League of Legends: remembering the 2017 Dignitas that never was
Through the years, some NA League of Legends legacy squads rose to each new split, changing their rosters and comps, while others have faltered. Dignitas seemed the latter, but something new was brewing in the weeks leading up to 2017 Spring.
Team Dignitas came into 2017 Spring as a team reborn. Their 2016 team had looked truly miserable, seeing a combined score of 4-14 over their Spring Split. A loss to Team Dragon Knights in the Promotion Tournament followed, dropping them headlong into the Challenger League.
They took that summer off, their LCS spot taken by Apex Gaming before the 76ers bought out both teams and fused them under the Dignitas logo.
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No one had much hope for the organization heading into 2017 NA League of Legends Spring; we’d all seen what happened to squads who went through the Challenger ringer. Coast had consistently dominated the League of Legends Challenger scene, only to get smacked every time they crawled back into the pro leagues. Why expect anything else from Dignitas?
But as rumors of the revamped roster began to swirl, and the new squad came slowly into view, the Dignitas hype train came chugging out of the station for the first time in years. Dignitas had built their reputation as a squad of friends over the years, featuring easygoing meme personalities like Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana and Alan “KiWiKiD” Nguyen. But with these legacy players long since retired, and the team’s dismal recent performances, something had shifted.