Dardoch released by Team Liquid, joins Echo Fox

Team Liquid and jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett have parted ways after a tumultuous Summer Split. The former NA LCS Rookie of the Split will join Echo Fox, and confirmed on Twitter that his departure was Team Liquid’s decision.

Substitute mid laner Lyonel "Arcsecond" Pfaender, currently the No. 1 player on North America’s ranked ladder, will start at jungler for Team Liquid in the upcoming Regional Finals.

Dardoch tweeted out a message to his old teammates, complete with a new handle and a (hilarious) new avatar.

This seems like a potentially positive move for both teams. Team Liquid struggled to build a team around Dardoch, one of North America’s best young talents but a player who has had very public clashes with management and teammates. He was suspended at the start of the split, and apparently did not take practice games seriously before Team Liquid’s playoff series against Counter Logic Gaming.

For Echo Fox, it’s a move that makes perfect sense. The team finished a disappointing 10th place this split, requalifying for the NA LCS through the promotion tournament, and without a doubt the team’s biggest problem was in the jungle, with both Anthony “Hard” Barkhovtsev and Kevin "Kez" Jeon struggling to make a consistent impact.

Echo Fox has tried to build a team around star mid laner Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, and an aggressive jungler like Dardoch appears to fit that bill perfectly.

Dardoch is not the only departure from Liquid Tuesday. Former starting AD Carry Jovani “fabbbyyy” Guillen, who was replaced as the starter by Phil “Jynthe” Vu in the series against CLG, announced he is looking for a team. With the earlier departure of Gwang-jin “Piglet” Chae, Team Liquid will have one international spot available when looking to fill its roster next split.