World champion top laner Duke parts ways with Invictus Gaming

Korean League of Legends player Lee “Duke” Ho-seong has parted ways with Invictus Gaming after having spent the last three years playing for the Chinese team.

After taking third place at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, iG’s top laner Duke decided to leave the team. Even though their run at Worlds this year wasn’t as great as last year’s when iG took the world championship title, the squad still performed well and earned great results. But Duke wasn’t able to take much part in it.

Duke leaves iG after not playing at Worlds 2019

Duke was the part of iG’s roster that took the final game against Fnatic in the final at Worlds 2018. But the team hasn’t treated him as well this season. While he was a part of the active roster, Duke was entirely overshadowed by Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok, iG’s other top laner. Duke hasn’t gotten a chance to perform at the Worlds stage at all this year, and he hasn’t gotten much time in the 2019 LoL Pro League either.

Duke shared the news with his fans over Weibo, a popular Chinese social platform. According to VP Esports’ translation, Duke decided to leave due to unsatisfying results throughout the season, as well as the fact he didn’t get to play at Worlds this year. 

He thanked his fans for supporting him and invited them to continue doing so, saying that their support is what keeps him motivated to compete.

“The fact I didn’t have a chance to play at Worlds 2019 is a pity for me,” Duke shared to his Chinese fans. “As this season is over, though I’m leaving iG, I’ve been very happy with the team and I will always remember the good times. I hope you can keep supporting iG and me, no matter where I will be.”

iG commented on the Weibo post thanking Duke for his contributions and efforts with the team, and wishing him the best of luck in his future career.