Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, the LCS legend and botlaner of NACL team Near Airport, is taking a week off. As is his support, Vincent "Biofrost" Wang, a veteran who had duo'd with Doublelift for years before during their time together on TSM. Near Airport, created by Doublelift as a Los-Ratones-esque team built with veteran and streamer experience, currently stands as the #1 team in the NACL, with a 5-1 record. Their only loss — so far — came at the hands of Luminosity Gaming, another tied-for-first squad full of LCS veterans.
Doublelift confirmed in a recent YouTube video that he and Biofrost are both occupied for the next week. Doublelift's schedule is packed with sponsor obligations, set in advance, prior to the formation of Near Airport, while Biofrost has school obligations.
To temporarily fill the shoes of the accomplished veterans, Near Airport selected two young prodigies: botlaner Jeremy "Sushee" Roussy and support Caleb
"Kelpo" Hunsberger, to play the week’s matches.
Sushee is an 18-year old player with aspirations to go pro, and just over a year of experience playing in the Open Qualifiers to reach the NACL. Thus far, on teams like Lotus and Respawned Esports, he’s yet to make it to America’s Tier 2 league. But now, subbing in on NA, he has a chance to show his skill at this level.
Kelpo is a 22-year old support with no competitive experience — coming straight from soloqueue. He previously substituted for Biofrost in some of NA’s scrims, and will now play his first stage games with the team. Kelpo is known for his unique support playstyle, especially his signature Soraka pick.
The new substitute botlane duo will be debuting in the team’s May 1st series against Blue Otter, currently the sixth place team in the league. This best-of-three will be an opportunity for the new players to get their names out there, and an opportunity for Near Airport to hold their #1 spot in the NACL.
Header photo credit: Riot Games
