Echo Fox has purchased contract rights for mid laner Kim "FeniX" Jae-hun from Gold Coin United, an Echo Fox representative confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. FeniX is expected to be the starter for the team.
"Echo Fox is committed to making aggressive moves to field the best roster possible inside of the Rift," Echo Fox president Jared Jeffries told ESPN. "With the addition of FeniX, we feel that we're positioning ourselves to make a push for the 2018 North American LCS Championship and are excited to have him join our ten-man roster."
Echo Fox's contracts with top laner Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok, mid laner Henrik "Froggen" Hansen and AD carry Yuri "KEITH" Jew expired on Monday, with the team having no intention to renew any of the three players, sources close to those players and team told ESPN. Echo Fox did not comment on the status of those three players.
FeniX joins the Echo Fox team which currently has five players -- top laner Brandon "Brandini" Chen, jungler Jonathan "Grigne" Armao, mid laner Tanner "Damonte" Damonte, AD carry Brandon "Mash" Phan and support Austin "Gate" Yu -- under contract until 2018. The team's full starting lineup is currently undetermined. Additionally, the team sold its contract with Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham to OpTic Gaming, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Echo Fox and its ownership group Vision Venture Partners were granted a permanent spot in the North American League of Legends Championship Series in October. Vision, founded by three-time NBA champion Rick Fox and a group of businessmen, received investments from tech entrepreneur Stratton Sclavos and the New York Yankees in 2017.