Clutch Gaming

Clutch Gaming (CG) was an American esports franchise owned by Dignitas[1] and the Houston Rockets.[2][3] It was one of four organizations that joined the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) in 2018 after the league began franchising, the others being 100 Thieves, the Golden Guardians and OpTic Gaming.[4]

Clutch Gaming
Short nameCG
GameLeague of Legends
FoundedNovember 20, 2017 (2017-11-20)
FoldedOctober 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)
LeagueLCS
Based inHouston, Texas
LocationUnited States
OwnerTilman Fertitta
Head coachBrendan "mcscrag" McGee
ManagerToby "Pyrex" Kwon
Playoff berthsSpring 2018, Summer 2019
Parent groupDignitas; Houston Rockets

Clutch Gaming was under the sole ownership of the Houston Rockets until June 6, 2019, when it was announced that the majority share in the franchise had been purchased by Dignitas and its parent company.[1][5][6] On October 28, 2019, Clutch Gaming was completely merged with Dignitas.[7]

LCS team

History

For the 2018 NA LCS Spring Split, Tae-yoo "Lira" Nam, Apollo "Apollo" Price and Nickolas "Hakuho" Surgent were acquired from Team Envy's roster before they disbanded,[8] while Colin "Solo" Earnest and Fabian "Febiven" Diepstraten were acquired from Gold Coin United and H2K respectively.[9] Clutch Gaming finished the regular season in sixth place after losing two tiebreakers to Cloud9 and TSM, ending with 11 wins and 9 losses.[10] This placement secured them a spot in playoffs,[11][12] where they defeated TSM 3–1 in an upset victory in the quarterfinals,[13] but lost 2–3 to 100 Thieves in the semifinals[14][15] and 0–3 to Echo Fox in the third-place decider match.[16]

Clutch Gaming ended the 2018 NA LCS Summer Split in ninth place, with a 6–12 record.[17] The team qualified for the 2018 NA LCS Regional Qualifier after FlyQuest lost to 100 Thieves in the quarterfinals, as Clutch Gaming placed higher than FlyQuest in championship points due to the outcome of the match.[18] Clutch Gaming lost to Echo Fox 0–3 in the first round of the regional qualifier and was eliminated from Worlds contention.[19]

In late November 2018, Clutch Gaming and Echo Fox traded players in preparation for the upcoming 2019 LCS Spring Split (which had recently renamed to exclude "NA" from its title). Solo, Apollo and Hakuho left Clutch Gaming to join Echo Fox,[20] and in return Clutch Gaming acquired Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon[21][22] and Tanner "Damonte" Damonte.[23][24] Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin and Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme were also moved from the organization's academy team to complete the roster.[25]

Clutch Gaming ended the 2019 LCS Spring Split in ninth place once again, with a 5–13 record.[26] Prior to the start of the 2019 LCS Summer Split, Clutch Gaming announced that it would replace Piglet with Cody Sun as the team's starting bot laner.[27] After defeating the Golden Guardians in the last week of the summer regular season, Clutch Gaming was able to secure a spot in playoffs with a fifth place finish and a 9–9 record.[28] In the quarterfinals Clutch Gaming once again defeated TSM 3–1,[29][30] moving on to the semifinals, where they lost 2–3 to Team Liquid in a close series.[31] Clutch Gaming was then reverse swept by CLG in the third-place decider match,[32] forcing them to begin in the first round of the regional qualifier for the 2019 World Championship. After defeating FlyQuest,[33] CLG[34] and TSM[35] in the first, second and third rounds respectively, Clutch Gaming secured a spot in the 2019 World Championship as the LCS' third seed.

