* = New player for 2017 season
Teams listed alphabetically
Statistics are from the entire year of 2016
LCK 2017 Spring Season Guidebook
Afreeca Freecs
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-MaRin*
Jungle-Spirit* Jungle-Mowgli*
Middle-Kuro*
ADC-Kramer*
Support-TusiN*
AF 2016 results: fifth LCK Spring Season, fifth LCK Summer Season, third Korea Regional Finals, top-14 LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Jang “MaRin” Gyeon-hwan played for LGD Gaming in China for the past year and previously played for the SK Telecom organization for two years. He is a world champion, but recently has not been performing well, as he finished top-eight in the spring season of the LPL. LGD had to play in the Spring 2017 Promotion tournament and requalified for the LPL.
Jungle: Lee “Spirit” Da-yoon played for Fnatic last year and previously for Team WE in China and Samsung Blue before his stint in Europe. With Fnatic, Spirit finished second in the spring season and top-six in the summer season, but did not qualify for Worlds.
Middle: Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng most recently played for the ROX Tigers and previous iterations of the team. ROX was a very strong team, finishing in second during the spring season and first in the summer season. The team narrowly lost to SKT in the semifinals of Worlds.
ADC: Ha “Kramer” Jong-hun played on CJ Entus for the past year, alongside superstar support Hong “Madlife” Min-gi. Kramer played for the Flash Wolves before CJ. CJ Entus finished in eighth place during the spring season and in last place for the summer season, eventually losing their place in the LCK after failing in the Promotion tournament.
Support: Park “TusiN” Jong-ik played jungle for Incredible Miracle during their promotion to the LCK for the 2016 Spring Season. The organization rebranded to Longzhu Gaming and TusiN left the team and did not play competitively in 2016.
ESC Ever
Expected Starters Substitute
Top-Crazy Top-Firetrap*
Jungle-Bless
Middle-Tempt
ADC-Ghost*
Support-Totoro
ESC 2016 Results: top-six IEM Katowice, first Challengers Korea Spring, ninth LCK 2016 Summer Season, top-four LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Kim “Crazy” Jae-hee has played for ESC Ever for his entire professional career. The team played in Challengers Korea during the spring and won a spot for the summer season of LCK. The team finished in ninth place and had to beat CJ Entus to keep their place in the LCK for the 2017 Spring Season.
Jungle: Choi “Bless” Hyeon-woong is another player who has spent his entire professional career with ESC Ever. He shared in the team’s rise to the LCK and their requalification into the league.
Middle: Kang “Tempt” Myung-gu took over for former Ever mid laner, Kang ”Athena” Ha-woon and played with the team for the past year. They won IEM Cologne without him and fell out of IEM Katowice before the playoffs with him in the lineup.
ADC: Jang “Ghost” Young-jun was the sub ADC behind Kramer on CJ Entus last season. He did not play a game until the summer season, where he only played one series.
Support: Eun “Totoro” Jong-seop was the sub support for ESC Ever in the spring season and shared the starting role in the summer season with Kim “KeY” Han-gi.
Jin Air Green Wings
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-ikssu* Top-SoHwan
Jungle-Umti*
Middle-Kuzan
ADC-Teddy*
Support-SnowFlower* Support-Raise
JAG 2016 Results: fourth LCK Spring Season, seventh LCK Summer Season, fourth Korea Regional Finals
Top: Jeon “ikssu” Ik-soo recently played for Afreeca Freecs during 2016. The team finished fifth in both the spring and summer seasons, and they did not make it to the World Championship.
Jungle: Eom “Umti” Seong-hyeon will be starting his professional career with the Jin Air Green Wings. He joined the team in December 2016.
Middle: Lee “Kuzan” Seong-hyeok started his professional career with Jin Air in January 2015. During the summer season, Kuzan split time with Jin “Blanc” Seong-min in the mid lane. The team finished in fourth place for the spring season and seventh for the summer season. Kuzan’s team made it to the regional final, but fell to the Afreeca Freecs.
