This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　The North American League Championship Series returns for its anticipated second season January 17th. Every North American team made changes to their starting roster or management staff during the off season. TSM, Dignitas, Evil Geniuses and CLG imported European talent to their organization. While some teams may have a completely different look, they aren't any of the challenger teams from the promotion tournament. Evil Geniuses, Team Coast and Curse were all able to defend their spot in the LCS. Week one kicks off with a super week - a grand total of 16 games. Let's take the pulse of the North American League Championship Series.

Cloud 9

　　Cloud 9 took no prisoners during their last LCS split. With a 25-3 record and flawless playoff performance, they secured their spot as the strongest team in North America. Heading into the the Season 3 World Championships, it was unknown if the kings of North America could go toe to toe with one of the strongest teams in Europe. But, after a 1-2 defeat, Cloud 9 was sent packing. Shortly after, the team continued to struggle versus international talent after being knocked out of IEM Cologne by Gambit Gaming.

　　Since then, the team has replaced former Coach Alex Penn, with Epik Game founder Dan Dhin. The team was also able to get revenge against Fnatic after defeating the European powerhouse at Battle of The Atlantic 2-0. It looks like Cloud 9 may still hold their spot toward the top of North America, but if they could pull off their near perfect score from the last split remains to be seen.

Team Solo Mid

　　TSM is a staple of North American League of Legends, but now, they have thrown some European into the mix. Former NiP midlaner Bejersen has joined the team in place of the team's founder, Reginald. After failing to advance past the group stages at the World Championships, TSM needed something new. It seems that Bjersen may be just what the doctor ordered. Upon his arrival to the TSM house, he quickly made a name for himself in Solo Queue. Shortly after, TSM smashed a disorganized LemonDogs at Battle of the Atlantic.

　　Recently, many NA teams have pointed to TSM as one of their biggest fears heading into the 2014 season. With Reginald serving as the team's coach and a new star in the mid lane, Bejersen and crew could reclaim TSM's top spot in North America.

XDG

　　Formerly known as Vulcun, this team has been able to stay in the top half of the NA LCS for almost a year. A third place finish at NA playoffs gave them a ticket to the World Championships, where they failed to make it past group stages.The team struggled versus Gambit Gaming at Battle of the Atlantic, particularly in the bottom lane. Since then, the team made a controversial move with their starting lineup by moving Xmithie to AD, and Zuna to to the jungle. Xmithie was considered by many to be the best Jungler in North America, so this move has been accompanied with criticism.

　　When onGamers asked XDG Coach, Ken Buechter, about the changes he stated that all of the players on XDG thought that this move would be better in the long run, and that simply finding a new AD player wouldn't fix any of their current in game problems. But, rumors have been circulating that the team could be picking up popular Solo Queue player NightBlue. Right now, It's unknown how XDG will perform this split.

Dignitas

　　Dignitas just missed out on a World Championship spot after placing 4th in the Season 3 Summer Playoffs. The team struggled throughout the Summer spilt, finishing with a 13 - 15 record. In their most recent match versus Alliance at the Battle of the Atlantic, Dignitas couldn’t keep up with the European All-Star team. Former top laner KiWiKiD has moved into the support role to replace Patoy and Cruzerthebruzer was brought on to the team to fill KiWiKiD’s spot in the top lane. Since Season 2, Dignitas has been right in the middle among all North American teams. With help from their new analyst, Vlanitak, Digintas has the chance to claw their way to the top of North America and reclaim their glory in the top 3.

CLG

　　Week 1 may pose a unique difficulty for the team. Dexter was denied access to the US after attempting to return to the gaming house post holidays. Whether or not he will be able to play during the first week is unsure, but we may see some old faces as substitutes. It’s been rumored that HotShotGG, bigfatlp or Chauster could be making a return to the jungle.

Evil Geniuses

　　Snoopeh,Yellowpete and Krepo made the voyage to North America after EG acquired Velocity eSport’s Promotion Tournament spot. Pobelter and InnoX joined the team shortly after to play mid and top. They made quick work of Determined Gaming in the the promotion qualifier, securing their spot in the LCS. Many were skeptical if the team would be able to hold up without former star players Wickd and Froggen, but they have suppressed any doubts - for the time being. EG are definitely the wildcard of this split. If EG can utilize the synergy between Snoopeh,Krepo and Yellowpete from the CLG.EU days and teach Pobelter and InnoX to work within their style, they may have a sucessfull split.

Team Coast

　　Coast made a splash in the challenger scene after being relegated from the LCS. They grabbed the only qualifier spot in the North American Challenger League, and swept the first season with a 24-2 record and a first place finish in the playoffs. In the middle of the offseason, Coast replaced DontMashMe with Wizfujiin for the AD role. So far, it looks like Wiz has brought a breath of fresh air to the team. Players on Cast have stated that he now plays a crucial role in shot calling that Coast so desperately needed in their previous split. It seems that the continued practice in the offseason paid dividends for Coast, when they reclaimed their LCS spot versus the Walking Zed. With the addition of Alex Penn, former Cloud 9 Coach/Analyst, the team is ready to get back into the mix.

Team Curse

　　Being relegated isn’t something that Team Curse took lightly. They rebuilt their roster from the ground up, adding 3 new players and role swapping Voyboy from top lane to mid. Top lane monster Quas, former Dignitas Jungler IWillDominate and former TBD support Zekent along with former Curse Jungler SaintVicious as coach joined the team. Team Curse played well in the challenger scene during the offseason - racking up a 20-6 record in the North American Challenger League. Despite dropping the first game to COGnitive Gaming, the team still looked solid in the following 3 games to clench. The new Team Curse roster has yet to be proven versus a LCS team - time will tell if they were able to bounce back from their last split.

　　Image Credit: na.lolesports.com