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| Org Location | North America | ||||||||
| Region | North America | ||||||||
| Sponsor | Arena Online Azubu | ||||||||
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Team Dragon Knights is a North American team. On May 8, 2016, Riot Games issued a competitive ruling banning them from participating in any Riot-sponsored leagues.
History[]
2015 Preseason[]
Team Dragon Knights (TDK) formed in September 2014. They qualified for the Expansion Tournament via the Challenger ladder but did not participate in the tournament. However, after undergoing a number of roster changes they did qualify for the spring season of NACS, beating Team Frostbite and Storm in the qualifier.
2015 Season[]
TDK placed second in the season with a 7-3 record, behind Enemy eSports. In the playoffs, they beat Team Fusion 2-1 before losing to Enemy 1-3, sending them to the Summer Promotion Tournament. Despite the fact that they had placed higher than Fusion, Winterfox chose to play against them. TDK used substitute mid laner Alex Ich in their promotional matches and won 3-1, successfully qualifying for the NA LCS Summer Split. After the Promotion Tournament, TDK dropped LouisXGeeGee from their roster and acquired Emperor in his place and Ninja as their permanent mid laner, making the full roster include Seraph, Kez, Ninja, Emperor, and Smoothie.
Due to visa issues, Team Dragon Knights were unable to use their full roster for the first four weeks of the summer split, as Emperor and Ninja were unable to travel to the United States to play with the team. They instead substituted in LattmaN for Emperor and Bischu and mancloud for Ninja; Baby also substituted for Smoothie for their first three games. The substitute rosters went a combined 0-9, but when Emperor and Ninja finally joined the team for the second day of the fifth week, the team defeated first-place Team Dignitas. Despite that initial success, Team Dragon Knights were only able to secure two more victories over the next four weeks, and they finished in last place with a 3-15 record, one game behind Enemy. As a result, they were automatically relegated to the 2016 NA Challenger Series Spring Season.
2016 Preseason[]
In September 2015, Team Dragon Knights rebranded as Team Arena Online.[1] However, in December, the team changed its name back to "Team Dragon Knights" because Riot Games wanted to see their new title sponsor deliver on promises to create a $1 million tournament circuit in the 2016 season before allowing a team to use their name in competition.[2] The same day as their renaming, TDK received a competitive ruling: Co-owner Chris Shim was banned from serving any officially-recognized position on any team for the entire 2016 season, TDK itself was fined $10,000, and Ninja was suspended for two months after an attempted poaching of Samsung AD carry Fury.[3]
2016 Season[]
Despite their roster limitations, TDK finished third in the NACS Regular Season, ahead of Team Liquid Academy and behind Ember. Prior to the playoffs, the team swapped several players with the LCS team Renegades: Alex Ich, RF Legendary, and Flaresz joined TDK while Seraph and Ninja left for Renegades. This roster change appeared to be in Renegades's favor; however, TDK still defeated Ember in the semifinals to advance to the promotion tournament. There they first faced and defeated Team Dignitas in an elimination match before losing to Renegades and then the first-place Challenger team Apex, falling just short of the LCS.
On May 8, 2016, Riot released a competitive ruling stating that they had investigated the relationship between TDK and Renegades and found an inappropriate link between the two organizations, with the March roster trade and the sources of financial compensation to the players after the trade being one of the major problems. As a result of their findings, Riot ruled that TDK would be banned permanently from Riot-sponsored league play, and Chris Shim and Sean Shim would individually be indefinitely banned from serving in official capacity to an organization involved in official Riot league play.[4] Despite a deadline of May 18 by which they were forced to sell their seed, it wasn't until May 23 that the seed was announced as sold to Eanix.[5]
Timeline[]
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- January 7,
kina,
Kez,
Kyle, and
KonKwon join.[6] kina renames to Seraph. Chorong renames to LouisXGeeGee. - February 16 (approx.),
KonKwon leaves.[7]
Smoothie joins. - March 13 (approx.),
RF Legendary and
Alex Ich join as substitutes.
Remilia rejoins as substitute. - April 15 (approx.),
Kyle leaves. - April 26,
RF Legendary and
Alex Ich leave. - May 18,
Emperor joins.
Ninja is loaned from Team WE.
LouisXGeeGee leaves.[8] - May (approx.),
Bischu,
Jébus,
LattmaN, and
Baby join as substitutes. - June (approx.),
Baby leaves. - June 19,
mancloud joins as substitute. - August (approx.),
Remilia leaves. - September 21,
Ninja joins permanently after loan from Team WE ends.[9][10] - September 23,
Team Dragon Knights renames to 
Team Arena Online.[11]
Emperor,
Smoothie,
Bischu,
mancloud,
Jébus, and
LattmaN leave.[12] - December 18, Team Arena Online renames to Team Dragon Knights.[13] Team Dragon Knights is fined $10,000 and has to replace or resell Chris Shim's stake in the team's ownership. Chris Shim is ineligible to have any official position for any team in 2016. Ninja is suspended until March 11, 2016.[14]
- December 29,
do it joins as substitute.[15]
- 2016 (approx.), Miracle (Coach) joins.