ADC: Park “Teddy” Jin-seong previously played for Ever 8 Winners in Challengers Korea Summer. The team finished third in the playoffs, but did not make it to the promotion tournament.
Support: No “Snowflower” Hoi-jong joins the team with ikssu, having previously played for the Afreeca Freecs. He helped them reach their two fifth place finishes during 2016.
Kongdoo Monster
Expected Starters Substitute
Top-Roach
Jungle-Punch
Middle-Edge
ADC-SSol
Support-GuGer Support-Secret*
KM 2016 Results: 10th LCK Spring Season, first Challengers Korea Summer, second LoL KeSPA Cup, second IEM Gyeonggi
Top: Kim “Roach” Kang-hui played with NaJin e-mFire previously, before the team rebranded to Kongdoo Monsters. He was the substitute top laner for the spring season and the starter during the summer season. Roach helped the team in Challengers Korea Summer to make it to the promotion tournament and qualify for the 2017 LCK Spring Season. He shared the starting role with Suk “Hipo” Hyun-jun in 2016.
Jungle: Son “Punch” Min-hyuk played with Kongdoo during the summer season in Challengers Korea, where he started and helped the team reach the LCK.
Middle: Lee “Edge” Ho-seong played with Kongdoo the previous year, being with the team during their transition to Challengers Korea Summer after their disappointing spring season in the LCK, and their eventual promotion back to the LCK for 2017.
ADC: Seo “SSol” Jin-sol, like his teammates, was on the Kongdoo team for the past season, and the NaJin e-mFire team since May of 2015.
Support: Kim “GuGer” Do-yeop rejoined the NaJin organization in December 2015 after a year with the Taipei Assassins in Taiwan. He was a sub for both White Shield and Black Sword in 2014.
KT Rolster
Expected Starters
Top-Smeb*
Jungle-Score
Middle-PawN*
ADC-Deft*
Support-Mata*
KT 2016 Results: third LCK Spring Season, second LCK Summer Season, second Korea Regional Finals, top-eight LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho became a breakout star with the ROX Tigers organization after underperforming for two years with Incredible Miracle. Smeb joined the Tigers at the start of the organization and has been with them during their success. After they lost to SKT in the semifinals of Worlds, Smeb decided to leave the organization.
Jungle: Go “Score” Dong-bin has competed with the KT organization since October of 2012. KT finished the spring season in third place and the summer season in second place behind the ROX Tigers. KT lost to Samsung in the regional finals and failed to make it to the 2016 World Championship. His highest accomplishment with the team was during 2015 Worlds, when the team lost to the KOO Tigers in the quarterfinals.
Middle: Heo “PawN” Won-seok most recently played with EDG for two years in China. PawN won MSI with the EDG roster in the 2015 Spring Season, but the team fell to Fnatic in the quarterfinals of Worlds that year. The next season, PawN split time with Athena and the team finished in second place for the spring. During the summer season, PawN played behind Lee “Scout” Ye-chan as the team qualified for Worlds. At Worlds, PawN helped the team reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to ROX Tigers. Before his time on EDG, PawN won the World Championship in 2014 with Samsung White.
ADC: Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu played with PawN on EDG and on Samsung Blue before then. Deft has shared in EDG’s success since the start of 2015. Before his time on EDG, Deft played for Samsung Blue, who made it to the semifinals of 2014 Worlds, where they lost to sister team Samsung White. Deft joins KT after failing to make the semifinals of a Worlds with EDG.
Support: Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong most recently played with Royal Never Give Up in China. On RNG, Mata competed at MSI and made it to the quarterfinals of Worlds. Before RNG, Mata competed on Vici Gaming, and before then, Samsung White with PawN. Mata was awarded the MVP after Samsung’s victory at the 2014 World Championships.
