100 Thieves Release Damonte Ahead of 2021 LCS Summer Split

100 Thieves has announced that they have released mid laner Tanner “Damonte” Damonte ahead of the 2021 LCS Summer Split. The 23-year-old joined the organization in November 2020, before being moved to the 100 Thieves Academy roster in March this year. The American featured in one just LCD Split for the org, before the two parties “mutually decided to part ways”.

Speaking on the departure of Damonte, the organization posted the following message on Twitter: “In the past weeks, we discussed various options with Damonte to be part of our League of Legends program and we’ve mutually decided to part ways for him to pursue his own content creation path.”

Why Damonte Was No Longer Needed by 100 Thieves

With 100 Thieves having invested heavily in bringing in former Schalke 04 mid laner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Damonte. His future was ultimately decided by the fact that substitute Tommy “Ry0ma” Le was kept on board.
Speaking on the news, Damonte posted the following statement to his Twitter followers: “For the next six months, I’m going to be focusing a lot on content creation and stepping outside of my normal box of playing League and grinding for the chance to win LCS.

I don’t intend for this to be the end of me playing in the LCS. I’ve already done the whole process of going from LCS to Academy and working my way up to LCS before. It would be more beneficial for me to…take a step back.”

What the Future Holds for Damonte & 100 Thieves

Damonte was originally benched part way through the Spring Split, with 100 Thieves having finished with an 8-4 record. However, the American was not part of their playoff run. The org will kick start the Summer Split in fourth position, as a result of their 11-7 record. Damonte has not officially retired, however it will likely be a while before he is seen back in competitive action in the LCS.

100 Thieves are currently preparing to return to the LCS Stage, with the NA league getting back underway on June 4.