In a bid to avoid missing LCS playoffs completely, FlyQuest has today made a change for the run home in the Summer Split, benching mid laner VicLa and promoting in-house prodigy Djalal “Spirax” Djiar to the League of Legends starting roster in what will be the Canadian’s debut in the North American competition.
FlyQuest president Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith and general manager Nicholas Phan spoke at length about the decision in a video on July 11, stating that with a 3-9 record the performance of the team “had fallen below pre-season expectations.”
“At the end of week four we took a look at everything and decided this might be the time for us to institute some change and inject a little bit of new blood into our program,” Phan said, indicating Spirax’s attitude and form over both his time in the NACL and in LCS scrims recently pushed the decision over the line.
Spirax joined FlyQuest’s academy roster in Nov. 2021 after a year playing collegiate League for Maryvillle University. While the squad exited outside the top six in the 2022 LCS Proving Grounds, Spirax had done enough to earn a promotion spot to the organization’s Challengers squad ahead of 2023’s NACL season.
Related: 2023 LCS Summer Split: Scores, standings, and schedule
Best known for his Azir, the Canadian mid laner has proven himself to be a versatile and consistent addition to the roster, with FlyQuest Challengers already confirming a spot for the NACL Summer playoffs.
“Ultimately when we decided to hold onto our Challengers roster for Summer, we were recognizing we had some really strong talent on the roster,” PapySmithy said, reiterating FlyQuest’s faith in the Challengers program. He added Spirax is being rewarded for his form through the NACL season and admitted the top squad’s flagging LCS results, while not ideal, had come at a perfect time to give the Canadian a chance.
Spirax is the second rookie to be given a shot in the LCS in the last week after Team Liquid’s addition of APA on July 6. The 21-year-old impressed in his first two matches, posting 11 kills and 14 assists and is yet to die on the LCS stage.
After a stellar LCS Spring Split where the team finished just shy of a spot at MSI, FlyQuest began the summer in freefall. The squad lost their first six matches before notching a first win against Liquid in week three.
Subsequent wins over NRG and Immortals to cap off a perfect week had many believing FlyQuest was back on track, but the squad slumped in week four with losses to 100 Thieves, Golden Guardians, and Dignitas.
Related: Only three LCS organizations will participate in NACL this summer
FlyQuest will open week five of their LCS campaign against NRG on Wednesday, with matches against Evil Geniuses and TL booked for later in the week.