Clutch Gaming began in the play-in stage of the 2019 World Championship, where they were placed in Group A with Russian team Unicorns of Love and Australian team Mammoth. After losing to the Unicorns of Love and defeating Mammoth in both round robins, Group A was locked in a three-way tie, but Clutch Gaming avoided the first tiebreaker match due to them having the shortest total game time (63:37) among their victories.[36] Clutch Gaming then defeated the Unicorns of Love to secure first seed in their group.[37] In the second round of play-in stage, Clutch Gaming was pitted against Turkish team Royal Youth, who they promptly swept 3–0 to secure a spot in the main event.[38]

Because of group draw rules for the main event, Clutch Gaming was forced into Group C, which was nicknamed the "group of death" due to it having three regional superteams: South Korea's SK Telecom T1, China's Royal Never Give Up, and Europe's Fnatic.[39] Clutch Gaming finished the main event group stage with a 0–6 record and were eliminated without picking up a single win in the double round robin.[40]

Former players
Nat. ID Name Role Next team Joined Left
Huni Heo Seung-hoon Top Laner Dignitas November 27, 2018 October 28, 2019
Lira Nam Tae-yoo Jungler Dignitas December 2, 2017 October 28, 2019
Damonte Tanner Damonte Mid Laner Dignitas November 26, 2018 October 28, 2019
Cody Sun Liyu Sun Bot Laner Dignitas March 22, 2019 October 28, 2019
Vulcan Philippe Laflamme Support Dignitas November 28, 2018 October 28, 2019
Piglet Chae Gwang-jin Bot Laner none November 30, 2018 June 14, 2019
Solo Colin Earnest Top Laner Echo Fox December 2, 2017 November 24, 2018
Apollo Apollo Price Bot Laner Echo Fox December 2, 2017 November 24, 2018
Hakuho Nickolas Surgent Support Echo Fox December 2, 2017 November 24, 2018
Febiven Fabian Diepstraten Mid Laner Misfits Gaming December 2, 2017 November 20, 2018

Tournament results
Placement Event Final result (W–L)
6th 2018 NA LCS Spring Split 11–7
4th 2018 NA LCS Spring Playoffs 0–3 (against Echo Fox)
9th 2018 NA LCS Summer Split 6–12
4th 2018 NA Regional Qualifier 0–3 (against Echo Fox)
9th 2019 LCS Spring Split 5–13
5th 2019 LCS Summer Split 9–9
4th 2019 LCS Summer Playoffs 2–3 (against CLG)
1st 2019 LCS Regional Qualifier 3–2 (against TSM)
13th–16th 2019 World Championship 0–6 (main event)

Academy team

Former players
Nat. ID Name Role Next team Joined Left
Rodov Tom Rodov Top Laner Dignitas Academy December 18, 2018 October 28, 2019
Rikara Richard Samuel Oh Bot Laner Dignitas Academy June 5, 2019 October 28, 2019
Joey Joseph Haslemann Support Dignitas Academy May 8, 2019 October 28, 2019
Magerdanger Jason Magerkurth Jungler none December 19, 2018 October 2, 2019
Sun Josh Cook Mid Laner none January 1, 2018 September 9, 2019
Moon Galen Holgate Jungler CLG Academy January 1, 2018 December 6, 2018
Piglet Chae Gwang-jin Bot Laner Clutch Gaming January 2, 2018 November 30, 2018
Vulcan Philippe Laflamme Support Clutch Gaming January 3, 2018 November 28, 2018
Maxtrobo Maxime Delangis-Gallichand Top Laner PsykoPaths Gaming January 3, 2018 November 17, 2018
Eclipse Johnson Cao Bot Laner OpTic Gaming Academy January 16, 2018 March 21, 2018

Tournament results
Placement Event Final result (W–L)
7th 2018 NA Academy Spring Split 8–10
4th 2018 NA Academy Summer Split 10–8
5th–6th 2018 NA Academy Summer Playoffs 2–3 (against FlyQuest Academy)
10th 2019 NA Academy Spring Split 3–15
9th 2019 NA Academy Summer Split 6–12

