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LoL – Hauntzer, Cody Sun & Sword exit TSM after LCS season

The Esport organization Team SoloMid has announced significant departures from its League of Legends Academy lineup, with top laner... | 5. October 2021

The Esport organization Team SoloMid has announced significant departures from its League of Legends Academy lineup, with top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell, AD carry Liyu “Cody” Sun and mid laner Rico “Sword” Chen having all parted ways with the organization. Following a disappointing season in the League of Legends Championship Series, the announcement came as little surprise to most. However, TSM has wasted little time in releasing the trio, who will all now be looking for new teams.

What TSM said upon the departure of the trio

Hauntzer, Cody Sun and Sword all have vast experience in the League of Legends scene, which should stand them in good stead for their next moves. However, having been part of the TSM team that failed to reach the Academy playoffs, they can have few complaints about being let go. Speaking on the decision, TSM stated:

“Today we bid farewell to Hauntzer, Cody Sun, and Sword. We want to thank you for all your hard work and dedication over the last year.” The veteran trio were unable to help Team SoloMid to a season record of better than 29-35, with results having left them seventh in the North American Academy League’s Summer Split.

Why Hauntzer, Cody Sun and Sword departed TSM

Sword only joined Team SoloMid back in 2019. However, with the Taiwanese pro having not made a single appearance for the organization’s main roster in 2021, his departure was pretty much expected. Meanwhile, having played for TSM between 2016 and 2018, Hauntzer returned to the org earlier in the year to act as back-up for top laner “Huni”. However, his dream return did not pan out as expected, with Hauntzer having also failed to make a regular season appearance for their LCS team. The same can be said of Cody Sun, with the hugely experienced LCS veteran now weighing up his options at the age of 24.

With TSM having signed Cody Sun and Hauntzer until the end of 2022, and Sword until 2023, the trio will have received payments upon their departure. The org’s last outing with their former roster was at the LCS Proving Grounds 2021 Summer, where they finished in 13th-16th position.

However, the Team SoloMid Academy lineup now only consists of jungler Young “Hyper” Seo, mid laner Ji Cha “Takeover” Hyeun-min and support Wang “Yursan” Shen-Yu. It is likely that the org will make additional changes to both its main and Academy rosters ahead of the 2022 LCS season.