Longzhu Gaming
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-Expession
Jungle-Crash Jungle-Cuzz*
Middle-Fly* Middle-Bdd*
ADC-PraY* Middle-Justice*
Support-GorillA* Support-Zzus
LZ 2016 Results: seventh Spring Season, eighth Summer Season, top-14 LoL KeSPA Cup, top-four IEM Oakland
Top: Koo “Expession” Bon-taek has played with Longzhu for the past year. He was previously on NaJin White Shield and Black Sword. Over the past year for Longzhu, Expession has been the starting top laner when the team finished seventh in the spring season and eighth in the summer season.
Jungle: Lee “Crash” Dong-woo joined Longzhu in January of 2016 and split time with fellow jungler Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun. He shared in the poor finishes over the past two seasons, but Crash is a talented young player.
Middle: Song “Fly” Youn-jun joins Longzhu from fellow Korean team KT Rolster. He played with KT for the past year and finished third and second in the spring and summer, but missed out on Worlds. Fly has also played for other notable teams, such as Jin Air Green Wings and Invictus Gaming.
ADC: Kim “PraY” Jon-in played for ROX Tigers before joining his current team. With the Tigers organization, PraY achieved a lot of success, resulting in attending two World Championships and going far in those tournaments. Before the Tigers, PraY played with NaJin Black Sword from 2012-2014 and was with the team when they achieved a top-four finish at the Season 3 World Championship.
Support: Kang “GorillA” Beom-Hyeon comes from the ROX Tigers with his fellow bot lane partner PraY. GorillA played for NaJin White Shield before the Tigers. In his career, he has reached the quarterfinals of Worlds three times.
MVP
Expected Starters
Top-ADD
Jungle-Beyond
Middle-Ian
ADC-MaHa
Support-Max
MVP 2016 Results: second Challengers Korea Spring Season, sixth LCK Summer Season, top-eight LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Kang “ADD” Geon-mo started with MVP in December 2015 and played with the team throughout 2016. MVP played in Challengers Korea for the spring season and earned promotion into the LCK. The team finished sixth in the LCK 2016 Summer Season.
Jungle: Kim “Beyond” Kyu-seok also joined MVP in December 2015. He was with the team during their promotion to the LCK and mid-table placing in the LCK 2016 Summer Season.
Middle: An “Ian” Jun-hyeong was brought into the MVP organization at the same time as his teammates and will look to improve the team’s mid-table placing from their last split.
ADC: Oh “MaHa” Hyun-sik previously played for KT Rolster before joining MVP for the 2016 Spring Season. On KT, MaHa did not play many games and eventually changed his name before he switched to MVP.
Support: Jeong “Max” Jong-bin has the longest professional career on the team, although it’s still a short career in the history of competitive LoL. He previously played for CJ Entus as a substitute for Madlife and in Taiwan for the GashBears.
ROX Tigers
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-Shy* Top-Lindarang*
Jungle-SeongHwan*
Middle-Mickey*
ADC-Sangyoon*
Support-Key*
ROX 2016 Results: second Spring Season, first Summer Season, top-four World Championship, first LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Park “Shy” Sang-myeon is one of the oldest players in the Korean scene. He started playing for MiG Frost and remained with the team through multiple iterations until they became CJ Entus. Shy played with Azubu Frost when they finished second at the Season 2 World Championship. In recent seasons, Shy has received criticism and has been unable to reach the form he showed earlier in his career.
Jungle: Yoon “SeongHwan” Seong-hwan joins ROX Tigers from the Afreeca Freecs. SeongHwan started his professional career with the Afreeca Freecs in January 2016, but did not play much during the spring season. In the summer season, SeongHwan shared time with LirA and helped the team reach fifth place.
Middle: Son “Mickey” Young-min played with SeongHwan on Afreeca Freecs as their starting mid laner. He helped the team achieve two fifth place finishes for the spring and summer season, and impressed many as a mid laner in Korea.
ADC: Gwon “Sangyoon” Sang-yun played with his jungler and mid laner for the Afreeca Freecs. Along with fellow carry Mickey, Sangyoon helped the team see some success in 2016.
