It’s been a hectic set of back-to-back internationals, where the LCS had a great showing at MSI, and a less stellar one at EWC. Now, LCS is back, and the teams are readying up. For the Summer Split, both the trophy and the three coveted Worlds Spots are on the line. Set on pursuing both, several of the LCS rosters have made some mid-2026 changes to level up their rosters as much as possible.
Cloud9 go for a 7-man squad
One such team is
Cloud9, the LCS’ “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” of the last few years, perennially placing second-to-third and just failing to make numerous internationals. This split, having received the Coaching Staff Award and the Split MVP award, which went to
, after a terrific regular split, they seemed poised to finally turn that fate around. And yet, they lost again in third. Over the offseason, Cloud9 has announced numerous roster changes aimed at remedying the team’s issues. Players-wise, these come only in the form of additions, t
urning the 5-man roster into a 7-man one with the joining of and in the botlane and midlane. They’ll now be sharing the spots with
and
, respectively. Tactical is a fresh face for C9, but not for LCS fans, who will remember his volatile play on TSM and TL years ago. Though sent down to Tier 2,
Tactical has been dominating the NACL, winning literally every playoffs since he found his way down there. Loki will be more familiar to C9 fans, having last played for the team a year ago before a brief return to Korea on OK BRO. Besides the additions of Tactical and Loki, C9 also announced that Head Coach Nick “Inero” Smith would be leaving, while
Coach Christian “IWDominate” Rivera would step up in his stead. Joining as IWDominate’s assistant coaches are experienced LCS coach Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon and Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi, a veteran coach of the LEC and frequent collaborator of IWD’s.
DIG’s next in a long line of toplaners
A different approach to Cloud9’s bringing-in of a former team member and an LCS veteran, Dignitas is betting on a rookie. This split,
is the only rookie set to join the LCS, as DIG’s new toplaner. Replacing Kyeong “Photon” Gyu-tae, Denathor is the latest in the revolving door that is the DIG toplane spot, a team that’s had 12 other toplaners since re-joining the league only six years ago. Denathor is a name that’s floated around the Tier 2 space for some time, with some solid results in both CLOL and NACL, including a 2nd at the recent CLOL Championships, and a 3rd in NACL.
SR and DSG retain and re-add
Disguised announced that
toplaner ,
who was brought on initially as a substitute for ,
would be staying for summer. Castle had left DSG mid-split in Spring to join LYON for a spot shared with
Castle only played three games, and left the team ahead of MSI, meaning his being on neither team is another new facet of this next LCS split.
Lastly, Shopify Rebellion announced
the return of support , the 27-year old veteran who spent a year on Shopify in 2024. Zeyzal is known for his initial time in the LCS on C9 and EG years ago. His return comes alongside the joining of former C9 General Manager David Han, who will now be GMing for SR.
LYON’s temporary substitute
The back-to-back LCS Champions recently announced that their superstar,
,
will not be playing for the first two to three weeks of the LCS Summer Split. The Mexican organization shared a video in which the jungler explained he had to take care of personal matters back in Poland and was unsure exactly when he would be back. Jonathan “
Armao" Armao will be the temporary substitute and is a staple of the NA scene. The North American jungler will play against
FlyQuest,
Shopify Rebellion, and
Dignitas. The last time the 27-year-old veteran North American jungler played in the LCS was with Immortals during the 2024 Summer Split.
With the return of Tactical, Loki, Zeyzal, and Armao as well as the staying-on of Srtty, the LCS is certainly bringing back some of its lost talent. And with Denathor, brand-new talent joins as well. Sentinels, Team Liquid, and the ultra-developmental FlyQuest all remain unchanged, and are showing a commitment to the team they started the year with. LYON’s first change was only the departure of a player they brought in suddenly in the first place, but Inspired’s personal commitments forced them to bring a temporary substitute for the first two or three weeks of the season. Whether a team sticks with its current roster or whether the changing teams can use their new additions to rise above, it will all be seen once the LCS Summer Split begins on July 25th.
