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

　　Thorin's crucible is a regular column in which I address topical or more general matters of concern to myself and the esports community at large.

　　A fun topic in any sports community is always the potential transfers teams could make to improve themselves, and in esports it's no different. While the length of contracts and Riot's poaching rules may make it difficult for certain transfers to take place, at least without the player's team having a significant say, it's still fun to speculate on who might go where and what the outcome would be. Here are seven potential transfers I'd like to see.

　　

Zorozero to CLG

With Nien announcing he would be stepping down from Top for Counter Logic Gaming, it leaves the door wide open for CLG to look beyond the NA borders for talent to take his spot. Bringing in Dexter helped improve the team and showed they are not adverse to looking to Europe for recruits, and nRated turning down an offer to play Support for them last split shows it wasn't just a one-off glance at the European scene. This one is a real no-brainer in terms of the CLG end of the deal.

　　Zorozero is one of the elite Top laners in Europe, the guy has everything. He can lane better than anyone in Europe, across seemingly all match-ups. His roaming to Mid to help secure kills with nukeduck has worked ever since Lemondogs got into LCS last Summer, a by-product of his excellent timing and map awareness. Imagining Zorozero going up against the other Top laners in NA is a mouth-watering prospect, especially in light of the effect the aforementioned quality could have on Link's own game.

　　The only problem for CLG, as far as this trade is concerned, is whether or not Zorozero wants to go to North America to play for a team. He was already held in high regard when NiP failed their first LCS Promotion, so he undoubtedly had offers from LCS level teams, either in Europe or North America, but he didn't take any of those offers. Perhaps his contract with NiP was good enough to warrant trying to get back in with the same team, perhaps he really thought his team would bounce back and make it in the next split or perhaps he didn't want to leave Europe.

　　Will it be any different this time around? It's pretty hard to tell, really. kev1n, Wickd, Froggen and nRated all turned down offers to play in NA last split, so it's not as automatic a decision as some fans might imagine. Even with the increase in exposure and streaming revenue a star name can make in North America, some players either feel more comfortable remaining in Europe or think their chances of being on an elite international team are higher.

　　

nukeduck to Dignitas

With NiP falling in the qualifier, all eyes were upon which of the Top laners in that match-up would not be in LCS, with the assumption being, for good reason, that said player would be hearing from CLG soon enough with an enquiry about whether or not they'd like to play in the North American region next split. Nevertheless, another key casualty of the series was star Mid laner nukeduck. Back in the Summer split, nukeduck and Bjergsen were neck and neck as the two new stars of the Mid lane who looked to be knocking on the door for entry to the elite Mid laner club in Europe that Froggen, xPeke and Alex Ich have so long kept a private affair.

　　Part of nukeduck's problem over the last six months has not just been his team's failure to get into LCS Spring, with KMT's Overpow playing the starring role in the Mid lane match-up, but also the comments from Dexter, his former team-mate, that the Jungler in some senses carried the Norwegian Mid laner during their first place LCS Summer regular split run. It would seem that a certain cross-section of the public not only believes that explanation, but has decided nukeduck is an over-rated player as a result of it.

　　Despite that decrease in popularity, nukeduck remains one of Europe's most skilled players in the Mid lane. Imagining he is open to moving across the Atlantic, one can see an obvious vacancy at Dignitas. Dignitas finally took the step of removing former all-star level Mid laner scarra this season, bringing in a Challenger player to fill his spot for the end of the split. That didn't work out so well, so Dig brought back the veteran for the playoffs, but it's clear that something has to change in Dig. Bringing in a talent like nukeduck would be an injection of raw skill that they could very much make use of.

　　One of the criticisms of Dignitas for the last three splits has always been that their team has been one of the big names that lacked for some firepower. Since they lost Patoy as their Support, the team has only looked even weaker on the whole. nukeduck's personality doesn't really fit the Dignitas chilled out vibe, but his skillset is good enough that he could immediately become a top three or four Mid laner in the NA region. Dignitas have always been known for their interesting and unique approaches to the strategic side of the game, something scarra could continue to help them with from the side, but adding a bit more firepower could help make those strategies more effective.

　　Dignitas have enough to continue battling for the fourth spot in NA, though LMQ might have something to say about that, but adding an EU Mid laner like nukeduck could be the power move they need to be fighting with CLG for third.

　　

nukeduck to Copenhagen Wolves

If nukeduck does not go stateside, then there is another move that would make sense. This one could really apply to either Copenhagen Wolves or Supa Hot Crew, depending on whether either can retain their LCS spot, as nukeduck far exceeds the talent, experience and potential of both team's Mid laners. Put nukeduck into CW, where cowTard has often been cited as a player benefiting from the meta of the last split, with wave-clearing farm champions, and their already strong ADC and Jungler see CW become a team with a lot more weapons to boast. Amazing is a Jungler who could provide the aggression and prescence that nukeduck needs to get his Mid lane champions rolling.

