Cover-Credits:
2022 was a big year for the Korean league in League of Legends esports. The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) proved to be the best region this year as two of its four representatives made it to the grand final of Worlds 2022 and won the World Championship trophy after two years. Korea also had a solid performance at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) where the region finished second. However, it is safe to say that going into the 2023 season of League of Legends esports, the LCK will be a definite favorite. The LPL (League of Legends Pro League) and the LCK are the heavyweights of the League of Legends esports scene and the LCK has collectively won seven titles.
The offseason following Worlds in League of Legends esports is always buzzing with activities and this is when pro players and teams discuss their buyout situations and announce their moves. Unsurprisingly, we’ve already had a string of rumors and reports. Let us look at how the LCK rosters are shaping up for 2023, including reports, rumors, and official confirmations.
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Teams for 2023
DRX
DRX made history at Worlds 2022 by defeating T1 and lifting the Summoner’s Cup in North America. However, just weeks after tasting such a big success, the team announced the free agency of all its five players. DRX wrote on Twitter, “DRX announces the contracts with Hwang “Kingen” Sung-hoon, Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyun, Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo, Kim “Deft” Hyeok-gyu, Jo “BeryL” Geon-hee have expired.”
DRX has announced the signing of the following players:
Top: Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee
Jungle: Kim "Croco" Dong-bum
Mid: Yu "FATE" Su-hyeok
ADC: Seo "deokdam" Dae-gil
Support: Jo "BeryL" Geon-hee
T1
T1 was the runner-up of Worlds 2022 and is one of the most storied organizations in League of Legends esports. While it was first reported that its star player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was exploring his options in other regions, on 28th November, T1 announced that it has signed Faker for three more years. According to Fandom, the contracts of Ryu "Keria" Min-seok, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je have been extended till November 2023, with Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun’s extended till 2024. As a result, the 2022 roster is set to continue for the upcoming season.
T1 2023 team (The four players except Faker are still contracted):
Top: Zeus
Jungle: Oner
Mid: Faker
ADC: Gumayusi
Support: Keria
GEN.G
Korean team GEN.G placed fourth at the World Championship in 2022. Following the tournament, GEN.G announced that it parted ways with bot-laner Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk upon mutual agreement. On 23rd November, the team announced the signing of Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan as its bot-laner. On the same day, GEN.G also introduced its support player Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong, after the departure of support Son "Lehends" Si-woo.
After extending the contract of its jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho on 21st November, the organization also confirmed that its top laner Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon will be staying for the next season. Both Peanut and Doran received a one-year contract extension, expiring on 20th November 2023.
With Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon’s contract only expiring in 2023, GEN.G has finalized its full roster for the LCK 2023 season.
The following are the players of the 2023 GEN.G roster:
Top: Doran
Jungle: Peanut
Mid: Chovy
ADC: Peyz
Support: Delight
Damwon Kia (DK)
On 15th November, Damwon Kia parted ways with its top-laners Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon and Noh "Burdol" Tae-yoon. A few days later, attack damage carry (ADC) Seo “deokdam” Dae-gil also left DK after spending just one season. With two major roles to be filled now, DK signed Worlds 2022 winning ADC Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu and Kim "Canna" Chang-dong to its roster. Notably, the contracts of support Kim "Kellin" Hyeong-gyu, jungler Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu, and mid-laner Heo "ShowMaker" Su only expire in 2023. Therefore, Damwon Kia has also finalized its roster.
The following are the confirmed players for the DK 2023 roster:
Top: Canna
Jungle: Canyon
Mid: Showmaker
ADC: Deft
Support: Kellin
Fredit BRION
On 1st November, jungler Eom "UmTi" Seong-hyeon and BRION mutually parted ways and soon after, on 21st November, BRION announced that it parted ways with substitute top-laner Choi "Sw0rd" Sung-won, top-laner Park “Morgan” Gi-tae, mid-laner Kim "Lava" Tae-hoon, and support Delight. The organization re-signed ADC Park "Hena" Jeung-hwan and Morgan as its top-laner for 2023. Additionally, it brought in support player Lee "Effort" Sang-ho. Fredit BRION announced Kim "Karis" Hong-jo as its mid-laner and Jeon "Raptor" Eo-jin as its jungler.
