It’s a moment of great anticipation for League of Legends community, one of the most exciting periods of the year. As LOL Worlds came to a close, along came the roster shuffle season. And as any true fan knows, that means now’s the time to form a team of future champions, the official LOL off-season.

What Crazy Transfers Will This LOL Off-season Bring?

For any casual observer it would seem as though the global LOL scene doesn’t offer much excitement: Asia has dominated the game for years now, and there isn’t much room for Europe (or the rest of the world) at the top. China and South Korea have had magnificent rosters conquer all there is to conquer and have held the Summoner’s Cup ever since they’ve been given the opportunity to do so. But, if you take a closer look, it’s clear that Europe have had some respectable attempts, with teams such as G2 or Fnatic reaching the Worlds finals and semi-finals in the past three years. So could it be they are on the brink of forming a roster that will finally give Asians run for their money? It all depends on these few moments in time, when rosters form and reform, giving birth to new opportunities and potentials.

But before we take a dive in all of the roster-forming drama, let’s recap where we currently stand. The reigning world champions, South Korean DAMWON Gaming, beat their Chinese rivals Suning in an exciting, although audience-free, finals held in Shanghai on October 31^st. They did that after leaving best the ranked Europeans, G2, behind in the semi-finals, the same as Suning did to their fellow countrymen Top Esports, which concluded the top four in the world. The only other European team to go through to the playoff stage was Fnatic, while the rest of the spots were filled by JD Gaming (China), Gen.G and DRX (both from South Korea).

Watching South Korea And Europe Closely

So what’s happening to all of those star-filled rosters right now? Firstly, Canyon, Worlds 2020 MVP, is still in DAMWON, but they have already lost three players from the Worlds squad: BaryL and Nuguri both asked to enter free agency (a move that shocked Asian LOL community so shortly after the Worlds), and Nuclear, once a team captain, decided to retire. Flame, who was an important part of the team as well, also decided to leave the winning organization, which is currently left with only three players in the roster. It’s expected that DAMWON will try to bring BaryL and Nuguri (who is often mentioned as the best top laner in the world right now) back to their team, but we have yet to see how that unfolds.

On the other hand, the best European team, G2, has problems of their own. Two players have left their roster, both Denmark’s Kristoffer “P1noy” Albao Lund Pedersen and Croatia’s Luka Perkz Perković, who has been with the team since 2015., and somewhat of a leader for these European LOL giants. Firstly he was rumoured to leave for Fnatic, but newest talks put him in Cloud9, which means he would be leaving for North America. The biggest hurdle for that move though, could be his five million dollar buy-out from G2. His possible transition also means G2 is on the serious lookout to fill his position, and although filling his shoes may be extremely difficult, it will be for about five million dollars easier than it might have been. That, of course, means they could basically choose any player they want, and we’ll soon see who will be that lucky guy.

What about China and their aspiration to reclaim the throne? There isn’t much news from their corner, but so far there are a few contenders for interesting transfers. Current world’s vice-champions, Suning Gaming, how are not particularly popular in China, let go one of their players, SwardArt, who is rumoured to be leaving for North America. Two players from semi-finalists Top Esports, Moyu and QiuQiu, left the team, but more than those transitions, it will be very interesting to see what a big organization like FunPlus Phoenix, 2019 champions who were nowhere to be found this year, do to shake things up in their line-up.

This will, obviously, be a very exciting shuffle period for LOL community, so don’t miss out on the free agency fever. Watch everything closely with us, so you are well-prepared for the upcoming season and, in the meantime, check what we currently have on our Pick6 and feel free to play!