SK Gaming have permitted toplaner Janik "JNX" Bartels and midlaner Steven "RKR" Chen to explore their options for the Summer Split, sources told Sheep Esports Monday. Though this doesn't necessarily mean that JNX and RKR are leaving the team, SK Gaming have begun to explore alternatives.

In the toplane, SK Gaming have shown interest in several players, including Misa Esports' Baek "Mihile" Sang-hwi and Karmine Corp Blue’s Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin — both currently competing at EMEA Masters.

For the midlane position, SK Gaming have held talks with Felix "Abbedagge" Braun, who departed DSG earlier this month, though no decision has been made at this time.

A Matter of Budget?

As one of the lowest roster spenders in the LEC, SK Gaming’s changes may be limited by budget — and may even depend on it. For any potential signings from the ERLs, SK Gaming would be required to pay a buyout fee.

Additionally, benching a player does not exempt SK Gaming from paying their inactive roster salary. If JNX or RKR are unable to find a new team, making changes could prove more difficult to justify.

SK could also free up budget by transferring players to other teams — jungler Mehdi "Boukada" Lahlou has participated in Team BDS's LEC jungle tryouts, for example. It's unknown if BDS will make an offer to the player, but it would be a way for SK to increase their budget.

A tough year for SK Gaming

After a promising Summer 2024, where the team topped the regular season with an 8-1 record but finished fifth in playoffs — still enough to qualify for the Season Finals, where they suffered a heavy defeat to BDS — SK made several changes heading into 2025.

The sweeping roster changes meant only ISMA and Rahel remained from the previous lineup: toplaner JNX replaced Joel "Irrelevant" Miro Scharoll, who left for BDS; midlaner RKR replaced Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer, who took a break before roleswapping to support to join Vitality for the Spring split; and Kim "Loopy" Dong-hyeon replaced Lee "Luon" Hyun-ho in support. Despite the new faces, the Winter Split lineup didn’t meet expectations and failed to make playoffs.

The Spring Split saw further adjustments, with Mehdi "Boukada" Lahlou and Tim "Keduii" Willers stepping in to replace ISMA and Rahel. The refreshed roster showed early signs of promise, securing two wins in their first four Bo3s, including a notable victory over Fnatic. But a five-series losing streak to close out the split dragged the team back down — a far cry from their Summer 2024 luster.

A longtime duo

JNX and RKR have been playing together for over a year now, from BDS Academy to SK Gaming, seeing disparate highs and lows. At 26, JNX has over nine years of career experience, starting in the German circuit with teams like Berlin International Gaming, MOUZ NXT, and SK Gaming Prime before joining the LEC in 2020. He spent three years there without finishing higher than sixth place, then dropped back to the Prime League for 2023.

In 2024, he joined BDS Academy in the LFL, winning the Summer Split and the EMEA Masters, earning him another chance in the LEC. RKR followed a similar path, also starting in the German circuit with SKP and BIG. He played the 2022 LEC Spring split with MAD Lions KOI before joining BDS Academy for Summer, where he had a strong 2024 season alongside JNX, Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan and Polat "Parus" Furkan Çiçek.