Afreeca Freecs are known for their relentless practice sessions, often staying up late and only getting a few hours’ rest before starting their day again.
After finishing sixth in the 2021 LCK summer split, Afreeca Freecs parted ways with Jungler Jin-Hyeok “Dread” Lee as well as mid laners Yong-jun “Fly” Song and Joon-cheol “Keine” Kim; bot laner Si-woo “Bang” Bae was also let go; coaches Earl “Rigby” Han and Tae-yoo “LirA” Nam also parted ways with them.
Team History
Afreeca Freecs have long been struggling to remain consistent in top-tier competition. Since iloveoov took control two years ago, however, they have seen significant improvements in their results.
While most teams attending Worlds will schedule two or three scrimmages daily with other teams also prepping for the tournament, Freecs players are said to practice four times each day until early morning hours and working on individual solo queue queue.
Their strict schedule has paid dividends, as they have advanced to the semifinals of the world championship for the first time ever. There they will face either Europe’s Fnatic or China’s Royal Never Give Up in one of two semifinal match-ups.
Roster
After their sixth place finish in the 2021 Summer Split, The Freecs underwent a significant roster shake-up. They parted ways with jungler Jin-hyok “Dread” Lee, mid laners Yong-jun “Fly” Song and Joon-cheol “Keine” Kim as well as bot laner Jun-sik “Bang” Bae as well as support Si-woo “Lehends” Son.
On paper, their new roster seems promising; only time will tell whether it can deliver. Teddy was brought in to replace Bang in the top lane; Hoit filled in for Fly’s role while Fate served as support.
Teddy is an excellent pick up and Hoit seems like an excellent pick in the bot lane; however, Fate may be too weak a replacement. Ellim could make an effective replacement for Dread in the jungle although his style doesn’t reflect typical support player characteristics; their biggest challenge lies ahead with mid and bottom lanes where depth will need to be added in order to remain competitive.
Coaches
The Freecs have recently undergone significant transformations, with head coach Choi “Iloveoov” Yun-sung leaving to pursue coaching other teams like Team EnVy and Clutch Gaming towards Worlds success – most recently 2019 for EnVy and 2018 for Clutch.
Two years ago, iloveoov took over the Freecs and found an organization mired in mediocrity – occasionally making the playoffs but nowhere near enough competition from SK Telecom T1 or KT Rolster Arrows to compete successfully.
At his first season as leader, the Freecs took second place at LCK spring, though they subsequently fell to fifth at summer and are currently fifth again this season. A feat like making it out of group stage would be remarkable indeed – they’re well on their way; just wait a bit.
Schedule
After an underwhelming ninth place finish in the 2021 Spring Split, Afreeca Freecs made significant strides during summer to finish sixth. Unfortunately, they fell short of qualifying for Worlds despite an admirable effort. Unfortunately for them, Kiin and AD carry Leo both left; furthermore coaches Rigby and Lira parted ways, and may promote academy players to help fill these vacancies.
Teams from each region will compete in a Group Stage against similarly-ranked opponents, and only the top two in each group will advance to the Knockout Stage.
