Coming off of two major events in the League of Legends e-sports scene, a large majority of the top professional teams saw drastic changes to their rosters. Here are a few that had the most impact.
Starting off in the Korean league, world champions SKTelecom said goodbye to three of their players: Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon, Im “Tom” Jae-hyeon, and Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-Hwan all left to pursue other opportunities in their careers.
Just as surprisingly, the KT Rolster team was disbanded, leaving the former players as free agents ripe for the picking.
European teams have probably had the most action of any of the regions so far.
Starting off, one well-known professional team has sold their spot in the professional league. Gambit Gaming have now been reduced to bumblebees leaving the stage.
Fnatic, a team known for housing world-class talent, have lost Korean duo Heo “Huni” Seong-hoon and Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin,Ęwho have moved to North American team Immortals.
In addition, long-time captain and support player Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim has joined the famous North American team Team Solo Mid (TSM).
Speaking of North America, it has sucked the life out of all the other regions. TSM has one of the most stacked rosters in the professional scene right now, after acquiring former CLG marksman Peter “Doublelift” Peng as well as former Gravity top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell.
One of the most underrated movements in North America comes from Cloud 9 (C9). Picking up Michael “Bunny Fufuu” Kurylo and Lee “Rush” Yoonjae, C9 hopes to regain the dominance it held firmly in its grip a few years ago.
With all the madness across the globe, it’s safe to say that the world of professional video gaming is deep into its Wild West days.
I, for one, welcome the madness and hope to see many more upsets before the start of the season mid-January.