KT Rolster released its bottom lane -- No "Arrow" Dong-hyeon Ha "Hachani" Seung-chan -- earlier this offseason. More recently, the team announced the departure of mid laner Song "Fly" Young-jun and -- even more surprisingly -- the team's supposed ace and former league MVP, top laner Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho. The only starter remaining from last year's team is captain and jungler, Go "Score" Dong-bin, who has been playing for the KT org since its inception in October of 2012.
Fly went to his stream to discuss the end of his contract, hinting that former EDward Gaming and Samsung White mid laner Heo "PawN" Won-seok may take his spot on the team. Others speculate Ssumday's exit from the team was for an "even better top laner," which has prompted all fingers to point at Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho, the reigning MVP of the league. Smeb and Ssumday have been rivals for the past two years, splitting the past three regular-season MVP awards in South Korea.
Speculation aside, with the number of talented free agents on the market, what would the Super KT starting five look like?
Top: Smeb
Jungle: Score
Mid: PawN
AD: Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu
Support: Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong
The team, on paper, is arguably the most talented pound-for-pound starting five in League of Legends history, with only 2014 Samsung White and 2015 SK Telecom T1 edging them out.
Top lane
For starters, there's the man who has won the last two MVP awards in the LCK and has been in the conversation of the world's best player for the past year: Smeb. Not only does he bring a strong leadership quality to the team, his play has only gotten better over the past two years (look at any esports website and you'll find a common narrative centered around his ascent). He led all top laners in the summer season of LCK in KDA and damage per minute, while accounting for 70 percent of his team's kills.
Jungle
Now you have another shotcaller, Score, who would be the only player in the starting five without a domestic title to his name. Although a majority of the KT lineup had issues at one point or another in 2016, Score was the rock that kept the team together, nearly willing the team forward by his lonesome to the 2016 World Championships.
At the time, designated ace, Ssumday, failed to live up to expectations in the Korean Regional qualifiers. Samsung Galaxy's Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin manhandled Ssumday in the match to decide which team went to Worlds, and not even Score's heroics could drag his team past the finish line, resulting in another year of KT sitting at home watching the Worlds festivities from their computers.
Bot lane
Although Deft and Mata have never played together on an official team, they could be contenders right out of the gate as the world's best bottom lane.
The two players have been competing in China the past two years, and their return, at least for Deft, is fueled by the obsession to win a World Championship. Either player could have decided to stay in China for likely a higher salary, but the chance at another world title and a chance to put an end to the SKT dynasty has drawn them back into the LCK fold.
Mid lane
The wildcard of this whole operation would be the literal centerpiece, PawN, in the mid lane. Smeb, Score, Deft and Mata are all in the top three in their respective positions worldwide, and PawN, who has been sidetracked with injuries, didn't even play as a starter when EDG won the summer championship in sweeping fashion.
PawN, at his peak, is arguably a top three mid laner in the world, but that isn't the player we'd see suiting up for KT. Instead, we'd be getting an above average mid laner with questions surrounding his health, not to mention the questions raised when he was constantly switching in and out of the starting roster in China.
The good news is that it doesn't really matter if PawN is top three at his position or not. When it comes to filling out top level teams, PawN is the master, having played with both Mata and Deft. If this super team were real, it would be the third star-studded lineup that PawN would find himself in, which is where he shines the most.
He doesn't need to be the ace, and he works better when he's not. PawN, even at 80 percent of his 2014 self, would still be a good fit on a team that has the trio of Smeb, Deft and Score carrying. Fly, individually, might be the better player, but communication and chemistry is going to be vital to this team's success, and PawN has already won major titles with Deft and Mata.
When it comes to "sharing the ball" with gold distribution, the team actually fits together quite well. Score doesn't hog a large share of the gold and was fourth on KT Rolster last summer, and Smeb -- during his time as Tigers' ace -- was second, with the brunt of it going towards Kim "PraY" Jong-in in the bottom lane. On this Super KT club, Deft would receive the most gold with Smeb as the secondary ace. PawN could feel comfortable as the team's third option, willing to play a more focal role, if needed.