Support: Kim “Key” Han-gi played for ESC Ever in the previous year. He helped the team win IEM Cologne, as well as qualify for the LCK Summer Season, where they placed ninth. They beat CJ Entus to keep their place in the LCK. Early in 2016, there were allegations that Key participated in Elo boosting, but those allegations were never proven correct and Key received no disciplinary actions against him.
Samsung Galaxy
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-CuVee
Jungle-Ambition Jungle-Haru*
Middle-Crown
ADC-Ruler ADC-Stitch
Support-CoreJJ Support-Wraith
SSG 2016 Results: sixth LCK Spring Season, fourth LCK Summer Season, first Korea Regional Finals, second World Championship, top-eight LoL KeSPA Cup, first IEM Gyeonggi
Top: Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin started his competitive career with Samsung in December 2014. He has been a starter since he joined and helped to improve the team from sixth place in the spring season of the LCK to fourth place in the summer season, as well as a trip to the World Championships in 2016, where the team came in second place.
Jungle: Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong has a storied career in competitive LoL, having played for MiG Blaze in 2012. He remained with the organization and played for Azubu Blaze, CJ Entus Blaze, and finally CJ Entus before he departed in November 2015. Ambition started his career as a mid laner before he moved to the jungle position in November 2014.
Middle: Lee “Crown” Min-ho began his career in Brazil before moving to Samsung Galaxy in May 2015. He would not start for Samsung until the 2016 Spring Season. He helped the team achieve their success and eventually went to the World Championship finals in 2016, where the team lost in a narrow series against SKT.
ADC: Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk joined Samsung Galaxy in May 2016 and played in the summer season for the team. In his short time with the team, he saw success with the organization and became recognized as a top ADC in Korea, despite being a young player.
Support: Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in started his career in Korea with Bigfile Miracle in February 2014. After a year in Korea, CoreJJ moved to America and played for Team Dignitas. He first joined Samsung as an ADC for the 2016 Spring Season, but moved to the support position for the summer season. He split time at the support position with Kwon “Wraith” Ji-min, but played with the team for the majority of their 2016 World Championship run.
SK Telecom T1
Expected Starters Substitutes
Top-Huni* Top-Profit*
Jungle-Peanut* Jungle-Blank
Middle-Faker Middle-Sky*
ADC-Bang
Support-Wolf Support-TaeHoon*
SKT 2016 Results: first IEM Katowice, first LCK Spring Season, first Mid-Season Invitational, third LCK Summer Season, first World Championship, top-four LoL KeSPA Cup
Top: Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon first saw success with the European team Fnatic in 2015. At the 2015 World Championship, Huni and his team reached the semifinals of the tournament. After the 2015 season, Huni moved to North America and played for the new organization Immortals. Although the roster was expected to do well and the team saw success in the regular season of both splits, the team failed to perform well in the playoffs of either split. The team did not qualify for the 2016 World Championship and Huni moved to play for SKT in Korea.
Jungle: Han “Peanut” Wang-ho played for ROX Tigers in 2016 before joining SKT. Peanut became a breakout star for the team in the summer season and helped them get to the semifinals of the 2016 World Championship, where they lost to SKT.
Middle: Lee “Faker” Seang-hyeok is considered by many to be the best competitive LoL player in the game’s history. He started his career with SK Telecom T1 K in 2013 and has led the team to three World Championship titles since, including back-to-back wins in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Faker has not dipped in performance and looks to continue his global dominance with a new roster in 2017.
ADC: Bae “Bang” Jun-sik started his professional career with NaJin Shield in October 2012. He played with NaJin and Xenics Blast before moving to SK Telecom T1 S in October 2013. He has played with the organization ever since and became the starter for SK Telecom T1 when the two sister teams merged. He has won two World Championships with the team.
Support: Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan also started his career with NaJin Shield before joining SK Telecom T1 S with Blank in 2013. He became the starting support when the SK Telecom teams merged and has helped the team win back-to-back World Championship titles.
Who do you think will win the 2017 Spring Split in the LCK? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom.
Stats taken from oracleselixir.com, gamesoflegends.com, and lol.esportswikis.com
