After losing Pobelter and Doublelift in the off season, many fans were poised to begin hating on CLG for being unable to keep together the team that won summer 2015 NALCS. There were legitimately enough reasons to not expect much of the line up with Huhi replacing Pobelter and Stixxay replacing Doublelift (who was the best NA ADC of 2015). However, one thing had noticeably improved from CLG from their previous splits and it became widely apparent that this team was nowhere near from done. In fact, this split looks arguably better for CLG having beaten TSM in the finals once again.

Darshan "Darshan" Upadhyaha

Attempting to improve on some his flaws as a player, Darshan no longer looks at games with the intent of hoarding all the gold for himself. Instead of the team picking around him to be the major carry, he picks around the team when necessary to allow his teammates to carry their portion of the damage.

This split has been a good split for the veteran top laner, showing that he can still play carry champions and play tanky engage champions when it's required. While his teleports do still need some work, that mostly seems like communication mishaps from his team rather than all being attributed to his missed calls. When it comes to objectives however, Darshan is where he needs to be.

Jake "Xmithie" Puchero

The 2015 season was not kind to Xmithie. Often labelled as the weakest link on CLG and highly criticized by fans and analysts alike, Xmithie came into 2016 with a chip on his shoulder: something to prove and doubters to quiet down. Winning 2015 summer split seemed like it was going to do just that -- but after a very lack luster worlds, the blamelight was back above Xmithie’s head. Sure. the first few weeks of spring 2016 were nothing to gloat about, but CLG had sparks of brilliance among their plays.

After defeating the then undefeated squad of Immortals at week 7, CLG were slowly but surely turning their luck around. Their sparks turned to lightning by the time playoffs came around. A lot of this came from Xmithie’s newfound approach to the game. This involved him being much more creative with his actions, eliminating hesitation and playing to the meta’s strength.

Choi "Huhi" Jae-hyun

It's hard to pin down Huhi’s role in CLG. He's by no means a bad mid laner (in fact, when he is at his best, he is often compared to other high tier midlaners like Bjergsen from TSM or Perkz from G2), but he’s not always there. He's consistently mediocre. Again, it's not a bad thing within the context of North America, but may come to be a problem when facing international competition where mistakes are heavily punished. The mid lane role is heavily stacked by players who can win lane and force out opponents really early to gain rapid leads. Still, Huhi can play the supportive role in a team, allowing Darshan and Stixxay to do the heavy lifting.

On a very high note, Huhi seems to have a lot more synergy with Xmithie than Pobelter ever seemed to have. They move well as a duo, and that is really important with junglers being more damage oriented than they have been in a while. Ranged junglers, such as Kindred, Graves or Nidalee, can only be successful pressure inducers if their laners are capable of following the jungler's footsteps.

Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes

There's very few people (if any at all) that were able to predict how good of a roster move it was to have Stixxay as CLG’s AD Carry when Doublelift left. It was very clear during the IEM San Jose tournament, prior to the start of 2016 LCS, that Stixxay would need some time to get used to his teammates on a larger stage than he's had to play until now. As weeks went on, Stixxay began feeling more and more comfortable in his shoes. He's learned to play on his own for the most part, which has freed up bottom lane companion to roam around the map and aid Huhi should the mid laner require it.

However, Stixxay has not perfected the art of safe farming and managing the duo lane by himself. It often leads him to having a lot less cs than his counterpart and could force Aphromoo to stay down with his adc to not have them play from a severe deficit later on.

Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black

If you're going to play with a new rookie AD Carry in the LCS, then why not pair him with the best NA support in 2015? As the veteran of the duo lane, Aphromoo’s influence on the young North American marksman has been clearer week by week. Always renowned as one of the best laners in NA, Stixxay has gradually adapted to playing with such an aggressive dueling support as Aphromoo. Adding to his laning prowess, it has to be mentioned that Aphro is also a good roaming, often seeking to aid his teammates in the middle lane.

During the postgame interview with CLG after the finals vs TSM, Aphromoo confirmed to the audience that communication had been a drastic improvement over those of previous splits and it's very clear to the audience. Calls are clear and followed. If it's time to siege a turret, CLG groups and sieges the turret with Aphromoo leading the charge. His performances on Bard have caught many teams in the NA LCS offguard and has eventually lead CLG to their second consecutive NALCS title.

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Player to look out for: Aphromoo. There are a lot of strong supports in this tournament. Wolf, Hybrid, SwordArt and of course Mata, make the support role the most stacked role in all of MSI. A lot of CLG’s success will rely on the calm and collected nature of the veteran North American support. Aphromoo has to be on point with his timing if CLG wants a shred of hope in Shanghai.

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Conclusion: CLG is not going to win lanes; it's a harsh but true fact. However, they do have a clear advantage in the fact that they are being underestimated as a strategic team. Their decision making in the mid-game has gained them success in the past couple of weeks and with the correct lane assignments, CLG can surprise many other teams attending MSI.

Follow the author of this piece at @HeckMaister.

Images courtesy of Riot Games / Lolesports Flickr