Dire Wolves have today announced their signing of young South Korean adc, In Sung “Bowstring” Ha. With that being said, Dire Wolves have officially signed their five players for next years Oceanic Pro League.
Since taking on the role of General Manager and Head Coach of the Dire Wolves, Kai has been on a mission to acquire a strong roster for the organisation coming into next season. Last season saw the Dire Wolves take the approach of building a development roster, instead of acquiring a championship roster – which they were known by, up until the end of “the dynasty” last year.
With that being said, they have since parted ways with all members of last year’s team and have signed a completely fresh lineup.
Active Roster:
Straight off the bat, a key point about this roster is that the Dire Wolves have signed three of Avant Gaming’s starting roster from last split, with Chippys and Shok in the solo lanes and Korean import, Miru, in the jungle.
Outside of the Avant Gaming trio, Dire Wolves have brought in another South Korean import, Bowstring; this time for the bottom lane. Bowstring is accompanied by a long-standing member of the league, Decoy, who will be filling the role of support.
Dire Wolves Player Overviews
Chippys (Top)
Starting with the Dire Wolves’ top laner, Ryan “Chippys” Short has been a veteran of the Oceanic Pro League for many years, having been an integral part of the Dire Wolves’ dynasty back in 2016, up until his departure in 2018.
Chippys played a key part in the success of the Dire Wolves during his previous stint with the organisation; qualifying for Worlds on multiple occasions and representing the region at Rift Rivals and the Mid-Season Invitational.
Following his departure from the Dire Wolves, Chippys went on to sign with Mammoth Esports for the second split of the Oceanic Pro League in 2018. Although it seemed that this roster just didn’t mesh well together, as they had an abysmal split and missed out on the gauntlet that split. Chippys then went on to join Avant Gaming this year, placing fourth in split one and sixth in split two; he will also be representing Oceania at the 2019 All-Star Event in two days time.
2020 will be an important year for Chippys, as he will be looking to get back on top of the Oceanic Pro League and prove that he has what it takes to be reign supreme.
Shok (Mid)
Ari “Shok” Greene has been a rising talent for the Mid lane role as of recent, although he has been a part of the Oceanic Pro League for quite some time now – dating back to split two of the 2017 season alongside TM Gaming.
Having jumped between teams in his early days of competitive League of Legends, Shok made plenty of performances on the Tectonic/TM Gaming roster during his first two years in the Oceanic Pro League. Although he had started to make standout performances more regularly this year alongside the Avant Gaming roster.
Shok made waves this year when it came to champion select, having played multiple champions that you would not normally play in the mid lane when in competitive play. Nonetheless, his performances with the likes of Urgot and Mordekeiser this year were a spectacle to watch for viewers; creating highlight play after highlight play.
Next year will bring a lot of new opportunities for Shok, but I’m sure he will be pleased to be competing alongside two of his teammates from this year; Chippys and Miru. Given that his jungler and top laner remains with him, this could come as an advantage for Shok, as it should mean that there won’t be too many growing pains.
Miru (Jungle)
South Korean player, Mir “Miru” Park, is a young up-and-coming talent that fills the role of Jungler. He made his debut appearance in the Oceanic Pro League at the start of split two this year, after Avant Gaming made some roster changes with the Jungle role; having had a rotating jungle set up for split one.
Although the Avant Gaming lineup just missed out on the gauntlet, Miru had no problems when it came to making plays count when it mattered – especially for a player that has little to no top level competitive experience. Little is known about Miru, but there is no doubt that he has the ability to compete amongst the best junglers locally, especially after seeing his potential this year.
Given that next year will bring a good opportunity for Miru to grow with a team from day one, rather than come in mid-way through the season, it will be interesting to see how he will fit into the competitive landscape here in Oceania.
Decoy (Support)
Although no longer with his duo partner Raid, Daniel “Decoy” Ealam is no stranger to the competitive landscape in Oceania – having competed in the Oceanic Pro League since split two of 2017.
More known for his appearances under the Legacy Esports banner throughout last year, Decoy ended up competing in the Oceanic Pro League this year under the new-comers to the league, Gravitas. Potential was definitely there for the roster, but the team sadly never really broke into that top four in the Oceanic Pro League.
Having now been given the chance to play under the famous Dire Wolves banner, Decoy has a chance to kick the year off with a bang - alongside his young and talented adc, Bowstring.
Bowstring (ADC)
In Sung “Bowstring” Ha is a talented young ADC from South Korea, whom has little experience on the big stage but has clearly caught the eye of Dire Wolves’ scouts - given the faith they have put in him.
Bowstring recently competed against Royal Youth player, Pilot, in a Korean Challenger Tournament, showing pure class. Royal Youth was the Turkish representatives at this year's League of Legends World Championship. (tournament stream)
Coaching staff from the Dire Wolves have stated that he has a very aggressive play-style, which is what they are looking for.
There’s no doubt that once Bowstring enters the server next year, he will be one to watch out for.
With player announcements from teams in the Oceanic Pro League now in full swing, the pieces are slowly being put together on where people predict each team to place. Given the high caliber of raw talent on this roster itself, it will be interesting to see how they shape up against the new rosters slowly emerging.
If you want to stay connected with the progress of the Dire Wolves next season, be sure to follow them on Twitter.
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