CLG Pobelter Benched to Academy LCS 
Former LCS champion and CLG alumnus Eugene “Pobelter” Park has been benched. Why, however, still isn’t clear. According to our sources, he’s been clashing heads with the CLG coaching staff and has been demoted to playing in Academy as a result.
A Surprising Move by CLG
The OCE boys have made it!
Pobelter & rjs have been splitting time in scrims & Pobelter will be starting in academy this week.
Roster:
– @Thiensf
– @Keel7lol
– @Pobelter
– @KatsuriiOCE
– @Hookslol
Stay tuned for a #LCS roster update on Friday.
https://t.co/8bGIqrxZPw pic.twitter.com/9ePgDkjOM5
— CLG (@clgaming) February 3, 2021
This, of course, comes as quite a surprise. And, in fact, it’s a bad case of déjà vu as well; Pobelter was also benched months ago for reasons that have never been revealed. But surprising though it may be, making such decisions is well within CLG’s M.O. — the organization has rarely made intelligent calls when it comes to who’s going to start and who isn’t, not to mention various instances of player mismanagement and shoddy leadership.
This is, in fact, the CLG all of us expected. Now, whether Pobelter has “attitude issues” or not is hearsay at this point. We know for a fact that he’s a hardworking individual and a consummate professional, so if he’s deviating from his regular self it’s probably for a good reason. Furthermore, if you’re playing for an organization that has such a (well-documented) knack for doing the wrong thing, we can only imagine how big of a mark that can leave on someone who’s hungry for success. Pobelter has earned our benefit of the doubt; CLG, on the other hand, still has a long way to go.
The fact that they’ll now compete without one of their most important veterans is definitely a cause for concern if you’re a CLG fan. Well, if there are any true CLG fans left. To make matters even worse, it seems like neither Finn “Finn” Wiestål nor Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen have had their visas approved (yet), so CLG will enter the first week of regular season play with a severely gimped line-up. They were going to face an uphill battle even in the best-case scenario, so definitely temper your expectations going forward.
An Acceptable Replacement
Instead of Pobelter, CLG has decided to start with Alexey “rjs” Zatorski, formerly known as Deus. Those who’ve watched Academy LCS last year are surely well-acquainted with this Canadian mid laner. He’s been both a top laner and mid throughout his career and has played for various different organizations, including M19, bbq Olivers, and — as of November 2019 — Counter Logic Gaming. Overall, he’s not exactly a stellar performer. “Mediocre” would perhaps be the most apt description of his Academy LCS tenure.
Regardless, he’s been given a chance to show his worth on the biggest of stages in North America. CLG is scheduled to face Dignitas, 100 Thieves, and Team SoloMid during their first week of play, so if you’re interested in finding out how they’ll fare without nearly half of their intended League of Legends line-up, make sure to tune in!