After a bumpy Intel Extreme Masters San Jose, Team SoloMid has finalized its roster for the 2016 Spring League Championship Series (LCS) season. With support Raymond “kaSing” Tsang returning home to Europe, Team SoloMid has locked down Fnatic star Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim.
The move follows two days of speculation over Tsang’s potential replacement. One of the main names in the conversation was Korean star support Lee “Piccaboo” Jong-beom, who played with KT Rolster and SK Telecom T1 this season, before leaving KT earlier today. But sources close to the player tell the Daily Dot that, though he received an offer from Team SoloMid, he declined it several days ago.
Another name in the mix was former Impulse Adrian “Adrian” Ma. Sources close to that player say he’s signed with another LCS squad, however. Ma tweeted that he found a new squad several weeks ago—while Tsang was still playing for SoloMid:
Instead, Team SoloMid has turned to Kim, one of the most successful players in European League of Legends history. Sources say he’s likely to make the move to Team SoloMid soon.
Kim decided to part ways Fnatic after Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin left the team to move to North America:
“Huni & Reignover left the team, leaving me again in a difficult position: either building a new team or considering other options,” Kim said in his statement on the Fnatic website today. “It’s never a good thing to hear, but after careful overall reflection, I had the opportunity to join a team being at my best level in North America and get the chance to experience a new lifestyle and environment.”
Speculation about the roster move began yesterday after Team SoloMid owner Andy “Reginald” Dinh posted on Twitter that the team finalized its support.
Kim’s gamertag also appeared as an option for merchandise on SoloMid’s merch store last night before being removed once fans had noticed it.
Tsang’s departure was hardly a surprise. The player and team had made it clear before IEM San Jose that the tournament was essentially a tryout for both parties. While he won’t be playing with his former team, H2K, it’s likely he’ll find a new home in Europe soon.
With the signing of Kim, SoloMid’s roster is complete after an offseason that saw the legendary team almost completely rebuild itself. After the League of Legends World Championships, four of the team’s five players parted ways with the organization, leaving only Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg. He’ll now be joined by top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell, jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, and marksman Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng. The team has also recently added a head coach KC “woodbuck” Woods and a strategic coach Joshua “Jarge” Smith.
Photos via Riot Games/Flickr
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