Earlier today, the ROX Tigers announced the departure of several players on their League of Legends roster, as their contracts have either expired or will expire soon. All of the players are now open to any offers and negotiations. They all left their goodbye messages through social media.
Here are their messages, translated into English by theScore esports:
Smeb:
“Hello, I’m the former top laner for the ROX Tigers, Smeb, Song Kyung-ho. On Nov 25, my contract ended. I wanted to say thanks to all those who cheered me on as ROX Tigers Smeb all this time.”
PraY:
“Hello, I’m PraY, Kim Jong-in. At the end of this KeSPA Cup, I left ROX. There’s so much I want to write, but I’m not too good with my writing skills, so I don’t think I’ll be able to say everything I want… We went through a lot during two years, and to my teammates who worked tirelessly through it, [I want to say] thank you so much. For the fans that cheered us on through thick and thin, I want to say thanks. I’m not too sure what will happen later, but please keep cheering for me. Thank you.”
GorillA:
“Hello, I’m the ROX Tigers’ former leader and support GorillA, Kang Beom-hyeon. From today on, I have left the ROX Tigers. I want to thank everyone who cheered on ROX Tigers all this time.”
KurO:
“I want to thank my teammates, coaches, and managers. I think I’m here and work hard because of you fans. I’m not too sure where I’ll be headed next, but I will continue to be a pro and I hope you keep cheering me on. I love you all.”
Peanut:
“Hello, I’m ROX’s jungler Han Wang-ho. Originally, my contract is until Nov. 30. Right now, I want to continue to be with my team, but realistically, the situation isn’t working out as expected, so I’ve gotten permission to receive offers from other teams. Right now, I’m not too sure if I’ll continue to play on the team or move to another, but I will continue to work hard to show my best as a pro gamer.”
It is unclear now whether ROX Tigers will carry on as a team, as all of their players are no longer under contract with the organization. ESPN reported this story earlier, saying that after Worlds, the team would most likely disband, as the players contracts ended in November. Despite these rumors, ROX still performed well in 2016 as a team, capped off by their win at the 2016 KeSPA Cup last week.
Over the coming weeks, all of the players will likely receive offers to join teams for the new year, so it will be interesting to see where all of these talented players will be playing in 2017. Yet, what is not so clear at this time is the future of the ROX Tigers organization.
What do you think is next for ROX Tigers? Leave your comment down below or tweet us @GAMURScom.
Jordan Aldridge-Payne is an esports journalist for GAMURS and can be reached on Twitter @mrjordanap.
