The Los Angeles Thieves have overhauled its roster within a matter of hours by releasing SlasheR soon after parting ways with TJHaLy, John, and Venom.
SlasheR’s departure comes after a turbulent 2021 Call of Duty League season. The former world champion entered the season on the starting roster after 100 Thieves acquired the franchise slot from Immortals Gaming Club. Playing alongside Kenny, Temp, and TJHaLy, LAT appeared to have a promising team in Stage One group play before bowing out of the Stage One Major with a top-six finish.
The Thieves benched SlasheR after a 1-4 showing in Stage Two group play, although he returned to the starting lineup during Stage Four group play with Huke, who the franchise acquired from the Dallas Empire. SlasheR remained a starter for the remainder of the season, which ended with a single loss to the Minnesota RØKKR in the losers bracket of the 2021 CDL Championship bracket.
With the release of SlasheR, three players from the Thieves’ 2021 roster have not been mentioned as free agents at the time of publication: Kenny, Huke, and Drazah. Kenny appears to be the player LAT is building around, as he was the only player that began the season with LAT that was not benched at any time during the year. He was also an integral part of the OGLA roster current general manager Muddawg assembled before the inaugural season.
At the time of the acquisition that moved him from Dallas to LAT, Huke was called a “generational FPS talent” by 100 Thieves CEO Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. The player-turned-executive said that “when a player like [Huke] becomes available, you do whatever it takes to sign him.”
Huke’s arrival did not bring success to the team, however, and he notably could not play in the Stage Four Major in June due to an alleged missed COVID-19 test that barred him from competing in the first LAN event in more than 15 months.
