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Clutch Gaming
Clutch Gaming Logo
Team Information
Org Location
United States
Region
NA
North America
SponsorCORSAIR
History
Created2017-11-20
Disbanded2019-10-28
Social Media & Links
Infobox Homepagelogo std
Infobox Discord Serverlogo std
Infobox Facebook Fanpagelogo std
Infobox LOLProslogo std
Infobox Instagramlogo std
Infobox Subredditlogo std
Infobox Twitch Teamlogo std
Infobox Twitterlogo std
Current Roster
Clutch Gaming 2019 LCS Summer Roster

Clutch Gaming is an American esports organization owned by the NBA team Houston Rockets.

History[]

2018 Season[]

Spring Split[]

Clutch Gaming was one of four new organizations awarded a slot in the newly franchised LCS. Their first roster was made up of jungler LirA, AD carry Apollo and support Hakuho from the disbanded Team EnVyUs, as well as former EULCS MVP mid laner Febiven and former Challenger series top laner Solo. Clutch was considered one of the better newly formed teams, but not strong enough to challenge for a top spot. All of the former EnVy players were considered solid but not spectacular, and Febiven's strength in the mid lane was thought to be balanced by Solo's inexperience, especially given the presence of many Korean import top laners.

Once the Spring Split began, Clutch quickly acquired a reputation for beating every team below them and losing to every team above them, only managing three wins against teams that would later make the playoffs, two of which were early season wins against a slumping TSM. However, in a very volatile split, they were also one of the most consistent teams, only ever falling out of the top six once and posting only a single 0-2 week. This consistency led to them clinching a playoff spot by Week 7 with a 9-5 record. However, Clutch stagnated over the final two weeks, only managing to go 2-2 as teams like 100 Thieves and Team Liquid surged, causing them to fall into a historical four-way tie for third that necessitated a tiebreaker series. Their struggles to beat other strong teams continued in that series, as they lost both tiebreakers to fall into sixth place.

In the playoff quarterfinals, Clutch faced third seed TSM, who were the overwhelming favorites due to their veteran lineup and having gone 5-1 over the final three weeks of the season. TSM easily dispatched Clutch in game 1 by focusing LirA early, but Clutch struck back with a comeback victory in game 2. However, with TSM failing to ban Hakuho's Thresh in either of the two final games, Clutch stomped a faltering TSM in a historic upset, becoming the first team in the history of the NALCS to defeat them in quarterfinals, and keeping TSM out of the finals for the first time. Clutch then moved on to face the 1st seeded 100 Thieves in the semifinals. Similar to the TSM series, Clutch were heavy underdogs, but managed to keep pace with 100 Thieves to take the series to five games. Clutch took an early lead in game 5, but the game extended into an excruciating, tense 74 minute siege in which Clutch took 100 Thieves down the wire but finally lost the game off a teamfight in their base. This sent Clutch to the third-place match against 2nd seed Echo Fox. Despite expectations of a close series, Echo Fox stomped Clutch in three quick games, meaning that their only playoff reward would be 30 Championship Points.

Summer Split[]

Clutch made no roster changes going into the summer. The summer split started similarly to the spring, with Clutch going 1-1 each week over the first four weeks. Unlike the spring, they were unable to keep this pace up over the entire season and only managed two wins over the final five weeks, eventually falling all the way into ninth place, ahead of only Golden Guardians. Although they did not make the playoffs, their spring finish meant that Clutch still had a slot in the Regional Finals, but they were swept by Echo Fox in the first round, ending their season.

2019 Season[]

Clutch shook up their roster going into the 2019 season, retaining only Lira. Solo, Apollo, and Hakuho went to Echo Fox, with Echo Fox players Huni and Damonte joining Clutch, and the Clutch Gaming Academy bot lane of Piglet and Vulcan were promoted to the main team. Clutch started the spring split of the newly-rebranded LCS strong with a 2-0 first week, but immediately went on a lengthy losing streak and did not win another game until Week 5. They eventually finished 5-13 and in ninth place for the second straight split.

