LPL roster rumor roundup

It hasn’t even been a month since Samsung White hoisted the Summoner’s Cup above their heads in Seoul while Imagine Dragons serenaded them, and already the Samsung “Coach just confirmed that all the Samsung boys have signed with new teams.” While it’s a shame that yet another World Championship team won’t reprise their appearance in their current incarnation, fans of players from the Samsung squads at least know where to look to follow their favorites. Nearly every rumor regarding the star-studded Samsung White team has them headed to China. LPL is certainly in for an interesting year.

THE STORY SO FAR

There is a large breadth of missing information between confirmed roster information and speculation. What we know so far is that the Samsung coach confirmed all players have been signed by other teams. Both Kim “Deft” Hyukkyu and Heo “PawN” Wonseok announced on Facebook that they would be heading to China. Several photos of Lee “KaKAO” Byungkwon in China have been posted to weibo. The only announced signing of a Korean player to a Chinese team this offseason so far has been Deft to Edward Gaming. As for those players already in China, Yu “Cool” Jiajun has stated on his fanpage that he is considering options outside Team OMG. Edward Gaming’s manager, Huang “San Shao” Cheng, said the team will move star jungler Ming “Clearlove” Kai to their sister team, Edward Gaming Future (EDG F). That’s it. Nothing else in the LPL rumor mill has come to fruition so far, but transfer season doesn’t end until December 5, and speculation has been rampant.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE SAMSUNG BOYS GONE

One of the biggest questions on everyone’s minds is where the 2014 World Champions and the players on their sister team, Samsung Blue, will end up for 2015. Following the rumor of Deft to Edward Gaming, the first prominent rumor that surfaced on the matter featured Dandy and PawN in negotiation with Invictus Gaming. Rumors pegged Wang “Principal Wang” Sicong as primed to revive iG’s former glory with a dramatic import decision. Since then, however, this rumor has died off, and it’s unclear if iG will make any high dollar moves this offseason. With iG barely escaping relegation last split, some sort of shakeup is expected. As for PawN, he has been spotted playing solo queue off and on with Edward Gaming members since his Facebook announcement, and Deft has attributed ownership of the Movemovemovemove account on the Ionian server, the server in China where most pros play, to him. Though there is no confirmation, it seems increasingly likely to fans that he will join Deft in signing with the organization, but it’s still unclear as to where they’ll play. Ceng “U” Long and Zhu “NaMei” Jiawen, the current mid and ADC of EDG, have shown no signs of leaving the organization, and San Shao has said Deft will not necessarily join the starting lineup. If Clearlove, Deft, and PawN all join Edward Gaming Future, EDG could be looking to replicate the strong Korean sister team system, but that would leave the existing Koreans on EDG F displaced. Dandy, on the other hand, may be joining LGD Gaming. There is very little evidence to support the rumor outside whispers of the team taking interest, but LGD’s current jungler, Zhu “Quan” Yongquan, has been scrutinized for his limited champion pool, and it’s likely Dandy would be a hefty upgrade. Many speculators, on the other hand, have pegged Gu “imp” Seungbin, World Champion AD carry, to join LGD. Until very recently, imp hasn’t even been part of the Korea-to-China conversation, but this rumor is continuing to gain legs. Should imp replace the promising Li “XQ” Yingjie, they’d be cutting down talent at its root for more immediate results, but it’s almost certain XQ would find another strong team. To complete the Samsung White set, Cho “Mata” Sehyeong is heavily rumored to be coming to China, though it is unclear on which team or in which capacity—he may even coach. Jang “Looper” Hyeongseok is suggested as a strong contender to join World Elite in the top lane alongside former teammate, Bae “Dade” Eojin in the mid lane. This would displace WE’s existing Korean talent, Noh “Ninja” Geonwoo and Yang “OldB” Seungbin, but many believe the gains for WE are self-evident.

THE ONES WHO STARTED IT ALL

Though KaKAO and teammate Song “Rookie” Euijin were the first of the new wave of imports to announce their departure to China, word on their current state has been quiet until recently. At the moment, it seems they may have joined 么么哒, a team that bought the Energy Pacemaker Carries’ spot in the LPL Expansion tournament. According to expansion rules, however, the new Korean imports will not be able to play in the expansion due to the roster lock, and 么么哒 will likely play with their existing Chinese players or members of EPC. The Energy Pacemaker organization’s main team, Energy Pacemaker, will also appear in the LPL expansion tournament. The EP organization is full of confidence, as the first team 么么哒 will face is EP. The tournament is a double elimination best of three format, but EP is the heavy favorite to win the first round, and 么么哒 will have an uphill battle to fight to make their way into LPL following an initial loss—especially with six other hungry teams to contend with. If things go EP’s way, we’ll likely see KaKAO and Rookie in the LoL Secondary Pro League next year. As for Cool departing OMG, Gao “Gogoing” Diping, his teammate, posted a picture of Cool recording a new song with the team on his weibo. He could be staying with OMG after all instead of joining Star Horn Royal Club as was previously speculated. No matter what roster moves settle in the end, it’s clear the new Korean players will be changing the dynamic in both LPL and LSPL in 2015. It will be interesting to see where the imports fall when the transfer period ends this December.

Related Articles

• Can King’s Third Party Success Translate to LPL?
• Snake: Ready to Shed Some Skin