Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem has officially retired from professional League of Legends, he announced on Weibo earlier today. The 2019 world champion has retired at the age of 25 after nearly eight years in the League esports scene across both South Korea and China.
In his statement, GimGoon said he’s considered retirement for a long time. “After playing for so long in the profession, I have always had your support, teammates and friends, and I have no regrets in my career,” GimGoon said, according to a machine translation. The top laner went on to specifically thank his most notable organization, FunPlus Phoenix, and said he’d be a part of the org’s upcoming four-year anniversary celebration.
GimGoon’s long career began in 2013, where he played for several smaller teams until finding eventual starting positions on Samsung Blue and KT Rolster Bullets. The top laner’s time in South Korea was short-lived, though. In 2014, he moved to China, where he ultimately spent the majority of his career.
After playing in the LPL’s secondary league, GimGoon eventually landed a spot on FunPlus Phoenix at the start of the organization’s entry into the LPL for the 2018 season. During his time on FPX’s starting roster, GimGoon contributed to the team’s Summer Split championship and eventual world title run in 2019. After winning a world championship, GimGoon shared time in the starting role with Kim “Khan” Dong-ha in 2020 and was removed from the FPX roster entirely in 2021.
GimGoon has primarily spent his time as a streamer since his competitive hiatus began and will likely keep streaming now that he’s officially retired from pro play.
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