Every League of Legends offseason has spicy roster moves that spark debate about the future of certain competitions, and this year’s offseason was no different.
The latest transfer window was full of surprising moves that raised the anticipation for the upcoming League season. We picked seven new additions that should significantly elevate the level of their rosters in the next few months.
Bjergsen (TSM to Team Liquid)
Eight years—that’s how long Bjergsen spent in TSM’s ranks. For most of that time, the LCS legend was a mid laner for the organization. Bjergsen tried his luck at coaching in the most recent year, but his first spell in the new role was unsuccessful. The team failed to win domestic trophies and fell short of qualifying for Worlds 2021. Now, the legendary mid laner is returning to his roots—this time under Team Liquid’s banner.
The four-time LCS champions built a roster full of talent and skill, with Hans Sama and Bwipo as the other additions to the lineup. The starting five players have 21 Worlds appearances and numerous domestic titles combined, so under Bjergsen’s leadership, adding a few more gold medals, going to the World Championship once again shouldn’t be a problem.
Inspired (Rogue to Evil Geniuses)
Coming in hot in the LCS is the LEC’s Summer 2021 MVP, Inspired. Despite being only 19 years old, the Polish jungler has shown he makes a tremendous difference in whatever team he’s on. When he joined Rogue’s Academy roster in early 2019, they went for Ultraliga’s trophy. When he was promoted to the main team in the second part of the year, the squad qualified for the playoffs for the first time.
He was Rogue’s best player for the past few months. Last regular season, Inspired had the highest kill participation out of Rogue’s players at 67 percent and the second-best K/DA ratio at 5.3, according to Oracle’s Elixir. He didn’t stand out as a lone carry compared to the rest of the LEC, but that result makes sense based on the team’s playstyle, which depended on the players acting as a cohesive unit.
By the end of November, Inspired made a surprising change by joining Evil Geniuses, with whom he plans to conquer NA and the international stage. With his confidence and ability to adapt—demonstrated by his impressive champion pool, which featured a whopping 20 different champions picked in 2021—the organization couldn’t get a better piece to complete its roster ahead of the 2022 season.
Perkz (Cloud9 to Team Vitality)
While some players made the switch from Europe to North America, few took their careers in the opposite directions. The Western GOAT is the biggest one.
After a fairly successful year on Cloud9, Perkz is returning to the LEC. This time, however, the Croatian won’t be wearing G2 Esports’ jersey. He’s a part of a new European super team in the form of Team Vitality. The talent on Vitality’s roster, like its expectations, couldn’t have been bigger. Nevertheless, on paper, Perkz is always one of the star players, and for a good reason. At the Worlds 2021 main event, he boasted Cloud9’s highest gold share (25.6 percent), second-highest CS per minute share (8.9), as well as second-highest K/DA ratio (3.0).
What’s more, since joining the top-level competition in 2016, when he played his first split in EU LCS, Perkz has only had one year (2018) in which he didn’t win a trophy. He has gone to Worlds every season since, failing to make it to the playoffs only twice. Wherever he goes, domestic and international success follow.
Wunder and Humanoid (G2 and MAD Lions to Fnatic)
When it comes to the LEC, it’s tough not to talk about Fnatic. The British organization is one of the most renowned in the European competition. Fnatic ended seven different playoffs in the No. 1 spot throughout the region’s history. Last year was full of ups and downs, however, which ultimately led to the reconstruction of the roster. But Fnatic could hardly find better replacements for its top and middle lane.
Wunder joining the team from G2 Esports is the first official transfer between the two organizations, but that’s only part of why the trade is remarkable. The experienced top side should make Fnatic’s adventure in 2022 much easier, especially with one of the best European mid laners of the past few years. Humanoid is nothing short of the latter, and has shown up when it matters the most. He had the highest K/DA ratio in the Spring 2021 playoffs (4.0) and the second-highest in the Summer 2021 playoffs (6.8) among the mid laners. With the two players joining Fnatic’s ranks, the organization could reclaim Europe’s throne.
Chovy (Hanwha Life Esports to Gen.G)
Renowned mid laners also switched sides in Asia, with Chovy leading the charge. The 20-year-old has been called one of the world’s best mid laners for quite some time now. His individual performances were key on Griffin, DRX, and Hanwha Life’s Worlds runs for the past three years. The mid laner was Griffin’s best player at Worlds 2019 in terms of damage per minute (447). As far as K/DA goes, he was the best and second-best individual at HLE and DRX in their Worlds 2021 and 2020 main event runs, respectively.
Chovy has proven that every team with him in the starting roster has a shot of making it to Worlds and doing fairly well there. For three times in a row, Chovy has made World Championship quarterfinals with each team he competed for. With talent all across the newest Gen.G lineup, it’s more than certain that League fans need to keep an eye for Chovy and his new team.
Doinb (FunPlus Phoenix to LNG Esports)
China has produced many skilled mid laners. Doinb is undoubtedly another one of them. The 2019 world champion was a driving force behind FunPlus Phoenix’s rise that year with a 6.6 K/DA score, the fifth-highest in the main event among players who participated in at least three games.
For the next 12 months, we will be seeing him under LNG Esports’ banner. With the combination of veterans and promising, young prospects like Light and Iwandy in the squad and a lot to prove in 2022, Doinb is definitely the one to watch.
Rekkles (G2 to Karmine Corp)
Last but not least, it’s nearly impossible not to mention a player of Rekkles’ caliber when discussing who to watch out for in the next season. While Rekkles took a step back by joining Karmine Corp and will be fighting for the LFL and European Masters’ trophies, it’s natural that he will also do his best to climb back to the top of Europe, where he has consistently competed since 2014.
A player with his drive and personality wouldn’t decide otherwise. What’s more, Rekkles playing in the European Regional Leagues is also a statement of the rapidly growing power and importance of the ERLs. And with Rekkles in the LFL, where he’ll face individuals like Crownshot and Cody Sun, the ERLs have become even more thrilling.
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