gaming](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/clg/stats) announced their roster for this season, the public was generally uniform in their critical assessment – a middle of the pack team, passable, perhaps even washed up. Expectations are low for this group of veterans, whose individual values have dropped significantly since their years as household names of the league.  

They will undoubtedly put forward an acceptable performance for CLG after last split’s disastrous crash and burn, but fans should open up to being surprised – if the players mesh well and reach their previous peaks, they could swing against the best of the revamped LCS teams.  

Among these older veterans is [Finn](https://stacked.gg/player/finn/stats), joining CLG for his second year of pro play. For many, Finn is one of the primary reasons not to get excited about the team, coming to North America from Europe after a poor showing at Worlds as Rogue’s toplaner.  

![](https://stacked-assets.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/posts/post_4_stats.png)

Finn is an unfortunate victim of recency bias, being a pressure point that Damwon and JD Gaming both exploited to dismantle Rogue in a handful of one-sided Worlds matches. Yet Finn’s LEC stats are nothing to scoff at – while generally outclassed by Wunder, Alphari, and Bwipo, Finn was no slouch and a consistent performer in key laning stats. He was stellar in efficiency metrics, ranking second amongst all LEC toplaners in KDA (3.89) and Damage/Gold Spent (1.20), while ranking third in Damage per Death (6,946). Time will tell if Finn can convert this efficiency into a run for CLG.

Similarly, European import [Broxah](https://stacked.gg/player/broxah/stats) is in the terminal stage of his LEC to LCS transition. His fall from grace has been the most dramatic of his new teammates – from world finalist to one of the worst teams in the worst major region – but Broxah isn’t ready to let the infamous “NA retirement home” become reality.
His aggressive playstyle once had him outperforming some of the world’s best junglers on Fnatic, but we saw very little of that Broxah during his year at Team Liquid. TL Broxah looked like an entirely different player, stuck on tanks and forced to fit a team dynamic that clearly didn’t suit him. [In a recent stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mNnlAZBN64&feature=emb_title), he opened up about how a difficult environment deeply affected his play. In contrast, CLG could be the perfect home for his style of leadership, with unselfish players across the board to facilitate his playstyle.  

[Pobelter’s](https://stacked.gg/player/pobelter/stats) ceiling isn’t as high as some of his teammates, but you can count on him to get the job done. While historically overshadowed by the undisputed best in the region, he continues to put up middle of the pack numbers despite CLG’s ninth place finish last split. He isn’t the flashiest player, but Pobelter’s 10-year career is a testament to his consistency.  

It’s been even longer since [WildTurtle](https://stacked.gg/player/wildturtle/stats) lifted a trophy, but his performance on FlyQuest shows that this LCS vet still has gas in the tank. “Consistent” has never been the name of the game for WildTurtle, but if he can match his performance from last split, he’ll be a significant threat. Stiff competition has arisen in the recent surge of young NA ADC talent, but WildTurtle will undoubtedly be hungry to snatch the title of “Best in NA” left in the wake of Doublelift’s retirement.  

[Smoothie](https://stacked.gg/player/smoothie/stats) is a difficult player to analyze. He briefly dominated the scene in 2017, asserting himself as one of (if not the) best support players in NA. In recent splits, however, he’s looked like one of the worst. He’s the biggest liability on paper for CLG, but with the right environment and synergy with WildTurtle, he could be poised for a bounce back season.  

In 2016, former CLG head coach Zikz attributed their Spring playoffs win to teamplay – “none of us are selfish, at all. We only focus on teamwork.” The organization has a troubled history with this, often reduced to criticism of “valuing friendship over skill,” but when CLG is at its best, it’s because of solid teamwork. This roster may not be full of star players, but it has the makings of a successful CLG team: positive attitudes, underdog energy, and something to prove. CLG is strongest when faith is lowest, after all.

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LCS 2021’s Dark Horse: CLG Will Defy Expectations

gizzard

@gizzard

7:10AM on Jan 7, 2021

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