While the fans were discussing the changes in the top positions, the Korean club Hanjin BRION pulled off a deal that could really shake up the bottom of the table. The team has officially confirmed that the former Cloud9 midlane, 20—year-old Lee “Loki” Sang-min, is returning to his homeland. By the way, according to the Global Contract Database, the guy did not come to “stay”: the contract was signed for two years at once, right up to the end of 2027.
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Hanjin BRION signs Loki and strengthens Midlane in LCK 2026
This transfer is a direct challenge for Jo “Roamer” Woo-jin. After Roamer gave out a batch of extremely unstable matches at the 2026 LCK Cup, the base spot clearly stopped being booked. Now we are facing fierce competition for a position in the center of the map. The funny thing is that the players have already shared the midlane at the HLE Academy (the period from summer 2022 to summer 2023), so we are waiting for a classic remake of the old rivalry.
Loki’s career from HLE Academy to Cloud9 and return to LCK
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Career start: 2022, internship at HLE. A quick rise to the basics of the Challenger team.
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American Adventure: A year ago, Lee signed a fat three-year contract with Cloud9.
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NA results: Individually, Loki looked powerful, but he couldn’t pull C9 into the Worlds (League of Legends World Championship) alone.
At the end of the season, the player initiated the severance of relations with the “cloud”. The reasons are mundane and understandable to anyone — personal circumstances and a wild desire to be in Seoul with loved ones.
What to expect from BRION in April?
It is unlikely that one midlane will instantly throw BRION into the elite of the league. But it will definitely give more space to Park “Teddy” Jin-sung, who up to this point was literally trying to drag the team to the ADC position. Let’s remind that at the last LCK Cup, the team performed poorly, to put it mildly: the last place in the group and zero winning streaks. They were saved from the shameful place in the overall standings only by the specific format of the tournament.
The debut of the updated roster in the LCK 2026 regular season is scheduled for April. Let’s see if the experience of playing in North America and the fresh blood in Loki’s face will help to fix the difficult situation the club found itself in at the beginning of the year.
