According to a report from Korean news site Inven, two new players have joined Lunatic-Hai to form a formidable eight-man roster. The top Korean team has recruited Zunba, previously seen playing Zarya for both CONBOX.T6 in APEX and team South Korea at the World Cup, along with WhoRU, a highly adept Genji and Tracer player formerly playing with Team Hexa in Challengers.
Lunatic-Hai announced their desire to recruit additional players three weeks ago with a dramatic formal application form. This process looks complex and foreign to a Western audience that is used to far more casual behind-the-scenes approach. Only players with over 4300 SR in Season 3 could apply for the spots; the form then asked for the applicant’s top four heroes, their gaming experience inside and outside Overwatch, and featured two essay-style questions designed to test how the potential player conceptualises the game and their role within the team. Intense.
Following successful applications, Zunba will be joining Lunatic-Hai as a tank for the team with WhoRU as a dps player, fitting both of their usual roles. Zunba made a name for himself within Korea as one of the best Zarya players and lived up to the hype at the World Cup. There, he played with Ryujehong, Miro, and Esca to form a phenomenal team that cruised to victory; fans have already begun salivating at the thought of seeing them reunited. WhoRU is a more unknown player on the world stage but has reportedly developed a reputation within Korea as a highly skilled Genji. He played as dps in Challengers under Team Hexa, who struggled in Season 2 going 3-8.
There has been no additional information detailing how the two new additions will be incorporated into the team. There has also been no hint as to how this affects roles within the team. It is possible that Lunatic-Hai will rotate their roster game by game, tailoring their fielded roster to their opponent - similarly to eight-man Challengers team The Meta - or this may be insurance against the possibility of their current players being whisked away for mandatory service in the South Korean military.
Speculation from fans, driven by Lunatic-Hai player remarks while streaming, suggested that Dean, Tobi, and Ryujehong have already completed their national service while Esca, Miro, and LEETAEJUN still have to serve. By recruiting an extra dps player and tank to the roster, Lunatic-Hai has prepared themselves for almost any eventuality.
Lunatic-Hai are not the only team shuffling in the APEX offseason. Other Korean teams including Luxury Watch, BK Stars, and CONBOX.T6 are in the midst of their own roster moves - sharpening their swords before APEX returns and the battle to win the crown for Korea begins.
The roster for Lunatic-Hai is currently:
- Kim "Esca" In-jae (dps)
- Lee "LEETAEJUN" Tae-jun (dps)
- Lee "WhoRU" Seung Joon (dps)
- Kim "Zunba" Joon Hyuk (tank)
- Gong "Miro" Jin-hyuk (tank)
- Geum "Dean" Dong-geun (support/tank)
- Ryu "Ryujehong" Je-hong (support/flex)
- Yang "tobi" Jin-mo (support)
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