After winning the 2022 League of Legends World Championship and completing one of the greatest Cinderella runs in the history of esports, the entire DRX roster elected to enter free agency on Nov. 22.
Whether it was Deft’s redemption arc, BeryL’s precise shot-calling, Pyosik’s pocket-pick Kindred, Zeka’s dominant international debut, or Kingen’s legendary finals performance, there were plenty of reasons to love this iteration of DRX.
DRX’s story will be told for years to come, but it’s now time for these players to go on and author new stories. Here’s a full tracker explaining where the members of the 2022 DRX squad are going to be playing in 2023.
Bot laner Deft
The oldest and most storied player of the reigning world champions is also the first to find a new home. Deft signed with DWG KIA on Nov. 23 to replace Deokdam in the bot lane.
His new teammates include the freshly signed Canna from Nongshim RedForce, and returning players Canyon, ShowMaker, and Kellin. DWG KIA finished fourth in the 2022 LCK Summer Split before punching their ticket to Worlds by winning the LCK Regional Finals. They had a disappointing end to their season against Gen.G in the quarterfinals, but these moves set them up strong for 2023.
Top laner Kingen & Mid laner Zeka
It’s official: Kingen and Zeka are sticking together and joining Hanwha Life Esports.
After his jaw-dropping performance in the Worlds finals, Kingen left DRX to test his value in free agency. HLE’s interest in signing the finals MVP was first reported by Alejandro Gomis of Blix.gg. This move was made after Kiin, another star top laner, went off the market on Nov. 23.
Mid laner Zeka had one of the strongest international debuts of any player in recent memory at Worlds 2022. His value is at an all-time high this offseason, and while rumors suggested he had been considering a move back to the LPL, he has now firmly planted his flag with the LCK by signing with HLE. Former FPX jungler Clid, bot lane superstar Viper, and veteran support Life will join Kingen and Zeka on their new superteam.
Jungler Pyosik
Pyosik once again faced the dilemma of his team imploding around him. Last year, it resulted in him winning a world championship, but this year, it appears he will be moving regions. The world champion has agreed to become Team Liquid’s starting jungler for the 2023 LCS Spring Split, according to a report on Nov. 30 by Alejandro Gomis of Blix.gg. He will be joined by his new head coach and fellow LCK import MaRin. The roster will be rounded out with longtime veteran CoreJJ, promoted rookies Haeri and Yeon, and the returning 2022 LCS Spring Split MVP, Summit.
Support BeryL
It’s official: BeryL is the only remaining member of the 2022 League World Championship-winning DRX roster going into 2023.
It isn’t entirely surprising considering the two-time world champion has been the primary shot-caller of the team for some time now. While there was some speculation of a potential transfer with Kingen and Zeka to the HLE superteam, that has now been silenced. BeryL will be joined by four new teammates: top laner Rascal, jungler Croco, mid laner FATE, and AD carry deokdam.
Head coach SSONG and coaching staff
After a tournament filled with incredible drafting, especially in the finals, the entire DRX coaching staff also entered free agency. Only assistant coach Shin ‘Shine’ Dong-wook returned to DRX.
Fellow assistant coach Lee ‘Mowgli’ Jae-ha officially made the move over to Hanwha Life Esports, along with Zeka and Kingen.
Finally, it is still unclear where former DRX head coach Kim “Ssong” Sang-su will end up in 2023.
This article will be updated with the destinations of the former DRX players as that information becomes available.
Published: Nov 25, 2022 11:39 am