Korean top laner Kang ‘TheShy‘ Seung-lok will be taking a temporary break from competitive League of Legends.
The announcement came from his team, Invictus Gaming (IG), on social media. As a result, TheShy will not be representing the team for the start of the 2026 LPL season.
This is the second time the top laner has stepped away from the competitive scene after he missed out on the 2024 season. In his own post on Weibo, the Korean player stated that he will still be a part of the team, as “IG is home” to him. He also added that he will still take part in charitable activities.
“Another year of competition has come to an end. I’m truly thankful for all your attention and support. I was incredibly happy that I was able to return to competition as IG TheShy for the 2025 season,” he said.
Looking back on TheShy’s career
Widely regarded as one of the most influential top laners in League of Legends esports history, TheShy is known for his hyper-aggressive playstyle and his fearless moments in high-stakes matches.
He cemented his legacy upon hitting the tier-one scene back in 2018, when he won the World Championship and played a pivotal role in Invictus Gaming’s run. While he wasn’t able to reach such peaks again, the Korean top laner defined the top lane meta for the following years with his high-risk, high-reward gameplay.
TheShy came close to winning the championship in 2023, in his second year on Weibo Gaming. In the final series, however, the team was dismantled by T1 3-0.
Re-joining Invictus Gaming in 2025, TheShy reunited with his former 2018 world champion teammate Song ‘Rookie‘ Eui-jin, with the hopes of repeating the feat from that year.
Unfortunately, Invictus Gaming faced much stronger competition during the season. Even though it qualified for the League of Legends World Championship as the LPL’s fourth seed, the team was eliminated in the play-in stage by T1 once again, putting an early end to its Worlds run.
Editor’s note: TheShy’s Weibo post was translated from Chinese to English.
