Velocity eSports drops entire roster, looks to still compete for an LCS spot

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Velocity eSports shocked the League of Legends esports world today when they announced the immediate release of their entire roster. Team manager Brian 'i am guitar' Cordry posted the bold change on Velocity's website, saying that as a team, Velocity wasn't able to find any success.

"Instead of tinkering with one piece of the roster, we have decided to release the entire active roster and find a new group of players to represent the Velocity brand coming into the Season 4 promotion/relegation tournament," said Cordry.

The news comes after Ainslie 'maplestreet' Wyllie tweeted about his semi-departure from the team yesterday. Wyllie had been playing in his former AD Carry role prior to him leaving, which led to speculation as to what happened Velocity's new AD Carry, Sean 'Slackoh' Ricky Paul. Cordry cited that Paul, while a great player, couldn't make the time commitment due to his education.

"For those who didn’t know, Slackoh is one of those youngster prodigies in League," Cordry said in his statement. "While it’s fantastic that he’s such a strong player while still being in high school, it led to severe scheduling issues."

With Paul unable to practice as much Velocity wanted, Wyllie moved from mid lane back to AD Carry. The change brought back old problems, said Cordry.

"We’ve tried almost everything. But one thing has remained constant throughout – we haven’t been able to win consistently on any stage."

Velocity is currently 5-13 in the North American Challenger League. Their Summer LCS run equated to a similar 5-23 record. The history of Velocity is not that of a winning one, and the players vented their frustration to Cordry. It was at that time Cordry met with the management of Velocity, and decided to move ahead with a full roster change.

Wyllie appeared to have no knowledge of the roster sweep:

Jungler Andrew 'Nk Inc' Erickson is already looking for another team:

Cordry says he "cares deeply" for the players and will do what he can on his end to "help them find homes on competitive teams that have a shot at the LCS." Velocity will have more information on their new roster in the near future.

Photo Credit: lol.gamepedia.com