References
  1. "Dignitas return to LCS with acquisition of Clutch Gaming". ESPN. June 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  2. "League of Legends meets NBA as teams backed by Warriors, Rockets face off". ESPN. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  3. "Traditional sports owners now have teams in Overwatch, League of Legends, and more". Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  4. "Sources: NA LCS team roster finalized with Rockets". ESPN. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  5. Esguerra, Tyler (June 6, 2019). "Dignitas merges with Clutch Gaming's LCS franchise". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  6. Duran, H. B. (June 6, 2019). "Dignitas Returns to League Championship Series With Clutch Gaming Merger". The Esports Observer. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  7. Yim, Miles (November 18, 2019). "People are investing millions into League of Legends franchises. Will the bet pay off?". Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  8. "Sources: Rockets-owned Clutch Gaming looking to get Apollo, LirA and Hakuho". ESPN. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  9. "Sources: Febiven, Solo sign with Clutch Gaming". ESPN. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  10. "NA LCS 2018 Spring Split | Teams and Standings". www.lolesports.com. LoL Esports. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  11. Li, Xing (March 22, 2018). "What happened to Clutch Gaming?". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  12. Li, Xing (March 24, 2018). "All eyes are on the bot lane when Clutch Gaming face TSM tomorrow". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  13. Li, Xing (March 25, 2018). "Clutch Gaming dismantle TSM to advance to the NA LCS semifinals". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  14. Mickunas, Aaron (April 1, 2018). "Aphromoo will face Doublelift in the NA LCS finals after 100 Thieves win a grueling 5-game series against Clutch Gaming". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  15. Donigan, Wyatt (April 1, 2018). "LoL: 100 Thieves beats Clutch in five-game semifinal". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  16. Mickunas, Aaron (April 7, 2018). "Echo Fox sweep Clutch Gaming to secure third place in the 2018 NA LCS Spring Split". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  17. "NA LCS 2018 Summer Split | Teams and Standings". www.lolesports.com. LoL Esports. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  18. Goslin, Austen (September 13, 2018). "How to watch the 2018 NA LCS Regional Qualifier gauntlet: Streams, schedule and results". The Rift Herald. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  19. Geddes, Chase (September 14, 2018). "Echo Fox survives Round 1 of NA LCS gauntlet". ESPN. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  20. Binkowski, Justin (November 24, 2018). "Echo Fox reportedly set to acquire Solo, Apollo, and Hakuho from Clutch Gaming". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  21. Wolf, Jacob (November 23, 2018). "Sources: Huni to sign with Clutch Gaming". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  22. Abbas, Malcolm (November 23, 2018). "Report: Echo Fox's Huni set to join Clutch Gaming". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  23. Wolf, Jacob (November 24, 2018). "Sources: Clutch Gaming to sign Damonte". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  24. Binkowski, Justin (November 24, 2018). "Clutch Gaming reportedly signs Damonte to complete its 2019 NA LCS roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  25. Goslin, Austen (July 27, 2018). "Piglet returns to the LCS as the new ADC for Clutch Gaming". Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  26. "LCS/2019 Season/Spring Season". Leaguepedia. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  27. Esguerra, Tyler (May 27, 2019). "Cody Sun will be Clutch Gaming's starting ADC for week one of the 2019 LCS Summer Split". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  28. Li, Xing (August 4, 2019). "Huni's Rumble helps Clutch beat Golden Guardians, secure an LCS playoff seed". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  29. Esguerra, Tyler (August 11, 2019). "Clutch Gaming take down TSM to qualify for the 2019 LCS Summer Split semifinals". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  30. Kolev, Radoslav (August 11, 2019). "Cody Sun, Clutch Gaming trample TSM in LCS quarterfinals". VPEsports. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  31. Abbas, Malcolm (August 19, 2019). "Team Liquid qualify for Worlds after semifinal win over Clutch Gaming". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  32. Li, Xing (August 25, 2019). "CLG reverse sweep Clutch in the LCS third place match". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  33. Abbas, Malcolm (September 6, 2019). "Clutch Gaming begin Worlds qualifer gauntlet run with win over FlyQuest". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  34. Samples, Rachel (September 7, 2019). "Clutch keep their gauntlet run alive after taking down CLG". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  35. Endres, Elena (September 8, 2019). "Clutch reverse sweep TSM to secure a spot at Worlds". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  36. @lolesports (October 4, 2019). "Tiebreakers explained: ..." (Tweet). Retrieved October 4, 2019 – via Twitter.
  37. "Clutch Gaming, Splyce win their groups on Day 3 of League of Legends World Championship play-ins". ESPN. October 4, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  38. Endres, Elena (October 7, 2019). "Clutch Gaming advance to the main stage at Worlds 2019". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  39. Esuguerra, Tyler (October 14, 2019). "What can Clutch Gaming do to change their winless start to Worlds 2019?". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  40. Esuguerra, Tyler (October 19, 2019). "Clutch Gaming eliminated from Worlds 2019 after a horrible backdoor attempt against Fnatic". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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