Best League of Legends roster moves of the 2024 offseason
League of Legends is gearing up for another memorable season across all major leagues in 2025. While the offseason draws to a close after a roller-coaster of a ride, teams prepare for the start of the new year by welcoming new additions and saying goodbye to old fan favorites.
But, after such a tumultuous offseason, which will prove to be the best roster moves as we head into the 2025 League of Legends season?
Let's take a look at the standout acquisitions and transfers from the LPL, LCK, LEC, and LTA that we expect will shape the competitive landscape in the coming year.
Gen.G Ruler - The prodigal son returns
The 2024 Gen.G squad were absolutely dominant on the rift, playing an oppressive and methodical style of League of Legends that teams often struggled to keep up with. And yet, when the heat of battle burned the hottest, Gen.G fell short yet again to continue their Worlds dry spell.
Enter Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk. The veteran superstar was born and bred on Gen.G, formerly Samsung Galaxy, with whom he won Worlds in 2017 as well as earning the Worlds MVP award for his dominant performance on the game's biggest stage. After a 2 year spell on the LPL which amounted to little more than a few domestic titles, Ruler will be heading back to Gen.G for the 2025 season in place of Peyz.
Ruler and Gen.G are set to write a new chapter in a timeless partnership. (Credit: LCK)With the return of Ruler, Gen.G have landed a player who will not be afraid to take over games and be the one to step on the gas when his team need him to. For Gen.G, the move wasn't just about securing the return of an old fan favorite, it was also about landing a player that will inevitably go down in history as one of the best to ever do it.
Gen.G look poised to make 2025 another dominant year for them in the LCK. The question now is, can that carry over to the Worlds stage this time around?
KC Yike - A Swedish star in the French sky
It seems ludicrous to think that Martin "Yike" Sundelin has only been in the LEC for 2 years, doesn't it? The Swedish jungler came into the league and immediately began to dominate the competition. Now, his 2023 Rookie of the Year award seems like no more than a speck of dust next to the 7 LEC titles Yike has amassed over his 2 years with G2 Esports.
With Yike in the jungle, all G2 did was win in the LEC. Can Karmine Corp do the same? (Credit: Michał Konkol/Riot Games)While G2 may have dominated the LEC, however, the team became increasingly hungry for some international recognition. In order to get there, though, G2 had to make some tough moves, starting with letting go of one of the very best junglers in the league.
As teams ready themselves for the start of the 2025 LEC season, the biggest beneficiaries of G2's ambition are undoubtedly Karmine Corp. Not only have the Frenchmen landed a jungle superstar in Yike, but the team also promoted teenage dynamo Caliste to the main team. Touted as a generational talent, Caliste looks set to be the face of French League of Legends for years to come.
Having put such a strong roster before the new year, the only question mark for the team will be Targamas. If the Belgian support player is able to keep up with his teammates, however, 2025 may just prove to be the year KC finally make the leap to the top of the LEC standings.
iG TheShy and Rookie - Time to run it back
Invictus Gaming came out and stole the show during the 2024-2025 offseason by putting up what may prove to be not one but two of the best roster moves of the offseason. Heading into the new year, iG are bringing back the very same South Korean duo that guided the organization to their first and only World Championship back in 2018.
Six years after their Worlds 2018 run, Rookie and TheShy return to Invictus Gaming for another shot at the trophy. (Credit: LoL Esports/Riot Games)Rookie has been a dominant force in the mid lane for over a decade now, and his inclusion to the iG roster once more is likely to reignite the flame inside the player.
As for TheShy, several questions still remain. Coming off a year-long break from competitive League of Legends, the last time TheShy played professionally before signing back with iG was during the Grand Finals of Worlds 2023. Then with Weibo Gaming, TheShy proved he still had what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the very best in the game despite losing the finals to T1 in the end.
Now, over a year later, he will have to prove so again as TheShy may still have some dust to shake off before ramping back into form. For a player that is as close you can get to defining the words 'X-factor', however, the top laner's return to the scene is as much a win for Invictus Gaming as for fans of competitive League of Legends across the world.
HLE Zeus - The missing piece
After a whole lotta drama, some 'he said, she said' action, and the heartbreaking end of an era, T1 Zeus is no more. Not that Hanwha Life Esports will mind.
Zeus has been a crucial part of the T1 legacy, but all good things must come to an end. (Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)In the two-time World Champion and former Worlds MVP Hanwha Life may just have found exactly what the doctor ordered for the team to take their game to the next level. Doran, former HLE top laner, and now on T1, was the one glaring weakness on the HLE squad; a weakness that became increasingly apparent during the team's run at Worlds 2024.
With Choi "Zeus" Woo-je taking over from Doran, HLE have secured themselves a top laner whose game shows no apparent weaknesses. A great laner and an even better team fighter, a champion pool the size of the Black Sea, a playstyle that spans from solo carry to facilitator, and anything in between; Zeus can do it all. Whichever way you see it, HLE made one of the best roster moves of the 2024-2025 offseason by landing Zeus.
With Gen.G bringing Ruler back, HLE improving their top side with the arrival of Zeus, and T1's uncanny ability to win when it matters most, excitement for the start of the 2025 LCK season is at an all-time high.
KOI Jojopyun - A first time for everything
The youngest player to ever win the LCS continues to make history as he becomes the first North American player to compete in the LEC. As high-profile as the move may be, however, will it be enough to bring KOI to the top of the LEC?
In Jojopyun, KOI have landed a player who will not shy away from the spotlight. (Credit: Movistar KOI)Joseph "Jojopyun" Pyun is a dynamic player who is not afraid to take risks in lane and thrust his body forward in teamfights. For European mid laners, who have slowly grown and settled into far more passive playstyles (except for Caps), Jojo's shenanigans may well represent a good reality check.
Perhaps more importantly, however, Jojo's addition to the team will represent a significant upgrade over former KOI mid laner Fresskowy. This is great news for the Spanish organization who will be hoping that, with such a strong presence in the mid lane moving forward, perhaps Elyoya will earn the freedom he needs to return to a time when he was able to compete for the title of best jungler in Europe.
With LEC mid laners coming for Jojo's head for the start of the LEC Winter Season, European League of Legends just got a whole lot more exciting, making this one of the most important roster moves of the year.
The 2024-2025 offseason has ultimately proved to be one that will be remembered for a long time to come, and we could not be more excited about the start of the new year and all of the rousing gameplay and storylines that await in 2025 across all major leagues.
Honorable mentions: Kanavi to Top Esports, Xun and Scout to JD Gaming, Mikyx to Fnatic, FlyQuest retain their 2024 roster.
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For more League of Legends rostermania news, check out our LEC, LCK, LPL and LTA North/South rostermanias for all the latest shuffles. To check when your favorite league will kick off again in 2025, check out our schedule here.
Image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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