Free agency is the window after Worlds when League of Legends teams re-sign players, let contracts run out and announce signings for the next season. In the LCK most of it happens in mid-November, right after the world championship, when a large batch of contracts expires at once.
This year the Worlds 2026 final is scheduled for Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 14 at 2 PM ET, which is 4 AM on November 15 in Korea, and the LCK offseason that builds 2027 rosters follows straight after.
The 2027 season is also the year Worlds is set to be held in Korea, and KeSPA named November 14, 2027 as the tentative final date when it opened host city bidding.
This guide sticks to what official team announcements and credible outlets had confirmed as of November 3, 2026: when contracts expire and how free agency opened last year, what has been reported about Zeus and how Hanwha Life responded, how long each T1 player is signed, where to check the official LCK free agents, and how to separate confirmed moves from rumors.
It does not cover salaries or unconfirmed trade talk, and the table will be updated as official announcements come in. If you want to use the break to sharpen your own League of Legends play, start with how to get better at League of Legends.
When does LCK free agency open? Contract deadlines and last year's timeline
Every LCK player and coach is listed in Riot's Global Contract Database (GCD), a public registry that shows each team's roster and the date each contract ends. Once that date passes, the player is a free agent and can sign with any team.
Last year's timeline is the best guide to how the window plays out. In 2025 the contract deadline was November 17, and the LCK announced that the offseason had started at 9 AM KST on November 18.
On deadline day T1 announced both Doran's extension through the 2026 season and its split with Gumayusi, and one day after the market opened, on November 19, it officially signed Peyz through 2028 after his season with JD Gaming in the LPL.
In short, re-signings and departures cluster around the contract deadline, and new signings follow once the market opens.
For 2026, Zeus's contract with Hanwha Life is reported to run until November 16 (Artive News), but as of November 3 the exact opening time of this year's market had not been announced, so treat team and LCK channels as the source of truth for dates. Agents handle many of these negotiations.
The LCK has run a certified agent program since 2022, operated by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) and overseen by Riot, and the 2026 to 2027 list of 26 certified agents (20 returning, 6 newly qualified) was published in September 2026.
LCK offseason 2027 tracker: what was confirmed as of November 3, 2026
| Item | Confirmed as of Nov 3 | What to watch next |
|---|---|---|
| Worlds 2026 final | November 14, 2 PM ET (November 15, 4 AM KST) at Barclays Center, Brooklyn | Team contract announcements after the final |
| Contract expiry | Zeus reported to be signed until November 16. Last year's LCK deadline was November 17 | Re-signings and departures on official team channels |
| Free agency opening | Last year the LCK announced the start at 9 AM KST on November 18. This year's time not yet announced | The official LCK notice |
| Zeus (Hanwha Life) | Inven: declined a re-signing offer before Worlds and wants to test free agency. Team: still in talks with the player | An official Hanwha Life announcement |
| T1 | Faker and Keria through 2029, Oner and Peyz through 2028, Doran on a deal through the 2026 season | An official T1 announcement about Doran |
| When a move is final | Once the team and contract end date appear in Riot's Global Contract Database | Roster changes in the GCD |
| Certified agents | 26 LCK certified agents for 2026 to 2027, list published September 2026 | Official statements from player agencies |
Free agent reports like Zeus: what to check before you believe them
- Look for an official team announcement first. Re-signings, departures and signings are confirmed on the team's own channels and website.
- For a news report, check which outlet published it and whether the team's response is included. In Zeus's case, the report that he declined an offer came with Hanwha Life saying talks were ongoing.
- Even after a signing is announced, check that the player appears in the Global Contract Database with the new team and a contract end date.
- Treat posts that rely only on unnamed sources, and any salary figures, as unconfirmed until there is an official announcement. Community screenshots need a traceable original source.
- Confirm moves to another region through that league's team announcements. LPL and LCP contracts are registered in the GCD as well.
How to follow LCK free agency in five steps
- 1Note the final and the contract datesThe Worlds final is November 14 at 2 PM ET, or 11 AM PT. Add November 16, the reported end of Zeus's contract, and last year's pattern of the market opening at 9 AM KST the day after the deadline, which was 7 PM ET the evening before.
- 2Follow all ten LCK teamsRe-signings, departures and signings appear first on official team accounts. Follow all ten LCK teams, not only your favorite, so you can see where a departing player lands next.
- 3Check the official LCK notice for the openingThe league's own announcement is the reference for when the market opened. Last year the LCK announced it at 9 AM KST on November 18. The table above will be updated when this year's notice appears.
- 4Cross check contracts in the GCDRiot's Global Contract Database lists every registered player and coach with a contract end date, league by league. Use it to confirm that an announced signing is registered and to see whose deals have ended. The LPL, LCP, LEC and LCS are in the same database, so moves abroad show up there too.
- 5Build your own roster sheetEach time a team posts, fill in top, jungle, mid, bot and support as re-signed, departed or signed. Leave a slot empty until there is an official announcement, and label anything that comes only from a news report as reported.
While the LCK is on break: record your solo queue and compare it with pro play
With no LCK matches during the offseason, it is a good time to rewatch pro games from the season and compare them with your own.
DOR is a free Windows app that detects League of Legends when you launch it, records the whole match, and saves kills, multikills and objectives as automatic highlight clips.
Everything lands in My Clips in the app, so after watching how a pro played a lane on your champion, you can jump straight to the same stretch of your own game. In League, replay and spectate recording are on by default in the mode settings, so playing a .rofl replay in the client gets recorded too.
For a review routine see how to VOD review your League games, and to keep a replay as a video see how to save a LoL ROFL replay as an MP4. Trim the best moments to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 in the app and send a dor.gg link that plays right in a phone browser, as covered in how to share League gameplay with friends.
