EVEN CLG CALLS HIM ZIONSPARTAN

Or so says ZionSpartan, the latest top laner for Counter Logic Game. It's an interesting tone to take, given that Zion has a reputation for being one of the last carry-style top laners competing in the LCS. But he feels like it's the correct path to take if both he -- and CLG -- ever hope to achieve their ever-elusive potential.

“I feel like there's a lot I haven't proven as a player,” he told fans in a recent vlog. “[CLG] is where I see myself winning. This is where I see myself becoming a player that I can finally respect.”

Zion's aggressive style of play could be just what CLG needs to overcome its recent run of mediocrity. Specifically, his top-lane influence would mark a departure from the team's iconic "protect the Doublelift" comp. For that comp to work, the focus of each game would be to feed as much gold into the strat's eponymous AD carry so that he could achieve his late-game, hyper-carry potential.

As is evident from CLG's lack of championship titles, the strategy has failed to pay off.

And just as CLG hopes to reinvent itself with a new top laner and jungler (Xmithie) in 2015, Zion said that he too should not be defined by his heretofore potent presence in the top lane. "This is going to be a new CLG," he said. "I am not changing my playstyle to fit how CLG was, I am going to incorporate my playstyle into the way the new CLG will work.”

“All I know is that I will play whatever gives the team the best chance of succeeding.”

#lcs #lol