With the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) coming to an end, it’s time for us to see what the roster moves have been happening ahead of the LPL Summer Split.
Image Credits | Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
LPL Summer Roster Moves – Changes across the board
China will be starting the Summer Split with one of the biggest momentum in recent history, as both LPL teams made it to the MSI finals. While JDG will be celebrating their victory over the upcoming days, they will only get a small break. According to esports personality HanYi (涵艺), the LPL will be starting on May 29, and last until July 17.
With teams having to lock their rosters prior to the start of the summer split, let’s see what changes were done over the mid-season break, team by team. The confirmed roster moves will be in bold, while rumors are going to be specified and their relative source.
Anyone’s Legend
- Top: Zdz
- Jng: Xiaohao
- Mid: pinz
- ADC: TBA
- Supp: TBA
It was another split for Anyone’s Legend, having finished second to last during the spring split, with only 3 wins on the scoreboard.
Last month, the bot lane of ADC Betty and support player SwordArt left, alongside coaches JiangMingZhe and ZYB. While the top side of the map should remain the same, we will be seeing a new bot lane and coaching staff for the upcoming summer split.
BiliBili Gaming
BLG have been the revelation of the LPL this season. Not only were they able to have a strong showing during the LPL Spring Split but they fought their way during playoffs to snatch a spot at MSI.
And despite all the odds against them, they were able to take down both LCK teams in the losers’ bracket. They were unable to make the Cinderella run happen in the finals, but BLG have defied all expectations and are truly a top contender for the Summer Split. Given the results, this roster will remain the same.
- Top: Bin
- Jng: Xun
- Mid: Yagao
- ADC: Elk
- Supp: On
EDward Gaming
EDG had a great regular split in Spring but failed to make it to the top two when playoffs came around. Despite losing Scout and Viper, the roster was still able to achieve a remarkable result, raising the expectations for one of the most decorated teams in the LPL
The roster should remain the same, especially after all players extended their contracts until 2024 (ADC Leave’s contract is the only one lasting until 2025).
- Top: Ale
- Jng: Jiejie
- Mid: Fofo
- ADC: Leave
- Supp: Meiko
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FunPlus Phoenix
FPX was definitely one of the biggest disappointments in the last split. The former 2019 champions only managed to end in 15th place with 4 wins and 12 losses. While no one expected this roster to fight for the top, very few thought they would finish so low in the standings.
Going into the LPL Summer Split, there are no major roster moves for FPX, aside from top laner fearness and substitute support Lele leaving the team. That said, there is a question mark around the support QiuQiu since his contract has technically expired at the end of April: is Lwx getting a new partner?
- Top: Xiaolaohu
- Jng: H4cker/Bonnie
- Mid: Care
- ADC: Lwx
- Supp: QiuQiu (contract expired)
Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming’s run at the start of the LPL spring split was a pleasure since it allowed fans to witness the rise of a new rookie like YSKM. Unfortunately, the squad lost some games as the split continued, and were unable to qualify for playoffs at the very end.
Now that the summer split is close, there are still some doubts to be cleared. Jungler Gideon and coaches Joker and Jykim have all left at the start of May. Rashomon has been promoted from the academy to the main team’s head coach position.
On May 23, IG announced their new players, with Cryin in the mid lane, alongside xiaoyueji and Tianzehn, two rookies from their academy team. This is what the roster should look like.
- Top: YSKM
- Jng: Tianzhen
- Mid: Cryin
- ADC: Ahn/xiaoyueji
- Supp: Wink
JD Gaming
JDG are the MSI 2023 champions and the current best team in the world. Not only do they have exceptional talents across the entire lineup but they have also shown how dominant they are when it comes to team coordination and overall macro.
Image Credits | Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
No roster moves for them, of course: they will be looking to complete a grand slam this year by winning the summer split and getting that awaited Worlds trophy.
- Top: 369
- Jng: Kanavi
- Mid: knight
- ADC: Ruler
- Supp: Missing
Read more: JDG Missing: "The best thing about Ruler is his ability to be self-sufficient"
LGD Gaming
LGD continue to be a bottom-tier team in the LPL but considering they had a new roster at the start of 2023, the result was decent, given the org’s past achievements.
For the next split, there are two important changes for LGD. Xiaoxu left and fearness will make his return. But the most interesting is the hiring of Envyy, who previously played for Liiv SANDBOX in Spring. While it may not push LGD as a playoff team, they will have higher chances of fighting the mid-pack.