Several months after it had first been reported by ESPN, Dignitas announced that they would be buying Clutch and rebranding the team for the 2020 season. For the summer split, the team replaced Piglet with Cody Sun, who had played for their academy team in the spring after a controversial 2019 with 100 Thieves. This iteration of Clutch was more consistent than the spring version, and they spent most of the summer hovering just below the .500 mark and in contention for the final few playoff spots. In the final week, Clutch went 2-0 and leapfrogged over the other prospective playoff teams to claim fifth place.

In the playoffs, Clutch was matched up against fourth-place TSM, who were starting rookie jungler Spica after a rocky summer split. Echoing their 2018 Spring run, Clutch upset TSM 3-1, then took eventual champions Team Liquid to five games before falling. This sent them to a third-place match against CLG for seeding in the Regional Finals, where Clutch took a 2-0 lead before being heartbreakingly reverse swept.

This loss put Clutch at the bottom of the regional finals gauntlet, but they beat FlyQuest 3-1 in the first round and then avenged their playoff defeat against CLG in the second, sending them to a final round rematch against TSM with Worlds on the line. Clutch lost their first two games but at the brink of defeat managed to do to TSM what CLG had done to them, reverse sweeping the historic franchise and reaching Worlds for the first time.

Clutch was seeded into the Play-In at Worlds, where they struggled against Unicorns of Love of the CIS and MAMMOTH of the OPL. The three teams ended up tied in the standings, forcing them to play a three-way tiebreaker to see who would advance, which Clutch came out on top of. This sent them to the Knockout Stage against Royal Youth of the TCL, who they swept to reach the main event. There, they were seeded into Group C with Fnatic, Royal Never Give Up, and SK Telecom T1. Despite the presence of two of Huni's former teams (Fnatic and SKT) in this group, Clutch failed to exact revenge for their top laner on any of them, and went 0-6, becoming the first North American team to fail to win a single game in the Worlds group stage. After Worlds ended, the expected rebranding of Clutch occurred, and the roster was transferred to Dignitas.

Timeline[]

  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • August 3, Curry (Assistant Coach to Interim Head Coach) changes position. DLim (Head Coach) leaves.[12]
  • August 22, McScrag (Head Coach)'s contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2018.[13]
  • October 2, Curry (Interim Head Coach) leaves.[14]
  • November 20,
    Febiven leaves.[15][16]
  • November 24,
    Solo,
    Apollo, and
    Hakuho leave.[17]
  • November 26,
    Damonte joins.
    [18]
  • November 27,
    Huni joins.
    [19]
  • November 28,
    Vulcan joins from academy roster.
    [20]
  • November 30,
    Piglet joins from academy roster.
    [21]
  • November (approx.), Baby Zeus (Assistant Coach) leaves.
  • December 11,
    Damonte's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020.[22]
  • December 12,
    Cody Sun's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020.[23]
  • December 14,
    Huni and
    Lira's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019.[24]
  • December 26, mcscrag (Head Coach) joins from academy roster.[25]
  • January (approx.), Rigby (Assistant Coach) joins.
  • January 4, mcscrag (Head Coach)'s contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019.[26]
  • January 5,
    Piglet and
    Vulcan's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020.[27]
  • March 22,
    Cody Sun joins from academy roster.
    Piglet (Bot to Mid) changes position.[28]
  • March 23, Artemis (Assistant Coach) joins from academy roster.
  • June 6, Clutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaming merges with Dignitaslogo stdDignitas. The LCS team is set to rebrand at the beginning of the 2020 season.[29][30]
  • June 14,
    Piglet leaves.[31]
  • June 17,
    Cody Sun's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020.[32]
  • July 1, Thinkcard (Assistant Coach) joins. Rigby (Assistant Coach) leaves.[33][34]
  • July 9, Thinkcard (Assistant Coach to Head Coach) changes position. mcscrag (Head Coach) leaves.[35] Thinkcard (Head Coach)'s contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2021.[36]
  • September 26, Rigby (Assistant Coach) rejoins.[37]
  • September 29,
    Rodov joins as substitute from academy roster.
    [38]
  • October (approx.), Rigby (Assistant Coach) leaves.
  • October 28, Clutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaming rebrands as Dignitaslogo stdDignitas.
    Huni,
    Lira,
    Damonte,
    Cody Sun,
    Vulcan,
    Rodov, Thinkcard (Head Coach), and Artemis (Assistant Coach) are removed from the GCD.[39]

Player Roster[]

Former[]

Players are shown for the entire duration of their tenure on the team, with the role and substitute/trainee status they had upon their departure.

