Roster deadline day has seen a flurry of announcements as the Korean shuffle continues with Kongdoo bolstering their squads, both of which are set to compete in the same group in APEX Season 4. The announcement came earlier today, detailing twelve player moves in total to finalise their two eight-man rosters.

After making the most successful roster swaps last season, putting all their eggs in the Panthera basket, the organisation came agonisingly close to their first APEX title. From that roster of silver medallists it is Luffy who is to be replaced first. Despite a strong performance for Panthera in the finals on a variety of heroes, they have moved him over to Uncia. He will be replaced by Bdosin from wNv.KR in the flex support position, accompanied by his former wNv.KR teammate, Curious, who joins as a backup DPS with the unenviable task of trying to dislodge birdring or Rascal from their starting DPS spot. They have also brought on long-time MVP Space tank, Daily as a backup flex tank only 11 days after he signed for DeToNater.KOREA. Kongdoo Panthera will enter Season 4 as one of the favourites again. While all eyes will surely be on Bdosin, Group B is perhaps one of the easier options and should give him time to settle in.

Sister team Uncia had a poor showing last season, partly as a result of their best players moving over to their Panthera. The favour has been returned somewhat with the addition of Luffy on support. Additionally, Bubbly has continued along every Lucio main’s natural evolution to become coach of the team. Exiting the starting roster alongside Bubbly, are flex tank Poise, Butcher and Panker. While all three’s futures are unknown it was stated that Butcher and Panker were being touted by Overwatch League teams. With the signing window still open until October 30th there is still plenty of time for them to be snatched up.

Following the tank exodus, Uncia have brought in the beastly ChangSik from Meta Athena and slew of lesser known players; Fr3e from LW Red, QuarterMain from Afreeca Freecs Red and DDing from wNv.KR. All three have been marked as flex players on the announcement though it is likely QuarterMain will be used as a support after playing Lucio for AF Red last season. Uncia maintained a high level of visibility during the past three weeks of experimental rosters, competing in the Nexus Cup, Bigfile Battleroyal and a Team South Korea showmatch, taking wins over X6-Gaming and Flash Lux along the way. In hindsight, it seems that several of the players were actually trying-out for Panthera, with only DDing remaining on Uncia’s roster.

The exact starting line-up is unknown, but they certainly have their options open. Aside from their sister team, they too have a fairly easy group by APEX standards. Kongdoo will be hoping both their teams can advance to the next stage though Uncia’s biggest hurdle will be getting the needed team synergy to compete in Korea in a short space of time with five new players and a new coach.

We will get to see both teams in action on the opening day of APEX Season 4 on 11th August as they go head-to-head in the Kongdoo Civil War. The rosters will be:

Kongdoo Panthera:

  • Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun (DPS)
  • Kim "birdring" Ji-hyuk (DPS)
  • Kang "Void" Jun-woo (Flex)
  • Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung (Tank)
  • Seung "Bdosin" Choi-Tae(Support)
  • An "wakawaka" Jee-Ho (Support)
  • Lee "Curious" Yeong-min (Backup DPS)
  • Moon "Daily" Seon-ho (Backup Flex)
  • Kim Jeong-min (Coach)

Kongdoo Uncia:

  • Kim "Daemin" Dae-min (Flex)
  • Yang "DDing" Jin-hyeok (Flex)
  • Jang "Decay" Gui-un (Flex)
  • Yoon "FR3E" Tae-in (Flex)
  • Moon "ChangSik" Chang-sik (Tank)
  • Yang "Luffy" Seong-hyeon (Support)
  • Kim "DNCE" Se-yong (Support)
  • Song "QuarterMain" Ji-hoon (Support)
  • Jo "Bubbly" Yoon-ho (Coach)