According to sources close to Sheep Esports, French jungler Duncan "Skeanz" Marquet is expected to re-sign with SK Gaming to play in the LEC in 2026. Sheep Esports reported on Friday last week that the German team was exploring its options for all five roles as the players' contracts were expiring. However, from the very start of the offseason, SK Gaming made retaining Skeanz a top priority. While an agreement wasn’t guaranteed at first, both sides have now reached a deal as of Wednesday.

He is thus the first player SK should build their new roster around. A few weeks ago, the team had already made the decision to continue with its Head Coach David "OWN3R" Rodriguez, and give him free rein to rebuild a competitive team for the upcoming year.

While stronger junglers may be available on the market this offseason, SK Gaming doesn’t expect to be able to compete for them given its current budget. As a result, re-signing Skeanz was seen as the most realistic option to get an early start on the offseason.

Successful return for Skeanz

After a difficult first experience in the LEC, Skeanz left the biggest European league at the end of Spring 2021. From then on, he will continue to demonstrate his great potential in the ERL by playing for Vitality.Bee, Karmine Corp, and Papara SuperMassive. Four years after he departs from the LEC, Skeanz gets another chance to join the European league, this time in the ranks of SK Gaming.

If he still won't have the chance to play at the top of the table, he has, however, been able to show a much more positive image than the one he left behind him in 2021. All this, while facing established junglers like Iván "Razork" Martín, Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan, or Théo "Sheo" Borile. He also won the MVP of the match during his team's only victory against Team Heretics in the Group stage.

SK rebuilds step by step

SK Gaming has probably just finished one of its worst seasons in terms of sports results. In three splits, the team never managed to climb out of the bottom two spots in the standings, despite numerous changes made throughout the year. Starting from scratch, the organization still decides to keep one of its best elements from last year with Skeanz. The team also wants to strengthen itself by adding an assistant coach to help OWN3R before forming a brand-new roster.

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