Longzhu to attend IEM Oakland instead of Afreeca

The Afreeca Freecs have declined their spot at IEM Oakland, and will be replaced at the tournament by Longzhu Gaming, Longzhu coach Ham "Lustboy" Jang-sik announced on Twitter Thursday.

btw since Afreeca has declined their seed for IEM Oakland, Longzhu Gaming is going as the second priority

— Lust (@LustLoL) November 10, 2016

IEM Oakland's qualification rule for South Korean teams was that the highest ranked 2016 LCK Summer team that missed the 2016 KeSPA Cup playoffs would receive an invite to IEM Oakland. The Freecs technically took that spot after their 2-0 loss to MVP, but Longzhu will take their place since they've declined the invite.

The Freecs aren't the first team to give up their spot at IEM Oakland, as both Immortals and Splyce turned down their invites to the tournament.

Longzhu lost 2-1 to the Jin Air Green Wings in the 2016 KeSPA Cup qualifying round, and placed eighth in the 2016 LCK Summer regular season with a 7-11 record.

Longzhu join the Flash Wolves, INTZ e-Sports, Team SoloMid, The Chiefs eSports Club and the Unicorns of Love at the tournament. IEM Oakland runs from Nov 19-20.

Source