Which Players will stay and which players will leave?
Looking Ahead at the LPL Off-Season
With the LPL being the top region throughout 2021, winning both the Mid-Season Invitational and this year’s 2021 World Championship – both taking place in Iceland – we’ve decided to set our eyes on the LPL and the future of some of the most famous teams.
Which players’ contracts are expiring in mid-November and where could they be headed in the following year? Let's take a look at some prominent names from the LPL who could be making big changes this off-season.
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Nuguri headed back to the LCK.
FunPlus Phoenix top laner, and 2020 World Champion Jang “Nuguri” Hagwon will have his contract of one-year expire on November 16, 2021. The top laner managed to finish in second place both in the Spring and Summer LPL playoffs.
FunPlus Phoenix had a horrendous falling out during the 2021 World Championship group phase, failing to make it into the knock-out stage. It is rumored that the top laner wishes to come back to Korea where he will join a team.
Rumors state that he will likely join T1 or DAMWON KIA – his former team. The latter will be without a top laner since starting top laner, Kim “Khan” Dongha must complete his obligatory military service.
Invictus Gaming Rebuild
Much of the current Invictus Gaming roster will have their contracts expire on November 16, 2021. Mid Laner Song “Rookie” Euijin and top laner Kang “TheShy” Seunlok might not come back in 2022 after the team didn’t even make the LPL Summer Playoffs.
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Jungler Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning will also have his contract expire. All three players played a huge role in the team's 2018 League of Legends World Championship run, but by next year they might not be playing – or be on completely different teams.
FoFo’s Contract to Expire
Rare Atom were the biggest surprise of the 2021 Summer Split. The team managed to finish in 3rd place in the regular season with an 11-5 record. Their mid laner Chu “FoFo” Chun-Lan, who is known for his time on J Team between 2016 and 2019, was a big part of the team's success in the regular season.
FoFo’s contract is set to expire by November 16. Rare Atom are a very young team, led by players like iBoy and would surely look to try and sign FoFo once again to build upon their great run of the 2021 Summer Split.
World Champion EDG Viper’s Contract to Expire
Another big name to have his contract expire at the end of the year is Park “Viper” Doheyon. Alongside long-time support Meiko, the two were an integral part of EDward Gaming throughout the 2021 season. The language barrier didn’t seem to make too much of a difference for the pair.
Viper’s contract will also end on November 16, 2021. EDG will likely try to retain their star bot laner who helped the team to a first place LPL finish in the Summer playoffs and win their first World Championship.
Many more players will have their contracts expire by mid-November. Which players should teams definitely re-sign?