South Korean live-streaming platform SOOP has officially announced its exclusive pro player programming lineup for June 2026. Headed by Co-CEOs Choi Young-woo and Lee Min-won, the initiative is positioned to maintain fan engagement during the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) competitive off-season.
By leveraging its extensive network of team-level agreements, the platform will broadcast personal streams, creator collaborations, and casual off-stage lifestyle content featuring some of the region’s top esports athletes.
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The summer programming will broadcast personal streams from elite active players including Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok), Chovy (Jeong Ji-hoon), Keria (Ryu Min-seok), and Peanut (Han Wang-ho). To diversify content outside of standard ranked solo queue play, SOOP’s June schedule introduces dedicated “Player × Streamer” collaborative segments, subscriber-exclusive interactive streams, Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) events, and “after-work” broadcasts. Retired professionals such as Smeb (Song Kyung-ho), Khan (Kim Dong-ha), and Clid (Kim Tae-min) will also stream regularly, anchoring the platform’s legacy content portfolio.
All streams count with AI-generated live subtitles in eight languages for supporting global reach.
According to operational insights obtained by The Esports Radar, these broadcasts are not managed via direct individual player contracts but are instead structured through holistic team partnerships. Through these corporate tie-ins, SOOP holds the exclusive broadcasting rights for the personal streams of seven out of the ten active LCK organisations:
- T1
- Gen.G
- Dplus KIA
- KIWOOM DRX
- BNK FEARX
- kt Rolster
- DN SOOPers (SOOP’s internal subsidiary team)
The content push represents a vital cog in SOOP’s broader commercial strategy for League of Legends esports. Having signed a five-year strategic partnership with the LCK, the platform’s long-term goal is to “build a virtuous cycle”. By funneling casual team and player content fans directly into main league broadcasts, the platform aims to systematically increase overall viewership metrics for the league as a whole.
Additionally, the company is looking to maximize user retention by integrating cross-regional programming that connects Korean and international creators, alongside shoring up original esports IPs like ‘Construction War‘ (멸망전) and the ‘SLL‘ (SOOP LoL League) to support retired pros. By ensuring active, everyday engagement pathways during competitive lulls, SOOP intends to solidify itself as the primary digital hub for the global LCK community.
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