In an effort to engage with the League of Legends community, Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur held a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) where he answered questions about the team's off-season roster moves and more. He talked about the decision-making process behind putting together what fans are calling the new “superteam” in the LCK; getting Go “Score” Dong-bin onboard as coach; and plans with Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek for 2022.

Gen.G's 2022 roster features iconic players in former World Champion Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk, veteran jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, and rising mid lane star Jung “Chovy” Ji-hun. They have also added former Griffin star support Son “Lehends” Si-woo as well as Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon up top after a fairly good 2021 showing. On paper, the roster is absolutely something fans should be excited about, but with four new additions (Ruler being the only returning player from the 2021 lineup), there are of course questions and uncertainties over how well the players will mesh together come 2022.

Gen.G roster signings: Not just a superteam on paper

Giving the community more insight into what went on behind the scenes in the off-season, Arnold shared that they didn't just get the players for their mechanics and tried to take a balanced approach to building the squad.

“Our goal was to still have really mechanically talented [players], lane pressure monsters, but at the same time, balance that out with stronger shotcalling and in-game operations,” he said.

As an example, for the bot duo, the hope is Lehends' voice as a shotcaller will enable Ruler with “much more freedom to focus on being one of the best ADCs in the world.” Arnold also explained that veteran presence of Peanut would work well with Chovy, who in addition to being extremely talented, is also a very “cerebral” player that likes to discuss optimizations for builds, item timings and runes. Indeed, the CEO had high praises for the mid laner (unsurprisingly, as he's well-admired already around the scene).

“One of the key decision points was listening to other players and coaches about how they prepare against specific players. With Chovy, quite a few players said ‘you can't just 100% prepare for him because sometimes he will just do Chovy things,'” Arnold revealed. “That's when I knew we had to sign the guy.”

Coaching, content creation, and crossing borders

As for bringing in former KT Rolster jungler Score as the head coach, Arnold said that the org wanted to operate with a coaching staff that carried “much stronger in-game knowledge while still being able to command respect from players.” Arnold himself admitted that the move appeared controversial—or at least unconventional, as most Korean teams look towards getting a good man-manager. Still, Arnold and team have established the Gen.G brand as being unafraid to try out new things, setting the org apart not just in Korea but internationally.

Meanwhile, the CEO also answered questions about Gen.G's content creation side. Fans have continued to follow streamers like Nemesis. The former Fnatic star has decided to stay with Gen.G in the coming season despite receiving offers to return to professional play.

“[Nemesis] was choosing between some amazing offers where there was no wrong answer. It was ultimately a personal call for him that everyone respected,” Arnold said. “All I can do is make sure that, as a content creator, we can make it worth his time to work with us.”

In another comment, Arnold also cited the value of helping players build their personal brand, highlighting it as a major difference between the Korean and North American League pro scene. While Gen.G doesn't have plans to enter the LCS, the org might expand into other games like Halo and Rocket League, after having already built a VALORANT team in NA.

Arnold has promised giving everyone in Gen.G “a great shot to be as successful as they can be.” Moreover, the community can look forward to the ALL IN video series returning next year. Fans can gain insight into what it's like in the Korean esports scene and feel more connected to the org and the players in 2022.