Each year top teams and players emerge from League Championship Korea (LCK). But being on the top does not make them immune to roster changes or teams folding. In fact, earlier this year players left team’s CJ Entus and Jin Air Green Wings for better prospects. These teams are currently dwarfed by bigger gaming teams such as SK Telecom T1 and KOO Tigers.
In recent months more players left CJ Entus leaving the Mid and AD Carry roles filled for 2016 LCK. Despite CJ Entus taking home third in 2015 Season Korea Regional Finals and fourth in SBENU Championship Summer 2015. As roles fill for the 2016 roster the team will need to place in the top four finishing positions to continue their upward trend.
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Jin Air Green Wings in particular impacted the LCK in a big way last year climbing to the top of the league within the first couple weeks of the season. It looked to be Jin Air’s year to shine and possibly make the cut for this year’s Worlds. Sadly, the team fell apart during the last few weeks of the LCK, ending their 2015 dream. Jin Air’s team consisted of two teams that were forced to combine because of a rule change made by OnGameNet (OGN). The Jin Air team might redeem themselves sooner than anyone could predict. They were invited to play in the Intel Extreme Masters in San Jose, California, this November.
For the moment teams in Korea look stable and ready to compete for the 2016 season. However, it is possible that regional neighbors such as China might want some of the Korean super stars. In the past China bought out several players from Korea to form their own teams, like China’s Edward Gaming and LDG, in order to keep up with the stranglehold that Korea maintains on the international stage. Whether that happens once again, only time will tell.
