French support Paul ‘Stend’ Lardin has announced he is retiring from competing in League of Legends esports.
Just a week ago, Stend posted online that he was looking for offers after competing with Shifters in the LEC Summer Split.
Now, he has U-turned, stating: “my relationship with the game has changed” following a rollercoaster year.
It brings to an end a seven-year career with stints on Team Heretics, Vitality.Bee, and Giants.
Stend’s Challenging 2026
A lot of LoL players had difficult seasons, but Stend’s appeared to be particularly challenging.
He started in the LEC with Team Heretics, with the organisation claiming it was building a long-term project around him and jungler Théo ‘Sheo’ Borile.
The duo were the only two players who stayed with the organisation from 2025 into 2026, yet after four months they were both gone.
Sheo stepped down from Heretics’ LEC roster during Spring after the team lost five consecutive series.
Meanwhile, despite reaching the LEC Playoffs, Stend had been dropped after LEC Versus for Korean support Han ‘Way’ Gil.
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Stend was traded to Turkish organisation Misa Esports and made a deep run into EMEA Masters and finished third.
However, Misa then immediately disbanded just over a month after Stend joined.
Stend was also surprisingly snubbed for France’s Esports Nations Cup roster in favour of LFL support Théo ‘Zoelys’ Le Scornec.
Stend briefly filled in for ZYB Esport in the LFL Playoffs before returning to the LEC with struggling Shifters.
Shifters finished dead last in the Summer regular season, winning just one of their nine series.
Following a tough Summer Split, Stend’s Shifters teammate Ilias ‘nuc’ Bizriken also announced he is taking a break from competitive play.
What rookies would you like to see given a chance in the LEC next year? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid secured their spot in the LoL Worlds 2026 main event after dominating Cloud9. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
An esports journalist for nine years with a focus on LoL Jack has written for national newspapers, interviewed major names, and driven people mad with puns. He's most proud of…
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