Korean support player Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon is retiring from professional League of Legends, the 26-year-old revealed today through a TwitLonger. GorillA has played on many prominent Korean rosters, winning three LCK seasons and reaching the World Championship Grand Final during his career.
GorillA kickstarted his career in the top tier of the Korean scene in 2013, while playing with NaJin White Shield. The team qualified for the 2014 World Championship, and reached the play-off stage after topping their group stage group. GorillA joined KOO Tigers ahead of the 2015 season, later reaching the 2015 World Championship Grand Final with the team.
With the renamed ROX Tigers, GorillA placed second in the 2016 LCK Spring season before winning the following Summer split. The team reached the semi-finals of that year’s Worlds, narrowly falling to eventual champions SK Telecom T1.
GorillA won the 2017 LCK Summer split with Longzhu Gaming, again reaching the 2017 Worlds quarter-finals. The support player transferred to Kingzone DragonX in 2018, again winning LCK Spring with the squad and placing second in the Mid-Season Invitational. After playing with the LEC’s Misfits throughout 2019, GorillA returned to Korea to compete under the Sandbox Gaming banner. The team finished ninth and seventh in LCK Spring and Summer, respectively.
GorillA took to TwitLonger to reveal that he will be retiring from professional League of Legends. He states that while he wasn’t able to achieve all his goals this year, 2020 was still “unforgettable.”
“Throughout my career as a League of Legends professional gamer, I received the support and interest from the audience to a level I wonder if I’d ever be able to experience again,” GorillA states. “I was able to play on the truly big stages and take away countless positive memories.”
He explains that he's always given his all as a League of Legends competitor, though wonders "if in that process [he] was negligent towards [him]self as a person."
GorillA did not reveal what he plans to do next, though does tease that while he will no longer be a professional player, he will "find you again, through other future opportunities." He could come back to competitive League of Legends as a coach, analyst, or something else behind the scenes.
Source: GorillA