sOAZ working analyst desk for 2019 LPL Summer Playoffs finals

Former Misfits top laner Paul “sOAZ” Boyer is heading to the LPL playoffs, but not as a competitor.

The LPL announced on Twitter that the veteran player will serve as a broadcast personality for the 2019 LPL Summer Playoffs finals and regional qualifiers for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. Though the original announcement stated he would be working as a caster, the league later corrected this and noted he will be working as an analyst.

The news was met with messages of support from many, including LPL caster Barento “Razleplasm” Mohammed. “Welcome Soaz to the Analyst desk for LPL Finals and Regional Qualifiers” said Razleplasm. “Will be great to have you on the AD.”

sOAZ has enjoyed a long career in League of Legends and stands as one of the few remaining active players who competed in the Season 1 World Championship in 2011. He was a key part of the Fnatic roster until 2015 when he joined Origen. With sOAZ in the top lane, Origen posted their miracle run from Challenger all the way to the 2015 World Championship semifinals, becoming the first western team to win a best-of-five series at Worlds.

He joined Misfits in 2018, but didn’t enjoy nearly as much success. He left the organization in July alongside and Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyun, splitting off after the entire roster was benched in favor of the Misfits Academy team.

sOAZ has made appearances on the analyst desk before and offers deep knowledge of both the game and mentality of pro players. The LPL seems to prize that as they’re giving him a bit of star treatment, as he noted on Twitter that his flight to Shanghai was his first ever trip in business class.

The final of the LPL Summer Split will take place on September 6, with Royal Never Give Up taking on FunPlus Phoenix.