LCS 2021: Why Fans Should Be Excited for FlyQuest

Let’s look at why FlyQuest fans should be excited for the coming LCS season.

Undoubtedly the feel-good story of the 2020 LCS season, FlyQuest made their name for their green initiatives like TreeQuest and SeaQuest. But they also backed up all that goodwill with strong play on Summoner’s Rift.

The organization made their first trip to the League of Legends World Championship last year, but were unfortunately unable to retain that stellar lineup. With a completely new roster, what should fans be looking forward to in 2021?

Last Year

10-8 in the Spring Split, 12-6 in the Summer Split

Consistency was the name of the game for FlyQuest last year. They were never a flashy or dominant team, but they were always a tough team to play against. As a result, they managed to make the organization’s first trip to Worlds.

In the spring, FlyQuest finished tied for second in the regular season before making it all the way to the finals. Unfortunately, they were unable to finish the job because they met the buzzsaw of a team that was spring Cloud9.

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Their record improved in the summer, but the level of competition in the LCS improved too. FlyQuest ended the regular season tied for third place. They managed to shock everyone and make it back to the finals, but unfortunately came up short by losing in a five-game series to TSM.

The Offseason

The entire FlyQuest roster got blown up in the offseason, with the team acquiring several former members of Cloud9 and Cloud9 Academy. Among them are star top laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie, young support David “Diamond” Bérubé, and promising mid laner Cristian “Palafox” Palafox.

To round out the roster, FlyQuest acquired one of the better rookies from 2020, Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen of Dignitas. They then went to Latin America to find their jungler, picking up Brandon Joel “Josedeodo” Villegas who had made a lot of noise during his time at Worlds 2020.

The Coach

Lamine-Lounis “Kanani” Khouani joins the team as their new head coach, replacing the longtime coach David “DLim” Lim. Kanani has a long history of coaching in the LEC, and was most recently a strategic coach for SK Gaming.

Players to Be Excited About

There are honestly a lot of players to like on this team. Licorice is a proven star, who should be the anchor of this team. Josedeodo is one of the more interesting imports coming from a smaller region.

However, the player I’m most excited to see is Palafox. He showed to be an exceptional mid laner with Cloud9 Academy and I think he could turn out to be the best native mid laner NA has produced in quite a long time.

Season Prediction

FlyQuest is a team that should easily be top-five this year, the big question will be if they can get into the top three. Truthfully, I do think they have the firepower to do it.

Their roster is constructed well, with strong solo lanes, a proactive jungler, and an ADC who is okay with playing weak side. The biggest issue facing FlyQuest is synergy, particularly in the mid/jungle and support/jungle. This is in contrast to a team like 100 Thieves, who are a bit less talented but already have the existing synergy.

What are the Fans Excited About?

From the FlyQuest subreddit:

"After having a good 2020 in LCS and going to Worlds it was a bummer to see the entire roster gone, but this new squad has me excited to see how far these players can go.I want to see if Palafox and Diamond can live up to expectations and add onto the growth of new NA talent like we saw with Insanity, Tactical, and Spica.I want to see if Josedeodo can become a top tier playmaker that can help bridge the gap between major and wildcard regions.I want to see Johnsun’s development and see how this roster can unlock him. Although he was on a struggling Dignitas, he did have the help of the legendary Aphromoo. This season will not just be a test for him, but also for Diamond in replacing Aphromoo as a lane partnerAs for Licorice, I want to see him become a solid foundation for this team. Having the most LCS experience on this roster and the reputation as one of the best NA top laners, I’m excited to see if he can continue his dominance and help lead this team to wins.Finally I’m super hyped to see what “quests” we will have this season. TreeQuest and SeaQuest were both amazing in revitalizing the organization and fan base and 2021 will bring even more missions to help the Earth.If FlyQuest do well, people should have high hopes for both NA’s future and the future of wildcard regions.– NotFlexSealOfficial"

Honestly, I shouldn’t have written this whole article. I should have just posted this Reddit comment and it would have conveyed everything that has me excited about FlyQuest this year. I do wonder what new quests we will go on this year, my guesses would be “EarthQuest” and “AirQuest.”

"So, LCS this season is the most exciting it’s been for as long as I can remember. There are so many new names and young players, and what’s even more important, teams are developing identities with their rosters. And hopefully with their strategies.C9 and TL are no-holds barred, no expense spared, getting the best player available top to bottom. 100T and TSM are working hard to build around superstar individual players with new coaching. EG and CLG are working to bring veteran players back to their former primes. Dig, GGs, FlyQuest, and IMT are all focusing on developing young talent.We know FQ is a longshot to take the title, but they aren’t just cycling veterans, or picking up dregs. They have the highest rated rookie mid laner, a superstar veteran to anchor the team, and fantastic talent bot lane and in the jungle. For a roster with such a focus on developmental players, this roster looks like the best of them, and will hopefully be competitive with the two mid-tier veteran rosters.– higherbrow"

This is definitely a good point raised at the end. The way FlyQuest constructed this roster, by adding lots of young, but promising, players and scouting under-valued regions and then supplementing that with one proven star makes me really confident that this roster will develop into a strong one.

Yes, they are perhaps not the most flashy team in the league, but they have a solid roster with room to grow, no overpaid veterans or retreads looking for one last paycheck, and are still a viable challenger. That’s how they did it last year, and I’m glad they’re sticking to the plan in 2021.