- January 4,
Ohq joins.
Bischu rejoins.[16] - January 22,
moolchael joins as substitute. - January 23,
Seraph is loaned to Team Impulse.[17] - January 28,
Ohq is loaned to Renegades.[18] - January 30,
Ohq returns from loan to Renegades. - January 31,
Seraph returns from loan to Team Impulse. - February 5,
Crumbz and
Thy join as substitutes.
Alex Ich rejoins as substitute.
moolchael leaves. - February 25,
Seraph is loaned to Renegades.[19] - March (approx.), Miracle (Coach) leaves.
- March 3,
Flaresz and
Trance join.
RF Legendary rejoins.
Seraph leaves after loan to Renegades ends.
Alex Ich moves to starting roster.
Ninja and
Crumbz leave.[20] - May 8, Team Dragon Knights is forced by competitive ruling to sell its NACS spot by May 18 and permanently disband.[21]
- May 13,
Ohq leaves.[22] - May 23, Team Dragon Knights transfers its NACS spot to Eanix and disbands.
Flaresz,
RF Legendary,
Kez,
Alex Ich,
Bischu,
Trance,
do it, and
Thy leave.[23]
Player Roster[]
Former[]
Players are shown for the entire duration of their tenure on the team, with the role and substitute/trainee status they had upon their departure.
| Player | Name | Role | Joined | Left | Next Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flaresz | Cuong Ta | Top Laner | Mar 20162016-03-03 | May 20162016-05-23 |  SOM | ||
| RF Legendary | Oleksii Kuziuta | Top Laner | Mar 20162016-03-03 | May 20162016-05-23 |  ENX | ||
| Kez | Kevin Jeon (전재형) | Jungler | Dec 20152015-12-18 | May 20162016-05-23 |  FOX | ||
| Alex Ich | Alexey Ichetovkin | Mid Laner | Feb 20162016-02-05 | May 20162016-05-23 |  NV | ||
| Bischu | Hyung-seok "Aaron" Kim (김형석) | Support | Jan 20162016-01-04 | May 20162016-05-23 | ENX | ||
| Trance | Lawrence Amador | Support | Mar 20162016-03-03 | May 20162016-05-23 | ENX | ||
| do it | Lee Chan-ho (이찬호) | Sub/Mid | Dec 20152015-12-29 | May 20162016-05-23 |  APK | ||
| Thy | Son Seung-yong (손승용) | Sub/Mid | Feb 20162016-02-05 | May 20162016-05-23 |  Retired | ||
| Ohq | Oh Gyu-min (오규민) | Bot Laner | Jan 20162016-01-04 | May 20162016-05-13 |  NRG | ||
| Seraph | Shin Woo-yeong (신우영) | Top Laner (+) (–) Loaned Out | Dec 20152015-12-18 | Mar 20162016-03-03 |  REN | ||
| Ninja | Noh Geon-woo (노건우) | Mid Laner (+) (–) Inactive | Dec 20152015-12-18 | Mar 20162016-03-03 | REN | ||
| Crumbz | Alberto Rengifo | Sub/Jun | Feb 20162016-02-05 | Mar 20162016-03-03 |  APX | ||
| moolchael | Kim Young (김영) | Sub/Top | Jan 20162016-01-22 | Feb 20162016-02-05 | Retired | ||
| Seraph | Shin Woo-yeong (신우영) | Top Laner | Jan 20152015-01-07 | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  TAO | ||
| Kez | Kevin Jeon (전재형) | Jungler | Jan 20152015-01-07 | Sep 20152015-09-23 | TAO | ||
| Ninja | Noh Geon-woo (노건우) | Mid Laner | Sep 20152015-09-21 | Sep 20152015-09-23 | TAO | ||
| Emperor | Kim Jin-hyun (김진현) | Bot Laner | May 20152015-05-18 | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  G2 | ||
| Smoothie | Andy Ta | Support | ≈Feb 2015≈2015-02-16 | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  TL | ||
| Bischu | Hyung-seok "Aaron" Kim (김형석) | Sub/Mid | ≈May 2015≈2015-05-?? | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  TDK | ||
| mancloud | Zachary Allan Hoschar | Sub/Mid | Jun 20152015-06-19 | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  C9C | ||
| Jébus | Mohammad Karim Tokhi | Sub/Bot | ≈May 2015≈2015-05-?? | Sep 20152015-09-23 |  EASY | ||
| LattmaN | James Lattman | Sub/Bot | ≈May 2015≈2015-05-?? | Sep 20152015-09-23 | NOTL | ||
| Ninja | Noh Geon-woo (노건우) | Mid Laner (+) (–) On Loan | May 20152015-05-18 | Sep 20152015-09-21 | TDK | ||
| Remilia | Maria Creveling | Sub/Sup | ≈Mar 2015≈2015-03-13 | ≈Aug 2015≈2015-08-?? | REN | ||
| Baby | Terry Chuong | Sub/Sup | ≈May 2015≈2015-05-?? | ≈Jun 2015≈2015-06-?? |  IMG | ||
| LouisXGeeGee | Lee Geon (이건) | Bot Laner | ≈Sep 2014≈2014-09-?? | May 20152015-05-18 |  CST | ||
| RF Legendary | Oleksii Kuziuta | Sub/Top | ≈Mar 2015≈2015-03-13 | Apr 20152015-04-26 | REN | ||
| Alex Ich | Alexey Ichetovkin | Sub/Mid | ≈Mar 2015≈2015-03-13 | Apr 20152015-04-26 | REN | ||
| Kyle | Seo Ji-seon (서지선) | Mid Laner | Jan 20152015-01-07 | ≈Apr 2015≈2015-04-15 | NKT | ||
