Australian bot laner Victor “FBI” Huang is set to make his debut for Golden Guardians Academy this weekend, four weeks into the Summer season.
If everything goes according to plan, the Oceanic Pro League graduate will finally step onto Summoner’s Rift in North America after he and the organisation have faced visa processing wait times for the first month of his arrival in the States.
While he has been waiting for clearance to link up with the GGS squad, Matthew “Deftly” Chen has been two-timing between the League of Legends Championship Series, and the Academy league, playing alongside mid-turned-support Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun.
Huang’s debut into the NA system has been one that he has been waiting for his whole career, ever since he first went pro with Sin Gaming in 2017. Last month he told Snowball Esports it was an opportunity he “never thought would happen”.
We’re excited to announce the additions of @FBI_OCE, @DarshanU, and @huhi to our Academy roster. We're also welcoming back @lolPotluck as our 2-way Player Coach.
— Golden Guardians (@GoldenGuardians) May 29, 2019
Full details on our 2019 Summer LCS and Academy roster and coaching updates here » https://t.co/1os7RhnMru pic.twitter.com/YoX6vAmpi7
According to Golden Guardians assistant coach Nick “Inero” Smith, who has worked in Oceania before with teams like Tainted Minds, and Order, it was a matter of when, not if, for Victor.
“FBI is someone I had my eyes on since I brought Lawrence [Lawrence “Lost” Hui] over from Legacy, and first opportunity we had to have our management speak to Bombers management we took,” Inero revealed.
“They gave us permission to see if Victor was interested, and as to be expected he was. I had had my eye on him for a while, and knew he could take the step up, so it was just a matter of when it worked on our end, and worked for him as well.”
FBI won’t have it easy when it loads onto the Rift this weekend. GGS.A are facing off against Team Liquid and Team SoloMid in their academy games. Liquid have started their season with a 5-2 record, while TSM have set the pace with just one loss in seven games.
Not that Inero thinks FBI will struggle coming up against names like Michael “MikeYeung” Yeung, Matthew “Matt” Elento, or Brandon “Brandini” Chen in his opening games. In terms of talent, the OPL’s best can easily match up to the Academy’s, Inero believes. It’s not their skill that divides them, but simply the setup that their talent can be fostered in.
“In terms of talent, and raw potential, it’s very close. The top Oceanic talent I think is equal to the Academy’s talent, and in the case of players like Lost and FBI I even think they have it in them to eventually secure a solid place in the LCS”
Inero
“The biggest separation, and what causes any kind of divide, is that players here in America just have a better training ground in the NA solo queue. I know that people meme about the server, but it really is a better place to learn than most wildcard environments.
“Combine that with the fact that even the Academy teams here are set up so well, especially compared to where the Pro League in Australia is right now, and that creates a gap that artificially widens possible chances for players.”
FBI’s first game in Academy will be on Friday morning, at 8am AEST, when he and the rest of the star-studded GGS.A roster faces TL.A. His second fixture of the weekend will be at the following day, at 11am AEST. Both matches will be livestreamed by the organisations on Twitch.tv.