The following is how the 2023 roster looks like for BRION:
Top: Morgan
Jungle: Raptor
Mid: Karis
ADC: Hena
Support: Effort
Hanwha Life Esports
On 22nd November, Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) announced that it has terminated the contracts of Kim “Willer” Jung-hyeun (substitute jungle), Kim “Karis” Hong-jo (mid), Lee “SamD” Jae-hoon (ADC), and Oh “Vsta” Hyo-seong (support). It also noted that the contracts of Kim “OnFleek” Jang-gyeom (jungle) and Cho “Cheoni” Seung-mo have expired.
However, HLE signed top-class players Park "Viper" Do-hyeon, Worlds 2022 winners Hwang “Kingen” Sung-hoon (top) and Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo (mid). Following this, to round out the roster, HLE signed veteran jungler Kim "Clid" Tae-min and support Kim "Life" Jeong-min for 2023.
The 2023 HLE roster is as follows:
Top: Kingen
Jungle: Clid
Mid: Zeka
ADC: Viper
Support: Life
KT Rolster
On 22nd November, the contracts of top-laner Kim "Rascal" Kwang-hee, mid-laner Lee "Aria" Ga-eul, support player Life, and substitute jungler Kim "GIDEON" Min-seong expired.
The following are the players of KT Rolster whose contracts expire in 2023 or 2024, according to Fandom:
Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan: Jungler
Lee “Vicla” Dae-kwang: Mid-laner
Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram: ADC
Following this, KT Rolster announced the signing of top laner Kim “Kiin” Gi-in, mid-laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong, and Lehends.
The 2023 team is as follows:
Top: Kiin
Jungle: Cuzz
Mid: Bdd
ADC: Aiming
Support: Lehends
Kwangdong Freecs
On 22nd November, Kwangdong Freecs (KDF) parted ways with the Kiin and announced the free agency of jungler Choi “Ellim” El-lim, mid-laner Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok, bot laner Park “Teddy” Jin-seong, and support “Hoit” Ryu. Following this, KDF signed multi-year contracts with the following players:
Kim "Taeyoon" Tae-yoon: ADC
Ko "YoungJae" Yeong-jae: Jungler
Yoon "Jun" Se-jun: Support
Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju: Top laner
Lee "BuLLDoG" Tae-young: Mid-laner
Liiv Sandbox
Liiv Sandbox (LSB) bid farewell to the following players on 22nd November:
Kim "Dove" Jae-yeon: Top
Kim "Croco" Dong-beom: Jungler
Lee "Prince" Chae-hwan: Bot-laner
Lee "Envyy" Myeong-joon: Substitute ADC
Meanwhile, support Kim “Kael” Jin-hong and mid-laner Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon contracts expire in November 2023. However, the team has not confirmed the signing of any player for its 2023 LCK roster.
On 6th December, Liiv Sandbox confirmed its 2023 LCK roster and announced its players for top, jungle, and ADC.
The team for 2023 is as follows:
Top : Noh "Burdol" Tae-yoon
Jungle : Kim "Willer" Jeong-hyeon
Mid : Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon
ADC : Lee "Envyy" Myeong-joon
Support: Kim "Kael" Jin-hong
Nongshim RedForce
Nongshim RedForce parted ways with its entire 2022 roster on 22nd November and announced the free agency of top laner Canna, jungler Lee “Dread” Jin-hyeok, mid-laner Bdd, ADC Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun, supports Effort and No “SnowFlower” Hoi-jong. Following this, NS RedForce promoted its LCK Challengers team to the LCK for the 2023 season.
The players are as follows:
Park “DnDn” Geun-woo: Top
Lee “Sylvie” Seung-bok: Jungle
An “FIESTA” Hyeon-seo: Mid-laner
Ha “vital” In-seong: ADC
Jeong “Peter” Yoon-su: Support
The following table consists of all the ten LCK rosters for 2023.
The article and the table will be updated as and when the teams confirm their signings for the 2023 LCK season.