| KonKwon | Kevin Kwon (권구혁) | Support | Jan 20152015-01-07 | ≈Feb 2015≈2015-02-16 |  F5 | ||
| Jackpot | Top Laner | ≈Sep 2014≈2014-09-?? | ≈Nov 2014≈2014-11-?? | Retired | |||
| Guardian | Jungler | ≈Sep 2014≈2014-09-?? | ≈Nov 2014≈2014-11-?? | Retired | |||
| Remilia | Maria Creveling | Support | ≈Oct 2014≈2014-10-?? | ≈Nov 2014≈2014-11-?? |  RR | ||
| Trickster | Kim Jae-hun (김재훈) | Mid Laner | ≈Sep 2014≈2014-09-?? | ≈Oct 2014≈2014-10-?? |  CRS |
Player League Participation[]
LCS
| Player | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Games | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | Spring | Summer | ||
| Smoothie | |  |  | | | |  |  | |  | | | | 283 | |||||||||||
| Seraph | | |   |  | | | 186 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Big | | | | |  |  | | | 146 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mancloud |  | |  |  |  | | 99 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kez | | | | 47 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor | | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Organization[]
Current[]
| ID | Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenf0rest | Chris Shim | Co-Owner | |
| TriS | Sean Shim | Co-Owner | |
| Alan Hubbard | Co-Owner |
Former[]
| C | ID | Name | Position | Next Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyrex | Toby Kwon (권용현) | Manager | Team EnVyUs
| |
| Miracle | Lee Hyeon-beom (이현범) | Coach | Team EnVyUs
| |
| chain | Kim Dong-woo (김동우) | Coach | None |
Tournaments[]
This table shows up to the 10 most recent results. For complete results, click here.
Media[]
- 2015
- 2016
- May 18, An Emperor and his Dragon Knights: A Road of Redemption by , and on The Score
- June 29, Dreaming of Miracles: the debut of the real Dragon Knights by , and on The Score
- February 9, Hi, we're NA CS Team Dragon Knights. AMA! with , and on reddit
See Also[]
Images[]
TDK logo (2014-2015)
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Team Dragon Knights is now Team Arena Online, retains Seraph, Kez, and Ninja dailydot.com
- ↑ Say goodbye to Team Arena Online and hello (again) to Team Dragon Knights dailydot.com
- ↑ Competitive Ruling: Chris Shim, Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, & Jin-Yong “Fury” Lee lolesports.com
- ↑ Competitive Ruling: Renegades and TDK lolesports.com
- ↑ Eanix acquires Team Dragon Knights' NACS spot thescoreesports.com
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Team Dragon Knights' Facebook Post facebook.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kwon's TwitLonger twitlonger.com
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Team Dragon Knights' Tweet twitter.com
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Ninja no longer on contract with Team WE, officially joins TDK dailydot.com
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Ninja's Tweet twitter.com
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Team Dragon Knights is now Team Arena Online, retains Seraph, Kez, and Ninja dailydot.com
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Team Dragon Knights is now Team Arena Online, retains Seraph, Kez, and Ninja dailydot.com
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Say goodbye to Team Arena Online and hello (again) to Team Dragon Knights dailydot.com
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Competitive Ruling: Chris Shim, Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, & Jin-Yong “Fury” Lee lolesports.com
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 “do it” Joins TDK to Sub for Ninja Following Suspension blog.arenaonline.com
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Arena Online's Tweet twitter.com
- ↑ Team Dragon Knights' Tweet twitter.com
- ↑ Ohq to substitute for Freeze renegades.gg
- ↑ Seraph to play top lane for Week 7 renegades.gg
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 In trade with TDK, Renegades swap Flaresz, Alex Ich, and Trance for Ninja and Seraph dailydot.com
- ↑ Competitive Ruling: Renegades and TDK lolesports.com
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 NRG's Tweet twitter.com
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 23.7 23.8 Eanix acquires Team Dragon Knights' NACS spot thescoreesports.com