JKap Defends LA Thieves' Decision To Bench Huke Three Weeks After Signing Him
Los Angeles Thieves stunned the Call of Duty world just weeks ago, signing reigning world champion Cuyler "Huke" Garland, prying him from the grasps of a Dallas Empire who were experimenting with their roster.
The multi-FPS world champion was the scapegoat for a struggling Empire roster, despite posting up performances worthy of an MVP title, specifically in Stage 1. His move to the LA Thieves came in as one that most assumed would propel the roster into a top-four position, with a player of Huke's talent being the marquee man to set them on course.
However, after just three weeks, Huke the nuke has been bombed back out of the limelight, with LA Thieves opting to reinstate Thomas "TJHaly" Haly in favour of the out-of-sorts SMG slayer.
With this decision, despite some poor results, LA Thieves fans erupted into a furious frenzy having pinned their hopes on Huke being their main man.
JKap Speak Out About Huke Benching
Taking to Twitter, LA Thieves coach Jordan "JKap" Kaplan defended the decision, saying "We haven’t been seeing the same level of consistency as a team and, with Stage 4 starting, we decided to make the tough call to bring Teej back and improve upon where we last left off with him."
After a wealth of replies discrediting the move, JKap continued to defend the decision, whilst taking the forefront of the reactions away from his players. Kaplan further defended the decision to keep rookie Carlos "Venom" Hernandez in the squad, despite his overall ability not quite reaching the levels of Huke.
He added, "I watch every map the team plays in scrims, matches, everything. Venom has been the SMG player to be on our team this year. You don't have to agree with me on it, but I'm telling you that for a fact".
Huke Speaks Out On LA Thieves Benching
Despite a second benching in the space of a month, Huke appeared to be in better spirits than what was expected. Taking to Twitter, Garland said "On a real note excited to be in an environment where I'm respected and can let my passion let loose again. I'll be making a YouTube video soon explaining some things because it's getting out of hand."
So far, Huke has yet to add to his comments, although the young gunner will surely be back in the league soon.
As for LA Thieves, this comes as their fourth benching of the season, after JKap's decisions to remove former teammates Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat and TJay came either side of their move to add Venom in favour of Donovan "Temp" Laroda, now of Paris Legion.
The Thieves kick off their adventure in Stage 4 with a fixture versus Seattle Surge, who themselves have just made a roster change, bringing in Nicholas "Classic" DiCostanzo in a bid to move off the bottom of the table.
Image via COD League | 100 Thieves