Scout is LNG’s new mid laner after messy EDG exit

The rivalry between the Chinese and Korean League of Legends communities might never end. But a steady influx of Korean players like Scout, Rookie and DoinB have significantly helped shape the Chinese LPL. Today it was announced that Scout will be the new mid laner for LNG, but not before EDG’s owner aired out his dirty laundry. 

Scout joins LNG

2022 was a down year for LNG. Despite the talent and big names they had on their roster, they never managed to put it all together. They still managed to be a top 5 team in the LPL, in both splits. But with how competitive the LPL is, that’s not enough. According to DoinB himself, he is still under contract with LNG but only as a content creator. After becoming a World and LPL Champion, DoinB is taking time off to focus on fatherhood. Which is really sweet to think about, but that also means that LNG is in the market for a new mid-laner. Reports first came out a few weeks ago, but now it’s officially confirmed. Former World Champions and EDG mid laner, Scout, is joining Li-Ning Gaming for the upcoming 2023 season.

 If you are wondering why the move is being announced so late into the offseason, there’s more than meets the eye. Scout will be joining his fellow Korean, Tarzan, who has been LNG’s jungler for more than 2 years now. Prior to that, Tarzan made a name for himself in the Korean LCK, under the banner of Team Griffin. He spent 3 years there, with the likes of Chovy and Viper, the biggest what-if story in League of Legends.  Meanwhile, the rest of the roster is still incomplete. Zika, a 19-year-old player who spent the 2022 season on FPX, will be LNG’s new top laner. Former IG support player Hang will also join LNG after a year with his former team.

"We are like: okay, money is not the issue, just play with us till retirement. All parties agreed with the detail, and we were happy. But this year, the same thing happened again. Scout wanted to go back to Korea again this year."

(3/?)#LPL #LCK

— LPL Fanclub (@LPLfanclub) December 28, 2022

Scout as EDG mid laner

Looking back at his career as an EDG member, its hard to fault Scout for wanting a change of scenery. He joined the team way back in 2016, after failing to dethrone Faker as the starting mid-laner for T1. Since his arrival in China, Scout has been hailed as their franchise player. After Clearlove retired, EDG was Scout’s team. 6 years is a long period in esports, but Scout made the most of it. Winning 4 LPL championships in 8 splits is impressive on its own. But Scout didn’t stop there. Sure he had Viper, who was the best bot laner at the time, as his supporting cast.

But it was Scout who was the league MVP two times. It was Scout who was the MVP of the World Finals. Becoming just the seventh player in LPL history to get 2000 kills. But the time had come to move on. And if you’re surprised why this move happened this late into the offseason, EDG’s owner recently clarified the situation.

EDG owner explains why Scout left

Just hours before LNG officially announced that Scout was joining their roster for the 2023 season, EDG’s owner Edward came out on stream to clarify the situation. Fans of the Chinese powerhouse were obviously upset. The team that won the 2021 World Championship, completely disbanded after just a year. Sure they didn’t manage to win any hardware during the 2022 season. But they were far from irrelevant. The team had a slow start to the year, which many attributed to fatigue after their run at Worlds.

But they came back roaring in the summer split, securing a third-place finish in the playoffs. After that, they won the LPL regional finals, to qualify for the World Championship once again. Heading to Worlds as the defending champions and as China’s third seed brought expectations. And it was all fun and games, until they ran into the DRX miracle run. Losing to the eventual World Champions is nothing to be ashamed of. But the manner in which it happened, probably pushed Scout out. Getting reverse swept after being up 2-0 is hard. Scout got outplayed by Zeka during those 3 games, and it seems it got to him.

"We are like: okay, money is not the issue, just play with us till retirement. All parties agreed with the detail, and we were happy. But this year, the same thing happened again. Scout wanted to go back to Korea again this year."

(3/?)#LPL #LCK

— LPL Fanclub (@LPLfanclub) December 28, 2022

Scout tried leaving multiple times

So after a messy breakup during this offseason, EDG’s owner couldn’t wait to get on stream and share his side of the story. He said that after they won the World Championship the previous year, they gave everyone a contract extension with a bigger salary. Scout was included in their plans for the 2022 season, but he allegedly gave verbal confirmation to the Korean team KT Rolster that he would sign with them. Everyone in the organization knew that Scout wanted to go back to Korea. The same was said about Viper as well. 

In the end, they doubled Scout’s salary this year and managed to keep him under contract. But when this offseason started, Scout started exploring his LCK options once again. Despite being offered a blank check just to stay and retire as an EDG member, he refused. After he didn’t find a team in the LCK, LNG was the only other team looking for a mid laner. In an unfortunate turn of events, Scout failed to realize his dream and ruined his situation with EDG. Despite this, he remains one of the greatest players to rock an EDG jersey, and should be beloved by fans for his efforts.

Header: Riot Games