The League of Legends free-agent frenzy has begun, and the first big domino in the North American LCS has dropped. Adrian "Adrian" Ma has inked a deal with Phoenix1 and he will be leaving Immortals to join the club for the 2017 spring campaign.
Over the four splits in Adrian's career, the former All-NA LCS support has never failed to make the top four of the regular season, even winning the regular season crown last spring with the 17-1 Immortals; however, the World Championships have eluded him, his past Team Impulse and Immortals squads both failing to reach the top three over the course of the year to qualify.
"I appreciated my year on Immortals and the opportunities that they provided me. During the off season I carefully considered some of the many options I had and how I wanted to move forward for the next year. After talking with Phoenix1, I realized that they had two components that made my decision easier; strong domestic players in Zig and Inori that I would want to work with, and a fresh team that has a legitimate chance at making a successful run at playoffs. While talking to the owner, Michael Moore, it was very apparent that he took all of my concerns and ideas for the team into consideration. I feel playing for Phoenix 1 will help me grow, both as a player and as a person," said Adrian.
Phoenix1 has also renewed the contracts of three of its starters from the summer split: top laner Derek "Zig" Shao, Rookie of the Split runner-up jungler Rami "Inori" Charagh, and Korean import mid laner Choi "Pirean" Jun-sik. On who will be lining up with Adrian in P1's new bottom lane is still to be decided, as the team is currently trying out AD carries in South Korea.
"We couldn't be more excited to have Adrian as part of the P1 org moving into next season. We're confident he will help us build on the success we found at the end of the last split. I think fans can look forward to watching a stronger, more exciting P1 next season," said Michael Moore, co-owner of Phoenix1.
The inaugural split for Phoenix1 was two distinct halves. The club failed to register a win in the round-robin stage of the summer split, but bounced back in the second half to finish 8th in the league and make it through relegations. With a strong end to the 2016 year and a revamped bottom lane, P1 is in position to not only avoid relegation again, but fight for the postseason come spring split in mid-January.