League of Legends veteran sOAZ to take year-long hiatus from competitive play

The French top laner announced the first break in his 10-year career.

Photo via Riot Games

Veteran League of Legends player and 2010 Worlds finalist sOAZ is taking a year break from competitive play, the top laner announced today.

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Immortals terminated the contracts of sOAZ, ADC Altec, support Gate, and mid laner Eika, along with coach GotoOne, earlier today following a lackluster year for the LCS team. They failed to make the playoffs in either the Spring or Summer Split and came in last place in the summer. 

In his tweet, sOAZ said “the past two years have taken a toll on me,” citing the recent global pandemic keeping him in a foreign country as one of the key reasons for a decline in his mental health. He also mentioned the idea of potentially returning to the scene in a coaching capacity, saying he has had “countless discussions with people over the years telling me that I could be a good coach” and that we could possibly see his coaching debut when he returns. 

As one of the few remaining players from the first competitive season of League, sOAZ boasts a career spanning multiple regions and almost 10 years. He made it to the finals of the League World Championship with two separate teams in 2010 and 2018.

His departure from the competitive scene follows a decline in performance after moving to North America from Europe. But the longevity and consistency he’s shown across his career has been nothing short of remarkable. 

No further plans have been announced by any of the other ex-Immortals players, many of whom will be actively looking to join teams during the 2020 offseason.


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Meg Kay
Meg is a freelance League of Legends writer for Dot Esports hailing from grey and rainy England. She is most often found dying every round in unranked VALORANT, or claiming an LEC team will win Worlds on the Critical Strike Podcast with Henrique DaMour and Tyler Esguerra.