Dates:Approx|Exact
PlayerNameRoleJoinedLeftNext Team
KR

HuniHeo Seung-hoon (허승훈)
Top Laner
Nov 20182018-11-27Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitaslogo stdDIG
KR

LiraNam Tae-yoo (남태유)
Jungler
Dec 20172017-12-02Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitaslogo stdDIG
NA

DamonteTanner Damonte
Mid Laner
Nov 20182018-11-26Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitaslogo stdDIG
NA

Cody SunLiyu "Cody" Sun
Bot Laner
Mar 20192019-03-22Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitaslogo stdDIG
NA

VulcanPhilippe Laflamme
Support
Nov 20182018-11-28Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitaslogo stdDIG
NA

RodovTom Rodov
Sub/Top
Sep 20192019-09-29Oct 20192019-10-28Dignitas Academylogo stdDIG.A
NA

PigletChae Gwang-jin (채광진)
Mid Laner
Nov 20182018-11-30Jun 20192019-06-14T1 Rookieslogo stdT1.R
NA

SoloColin Earnest
Top Laner
Dec 20172017-12-02Nov 20182018-11-24Echo Foxlogo stdFOX
NA

ApolloApollo Price
Bot Laner
Dec 20172017-12-02Nov 20182018-11-24Echo Foxlogo stdFOX
NA

HakuhoNickolas Surgent
Support
Dec 20172017-12-02Nov 20182018-11-24Echo Foxlogo stdFOX
EU

FebivenFabian Diepstraten
Mid Laner
Dec 20172017-12-02Nov 20182018-11-20Misfits Gaminglogo stdMSF

Player League Participation[]

Playoff games are NOT included, but regular-season tiebreaker games ARE.

LCS

Player201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024Games
SpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummerSpringSummer
ApolloTeam Coastlogo stdTeam Impulselogo stdTeam Impulselogo stdDignitaslogo stdApex Gaminglogo stdTeam EnVyUslogo stdTeam EnVyUslogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdImmortalslogo stdImmortalslogo std312
SoloEcho Foxlogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdFlyQuestlogo stdFlyQuestlogo stdGolden Guardianslogo stdTSMlogo stdTSMlogo stdImmortalslogo std151
PigletTeam Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquidlogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo std170
HuniImmortalslogo stdImmortalslogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdDignitaslogo stdEvil Geniuses.NAlogo stdTSMlogo stdTSMlogo stdTSMlogo stdTSMlogo std234
Cody SunImmortalslogo stdImmortalslogo std100 Thieveslogo std100 Thieveslogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo std100 Thieveslogo std100 Thieveslogo std186
DamonteEcho Foxlogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdEcho Foxlogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaminglogo stdGolden Guardianslogo std100 Thieveslogo stdCounter Logic Gaminglogo std95

Organization[]

Current[]

C ID Name Position
Tilman Fertitta Owner
Sebastian Park VP of Esports

Former[]

C ID Name Position Next Team
Andrew Barton Assistant General Manager & Esports Development Analyst Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
TheAzotal Ryan Friedman Assistant General Manager & Esports Operations Analyst Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Empyre Naser Al-Naqi Head of Scouting and Analysis Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Pyrex Toby Kwon (권용현) Manager & Team Operations Coordinator Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Thinkcard Thomas Slotkin 80Head Coach Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Artemis Connor Doyle 80Assistant Coach Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Rigby Han Earl (한얼) 80Assistant Coach Dignitaslogo stdDignitas
Whanderlust Sandra Chen Social Media Coordinator Team Liquidlogo stdTeam Liquid
mcscrag Brendan McGee 80Head Coach None
Rigby Han Earl (한얼) 80Assistant Coach Clutch Gaminglogo stdClutch Gaming
Kevin Wood Head of Esports Brand Management None
Baby Zeus Alec Warren 80Assistant Coach Excel Esportslogo stdExcel
Curry Anand Agarwal 80Interim Head Coach FlyQuest Academylogo stdFlyQuest Academy
Karen Morey Social Media Manager None
DLim David Lim 80Head Coach FC Schalke 04 Esportslogo stdSchalke 04

Tournaments[]

This table shows up to the 10 most recent results. For complete results, click here.

