Top Esports will be making a clear bet on youth in 2026 as the team undergoes several roster changes. The lineup is shifting significantly with Seo "Kanavi" Jin-hyeok departing for Hanwha Life Esports and Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo stepping away for at least one split due to medical reasons. Fu "Hang" Minghang, on the other hand, doesn’t have a team at the start of 2026.

The only roles that remain untouched are the solo lanes, with Bai "369" Jia-Hao and Lin "Creme" Jian staying on the roster. 369 remains one of the best toplaners in the world, a reliable player coming off a strong year, while Creme is steadily proving that he belongs among the elite. The team made it all the way to the semifinals at Worlds, where they lost to T1.

A breath of fresh air is sweeping through TES

On the arrivals side, Kanavi — TES’s star player in 2025 — will be replaced by Yang "naiyou" Zi-Jian, a 21-year-old jungler developed within TES Challengers who spent this year competing in the LPL with LGD Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas. He notably played there alongside Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang and showed some strong performances. To replace JackeyLove, the team is once again turning to homegrown talent. Zi "JiaQi" Jia-Qi spent the year first with Royal Never Give Up and then with FunPlus Phoenix. He now returns to take over the position during his senior’s medically-mandated break.

In the support role, Hang won’t have a team for 2026, as he mentioned on stream: “It’s not that I want to take a break, it’s just that I really have nowhere to go, or I’m simply no longer competitive enough!” For context, he was named the league’s best support in the Summer and competed at Worlds with TES.

He will be replaced by Wang "fengyue" Run-Lai, who also joined during the Summer Split from the academy. Expected to be a major Chinese talent in his role, he will have to step in for a support who performed well over the year. For his debut, he will be paired with JiaQi, with whom he played in the LDL in 2024 for TES Challengers.

Betting on TES’s DNA

TES will start the year with three homegrown players and two others who have been with the club for several years. Naturally, the team loses some experience with the departures of Kanavi and the temporary absence of JKL, but the replacements have long been part of the TES ecosystem.

369 will begin his sixth year with the club, Creme his third, and the three others were all developed in-house. It’s a 100% Chinese roster, now guided by a new head coach following Yoon "Homme" Sung-young’s departure: Chang "Poppy" Po-Hao, an MSI and LPL champion with Royal Never Give Up, who joins from EDward Gaming.

Top Esports 2026 roster:

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub and Offseason Live Tracker.