100 Thieves made a big splash upon its entrance into the NA LCS last year with the signing of kt Roltser star Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. Ssumday had been one of the best top laners in Korea for years, but then he chose to try his stuff in North America for the first time.
Ssumday was a big hit in his first year with 100 Thieves. He styled on some of the best top laners in the region—including other Koreans—and led 100 Thieves to an unlikely trip to Worlds. Now, he’s back with 100 Thieves on a two-year extension that has him with the team through 2020.
With this first piece in place, 100 Thieves can look to rebuild the rest of its roster. Talented young Vietnamese jungler Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh might be leaving as the team gave him the option to look for a new home. Most of the Worlds roster is still signed through 2019, according to Riot’s global contract database. But that doesn’t mean changes aren’t on the horizon.
Mid lane was a weakness, but with some mid lane talent moving back to Europe, the team may have a hard time replacing Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook. Maybe that’s why he, support Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black, and jungler Andy “AnDa” Hoang are the other three in the starting lineup that weren’t given permission to speak with other teams.
The bigger problem is the bot lane, where Cody Sun is still under contract but clearly not in the organization’s plans after getting benched during Worlds. Both he and his substitute, Samuel “Rikara” Oh, were given freedom to talk to other teams.
We’re not sure what 100 Thieves has planned for that position, but they’ll need at least one strong lane besides Ssumday’s or else they’ll struggle to improve upon their results, even with him back on the roster.
