The floodgates were opened after Immortals fell to Cloud9 in the North America regional finals and failed to qualify for the 2016 League of Legends World Championship.

The most dominant regular season team in 2016 finished third in consecutive NA LCS playoffs and left CEO Noah Whinston with no choice but to start from scratch.

“We want to make very clear what our ideals are as an organization, and those ideals place player welfare first and foremost in our minds and hopefully in the minds of our fans as well," he said in a YouTube video on Sept. 8. "That's why, effective today, I've given permission for every Immortals player to seek offers from other organizations, even while still under contract with us."

The team that went 33-3 in the regular seasons of the 2016 Spring and Summer Splits lost top laner Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon (SK Telecom T1), support Adrian "Adrian" Ma (Phoenix1), jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin (Team Liquid) and AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran (Team SoloMid) to the open market before the end of the year.

Only mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park remains with the club after signing a two-year contract at the beginning of December.

"We’re thrilled to bring Pobelter back to the Immortals League of Legends team for the next two years," Whinston said in a release to announce the signing. "Throughout 2016, Eugene was the bedrock of our roster and we look forward to achieving great things together with him."
 

With Pobelter entrenched in the mid lane, Immortals welcomes top laner  Lee “Flame” Ho-jong, jungler Josh “Dardoch” Hartnett, AD carry Cody Sun and support Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung to the new-look roster.

Immortals have two questions to answer in the 2017 Spring Split: Can they come together as quickly as their predecessors to remain in the upper echelon of the NA LCS? And can they do what the organization has never done and win a playoff series?

Standing in their way is the defending summer split champions TSM, who topped last regular season with a 17-1 record and lost one match in two playoff series en route to the title.

TSM lost a key cog in their machine when Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng stepped away from the club for personal reasons at the beginning of November, but they found a suitable and recognizable replacement at AD carry in WildTurtle.
 

Many call this move a downgrade, but that's more a credit to Doubelift than it is a knock on WildTurtle. The Canadian, who competed for TSM from 2013 to 2015, brings a sense of stability a less-tenured ADC would be missing and has experienced tremendous regular season success over the last year with Immortals.

WildTurtle has big shoes to fill, but he's shown up in big moments before.

The 21-year-old put on a show in the fifth and final game of the third-place matchup against CLG at the 2016 Summer Split finals in Toronto this past August. His 10/1/5 performance on Ezreal clinched a 3-2 series victory for Immortals and had the capacity crowd at the Air Canada Centre chanting his name.

"When Turtle came in, it definitely felt natural. He pretty much came onto the team and it was as if he knew everyone already," TSM support Vincent "Biofrost" Wang said in the video announcement. "The new bot lane is definitely different than the one in summer ... but I'm sure that we'll do well."

"I'm glad to be back," WildTurtle added. "I hope you guys support me."

With a new bot lane for the defending champions, support will be a recurring theme for the veteran-laden roster if they hope to continue their reign in North America.


 

STARTING ROSTER CHANGES


Team SoloMid

OLD –  Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell (top), Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen (jungle), Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg (mid), Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng (ADC), Vincent "Biofrost" Wang (support)

NEW – Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell (top), Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen (jungle), Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg (mid), Jason "WildTurtle" Tran (ADC), Vincent "Biofrost" Wang (support)
 

Immortals

OLD – Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon (top), Kim "Reignover" Ui-jin (jungle), Eugene "Pobelter" Park (mid), Jason "WildTurtle" Tran (ADC), Adrian "Adrian" Ma (support) 

NEW – Lee "Flame" Ho-jong (top), Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett (jungle), Eugene "Pobelter" Park (mid), Cody Sun (ADC), Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung (support)
 

Cloud9 

OLD – Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong (top), William "Meteos" Hartman (jungle), Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen (mid), Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi (ADC), Andy "Smoothie" Ta

NEW – Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong (top), Juan "Contractz" Garcia (jungle), Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen (mid), Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi (ADC), Andy "Smoothie" Ta
 

