The first NA LCS Scouting Grounds of the new season are over, and if any team was at full attention for the event, it was Cloud9. While every team drew to see who would get first pick, they also had the opportunity to sell their spot, giving up a chance at new talent in exchange for some extra cash on the side. While Clutch Gaming picked up Golden Guardians fourth place spot, C9 went a step further buying both the first place spot from Flyquest and the third place spot from Optic Gaming.

Cloud9 is known as a team that fosters new talent and actively searches for it. This started as far back as Jensen, who has now become one of the most pivotal members of the team, but it is something that they have always said is a key part of their strategy. It was for this reason they probably swooped up League, a top laner and the most anticipated pick of the group, as well as grabbing Ash – most likely as a sub for Sneaky – and taking blaberfish2, the current number 1 ranked player in NA  and a jungler that may help fit the space left by Contractz.

TSM’s choice of Ablazeolive – a high value mid-laner – is likely a strategy to fill out their subs as well. CLG did pick up Nintendudex, however, a well-known player who has made the circuit for several years, constantly moving in and out of Challenger teams or other high profile teams. Since CLG has made no announcements regarding their jungle position, it is possible they are currently on the hunt for who will replace Omargod, meaning this could have been a very strategic pick for them.

Even if we don’t see these rookies making appearances in the first split of 2018, the real excitement is in whether any of them will make it past their first month of training to be officially picked up by a major team.