Dplus KIA announced that they’ve officially welcomed Shin “Smash” Geum-jae onto their LCK roster. This roster move will mark his first time starting on an LCK roster outside of his former team, T1.
Smash first made his name known in the LCK CL, where he was not only known for his mechanics as a botlaner, but as one half of the bot lane duo alongside the legendary Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. During that period in time, while T1 Esports Academy didn’t perform as well in the standing, the bot lane was exceptionally praised as the perfect mix of the veteran and the prospect.
Earlier in 2025, he also had a brief stint in the LCK, where he subbed in for the three-time World Champion, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyung. While he was praised for his performance with T1’s main roster, he was eventually subbed back out, following the controversial intervention from T1’s CEO, Joe Marsh. Since then, he returned to T1.EA and captured his first non-domestic title win at Asia Masters 2025.
After 5 years of tenure with T1, Smash now prepares for his debut as a starting LCK botlaner with DK. He will be paired up with Oh “Career” Hyeong-seok in the bot lane, who will make his LCK debut after becoming an LCK CL champion with BNK FEARX Youth in 2025. With this, their roster and coaching staff are now complete. Some fans are already salivating for the eventual matchup against Gumayusi, a battle between the ex-T1 rookie vs champion. Smash already proved that he can perform at the LCK level, but he will have a lot more to prove as his LCK competition will be unlike anything he’s faced before.
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