Sources: Darkwings set to join DSG in the LTA North

According to sources close to Sheep Esports, midlaner Isaac "DARKWINGS" Chou is set to join Disguised ahead of the LTA North’s Split 3. DSG, having finished their offseason, will now begin preparing for the LTA’s return after MSI — and the inevitable relegation tournament that’ll follow it. No matter how well DSG does in Split 3, they’ll have to play against the best LRN and NACL teams for the right to keep their spot in the LTA.

DSG also showed high interest in Alex "Toasty" Chea, but with the buyout price of over $40k set by DarkZero Dragonsteel, Maryville University’s NACL team Darkwings was the next option. The team also considered Young Ho "Young" Choi, who previously played for DSG in the NACL, but hasn’t played competitively this year.

Darkwings most recently finished 3rd place in the NACL with Conviction Esports, losing a close 2:3 series to DarkZero. Darkwings has been a standout midlaner in Tier 2 for a while, having won the CLOL trophy last year. Finally, the talented player will get to show what he’s made of at the Tier 1 level.

After two tough splits as the worst team in the LTA North, DSG simply had to make changes. Their previous core carries — midlaner Felix "Abbedagge" Braun and ADC Jeremiah "ScaryJerry" Leathe — were easily the worst in their roles all year, and would’ve been liabilities against increasingly well-coordinated competition in Split 3.

Though ScaryJerry showed notable improvement, Korean botlaner Cho "Rahel" Min-seong has experience stabilizing bottom-tier rosters. Ideally, his time on the LEC stage will help him stay cool under pressure and give DSG the mechanical foundation they sorely lacked earlier this year.

Darkwings, however, will have to grapple with one of the strongest domestic midlane pools the region has seen in years — he’s unlikely to shine from the get-go, but he may have the skill to stay even in lane against NA’s best. Lawrence Lin "eXyu" Xu has shown flashes of brilliance on the LCS and LTAN stages before, and Darkwings could be the player best suited to help him succeed.

From the start, this roster has played around Cho "Castle" Hyeon-seong, a toplaner with incredible mechanics and yet-untapped potential — if these laners can avoid falling as far behind as their predecessors did in almost every early game, Castle will have a lot more to work with in the midgame. DSG doesn’t have much time to get it together — but if they can, fans will be cheering them on every step of the way.

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub.You can also stay updated with the latest leaks and official roster changes with our Offseason Tracker.