With the first official day of the League of Legends free agency came a lot of huge changes to teams around the world. This would prove to also be the case for Korea and the LCK. With the official confirmation of multiple teams blowing up their rosters and some rebuilds already beginning, what moves were the biggest after day one of this offseason?
The biggest news that came out of Korea is all the departures from SKT. While both Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and Lee “Effort” Sang-ho have had their contract extended, a lot of players and staff have entered free agency. These names include coaches Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun and Kim “Fly” Sang-chul; top laners Kim “Khan” Dong-ha and Kim “Crazy” Jae-hee; most notably jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min; and finally support player Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong.
Overall the biggest loss from this group would be kkOma and Clid. In the case of kkOma, his status as a coach should allow him to go anywhere he desires and demand a huge salary if he wanted. Along with that, kkOma could also simply retire after a long and storied career spanning both Starcraft 2 and League of Legends. Meanwhile for Clid, if the rumors are true, is expected to head over to the LPL and join up with fellow Koreans Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok and Song “Rookie” Eui-jin on Invictus Gaming. If this move were to happen IG would easily become a huge threat and could be the early favorites to win it all.
Courtesy of: @SBGaming_KOR Twitter
After announcing the departure of ADC Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun earlier in the month, SANDBOX has finally revealed their new ADC in the former Jin Air Green Wings ADC Moon “Route” Geom-su. Overall this is a huge upgrade for SANDBOX and could be what brings the team to the next level provided Route can continue to improve.
For Route, this will be a great chance to finally show that he is truly one of the best ADCs in Korea now that he has a strong roster surrounding him. If this pairing works out then SANDBOX could surprise a lot of fans going into 2020.
Joining the departure of former coach of the Afreeca Freecs, Jeong “NoFe” No-chul, earlier in the month is mid laner Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon, ADC Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram, and support Son “Jelly” Ho-gyeong.
Courtesy of: KT Rolster Facebook page
Meanwhile, on the side of KT Rolster, the entire roster has left the team. Along with the departure of the previous roster, KT picked up Aiming at the same time. With the signing of the former DragonX coaching staff, KT has made a solid start to their rebuild. If KT does decide to bring back any of their former players, Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon would be a solid top laner to bring back and continue to develop. Overall with all the star players up for grabs, KT Rolster should be able to build a solid roster with the coaching staff and ADC position already set.
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