Fly, Jungle King: Former TSM star Spica to join Flyquest in LCS 2023 after three years with the organization.
TSM no more
Former TSM jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu is departing from TSM after three years with the organization. Reports from independent reporter, Brieuc Seeger, has the efficacious jungler heading towards FlyQuest for the 2023 LCS season. “Spica” departed from TSM on Sep 6th following their exit from the LCS 2022 Championships.
[embed]https://twitter.com/LEC_Wooloo/status/1594760472879841301[/embed]
Adding to that, “Spica” is heading for FlyQuest, the perpetual North American mid-tier squad, only now, they are upgrading. Former 100 Thieves League of Legends General Manager Christopher “PapaSmithy” Smith was recently elevated to Chief Gaming Officer in FlyQuest. The organization has now been making moves to build a title contender in North America.
Top NA Talent
“Spica” remains one of the few names within the LCS who incites hope for the region. He was one of the bright spots for TSM in the last few years, a talented jungler that has won the LCS MVP in 2021 and the NA 1st All Pro Team in the same year. “Spica” is widely considered for the last few years as one of the best LCS junglers.
“Spica” was part of the infamous TSM lineup that went 0-6 in the Group Stage of Worlds 2020, however, he remained the only standing member of that roster in the wake of the rebuild. By 2022, “Spica” was undoubtedly the star of the lineup, most notably the only member left from TSM’s 2021 dream run to win the LCS Summer.
NA Rebuilding
Historically, North America has always been a weak region for competitive League of Legends however, in recent times, pros have begun evolving, and we see more and more superteams begin to form in NA, such as the Team Liquid one in recent times.
Now, FlyQuest is attempting the same, starting with veteran top laner Jeong “Impact” Eon-young, formerly of Evil Geniuses. Reports have also indicated former KT Rolster’s Lee “Vicla” Dae-kwang will join the NA organization as their starting midlaner. Lastly, Bill “Eyla” Nguyen of Team Liquid Academy is also reportedly getting a shot in the big leagues as a starting support for FlyQuest’s new roster.
At this point, the final missing link for FlyQuest is the AD Carry. With continuous reports of LCK talent crossing the ocean to the LCS this off-season, it would not come as any surprise to see one as the final addition.
Rough Years
During his time on TSM, “Spica” has endured many of the trials and tribulations that trail prodigal NA talents. The region as a whole struggle to produce meaningful results and title contending teams outside of domestic results. In 2022, TSM fell to Evil Geniuses in the LCS Championships lower brackets. EG would go on to qualify as the third seed for Worlds from the LCS.
The three LCS representatives went a total of 3-15 across their Group Stage games. Not a single LCS team would make it into Playoffs. In 2021, TSM won Summer Split, but fell to C9 in Round 2 Lower brackets. 2020, saw TSM’s infamous 0-6 exit as first seed. Their run also included the equally infamous 9-man sleep from “Spica.”
Coming into 2023, NA looks to turn the narrative with new talents. Hopes are high that they can begin to contend for international titles.
As it stands, FlyQuest's roster looks as follows:
- Jeong “Impact” Eon-young [top]
- Mingyi “Spica” Lu [jungle]
- Lee “Vicla” Dae-kwang [mid] (unconfirmed)
- Bill “Eyla” Nguyen [support]
Image credit: Paul de Leon/Riot Games