Minimum place

Clutch Gaming Tournament Results - Show Prize as (LocalUSDEuros)
DatePlPrizeEventLast ResultRoster
2019-10-1913 - 16$27,812.50$ 27,812.5€ 24,617.68 Worlds 2019
0 - 6Blanklogo stdRR
 Huni,  Lira,  Damonte,  Cody Sun,  Vulcan,  Thinkcard
2019-09-081 LCS 2019 Regional Finals
3 : 2TSMlogo stdTSM
 Huni,  Lira,  Damonte,  Cody Sun,  Vulcan,  Thinkcard,  Artemis
2019-08-244$25,000$ 25,000€ 22,430.95 LCS 2019 Summer Playoffs
2 : 3Counter Logic Gaminglogo stdCLG
 Huni,  Lira,  Damonte,  Cody Sun,  Vulcan,  Thinkcard,  Artemis
2019-08-045 LCS 2019 Summer
9 - 9Blanklogo stdRR
 Huni,  Lira,  Damonte,  Cody Sun,  Vulcan,  mcscrag,  Thinkcard,  Artemis
2019-03-249 LCS 2019 Spring
5 - 13Blanklogo stdRR
 Huni,  Lira,  Damonte,  Piglet,  Cody Sun,  Vulcan,  mcscrag,  Artemis
2018-10-081 Bilibili USA vs. China Showmatch
1 : 0Bilibili Gaminglogo stdBLG
 Solo,  Moon,  Sun,  Apollo,  Vulcan
2018-09-144 NA Regional Finals 2018
0 : 3Echo Foxlogo stdFOX
 Solo,  LirA,  Febiven,  Apollo,  Hakuho,  mcscrag,  Baby Zeus
2018-08-209 NA LCS 2018 Summer
6 - 12Blanklogo stdRR
 Solo,  LirA,  Moon,  Febiven,  Apollo,  Piglet,  Hakuho,  Vulcan,  DLim,  Curry,  mcscrag,  Baby Zeus
2018-04-084$20,000$ 20,000€ 16,276.73 NA LCS 2018 Spring Playoffs
0 : 3Echo Foxlogo stdFOX
 Solo,  LirA,  Febiven,  Apollo,  Hakuho,  DLim
2018-03-186 NA LCS 2018 Spring
11 - 7Blanklogo stdRR
 Solo,  LirA,  Febiven,  Apollo,  Hakuho,  DLim
Total Prize: USD 72,813

Media[]

  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019

Images[]

Logos[]

Rosters[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  2. TheAzotal's Tweet twitter.com
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  4. Pyrex's Tweet twitter.com
  5. Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  6. Empyre's Tweet twitter.com
  7. 7.0 7.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  8. 8.0 8.1 Curry's Tweet twitter.com
  9. Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  10. 10.0 10.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  11. 11.0 11.1 Baby Zeus' Tweet twitter.com
  12. 12.0 12.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  13. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2018-08-22
  14. 14.0 14.1 Curry's Tweet twitter.com
  15. 15.0 15.1 Misfits Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  16. 16.0 16.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  18. 18.0 18.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  19. 19.0 19.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  20. 20.0 20.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  21. 21.0 21.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  22. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2018-12-11
  23. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2018-12-12
  24. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2018-12-14
  25. 25.0 25.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  26. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2019-01-04
  27. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2019-01-05
  28. 28.0 28.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  29. Dignitas Merges with Clutch Gaming dignitas.gg
  30. Dignitas CEO officially ANNOUNCES team's return to LCS: what it means for fans youtube.com
  31. 31.0 31.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  32. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2019-06-17
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Rigby's Tweet twitter.com
  35. 35.0 35.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  36. Archive Pages: before change - ; after change - NA - 2019-07-09
  37. 37.0 37.1 Clutch Gaming's Tweet twitter.com
  38. 38.0 38.1 lolesports' Tweet twitter.com
  39. 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 39.5 39.6 39.7 39.8 Archive Pages: before change - NA - 2019-10-27; after change - NA - 2019-10-28
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