League of Legends LPL: Grading the offseason transactions so far
By Josh Tyler
While the Chinese League of Legends has been quiet to start the offseason, there have been a few big offseason moves by the LPL teams.
We’ve covered the LCS, LCK, and LEC’s hectic offseason when the free agency floodgates opened two weeks ago but the LPL remained (surprisingly) quiet. A week after the initial flurry, there have been a few more moves surrounding the Chinese League of Legends pro scene including some big and surprising names coming in or leaving.
LGD acquires Peanut
Han “Peanut” Wang-ho was, statistically, the worst jungler in the LCK last year, so for a team to willingly add him indicates that they’re either really confident that he can return to his 2016 form with ROX Tigers or they’re completely desperate for a jungler. LGD is, quite frankly, a desperate team considering they were the third-worst team in the LPL last year and changed between five junglers in the 2019 Summer Split after Xiang “Condi” Ren-Jie was suspended for 18 months.
It makes sense that LGD would try and find a veteran presence to replace Condi, but is Peanut the answer? I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into another revolving door in LGD’s jungler unless Peanut has a massive bounceback.
Grade: D+
FunPlus Phoenix acquires Khan
The defending World Champions added some firepower to their already stacked lineup by replacing their weakest member Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem with Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, most recently of SKT. Stylistically, I think this is a great fit if FPX keeps their roster together, since ADC Lwx and mid laner Doinb aren’t incredibly resource-hungry. Khan is a fantastic carry top laner and this could be a huge boon to a possible repeat run.
Grade: A-
JD Gaming acquires Kanavi
Former Griffin jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok took his talents to China after all their roster was released following the discovery of player mistreatment. Kanavi spent last split behind Tarzan, who was one of the best junglers in the world, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he did get to learn from one of the best. I think this is a gamble by JD Gaming and I have no idea if it will pay off.
Grade: C+
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Vici Gaming acquires Kkoma
Not a player transaction, but a significant acquisition nonetheless as Vici Gaming added long-time SKT coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun. Adding one of the most decorated coaches in League of Legends history is absolutely an upgrade for a team that was at the bottom of the LPL standings last year.
Grade: A+