Gaming
Players from across the globe tell us which LCS stars they’d like to return in a new video.
As the seventh season of League of Legends really starts to get going, we thought it would be a good time to look back a little at some of the big names that have graced the scene over the years. With hundreds of players competing in the LCS and other major leagues around the world since the scene really started to take off, more than a few of the game's biggest stars have already called it a day.
The life of a pro gamer certainly isn't an easy one. Many live away from their families for months at a time, and must train every day to make sure they stay on top of their game. Even then for some that just isn't enough, and they have to face tough challenges such as relegation battles. With all of this piling on stress, you can see why some players have already called it a day or why some choose to take significant breaks whilst in their prime.
Of course, losing a big name from the scene is disappointing for everyone, but often none more so than the remaining pro players themselves. Whether a team-mate or a rival decides to call it quits, it can have a knock on effect throughout the league and impact other players a lot. That's why we decided to track down some pros from around the globe and ask them which retired or inactive player they miss the most. Watch the video above for their thoughts.
Bora ‘YellOwStaR’ Kim
It's no surprise that the first name mentioned in the video is YellOwStaR, who's one of the best players to ever come out of the EU scene. Having been in the EU LCS for years, he even jumped over to NA for a somewhat successful split before returning to fight one last time in Europe ahead of calling it a day at the end of last year. His presence has been missed, especially by Fnatic, but his legacy will forever remain in everyone's memories. There's faint hope that one day he will make a return, but right now that looks unlikely.
Chen ‘Winds’ Peng-Nien
There's clearly a bit of bias here, as it was Hung 'Karsa' Hau-Hsuan who choose Winds, who also happens to be his coach, but you can still see why he picked him. Winds didn't have the longest playing career, but he did manage to play at a consistently high level in the LMS region, and won a few events in his time. Obviously the relationship between Winds and Karsa is why he chose this pick, as Winds will have passed a lot of knowledge onto the current Flash Wolves jungler, and to see the two face off in competitive play would be something special.
Raymond ‘kaSing’ Tsang
A bit of a more surprising pick game from Luka 'PerkZ' Perković, who said he would like to see Raymond 'kaSing' Tsang return to the LCS. The British player has long been a fixture in the LCS, making it to Worlds back in 2015 with H2k and having a solid start to 2016 with Team Vitality. However a disappointing summer and rough offseason saw kaSing start Season 7 without a team. We're unsure if he'll return in the summer, but it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if he did.
Evgeny ‘Darien’ Mazaev
A popular choice for CIS players was Darien, who hasn't played professionally for quite some time. However back when he was on the big stage, he was one of the most entertaining players in the world, often having a good joke and generally having fun. He still plays League, as the many videos that pop up of his highlights show, but a professional return is very unlikely at this point. We can still dream about it though.
Michael ‘Imaqtpie’ Santana
When you mention entertaining former players you just can't ignore Imaqtpie, although we certainly didn't expect Trashy to list his hair as the main reason he wants to see him back in the LCS. While having that mop on stage in NA once again would be amazing we would love it more for his attitude and newfound love of the camera.
In his streaming career Imaqtpie has proven to be charismatic in front of an audience of thousands, and we would love to see him back in the LCS just to see how Riot's broadcast team deal with him. He hasn't ruled out a return and often jokes about it, so who knows, one day we may see that hair in the LCS again.
Enrique ‘xPeke’ Cedeño Martínez
Of course xPeke chose himself, but he wasn't the only one, and we're sure that a lot of you feel the same way. xPeke has tried to call it a day on multiple occasions and this time we thought he had done it for good, as he specifically stated at the start of the year that he wanted to focus on growing Origen this year. Then they got off to a poor start in the EU LCS and once again xPeke has returned to the playing seat already. This man just can't stay away from the LCS main stage.
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