Last offseason, things were crazy in the NA LCS as the league transitioned to a franchised system. Four new teams were added and almost every roster underwent major change.
This year, it’s Europe’s turn. The new LEC will also feature four new teams, including the return of past franchises like Origen and SK Gaming. And so far this offseason, the roster moves have been bananas. Old faces have returned and new ones are making their way over to Europe.
To keep track of all the news on rumored and confirmed moves, we’ve consolidated everything we know into one post that will be updated as we go. Check back to catch all the action before the start of the 2019 Spring Split.
Excel Esports
Confirmed
Excel Esports has signed former Splyce support Raymond “Kasing” Tsang to be its new support and team captain. The team has added a young bot laner, Jesper “Jeskla” Strömberg, to play with him, as well as jungler Marc “Caedrel” Robert Lamont. Filling out the starting roster are mid laner Fabian “Exileh” Schubert, top laner Ki “Expect” Dae-han. Top laner Rosendo “Send0o” Fuentes will be Expect’s backup.
Fnatic
Confirmed
One of the most shocking reports of this offseason was that Rasmus “Caps” Winther is moving to rival G2. Now confirmed, Caps’ departure left a big hole in the mid lane, and Fnatic has signed Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek to fill it. The team also re-signed top laner Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau to a three-year extension and are pledging a heavy investment in League this coming year. Finally, top laner Paul “sOAZ” Boyer is going to Misfits and coach Dylan Falco is moving on to helm Schalke 04.
G2 Esports
Confirmed
G2 is has officially added Caps and moved their own mid, Luka “Perkz” Perković, to the bot lane. The team also finalized a deal for former Misfits support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle to pair with Perkz. That means the old bot lane of Petter “Hjarnan” Freyschuss and Kim “Wadid” Bae-in are out. Wadid is on his way to Rogue, but Hjarnan’s next destination has yet to be revealed. The team’s coaching and analyst staff remains largely unchanged aside from the addition of longtime coach and caster Mitch “Boris” Voorspoels
Misfits
Confirmed
Misfits has made the biggest splash, signing a rash of high-profile free agents headlined by Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeo, formerly of KINGZONE. The team has confirmed the additions of sOAZ, former Clutch mid laner Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten, and the re-signing of jungler Nubar “Maxlore” Sarvin to complete the starting roster alongside carryover bot laner Stephen “Hans Sama” Liv. The team has also added coach Lee “PoohManDu” Jeong-hyeon who’s won Worlds with SK Telecom T1.
Origen
Confirmed
Origen is returning to the top European league with some veteran talent, adding top laner Barney “Alphari” Morris from Misfits, mid laner Erlend “Nukeduck” Holm from Schalke 04, and bot laner Patrik Jírů—who went by “Sheriff” last year—from H2k. The team has rounded out its roster with the addition of support Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez and jungler Jonas “Kold” Andersen
Rogue
Confirmed
Rogue has signed its coaching staff, head coach Simon “Fredy122” Payne from ROCCAT and Edward Abgaryan from Gambit Esports. The team has also officially signed former G2 support Wadid, Vitality jungler Mateusz “Kikis” Szkudlarek, ADC Martin “HeaQ” Kordma, mid laner Chres “Sencux” Laursen, and top laner Kim “Profit” Jun-hyung. The team has also signed veteran support Oksar “Vander” Bogdan to lead its Academy team.
Rumored
Mid laner Emil “Larssen” Larsson will reportedly join the team after the 2019 Spring Split.
Schalke 04
Confirmed
Schalke’s confirmed players include top laner Andre “Odoamne” Pascu from Splyce and support Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun, who last played in the LCK but was in the EU region a couple years ago with G2. Schalke also added Dylan Falco from Fnatic and let former coach André Guilhoto go. The team also lost Nukeduck to Origen, but Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi has returned to Schalke. Mid laner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun has officially joined Schalke.
SK Gaming
After sitting out for most of the offseason, SK Gaming has revealed its full roster. The team consists of former Mad Lions players, including top laner Jorge “Werlyb” Casanovas, jungler Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek, and ADC Juš “Crownshot” Marušič. Those three are supplemented by a couple odd import choices in support Han “Dreams” Min-kook and former SK Telecom T1 mid laner Choi “Pirean” Jun-sik.
Splyce
Confirmed
Splyce has locked in its starting roster for the 2019 season, including top laner Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss, jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir, mid laner
Marek “Humanoid” Brázda, bot laner Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup, and support Tore “Norskeren” Eilertsen.
Former mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer left to join Cloud9 and support Kasing went to Excel Esports.
Rumored
Splyce is reportedly working to trade former top laner Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu with Rogue, Schalke 04, and CLG reported to have interest in the veteran player.
Team Vitality
Confirmed
Vitality re-signed top laner Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet and support Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński, both for two years. Head coach Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi was also extended last year through 2020. Former Afreeca Freecs jungler Lee “Mowgli” Jae-ha has joined the team, too.
Rumored
Substitute jungler Erberk “Gilius” Demir indicated that he’ll be out of the league next year.
This article will be updated as more roster changes are confirmed.
