CLG Adds Former OpTic Gaming PowerOfEvil

After releasing Huhi to 100 Thieves, CLG has found its new mid laner in former OpTic mid laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage. As OpTic’s primary carry threat last year, PowerOfEvil, aka POE, was the best-performing member on his team. Now he aims to help bring CLG back to the upper echelons of the NA LCS.

Two years ago, POE made his mark on history as part of the Misfits lineup that took SK Telecom T1 to 5 games in the 2017 World Championship. After a spectacular year in EU, he found his way to NA on OpTic Gaming, which ended up being a bottom-half team for the majority of the year. Now he’s onto the next step of his journey on one of NA’s OG organizations.

During his time on OPT, POE was the go-to carry for the team. Although top laner Niship “Dhokla” Doshi ended up being a middle-of-the-pack top laner, it was his rookie split. Support Terry “Big” Chuong has had various stints on bottom-tier LCS teams. AD carry Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon seems to be past his prime, and up-and-comer jungler Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham is only in his second season as a pro player. Given the weak supporting cast, PowerOfEvil was unable to carry OpTic to a playoff spot in either the spring or summer splits.

This move comes as unsurprising to most in the NA LCS. As soon as Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun’s trade to 100 Thieves was announced, speculation arose on who his replacement would be out of the remaining available players, and POE made the most sense.

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By all measurements – except possibly champion pool – POE is a strict upgrade from Huhi. His mechanics are crisper, his ability to hard carry is stronger, and he’s a more seasoned player. The biggest question here is whether or not his playstyle will suit CLG’s. In Huhi, CLG had a supportive mid laner who didn’t require many resources to be effective. POE is now coming hot off a team that needed him to carry, otherwise, they lost.

This time last year, CLG looked like a top-four team on paper. They’d just signed Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin from Immortals and picked up Vincent “Biofrost” Wang from TSM. As everyone saw, however, there was a clear lack of shot-calling and macro play – CLG’s on-paper roster failed to meet expectations completely. Today’s signing of POE marks another powerful roster move on paper, but it will be up to CLG’s players and coaching staff to make it work in order to avoid a repeat of 2018.

Do you think this is the right move for CLG? Let us know if you think POE is the missing piece.