The new LCK rosters for the 2026 Season

Naerlyn Published December 30, 2025

The LCK rosters for the 2026 season are complete. The LCK keeps a mostly unchanged format for 2026, but the teams will look quite different.

These ten teams will compete in the LCK Cup 2026 starting on the 14th of January.

Overview of the 2026 LCK Rosters

Gen.G: The uncontested regional kings

• Top lane: Kiin
• Jungle: Canyon
• Mid lane: Chovy
• Bot lane: Ruler
• Support: Duro
• Head coach: KIM -> Ryu

Gen.G runs it back with the same starting roster, only making changes to their coaching staff. The team has done the exact same thing every split since 2022: dominate the regular season, finish top 2, bomb out in the quarter- or semifinals at Worlds. There’s no reason to expect anything different in 2026.

Hanwha Life Esports: The T1 retirement home

• Top lane: Zeus
• Jungle: Peanut -> Kanavi
• Mid lane: Zeka
• Bot lane: Viper -> Gumayusi
• Support: Delight
• Head coach: DanDy -> Homme

The LCK has three teams fighting for the crown, and Hanwha Life is the second one. HLE is an excellent team, but Gen.G and T1 take up all the spotlight. Gen.G is better regionally, T1 does better at Worlds. Guma will certainly do wonders in HLE, and Kanavi will be fine replacing Peanut. Yet in the end, they will likely remain second.

The HLE players pose on stage before playing in the finals of the 2025 KeSPA Cup. Image Source: Riot Games

KT Rolster: Aftermath of a miracle

• Top lane: PerfecT
• Jungle: Cuzz
• Mid lane: Bdd
• Bot lane: deokdam -> Aiming
• Support: Peter -> Ghost and Pollu
• Head coach: Score

The third team in the LCK is, well, not KT. KT only somehow beat the world’s best team twice and barely lost in the Worlds finals. Now, where there was a clear top 3, the question of where they now stand has to be asked.

Deokdam and Peter were not shining stars in KT, so their replacements should put the team higher. That said, these two pulled their weight and then some at Worlds 2025. Aiming, Ghost, and Pollu surprisingly end up having big shoes to fill.

T1: The 2026 World Champions

• Top lane: Doran
• Jungle: Oner
• Mid lane: Faker
• Bot lane: Gumayusi -> Peyz
• Support: Keria
• Head coach: kkOma and Tom

At this point, we know how T1 (a LoL betting favorite per Altenar data) works. Great Spring Split, underwhelming Summer Split by their standards, and then they win Worlds. T1 has pulled that move three years in a row, let’s not act surprised anymore.

Peyz filled Gumayusi’s spot, T1 won the KeSPA Cup with him, and then the same thing will happen once more.

Dplus KIA: The best of the rest

• Top lane: Siwoo
• Jungle: Lucid
• Mid lane: ShowMaker
• Bot lane: Aiming -> Smash
• Support: BeryL -> Career
• Head coach: Bengi -> cvMax

The LCK has a clear top 3, plus KT doing its own thing of usually being behind them and then casually going 2-3 at Worlds finals. These are the four teams that threaten the rest of the world. Behind them are the other 6 LCK teams.

In 2026, they’re going with T1’s trainee Smash, alongside another rookie in Career. This should not let them break into the top 3 with how fierce the competition is, but they should still round out the Legends Group in Summer.

BNK FEARX: Banking on the growth

• Top lane: Clear
• Jungle: Raptor
• Mid lane: VicLa -> Daystar and VicLa
• Bot lane: Diable
• Support: Kellin
• Head coach: Ryu -> Edo

FEARX is the first team on this list to have never played at a tier 1 international. The team did win the League of Legends Asia Invitational in October 2025, a tournament featuring the middle of the pack from the LCK, LPL, and LCP. Against Worlds contenders, though, they’re a clear step behind.

Regardless, the team elected to stick together for one more year, only adding Daystar from their youth roster as a second mid laner.

BNK FEARX’s logo, on the wall of KeSPA Cup participants. Image Source: Riot Games

Nongshim RedForce: Turning trophies into middle spots

• Top lane: Kingen
• Jungle: GIDEON -> Sponge
• Mid lane: Calix -> Scout and Calix
• Bot lane: Jiwoo -> Taeyoon
• Support: Lehends
• Head coach: Chelly -> DanDy

Nongshim is another one of these LCK teams that non-threateningly exist in the champions’ league. Kingen won Worlds 2022, Scout Worlds 2021, DanDy Worlds 2014, and Lehends MSI 2024 (and six LCK top 2s).

The result is a team that has so far never played internationally, and that hasn’t even reached the LCK playoffs since the end of 2021.

OKSavingsBank BRION: The clean sweep

• Top lane: Morgan -> Casting
• Jungle: Croco and HamBak -> GIDEON
• Mid lane: Clozer -> Fisher
• Bot lane: Hype -> Teddy
• Support: Pollu -> Namgung
• Head coach: Duke -> Ssong

BRO changed their entire roster heading into 2026. Fisher and GIDEON don’t have the most impressive history, but Teddy is the noteworthy pickup. The marksman has a history of being the shining star on worse teams, and even played with T1 in 2021. As for Casting and Namgung, they’re rookies who were in Academy teams until now.

One fact’s for certain, this is a roster that changes things. While the KeSPA Cup ended poorly for them, they’re a brand new team and need time to find their synergy.

DRX: The fall from grace

• Top lane: Rich
• Jungle: Sponge -> Vincenzo and Willer
• Mid lane: kyeahoo -> Ucal
• Bot lane: Teddy -> Jiwoo
• Support: Andil
• Head coach: Ssong -> Joker

DRX won Worlds 2022 in a memorable underdog story, but nothing has worked for them ever since. Every split has concluded with a 6th to 9th place finish, and their 2026 roster swaps only look like sidegrades that will not end their slump.

• Read also: Most picked champions in LCK history

DN SOOPers: Stuck rock bottom

• Top lane: DuDu 
• Jungle: Pyosik
• Mid lane: BuLLDoG -> Clozer
• Bot lane: Berserker -> deokdam
• Support: Life -> Life and Peter
• Head coach: Cube and Minit -> oDin

Note: DN SOOPers has renamed from DN Freecs.

DN SOOPers has only finished above fifth place once since the end of 2020. Receiving Worlds finalists deokdam and Peter should in theory change things, but that’s not the role they play in a team. Deokdam is an enabler, a master of utility carries who can function on lower resources. Without an outstanding carry to receive these resources, these swaps should not fix DN’s problems.

Deokdam and Peter walk on stage for the LoL Worlds Finals 2025. Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Also, the LCK Cup 2026 will use Coach Comms as a trial run. This feature allows the players to communicate with their coach during the game, and not just in champ select. Read more about Coach Comms here.

Featured Image Source: Riot Games