Gen.G drops most of its LoL team to rebuild around Ruler and Life

Gen.G Esports extended the contracts of bottom lane duo Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Kim “Life” Jeong-min and released the rest of its roster.

Top laners Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin and Kim “Roach” Kang-hui, jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, and mid laners Song “Fly” Yong-jun and Lee “Kuzan” Seong-hyeok now find themselves as free agents.

“We are sad to announce players’ departures as we enter the offseason. We thank them for everything they’ve done for the team and send them best wishes to their future,” Gen.G wrote on Twitter. “Contracts for Ruler and Life have been extended and we plan to rebuild our roster around them.”

Gen.G hitting the reset button

Gen.G’s decision comes following a disappointing season that saw the organization finish seventh in the LCK this spring, and sixth in the summer. Throughout 2019, the team was inconsistent and struggled to find its identity. The coaching staff tried to remedy this by shuffling in substitutes, but no combination of players changed the team’s trajectory.

Gen.G, formerly known as Samsung Galaxy and KSV, has been unable to find anything close to the success it enjoyed in 2017, when it won the Summoner’s Cup.

The team qualified for Worlds in 2018 but became the first Korean team to ever wash out in a Worlds group stage. Failing to defend the title seemed to be a hit to the team’s confidence as jungler Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong retired right after Worlds, while Lee “Crown” Min-ho and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in moved to the LCS.

Without its core pieces, Gen.G stumbled in the LCK. The team recruited Peanut, tried different mid laners, and replaced CoreJJ with a rookie. The team showed signs of life towards the end of the summer, but the organization wasn’t bullish enough on the roster to not make wholesale changes.

Building a new roster around the bottom lane seems to be the trend for the LCK this offseason. DragonX is doing something similar, dumping its entire roster except for bottom laner Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu.

Right now, there are some big names on the market and Gen.G has the means to sign good players for 2020.The free agency period has officially started worldwide.