　　

mancloud to Dignitas

If nukeduck doesn't leave Europe, or NiP for that matter, then another big name Mid laner that might be on the market is mandatorycloud. mancloud showed his class in LCS Summer and at the S3 World Championship, going toe-to-toe with all the big name Mids he faced and giving a good accounting of himself. Xmithie changing position and then struggling to return form upon coming back to the Jungle meant mancloud could not shine in the Spring split, but he still put together a respectable individual season by the numbers. Put mancloud with Crumbzz, an intelligent and thoughtful Jungler who has a good understanding of the timings of when to gank, and has also suffered from an underwhelming "lane" partner at Mid this split, and you'd have a potentially lethal combination.

　　The man who was once the best Mid laner in NA could be vying for that mantle again if he gets a transfer, assuming XDG loses the Promotion series.

　　

Shiphtur to Curse

Before mancloud, I've no doubt people were instead looking for a mention of Shiphtur. Even pro players have joked that Shiphtur basically carries Coast every game, and a glance at the team's form and his individual numbers certainly back that up as more than just humour. Shiphtur was the relevation of the LCS Spring split, putting his name up there as a potential superstar in the NA region, going forwards. Now he needs a team around him that can allow his talents to actually be a part of wins. A move to Curse could provide him with that team.

　　Voyboy is an immensely popular player, even to this day, but he has not become the monster at Mid lane that he and Curse hoped he would be. When he was at his peak in the Top lane, he was known for his assassin play, his mechanics and his ability to straight up 1v1 anyone. In the Mid lane it's been a different story and he still struggles to find champions he can be consistently strong on against the top teams. Shiphtur, on the other hand, is more than comfortable in the Mid lane and is hitting his peak as an individual player.

　　Putting Shiphtur onto Curse would also give him an aggressive Jungler with whom he could team-up to make plays and ensure he isn't just winning his match-up but the team losing. Cop is workmanlike in the bot lane and you know what you'll get from him, Quas has been a little underwhelming but had his bright moments and thus the Mid lane has been the one where Crs' problems have been most noticeable. Shiphtur might be more suited in personality to Dignitas, which is another potential option, but Curse would be the option which could likely get him more short term success.

　　The biggest problem with any potential Shiphtur transfer is that his team are pretty likely to retain their LCS spot, so he may well simply return in the Coast colours and all of this hullabaloo will have been for naught. Still, we can dream, right?

　　

Xmithie to TSM

TSM seemed to have assembled a veritable dream-team this season, taking all-star calibre players and teaming them with Bjergsen, a high power EU Mid laner who quickly established himself as the best player in North America. That dream fell apart as the season closed though, losing first place in the regular portion of the split, almost losing out to CLG in the semi-final and then being conclusively ground down and dissected by an imperious Cloud9. With every player but one in their team considered top two at his position, the only potential transfer option is obviously at the Jungle position.

　　TheOddOne has had an amazing career, one of the best in the North American region, and he continued to show his ability to be successful during this split, but if someone has to go then he is the obvious candidate. In a world where winning out over C9, who has Meteos, and CLG, who have Dexter, is the imperative, then a stronger Jungler, especially mechanically, could be the way to go for TSM. If they do want to upgrade in that respect, then XDG house the player who could be the answer: Xmithie.

　　Xmithie's season has been dreadful. From his disasterous stint at ADC to his return to Jungle, only to fail to return to power the devastating combo he had formed with mancloud the previous year. If Xmithie can get his game right then he can be one of the top two Junglers in North America. Even when Meteos was going wild and leading C9 with MVP performances in LCS Summer, Xmithie was probably the best Jungler in the region from a mechanical perspective and in terms of mimicing the Korean style.

　　This transfer is a lot more of a risk than the others, since it's difficult to know where Xmithie will be at by next split. Also, LMQ's hype shouldn't overlook the fact that XDG still have some firepower of their own to potentially win games in that series. If TSM really do want to overload on skill and muscle their way past C9, though, then Xmithie is the gamble to take.

　　

mithy to Millenium

This one really does get a little into the realms of fantasy, not least since I get the sense from the Millenium players that they consider Jree to be fine in his current position. Even so, I can't help but wonder what a botlane combination of Creaton and mithy could be like. mithy has proven himself as a Support capable of elevating the level of every AD Carry he has played with, so paired with the best mechanical ADC in Europe he could make for monstrous combination.

　　mithy's big downside is that he has shown a tendency to choke in big games, as seen by his play in the two Promotion series NiP failed in and the S3 World Championship. He's a very interesting guy, with a great mind for the game, but as long as that issue plagues him, then teams may steer clear or think twice. I think such problems can be overcome, being as they are psychological in their nature, but they are not as simple as fixes that can be applied in-game.

　　Creaton is whiling away and wasting his career in a team which almost found itself in Challenger league, so any upgrade at a position which could help him be more successful would be welcome. Still, would Millenium even consider a change after the euphoria of retaining their spot? I'm really not sure.

　　Photo credit: Riot Games