Korean League of Legends squad KT Rolster seem to be cooking in this off-season period as they have managed to acquire the services of Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu from Dplus KIA and former Team Liquid jungler Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon.
KT Rolster followed their run to the Worlds 2023 quarterfinals in Seoul with the release of almost all their squad members, barring a single player. They have now reunited the ADC and jungler who helped DRX’s incredible Summoner’s Cup win in 2022.
The two were teammates with the Korean organization both in 2020 and 2022, although Deft left and spent a year with Hanwha Life Esports between stints.
Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong is the only player left from the purge after the contract of others expired in 2023. He is joined by Deft and Pyosik. The team is still searching for support that will be placed with Deft, while Lee “PerfecT” Seung-min will reprise his role in the top lane for 2024.
After the win at Worlds, DRX opted to split as Deft remained in the LCK and moved to Dplus KIA, while Pyosik went to the League Championship Series and North America with Team Liquid.
Deft and Dplus finished fifth, but they managed to qualify for the Worlds through DRX and HLE as the LCK’s fourth seed. It was bad for Pyosik and TL, who finished in eighth place in the Spring Split before improving to finish third in the Summer.
Pyosik and Liquid were knocked out of the competition without a win on the Swiss stage, while it was KT Rolster who knocked out Deft in the 2-2 qualifier round at Worlds.
Deft is going into the 11th year of the competition as one of the best ADCs in League’s history, constantly shunning any retirement talks. The LCK is set to resume in January with the Spring Split.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
