Finn’s urgent warning about CLG’s systemic team issues and why roster changes won’t solve their core problems
The Bleeding CLG Organization
Counter Logic Gaming’s 2021 LCS campaign has become a case study in organizational collapse, with the once-dominant franchise now languishing in ninth place and facing imminent roster upheaval.
Star top laner Finn “Finn” Wiestal delivered a brutal assessment of Counter Logic Gaming’s dire situation, warning that the current roster “will never accomplish anything” without fundamental changes, even as team management prepares to overhaul the League of Legends lineup.
CLG’s 2021 season has been defined by inconsistency and failure to build momentum, with the organization now positioned well outside playoff contention and struggling to demonstrate competitive relevance.
This dramatic decline represents a shocking reversal for a League of Legends roster that many analysts considered a dark horse contender before the Spring split. CLG had successfully recruited European standouts Finn and Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen to complement four-time champion Jason “WildTurtle” Tran, who was coming off consecutive grand final appearances in 2020.
Instead of competing at the highest level, their League of Legends squad has managed only 10 victories total—with three occurring during a single June weekend—and shows no signs of reversing their downward trajectory.
In his conversation with Dexerto, the Swedish top laner offered no attempts to soften the harsh reality of their situation.
Finn’s Candid Assessment
“Our progress feels consistently undermined—we advance slightly only to regress significantly, constantly repeating this cycle… we address one weakness, patch one vulnerability, then immediately discover two new critical flaws emerging,” Finn explained following CLG’s 26th defeat of the season on Sunday.
“That specific match against Dignitas was particularly difficult to watch and accept.
“We’re facing multiple fundamental problems simultaneously. We lack the ability to consistently secure victories when we establish early advantages, and we equally struggle to mount effective comebacks when we fall behind. This leaves us with limited options—every outcome feels completely unpredictable. We’re not proactively creating winning opportunities but rather passively hoping opponents make crucial mistakes.
“Our current trajectory appears increasingly dangerous and concerning. We’re clearly moving in the wrong competitive direction. Substantial improvement is urgently needed… I personally must elevate my performance significantly.”
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The Roster Change Debate
In response to the team’s 1-2 weekend performance, CLG management has initiated plans for roster adjustments. General manager Daniel “Tafokints” Lee informed the players through a social media video that “this could mark the final matches for our current five-player configuration.”
“I’ll be completely transparent,” Lee stated. “I’m actively evaluating roster substitutions. We’ve had more than two months to demonstrate progress, and we’re not showing meaningful improvement. Changes appear increasingly inevitable.”
The primary LCS roster will probably source replacements from CLG Academy. However, the development squad currently holds an 0-6-6 record in the Summer split and occupies last place with an overall 6-18 game record. They also recently placed 13th-16th at Proving Grounds, raising questions about their readiness for LCS competition.
Not all CLG players share management’s confidence in roster substitutions as an effective solution.
Finn addressed potential roster changes before CLG released (and subsequently removed) their controversial video, clearly stating his position that swapping players “represents an ineffective solution” to their underlying issues.
“This situation extends beyond any single individual’s performance. It’s fundamentally a team-wide challenge involving all five players. Regardless of roster composition, the critical change must occur in our collective mentality and approach,” he emphasized.
The Real Solution: Team Mindset
“This isn’t a one-person problem…”@FinnLoL tells @Dexerto (before CLG’s controversial deleted video) he doesn’t think #LCS roster swaps will solve @clgaming’s struggles. Instead, it’s a “mindset issue” plaguing their LoL lineup. pic.twitter.com/pIaZMCDTaa
— Isaac McIntyre (@isaacmcintyre) July 13, 2021
“Our collective mindset represents the core obstacle that demands immediate attention. Sure, we can experiment with different champion selections or substitute players as temporary solutions, but we must address the foundational issues at their source. Any team member could potentially initiate this transformation, though none have successfully done so yet. This represents our most critical area for improvement.
“I remain convinced this extends beyond individual performance issues,” he continued. “I don’t believe altering our roster composition will produce meaningful improvements for this team.”
Finn maintains that the optimal resolution will emerge from within the existing CLG starting roster. The five players collectively possess nearly 2,200 professional appearances; with that level of combined experience, the group “should possess the capability to identify solutions.”
The top laner specifically identified his desired approach: “I want our team to confidently execute what we collectively determine as correct strategic decisions. Every engagement should involve coordinated participation from all five members… When players begin making isolated individual plays, our team structure fractures. Synchronized team coordination and cohesion represent our most valuable assets. Without these elements, we gradually lose competitive viability.”
For the immediate future, Finn acknowledges his primary focus must remain internal.
“I’m maintaining disciplined routines—physical conditioning, mental preparation, dedicated practice. I consistently strive to deliver peak performance and play at my maximum capability. This parallels the airplane oxygen mask principle: you must secure your own mask before assisting others. That represents my current priority.
“Currently, I feel I’m not meeting this standard, so that constitutes my central focus. Returning to my highest performance level will enable me to contribute more effectively to the team. That represents my immediate objective and belief.”
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Finn on CLG’s Summer woes: “It’s disgusting… everything we do just feels so random” Finn's urgent warning about CLG's systemic team issues and why roster changes won't solve their core problems