Former Cloud9 top laner Summit joins FPX

Former Cloud9 top laner Park ‘Summit’ Woo-tae will spend the rest of the Summer split in China’s League of Legends Pro League after signing with 2019 Worlds champions FunPlus Phoenix.

Summit was released by Cloud9 following the Spring split and rumors had linked the Korean top laner with a move to the LEC. However, he will now play out the season in China with FunPlus Phoenix.

Summit joins FPX

The decision to drop Summit was one that left many Cloud9 fans confused. Summit had been signed from SANDBOX Gaming in Korea’s LCK ahead of the 2022 Spring split before going on to absolutely dominate the top laner, winning split MVP. Cloud9 would finish fourth in the LCS, and drastically changed up the roster in the wake of the disappointing finish.

Summit was apparently not part of those plans and was released along with Korean support Kim “Winsome” Dong-keon. Winsome eventually joined Unicorns of Love Sexy Edition, the academy team of the Russian-based Unicorns of Love. While streaming in early May, Summit said that no definite plans were place for his next move, but he was in talks with Misfits, amongst other teams.

However, China would be Summit’s eventual destination, signing with FunPlus Phoenix on June 18.

The tragic saga of FunPlus Phoenix

FunPlus Phoenix have struggled in the wake of their 2019 Worlds title. They failed to qualify for Worlds in 2020 before bouncing back to take consecutive second-place finishes in the two 2021 LPL splits. However, Worlds 2021 was a nightmare, with the team, who were considered to be title contenders, finishing fourth in the group with a 2-4 record.

Following the Worlds disaster, four members of the starting lineup left the team and FunPlus Phoenix rebuilt the roster around ADC Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang.

They finished a lowly tenth in the LPL Spring split but their start to the Summer split has been even more dismal. FunPlus Phoenix currently sit at the bottom of the LPL with an 0-3 record. Their top lane has been especially bad with Ping “xiaolaohu” Xiao-Hu dead last in positional KDA.

FunPlus Phoenix will likely start Summit in the coming weeks, if not immediately. FunPlus Phoenix are next in action on June 21 against the currently undefeated Victory Five.

Meanwhile, prior to the announcement, Summit found time to poke fun at his former team. Missing their entire starting bot lane, Cloud9 have opened the LCS Summer split 0-2.

FunPlus Phoenix are in dire straits and Summit appears to have a mountain to climb if he is going to help turn the ailing team around.

Header: FPX, Riot Games