Legendary toplaner Kang ‘TheShy’ Seung-lok has returned to Invictus Gaming (IG) and competitive play ahead of LPL Split 3.
The former League of Legends World Champion has sat out most of the 2026 season, having announced he was taking a break back in December.
TheShy has taken back his place as IG’s starting LPL toplaner, replacing Chen ‘Breathe’ Chen who has now become a free agent.
Substitute toplaner Lim ‘Soboro’ Seong-min and Zou ‘Nia’ Guang-Lu, who shared the mid lane role last split, have also both left the organisation.
TheShy Returns to Rescue IG
IG will be hoping the return of TheShy will help change the team’s fortunes after struggling all year.
They finished 11-12 in the LPL Playoffs last split, being swept 3-0 by ThunderTalk Gaming in the Play-In.
Song ‘Rookie’ Eui-jin, who won LoL Worlds 2018 with TheShy, is still on the IG roster despite sitting out Split 2 and will likely return to the line-up too.
This means the IG roster for LPL Split 3 will be:
- Top – TheShy
- Jungle – Wei
- Mid – Rookie and Renard
- Bot – JiaQi
- Support – Meiko
Allowing veteran players to take a rest could be a smart move, as it worked for Top Esports (TES).
TES brought back Gao ‘Tian’ Tian-Liang and Yu ‘JackeyLove’ Wen-Bo for Spring, and the former World Champions helped the team qualify for MSI.
IG will be hoping to do something similar on the road to LoL Worlds 2026.
Last year, IG and TheShy qualified for Worlds but didn’t get to the Main Event after losing to eventual winners T1 in the Play-In.
If BLG continue their fine form, the LPL will have a fourth seed at Worlds and IG will have a huge opportunity to go further than last year.
Especially as the chaotic LPL Playoffs with huge upsets by Team WE proved the league is wide open.
Can TheShy help IG turn their fortunes around? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
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