Before the start of LTA North Split 3, North American esports team Dignitas announced the signing of Korean import top laner Kyeong ‘Photon‘ Gyu-tae.
The player will be replacing domestic talent Jett Michael “Srtty” Joye as the team hopes to improve the results from the previous split. Will Photon’s arrival make a difference for the team, and what can fans expect from him? Here’s Esports Insider’s breakdown of the player.
Photon – His professional career so far
Photon started his professional career back in 2019 when he joined Gen.G Academy. For three years, the Korean player played for several academy teams, including T1 Challengers, where he caught attention from teams abroad as organisations were looking for rising prospects to improve their line-ups.
At the end of 2022, Team Vitality decided to give him a chance in the LEC, and Photon immediately stood out in his first season and was regarded among the best top laners in the league. In his first split, Team Vitality finished at the top during the 2023 Winter regular split, and Photon ended up in the first All-Pro Team.
The team’s performances, however, slowly deteriorated over time, with Team Vitality ending in last place during the 2023 summer season. Despite staying on the squad for the 2024 campaign, Photon struggled to lead the team to stronger results (only a fourth-place finish in Spring). As a result, he parted ways with the organisation at the end of the 2024 season.
Prior to joining Dignitas, Photon was the starting top laner in the TCL for Beşiktaş Esports, with a best finish in fifth place.
A lane-focused Playstyle
Just like most Korean imports, Photon is known for having strong lane fundamentals and has often been able to create advantageous game states for himself in the first minutes of the game. He is known for preferring damage-oriented champions over tanks, playing champions such as Jax, Gwen, Renekton and Jayce.
Even this year in the TCL, Photon had a positive CS, gold, and XP differentials at 15 minutes, despite the team having a combined win rate of 36.4%, according to the data site Games of Legends. He is a top-five player in nearly all metrics among top laners in the TCL this season.
Will he improve the team? It comes down to utilisation
That being said, Photon has always struggled to utilise his lane strength to convert it into a bigger advantage for his own squad. Once out of the early game, he had more struggles in coordinating with the rest of the team, and this will be the key to DIG’s success or failure this split.
If he is able to maintain the same level of dominance against the top LTA North counterparts, Photon will have a big chance to shine and lead Dignitas to much higher heights. If that doesn’t happen, then Dignitas will definitely fight at the bottom end of the standings.
Dignitas will be facing Shopify Rebellion in its first match of the LTA North Split 3, which kicks off this weekend.
