Former TSM player Chaox explains his return to streaming LoL

Former Team SoloMid bot laner Shan “Chaox” Huang is back to pursue streaming after seven years of being under the radar.

A familiar face from the early seasons of League of Legends is back and will be streaming regularly once again. In a recent vlog, Chaox talked about his past seven years and what has happened since he was kicked from TSM in 2013. Chaox even addressed a mental breakdown that happened live on stream a couple of years ago. 

Former TSM Chaox address mental illness and breakdown

After years away from the spotlight, Chaox explains that he remained in China for about seven years where he played for an amateur team called Roar. The team tried to qualify for the LSPL, which is the league below the LPL, but failed to do so because of import restrictions. 

That time with Roar was the last time Chaox gave professional play a shot. He followed it up by coaching Chinese team Newbee for about a year before the team was sold. Chaox said that his time in China led him into the world of poker, and that he ended up playing lots of poker with people from the esports scene.  

“I was doing really well in Shanghai, so I decided to go pro in poker,” Chaox said. “I ended up moving to Macau later on and lost a lot of money.”

During his time in China, Chaox said that he was dealing with depression and with the feeling of being a failure after being kicked from TSM. This led to a bad mental state and playing poker ultimately led to a mental breakdown on stream. 

The former TSM bot laner explained that his state turned into a mental illness and that he ended up moving back to New York because of it. Since moving back to his parents’ home two years ago, he is now finally feeling better mentally and will look into a full-time streaming career again on Twitch.  

Even though fans would love to see Chaox reach for the top ranks once again, it likely won’t happen. According to him, he is currently floating between Gold and Platinum ELO and expects to play the game at a more casual level.

What happened to TSM Chaox?

The last time fans saw Chaox on Summoner’s Rift for TSM was during the 2013 NA LCS Spring Split. Chaox got to play 14 games of the split before TSM replaced him with Jason “WildTurtle” Tran, who ended up making a big career for himself during his time with the team. 

After Chaox was replaced with a younger and more talented bot laner, he went to play for CLG as a sub for only a couple of games before officially being out of the LCS. Chaox moved on to coach Team Coast for a brief period, but it wasn’t a job that lasted long.

What role is Chaox in LoL?

Chaox started out as a support player when he first joined TSM back in 2011. Back then, the game was very new, and the players didn’t have such specific roles as they do now. He would later swap to the bot lane position as TSM’s ADC, which is where he played for the remainder of his career. Chaox was once known as one of the best bot laners in North America, and even in the world. He competed with TSM in its glory days, winning many tournaments before the LCS was established. He was kicked from TSM during the inaugural LCS split.