The LCS Spring Split has just begun. For the first time since the creation of the league in 2013, every team has kept the roster it had in the previous split. Every other region across the world has replaced several players meanwhile. Here’s the lack of LCS roster changes, explained.
There are three reasons behind the fact that every team kept the same players.
All leagues used to only have two rounds in a season. At some point, this changed to three splits, or two splits with a separate opening tournament. The LCS moved to three splits in 2021.
Without a season cut in half, the league no longer has this obvious time to make roster changes. Spring to Summer was the best occasion to recalibrate and aim for Worlds. Now, with a season in three splits, this division makes for fewer roster changes.
That being said, the LCS remains the only league without changes at all. The LEC came very close, with one single swap and one addition. On the other hand, the LPL had has as many as 17 roster swaps, and the season hasn’t started for every team yet.
| Region | Number of roster changes | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| LCS | 0 | None |
| LEC | 2 | TH: Stend -> Ice (Bot) FNC: + Odoamne (New coach) |
| LCK | 3 | KT: Pollu and Ghost -> Effort (Support) BRO: Roamer -> Loki (Mid) DNS: – Life (Subsitute support) |
| LCP | 8 | DFM: – RayFarky (Substitute top), Fisher -> Keine (Mid), Woody -> GAENG (Support), – Tana (Coach) MVK: Steller -> Kratos (Top), Chika -> Kati and Seany (Mid), Harky -> Shogun (Bot), SiuLoong -> Elio (Support) |
| LPL | 17+ | The LPL rosters aren’t all finalized. |
While every league plays three splits in 2026, the LCS has played the fewest matches so far. During the LCS Lock-in, each team played between three and seven matches, with an average of five.
In the meantime, every other league hosted more games. There’s less of a reason to try to make changes when a roster has had so little time to gel.
On the other hand, the LCS Split 1 of the 2025 season had even fewer games – 24 matches in total, or three per team. Even then, there was still one roster swap (Zeyzal to Ceos for Shopify Rebellion), and several changes to coaching staff.
Will Lyon win the LCS Spring Split with the same roster? Image source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games
In 2026, more teams than usual made the call to stick with their 2025 roster. The most notable examples are Gen.G, G2 Esports, and Movistar KOI. These teams believe that their shortcomings weren’t due to the rosters, and that their players and team synergy can still grow further. So far, these three squads have been among the best LoL teams of 2026.
In the LCS, several teams showed an intent to build upon a roster. Mainly, Cloud9 kept their core and replaced one player in the goal to finally qualify to an international. Alternatively, FlyQuest built the youngest squad in the league.
While the rosters are unchanged, these teams will likely match up very differently in the LCS Spring Split.
Featured image source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games
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