It’s not long now until the UKLC summer split gets underway. As the competition gets closer and closer, more teams are releasing their rosters, with some sides taking a completely different approach from spring.
One team that have made significant changes to their roster are MnM Gaming. Monk and Mumus are no longer with the British organisation after completing moves to Team MCES and Vivo Keyd. These two players where a major factor in MnM’s success last split due to the team’s playstyle which emphasised top and bot priority.
Shogun, MnM Gaming’s support, acknowledges that due to the Monk and Mumus leaving, his team will need to adapt to the new roster.
He says: “Losing Monk and Mumus means redefining our playstyle. I think every player on MnM was key to our playstyle last split and so it can’t be replicated with another roster, essentially starting at square one again. Which isn’t a bad thing,”
“We’ll most likely be considered the favourites to upset the sister teams and take a top-four spot. But, with a lot more uncertainty than last split. A lot of emphases was put onto Mumus and Monk being big carries for MnM and people aren’t going to feel as comfortable rating us highly without them. It’s our job to show everyone we deserve the spot. Not to complain if people don’t want to put us there to begin with.”
The first major news that the team announced is that they had retained the services of Shogun, Noltey and Chibs. The support opens up about his decision to stay with the Marshmallows and also why keeping two of his teammates is so crucial this split.
“I decided to stay with MnM because they’ve been a consistently trustworthy org that put the development and care of players at their centre. I also felt in terms of building a roster I wanted to play with this was the best place to do that,”
“For most UK players ensuring that the other UK players on your roster are of a good tier is usually a high priority. There is an abundance of capable import players with experience but less so for domestic players. So, keeping them around is a big bonus.“
Speaking of high priority domestic talents, the UKLC side have decided to field an all-British roster. They announced they have signed former Diabolus ADC Yusa and resigned OnlyAngel, who was most recently playing in Italy for Cyberground Gaming. While the UK scene may not have the same depth as Poland, France or the Nordic regions. Nobody can deny that this side has some of the strongest players Great Britain has to offer.
With all that in mind, Shogun is extremely confident in this line-up. He feels that while people may not consider them a brilliant side straight away, by the end of the Summer split they will prove to everybody how strong they are.
“My expectations for myself and my team are that people are really going to enjoy our roster. I’m hoping to be fan favourites with some explosive and unique gameplay which is pretty much an MnM staple at this point,”
“There will be a lot more competition around the middle of the table, I think apart from the very top of the table everyone’s skill gap is closing and the general state of the game gives the feel that anyone can take a win at any moment. There will be more upsets than last split but in the end, it should iron out into a predictable finish.”
As more rosters are starting to be completed, the landscape of the UKLC is looking completely different from the last split. MnM’s line-up clearly shows their intent to qualify for EU Masters, and they will undoubtedly challenge the likes of exceL UK and Fnatic Rising. However, with Barrage’s recent roster reveal and Diabolus still yet to announce their roster, the road to EUM will be more unpredictable than ever before.
By Tom Daniels
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Gromp News 