As known, one of the regulations from Riot is that each team participating in international tournaments must have 6 players, including 5 official members and 1 substitute. However, for various reasons, many top teams around the world do not prepare any substitutes at all. They consist only of 5 core players, and when changes are needed, they can promote some young players from their academy or Challengers teams. Such was the case with Faker during the LCK Summer 2023 when he had to take a break and Poby stepped in. However, Riot’s regulations also require teams to quickly find solutions.
Of course, LCK teams have made some moves, with the most notable being Gen.G and T1 – the two strongest teams in LCK Spring 2024 at the moment and likely representatives of Korean LoL at MSI 2024. Therefore, the roster changes to comply with Riot’s regulations from T1 and Gen.G have garnered more attention than other teams. Accordingly, T1 has promoted Roach to a substitute, while Gen.G has reportedly added Mata to their roster.
For T1, many fans expressed regret for Rekkles not being chosen. However, this is somewhat understandable since Rekkles is still part of the T1 Challengers roster. It would not make sense to pull a player who is performing the best in the current T1 CL lineup. Furthermore, no one can guarantee Rekkles’ performance will remain strong until MSI 2024. It would be quite a waste to bring Rekkles into the main lineup without providing the LEC legend the opportunity to compete.
However, Gen.G is more noteworthy as they have decided to promote Mata to the substitute position (Support role). If this actually happens, Mata will surpass Faker to become the oldest player registered to compete in the lineup of a team in the LCK. Mata himself has a significant history with T1. He is one of the few players who has played for the biggest “rivals” in Korean LoL (Samsung Galaxy/Gen.G – SKT T1/T1). Additionally, during his peak, Mata was regarded as one of the best Supports in the LCK and the LoL scene in general.
But perhaps, both Roach and Mata are merely adjustments to comply with regulations. Because both T1 and Gen.G will surely prioritize stability and only replace personnel when absolutely necessary.