Counter Logic Gaming

No Changes – Darshan "Darshan" Upadhyaha (top), Jake Xmithie" Puchero (jungle), Choi "HuHi" Jae-hyun (mid), Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes (ADC), Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black (support)
 

Team Liquid 

OLD – Samson "Lourlo" Jackson (top), Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett (jungle), Kim "Fenix" Jae-hun (mid), Jovani "fabbbyyy" Guillen (ADC), Matt "Matt" Elento (support)

NEW – Samson "Lourlo" Jackson (top), Kim "Reignover" Ui-jin (jungle), Grayson "Goldenglue" Gilmer (mid), Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin (ADC), Matt "Matt" Elento (support)
 

Team EnVyUs 

OLD – Shin "Seraph" Woo-yeong (top), Kim "Procxin" Seyoung (jungle), Noh "Ninja" Geon-woo (mid), Benjamin "LOD" DeMunck (ADC), Nickolas "Hakuho" Surgent

NEW – Shin "Seraph" Woo-yeong (top), Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo (jungle), Noh "Ninja" Geon-woo (mid), Apollo "Apollo" Price (ADC), Nickolas "Hakuho" Surgent
 

Team Dignitas 

NEW – Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho (top), Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun (jungle), Jang "Keane" Lae-young (mid), Benjamin "LOD" DeMunck, Alex "Xpecial" Chu (support)
 

Echo Fox 

OLD – Park "kfo" Jeong-hun (top), Anthony "Hard" Barkhovtsev (jungle), Henrik "Froggen" Hansen (mid), Yuri "Keith" Jew (ADC), Terry "BIG" Chuong (support)

NEW – Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok (top), Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham (jungle), Henrik "Froggen" Hansen (mid), Yuri "Keith" Jew (ADC), Austin "Gate" Yu (support)
 

Phoenix1

OLD – Derek "zig" Shao (top), Rami "Inori" Charagh (jungle), Choi "Pirean" Jun-sik (mid), Brandon "Mash" Phan, Austin "Gate" Yu (support) 

NEW – Derek "zig" Shao (top), Rami "Inori" Charagh (jungle), Ryu "Ryu" Sang-wook (mid), No "Arrow" Dong-hyeon (ADC), Adrian "Adrian" Ma (support)
 

FlyQuest 

ACQUIRED FROM CLOUD9 CHALLENGER – An "Balls" Van Le (top), Galen "Moon" Holgate (jungle), Hai "Hai" Du Lam (mid), Johnny "Altec" Ru (ADC), Daerek "LemonNation" Hart


 

FORMAT CHANGES

Relegation will be double elimination best-of-5 between bottom two NA LCS teams (9-10) and top to NA CS teams. Win twice and you’re in, lose twice and you’re out.

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WHAT I THINK

• TSM's title defence hinges on its bot lane. The defending summer split champions are still the team to beat in the NA LCS, but all eyes will be on WildTurtle and Biofrost throughout the spring split. WildTurtle's aggressiveness can be a strength with the right support and game plan, but it can also on border on reckless and snowball into some heavy deficits. A weak bot lane will become the focal point of every opponent and force TSM to make major adjustments, but a strong bot lane should have them back on top for another split.

• Immortals will not fall of a cliff. Yes, they will lose more than a few matches in the upcoming split, but the best regular season team in 2016 is not starting from scratch with a revamped roster. Dardoch is an elite jungler still growing into one of the best in North America, Flame comes from the gauntlet of the LPL, and Olleh and Cody Sun have jumped from team to team over the past few years and will have something to prove with one of North America's premier League of Legends franchises. It's too early to say how the new roster will gel, but they have the pieces to compete with the NA LCS field.

• Flyquest will explode onto the NA LCS scene. It's hard to believe Cloud9 had this much depth in its system. As the newly-named Flyquest, the former C9 Challenger squad is poised for big things in the top tier. There is no fresh meat on this squad and they have a chance to go from challenger series to legitimate contender over the course of a single split. I expect them to shock some teams early, but it won't be a surprise anymore come playoff time.