The newest League Championship Series (LCS) team just announced their roster for the upcoming season, and it’s the most Korean yet.
Team Dragon Knights has added Korean mid laner Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, formerly of Team WE, and Korean AD carry Jin-Hyun “Emperor” Kim, most recently competing on Brazilian team Keyd Stars.
That gives the squad a team featuring three Korean nationals, the two new players and top lane Shin “ Seraph” Woo-yeong.
The team’s jungler and shot caller Kevin “Kez” Jeon speaks Korean, giving the team a better chance than most to overcome the communication issues that often plague
“A new era has begun and the knights are ready to fight in the battle,” Sean Shim, the team’s owner, said in the announcement.
Team Dragon Knights qualified for the LCS using a substitute mid laner, Alex “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin, after their Challenger Series regular Seo “Narakyle” Ji-sun left the team before their Promotion Series. While Ichetovkin led the team to a victory over Winterfox in said promo series, the Russian mid laner stuck with his own team Misfits, leaving Team Dragon Knights in the lurch.
It looked like the team had potentially found players from the one they replaced, Winterfox, with an offer on the table for Johnny “Altec” Ru. But it seems that the Dragon Knights turned elsewhere to fill out their rosters.
New additions Ninja and Emperor certainly have the skill to perform at the LCS. As a member of CJ Entus Blaze in 2014, Emperor paired with Team SoloMid support Ham “Lustboy” Jang-sik to form one of Korea’s strongest bottom lanes before leaving the team at the end of the season with jungler Kang “DayDream” Kyung-min to join Brazilian side Keyd Stars. It seemed Emperor had trouble meshing with his Brazilians teammates, however, but the Dragon Knights may be a more welcoming environment for a strong Korean talent.
Ninja moves over from Team WE after a disappointing season which saw him replaced by rising mid laner Su “xiye” Han-Wei at IEM Katowice. The Korean player debuted for Team WE in June of last year after leaving his local team Prime, but never managed to make good on his potential as the mid laner for one of China’s most storied teams.
Whether the move to America works for two players who had middling results competing in other foreign regions remains to be seen, but it certainly makes Team Dragon Knights one of the more interesting lineups heading into the LCS. Unlike some recent Korean imports, both of Dragon Knights’ players have experienced competing in the top league in the world: Korea’s Champions league. While their most recent results may leave something to be desired, that doesn’t mean they’ll fail in America.
Screengrab via EpicSkillshot/YouTube
