DAMWON Gaming’s Flame announces retirement from pro LoL

Another legend has announced his retirement before the 2021 season. 

This time it’s former FlyQuest and DAMWON Gaming top laner Lee “Flame” Ho-jong, who hangs his mouse and keyboard after eight years as a professional player. It was announced by Flame himself on his personal stream recently, where he said that he wouldn’t be playing professionally in 2021.

Flame started out his career on Azubu Blaze in 2012 before the team became CJ Entus Blaze. In 2014, Flame moved to the LPL to play for LGD Gaming where he won the 2015 LPL Summer Split. Flame would, later on, return to Korea for one more season before leaving to play in yet another region.

Flame’s next destination was the LCS, which makes him one a handful of players to play in three different major regions. Flame originally joined Immortals to play for the organization in the 2017 season, followed by FlyQuest for the 2018 season. His best result in the LCS was a second-place finish with Immortals in the 2017 LCS Summer Split. 

Despite his long and impressive career, Flame has only been to Worlds twice and never managed to make a big splash on the international stage. Flame ended his career as a substitute for the newly crowned World Champions DAMWON Gaming, but only got to play two games throughout the summer split. Flame didn’t play at the World Championship either, but helped the team behind the scenes with all his game knowledge and experience.  

Flame will likely look to start a new career as a streamer. It’s unknown if Flame will return as a coach later as several other LoL veterans have done. 

What role does Flame play in LoL?

Flame has been a top laner his whole career and has always been known for his lane dominance and large champion pool. He was once considered one of the best top laners in the world and has played for some of the best teams throughout his career. He ended his career as a substitute on DAMWON Gaming, who won the 2020 World Championship. 

What is a Flame horizon?

A Flame Horizon is when a player has 100 minion kills or more against their lane opponent. The term was made after Flame dominated his opponents in lane and managed to out-farm by more than 100 minions. Since then, it has been called a “Flame Horizon” in honor of Flame.