The LPL Demacia Cup is about to start in 3 days with 14 teams competing. Recently, teams have been revealing their lineups gradually. RNG’s last unemployed player Tangyuan officially joined LGD. Apart from Tangyuan, Old Godfather has also signed for 2023 along with the best rookie jungler Heng. With this mid-jungle duo, LGD is sure to tank. If Tangyuan keeps underperforming next year, his pro career probably won’t last much longer.

LNG recently announced their full roster, matching previous rumors: a world champion coach plus two Korean imports in mid and jungle. This lineup seems to have some potential, depending on how well the Korean players perform. EDG, with strength similar to Li-Ning, replaced Leave while keeping the rest of their roster. If these two teams gel well, they both feel stronger than IG and are likely to finish in the top eight battling for sixth place, with a good chance to make the playoffs.

IG’s legendary figure Kakao returns

IG, which attracted a lot of attention during the transfer window, has officially announced their roster: Korean top laner Soboro, the young bot lane duo P and Jwei, and a temporary mid laner Renard. In the announcement image, IG specially added a note for this rookie: Renard joins IG as a mid laner to compete in the Demacia Cup with us. No other players were highlighted, indicating he is likely just loaned for the Demacia Cup.

Regarding the coaching staff, Mafa remains and is promoted to head coach, while Kakao, who left BLG, returns to IG as assistant coach. Ten years ago, when Kakao first came to the LPL, he played for IG. At that time, IG signed him together with Rookie, and LPL fans nicknamed them the “Coal Mining Duo.” A decade later, Kakao is back—not as a player but still connected to Rookie.

TheShy suspended until the third split

The collapse of the all-star roster began with TheShy’s hiatus. In IG’s recent player announcement, there was no mention of contract renewal; it only stated he is temporarily away from competition. He neither renewed nor entered the auction pool. According to transfer window rules, players who don’t renew must enter the auction pool; if they don’t, they are suspended until the third split. So TheShy definitely cannot play in the first two splits next year.

Players like Meiko, Tian, and Liu Qingsong renewed with their old teams to avoid official suspension, planning to find new teams during the first split transfer window. Since TheShy did not renew, he must wait until the third split to return to competition. Skipping the first two splits, his chance of coming back in the third split is very slim. Judging by his own posts, he seems to be retiring.

Chovy wins Best Esports Player

The TGA annual awards ceremony has concluded. Although mainly focused on single-player games, this event also presents yearly awards to esports games and players. GEN’s mid laner Chovy, representing League of Legends, was nominated for Best Esports Player of the Year. His competitors included CSGO’s Zywoo and Valorant’s Dafo. Among six nominees, Chovy outperformed all to win the top honor.

Excluding the World Championship, Chovy’s achievements this year have been impressive: MSI champion and FMVP, Oil Cup champion, LCK annual champion, and international league titles. Awarding him Best Player of the Year is well deserved. However, given that last year TGA gave the annual game award to “Cosmic Robot,” it shows the awards can be somewhat questionable. These awards are mostly for fun.

Conclusion:

Honestly, IG’s roster for the new season looks quite weak. The Korean top laner’s skill is uncertain. Support Jwei is decent, but the bot laner Wei is very underwhelming. Wei has teamed with Rookie many times before; in winning games, he’s confident, but in losing games, he disappears. Wei is mainly a utility player. If the top lane can’t step up, IG is likely facing another year of mediocrity.

So, what do you think about IG’s lineup?

Feel free to leave your comments and discuss!