LCK Free Agency Round-up: Gen.G’s Canyon and Worlds Finalists depart their organisations
The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) rostermania has kicked off in spectacular fashion, with over thirty players and coaches officially leaving their organisations.
The players and coaches enter Free Agency, following the passing of the November 17 contract deadline, marking the last day of over forty players and coaching staff in the league.
LCK players/coaches who entered Free Agency on November 17:
Gen.G:
Gen.G announced the departure of Kim ‘Canyon’ Geon-bu despite a hugely successful year for Gen.G that saw them dominate the LCK and win MSI 2025.
Yet the roster fell bitterly short of its overall aim of winning Worlds, potentially opening up room for Gen.G to make yet another star signing to bolster the roster.
Gen.G also said goodbye to three of its coaching staff, with Head Coach Jungsu ‘KIM’ Kim, Coach Youngjae ‘Helper’ Kwon, and Coach Dabin ‘Lyn’ Kim all leaving the org after their disappointing Worlds 2025 exit at the hands of KT Rolster.
The organisation quickly announced KIM’s replacement, with Ryu ‘Ryu’ Sangwook Yoo joining the org from BNK FEARX.
T1:
Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong is now a free agent after leaving T1, with the org losing another member of the famous ZOFGK five.
The three-time Worlds Champion departs as the MVP of Worlds Finals, after an outstanding performance in both the Grand Final and the playoffs generally.
The Korean had suffered from being benched early in the year, but fought back into the roster after CEO Joe Marsh intervened to restore him to the roster, ultimately leading to another Worlds title in Chengdu.
T1 also says goodbye to Gumayusi’s replacement in those early-season struggles, with Shin ‘Smash’ Geum-jae departing the organisation.
The move means that T1 must be looking outside of the org for Guma’s replacement, with former Gen.G prodigy Kim ‘Peyz’ Su-hwan linked to the org.
Hanwha Life Esports (HLE):
HLE said goodbye to three members of its coaching staff as it approaches 2026.
Head Coach Choi ‘DanDy’ In-gyu, Coach Shin ‘Shine’ Dong-wook, and Analyst Kim ‘Bibra’ Hyeon-sik all depart the organisation ahead of what is expected to be a highly ambitious rebuild.
The November 17 deadline also marked the last official day of Han ‘Peanut’ Wang-ho with HLE, who leaves esports to complete his mandatory military service.
The organisation shared a heartfelt message for the former MSI, First Stand, and LCK champion, stating, “To ‘Peanut’ Wangho Han, who walked his path more fiercely and beautifully than anyone, we extend our deepest gratitude and respect.”
KT Rolster:
KT Rolster have released their support, Jeong ‘Peter’ Yoon-su, and bot laner, Seo ‘deokdam’ Dae-gil, ahead of the 2026 season.
The players had hugely impactful moments in the organisation’s run to the Worlds Grand Final, with Peter and deokdam attracting plenty of new fans to the org.
Yet, KT Rolster were only at that major after a miracle run, which saw them qualify by defeating Gen.G at the LCK Finals.
Overall, the roster lacked consistency to support their superstars in Gwak ‘Bdd’ Bo-seong and Moon ‘Cuzz’ Woo-chan, perhaps leading to the decision.
Dplus Kia:
Dplus announced that Cho ‘BeryL’ Geon-hee and Kim ‘Aiming’ Ha-ram would leave the organisation.
The support and bot lane duo leave after a middling year, which saw DRX disappointingly take part in the Rise Group of LCK splits 3-5.
Head Coach Bae ‘Bengi’ Seong-woong, Coach Lee ‘PoohManDu’ Jeong-hyun, and Coach Ha ‘Hachani’ Seung-chan leave the org, with Kim ‘cvMax’ Dae-ho taking over as Head Coach for the 2026 season.
DRX
DRX have made sweeping changes, releasing jungler, Bae ‘Sponge’ Young-jun, mid laner, Kang ‘kyeahoo’ Ye-hoo, and bot laner Park ‘Teddy’ Jin-seong.
Head Coach, Kim ‘Ssong’ Sang-soo, and Coach Noh ‘Alive’ Jin-wook also leave the organisation in what has been a poor year for the once Worlds-winning organisation.
DRX announced the retention of Moon ‘Andil’ Gwan-bin, whose contract lapsed on November 17, as he signed a one-year extension with the organisation.
OKSavingsBank BRION
OKSavingsBank BRION said goodbye to its entire roster. The organisation marketed their 2025 with the slogan “Blow it up,” and they certainly have done that to their roster.
The organisation parted with Oh ‘Pollu’ Dong-gyu, Lee ‘Clozer’ Ju-hyeon, Ham ‘HamBak’ Yoo-jin, Kim ‘Croco’ Dong-beom, and Park ‘Morgan’ Ru-han.
They also saw Coach Kim ‘GuGer’ Do-yeop leave and Byeon ‘Hype’ Jeong-hyeon’s loan with KT Challengers lapsing, with whom he then signed.
DN Freecs
DN Freecs says goodbye to former T1 academy player, Kim ‘Berserker’ Min-cheol, and Lee ‘BuLLDoG’ Tae-young.
The bot laner and mid player were part of a DN Freecs who finished last in the LCK regular season, finishing with a 4-26 series record despite playing in the weaker Rise Group.
Nongshim RedForce
NS RedForce released Kim ‘GIDEON’ Min-seong on November 16.
The player, who was a graduate of NS Esports Academy, vacates the jungler role for Nongshim RedForce.
Coach Kim ‘SSUN’ Tae-yan leaves the organisation, which additionally made wholesale changes to its academy roster.
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