One of the best bot-lane duos in South Korean League of Legends will remain together for the 2017 League of Legends Champions Korea season, albeit on a new organization. Longzhu Gaming announced on Sunday that Kim "PraY" Jong-in and Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyun, formerly of ROX Tigers, will join the team's roster for the upcoming campaign. The news was released via a post on the team's official Facebook page.
Having served as AD carry and support for 2016 World Championship semifinalist ROX Tigers, PraY and GorillA were on the free-agent market after parting ways with their old squad in late November. GorillA was reportedly in discussions to join North American League Championship Series contenders Immortals, but will now stay in his home country and play for Longzhu, joined by his bottom lane partner.
Longzhu most recently competed at Intel Extreme Masters Oakland, losing in the semifinals to Flash Wolves. The South Korean organization did not qualify for Worlds 2016 after finishing in a tie for sixth during the LCK summer split and failing to make either the summer playoffs or regional qualifier. Following their exit from IEM, nearly every player on the team became a free agent.
Junglers Lee "Crash" Dong-woo and Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan were announced as a returning players in a Facebook post late last month, suggesting three-fifths of the Longzhu lineup is in place for the season ahead with the former ROX Tigers in the bottom lane and a combination of Crash and Cuzz roaming through the jungle.
Keep tabs on the League of Legends offseason roster shuffle with updated, insider information on our landing page.