Clutch Gaming will sign former Echo Fox mid laner Tanner "Damonte" Damonte as the final piece of its 2019 starting lineup, sources close to the team told ESPN on Saturday.
The team's new lineup will feature former Echo Fox top laner Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon, jungler Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo, Damonte, AD carry Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin and Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme, sources said. The team will be coached by Brendan "mcscrag" McGee, who served as head coach for Clutch Gaming Academy, according to sources.
LirA is the only player from the initial Clutch Gaming to stay with the lineup. Both Piglet and Vulcan competed for Clutch Gaming Academy and infrequently played for the main team throughout 2018. Vulcan, a rookie with little competitive experience, showed promise and became a desired talent throughout this offseason.
Damonte rounds out a Clutch team that saw a significant overhaul of both its roster and coaching staff.
The team moved starting mid laner Fabian "Febiven" Diepstraten to Misfits in a transfer on Tuesday. On Friday, Clutch came to terms with Huni, as reported by ESPN. On Saturday, the team confirmed a three-player transfer that sent former starters Colin "Solo" Earnest, Apollo "Apollo" Price and Nickolas "Hakuho" Surgent to Echo Fox.
The news comes after the Houston Rockets-owned Clutch Gaming had an impressive debut split in the North American League of Legends Championship Series in the spring but failed to carry that momentum into the summer. The team ended the summer split in ninth with a 6-12 record.
Huni will be a key piece in rebuilding the Clutch lineup. Each year, Huni has been one of the hottest free agents on the market, eliciting some of the biggest offers from multiple regions, including North America, Europe and his home of South Korea.
Several weeks ago, Piglet, a former world champion who relocated to the United States in 2015 to compete with Team Liquid, was granted North American residency per the Riot Games interregional movement policy. Players are eligible for this designation after competing for eight splits, or four years, in a region that is not their home country. He will no longer occupy an import slot on Clutch.