During the roughly two-month break between the second and third rounds of the LCK regular season—a period that felt both short and long—some teams navigated a grueling schedule including Road to MSI, MSI, and EWC, while others used the time to regroup and shake off the disappointments of the previous round.

The third round marks the start of the real playoff race. Teams in the Legend Group are competing to avoid the Play-In stage and secure a more favorable position in the playoffs. For those in the Rise Group, it is a literal fight for survival, as only three teams can advance to the Play-In stage.

Ahead of this critical third round, some teams made bold mid-season roster changes to bolster their strength. Looking at the results from the first week, these decisions appear to have been quite effective.

DN Super: 'Pyosik' Hong Chang-hyeon → 'Shabel' Kim Dan-woo

Stuck in a 17-game losing streak, DN Supers signed jungler Kim 'Shabel' Dan-woo during the break. Born in 2007, 'Shabel' was with the Dplus KIA Challengers team at the time, where he had been putting on strong performances in the Challengers League, living up to the organization's reputation as a 'jungle powerhouse.'

'Shabel,' who took the starting spot from 'Pyosik' Hong Chang-hyeon, made his debut at the 2026 KeSPA Cup but failed to show enough presence to turn around DN Super's losing momentum. In his first LCK match, he lost the initiative to BNK FEARX's 'Raptor' Jeon Eo-jin, and the team fell to a 18-match losing streak.

However, 'Shabel' showed his true value in the very next match against Hanwha Life Esports (HLE). He played brilliantly across all games, including the one they lost, and finally pulled the team out of its agonizing slump. It was DN Super's first win in a staggering 122 days. Acting Head Coach Yoo Byung-jun praised 'Shabel's' aggressiveness, and with 'Shabel' proving it on stage against HLE, expectations for the remaining matches are high.

Kiwoom DRX: 'Rich' Lee Jae-won → 'Frog' Lee Min-hoe
'Jiwoo' Jung Ji-woo → 'Aiming' Kim Ha-ram

Kiwoom DRX is the team that made the most changes. First, they started 'Frog' Lee Min-hoe over 'Rich' Lee Jae-won in their opening match against Nongshim RedForce. The result was a 0:2 defeat. At the time, Head Coach Jo Jae-eup explained, "We fielded a player who could better adapt to the rapidly changing meta."

The following day brought an even more dramatic change: the acquisition of 'Aiming' Kim Ha-ram via a trade with kt Rolster. For Kiwoom DRX, who had struggled to find a consistent answer while rotating 'Jiwoo' Jung Ji-woo and 'LazyFeel' throughout the season, he was the perfect missing puzzle piece.

'Aiming,' who joined on the 30th, started immediately in the match against HLE on the 31st. Despite having no time to practice with the team, he delivered a performance that lived up to expectations, leading the team to a 2:1 comeback victory. As Coach Jo suggested, he was exactly the ADC that Kiwoom DRX needed. For other teams in the Rise Group, this development is far from welcome.

kt Rolster: 'Aiming' Kim Ha-ram → 'Fenrir' Park Gang-jun

kt Rolster became the center of attention from the opening day. They abruptly called up their 2nd-team ADC 'Fenrir' Park Gang-jun, explicitly citing 'internal team conflict' as the reason. It is quite rare for an official statement to attribute a roster change to discord.

Most observers were concerned, as the team is in a fierce battle for ranking within the Legend Group against the LCK's 'T1-Gen.G-HLE' trio. However, kt Rolster completely dispelled these worries in just two matches, sweeping T1 2:0 in the opener and then taking down Hanwha Life Esports 2:1.

In particular, 'Fenrir' proved he was worthy of being a Legend Group ADC by dominating 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyeong on Yunara in the third set and creating highlight-reel moments. Despite the roster change being so sudden that they barely had time to scrim, kt Rolster proved through their results that it was the right decision for team synergy.

The second week of the third round begins on the 5th. With few matches remaining in the third and fourth rounds, every single game is critical. All eyes are on whether DN Super, Kiwoom DRX, and kt Rolster can maintain their momentum after seeing such positive effects from their roster changes.