2017 World Champion Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk cemented his franchise player status with a new contract with his team, Gen.G. With him, bot lane partner Kim “Life” Jeong-min also signed a new contract. However, the rest of the Gen.G lineup are headed elsewhere. The former Samsung organization did not renew the contracts for the rest of the lineup, along with their subs. Where could they play next?

Former champion Lee “Cuvee” Seong-jin will likely start for other LCK teams, albeit not the top ones. SKT has Khan, Griffin has Doran, Afreeca has Kiin, Sandbox has Summit and Damwon has Nuguri. Though any team can use the experience he can bring to the table, he’s just not a direct upgrade to the aforementioned teams. The same can be said for Roach, Seonghwan, Fly, Kuzan, Rich and Asper. None of these players are starting-caliber players, at least not in LCK 2020. The level of play went sky-high after the entry of Griffin, Sandbox and Damwon.

On the other hand, Han “Peanut” Wang-ho will be a rather controversial pickup for any team, local or foreign. He was reportedly the highest-paid player in LCK at one point, but failed to deliver results. Although he won both domestic and international titles, his recent performances disappointed a lot of fans. Despite that, he’s still young and definitely talented enough to attract good offers from other teams. North American teams may want to look at Peanut to shore up their jungle role, given their lack of local talent.

[Regarding Gen.G LoL 2020 Season Roster] Thank to all the fans for supporting Gen.G LoL in 2019 Season.

We are working hard to for 2020 Season.

Keep an eye on for our news and continue to support Gen.G LoL!#TigerNation #WeAreGenG pic.twitter.com/ollmo8ysQk — Gen.G Esports (@GenG) November 18, 2019

Gen.G moving forward

I’m curious about this roster move from Gen.G. They’re definitely trying to rebuild, or at least maybe a soft reset for the coming season. Their 7th and 6th place finish in Spring and Summer, respectively, obviously raised some concerns in the front office. However, there isn’t a lot of free-agent talent available at the moment. The top teams will most likely retain their rosters, especially SKT and Damwon Gaming. As for Griffin, the rumors that Tarzan and Chovy are heading to RNG were quickly shot down. For now, we’ll be stuck waiting.

As for Ruler and Life, they played as well as they could the entire season, in my opinion. The team just didn’t fit well together, especially their mid-jungle pairings. With that out of the way, they can try out amateur talent while leaning on Ruler to lead the team. He’ll surely be comfortable being the #1 win condition for his team. In Summer 2019, he had the 2nd highest gold share of all AD carries in LCK. On top of that, he also had the 2nd most kill share and the #1 spot for kill participation. That’s something he’s done consistently since 2016, when they miraculously reached Worlds finals and then won it the next year. The rest of the LCK won’t be able to brush this team aside, thanks to Ruler.