- Top: fearness
- Jng: Meteor
- Mid: xqw/haichao
- ADC: Envyy/LPC
- Supp: Jinjiao
LNG Esports
Now that the rumored roster move went through, LNG are officially going to be the winners of the mid-season break. With GALA joining the team, LNG are looking like a top-tier team, and considering the results from the latest split, LNG should now be in title contention with other super teams like JDG. That said, we’ll have to see how the team evolves with GALA and whether they can repeat their stratospheric regular spring split.
- Top: Zika
- Jng: Tarzan
- Mid: Scout
- ADC: GALA
- Supp: Hang
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Victory Five announced its rebranding to Ninjas in Pyjamas at the start of 2023, but the results haven’t had the same effect as they were only able to end in 13th place. Despite former LEC jungler shad0w coming in towards the last part of the split, he wasn’t able to elevate the team’s potential.
That said, now that they had time to prepare and train, we might see a new version of NIP which is much closer to the level they belong to.
- Top: Invincible
- Jng: shad0w/XLB
- Mid: Dream/Pout
- ADC: Photic
- Supp: Zhuo
Oh My God
OMG were, aside from BLG, the other dark horse of the LPL. Despite not having the strongest individual players, this lineup fought hard and showed that you don’t always need to spend money on the biggest talents to deliver results.
Going into the LPL summer split, OMG shouldn’t make any roster changes, so let’s hope they can surprise fans once again with another impressive run.
- Top: shanji
- Jng: Aki
- Mid: Creme
- ADC: Able
- Supp: Jerry
Rare Atom
Rare Atom have brought in a couple of new interesting players hoping to turn their season around. Not only did they pick up former world champion baolan but they also hired Xiaoxu from LGD Gaming, and Mole, who was previously a free agent.
While it might not push them immediately into playoff contention, we should be excited about how this new lineup will perform in the next months.
- Top: Xiaoxu
- Jng: Leyan
- Mid: Strive/Mole
- ADC: Assum
- Supp: baolan/feather
Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up are going from star to rags. One year ago, they were claiming their third MSI title; this year, they have been struggling and might potentially lose two of their star players, GALA and Ming.
Both players have gone missing from the LPL official website, so this is the end of their journey with RNG. In their stead, RNG have picked up LP and supports Lele and Lvmao. The latter was previously a sub for BiliBili Gaming.
- Top: Breathe
- Jng: Wei
- Mid: Tangyuan (unconfirmed)
- ADC: LP
- Supp: Lele/Lvmao
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Team WE
Team WE come from a decent split, having reached the top 10 in spring after the disastrous 2022 season. In this off-season break, they only made one roster change: top laner Biubiu left and former Rare Atom player Cube joined.
It’s not a significant upgrade but it’s still a positive change for Team WE. Time will tell whether the team is able to make a bigger jump than anticipated. Below is the confirmed roster for the split.
- Top: Cube/Demon
- Jng: Heng
- Mid: Shanks
- ADC: Hope
- Supp: Iwandy
TT Gaming
TT are going to keep most of their roster, but there is still one question mark around the AD position: will Huanfeng continue to be the starting player, or will iBoy dethrone him? Both players’ performance (or lack of) will heavily determine the team’s results in this upcoming summer split.
- Top: Hoya
- Jng: beichuan
- Mid: Ucal
- ADC: Huanfeng/iBoy
- Supp: yaoyao/yuyanjia
Top Esports
No roster moves have been made to Top Esports lineup before the start of the LPL Summer Split. That said, they still have to sort out the starting player in the top lane: who is getting the spot between Wayward or Qingtian? It’s unclear as of right now.
- Top: Wayward/Qingtian
- Jng: Tian
- Mid: Rookie
- ADC: JackeyLove
- Supp: Mark
Ultra Prime
Despite having some of the old glories like baolan and Ning, Ultra Prime had a really poor split in spring, ending last in the standings.
Given the results, it’s not surprising to see some roster changes: Forge will now be the starting mid laner, and SwordArt will replace baolan in the support role.
It’s hard to predict how this new UP lineup will perform, but it technically can only go up from here. With the new coach Xiaobai joining, he might become the difference-maker for the team.
- Top: Hery
- Jng: Ning
- Mid: Forge
- ADC: Doggo
- Supp: SwordArt
Weibo Gaming
Weibo were initially seen as the second super team from the LPL, but their spring results were lackluster, especially considering the expectations set on them. No roster moves have been made on this LPL lineup, but Daeny will be the new head coach for the summer split.
WBG is hoping he can lead the team where it really belongs. The individual players are there, so it will be a matter of finding a way of making the pieces work. If there is a coach out there who is capable of doing this, aside from the previously rumored Kkoma, it’s probably Daeny.
- Top: TheShy
- Jng: Karsa
- Mid: Xiaohu
- ADC: Light
- Supp: Crisp
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