Midlaner Lee "Pungyeon" Jong-hyuk stepped in for Lee "BuLLDoG" Tae-young as DN Freecs take on Gen.G this Thursday morning in the LCK. The change comes after a rough start to the split, with Freecs currently sitting at 0-6 across LCK Round 1-2 — a troubling sign for a roster that, despite its potential, has yet to deliver on expectations. Pungyeon, 20, will make his LCK debut against one of the league’s toughest opponents.

Things had already gone poorly during the LCK Cup, where the team finished the group stage with a 1-4 record. They still qualified for playoffs thanks to the format, which allowed all teams from the winning group to advance, but they lost in the first round of playoffs to DRX.

A promising roster

The current roster features Freecs’ longtime toplaner Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju, now entering his third year with the team after spending two seasons with Hanwha Life Esports. In the jungle, they field likely the most experienced player on the roster — 2022 World Champion Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon. In the midlane, BuLLDoG is now in his fourth year with the Freecs, having come up through the academy and previously showing promising performances. On the bot side, Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol returned from North America after two years with Cloud9, while Kim "Life" Jeong-min joined after a year with FunPlus Phoenix in China.

DN Freecs' full roster:

Toplane: Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju
Jungle: Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon
Midlane: Lee "Pungyeon" Jong-hyuk/Lee "BuLLDoG" Tae-young
AD Carry: Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol
Support: Kim "Life" Jeong-min