Tarzan, once considered one of the best League of Legends junglers in Korea, is set to make his return to professional play—but not in the LCK.
The 21-year-old revealed in a letter earlier today that he’ll play in the LPL next season and he’ll put a temporary pause on his streaming career so he can take some time to practice with his new squad, according to a translation by Korizon’s Ashley Kang.
Tarzan’s new team is expected to be LNG Esports, according to Fomos reporter Kenzi. LNG finished in 13th place in the 2020 LPL Summer Split with a 31-percent series win rate and a 5-11 record.
Tarzan could replace jungler Xiong “Xx” Yu-Long on LNG, but this is just speculation since it’s unknown whether Tarzan will start on the team if he joins for the beginning of the 2021 LPL Spring Split.
“I always do my best to show you and the audience great performances,” Tarzan said in the letter. “I am able to move forward thanks to you. My fans keep me motivated, and I’d like to take this chance and express my gratitude. I will do my very best in China.”
LNG would be Tarzan’s first team since his stint with Griffin over the past few years. He was released by the organization earlier this year following the team’s poor run of form in the 2020 LCK Spring Split where they finished in last place and were later relegated.
After a disappointing Spring Split in which Griffin finished dead last, they were sent to the last LCK promotion tournament to compete for a spot in the Summer Split. But they lost in the final round to Sandbox Gaming and were subsequently relegated from the LCK, going from Worlds quarterfinalists to relegated in the course of just one split.
Following their relegation, Griffin announced that it was in the process of terminating the contracts of each of its players and staff. Since then, the organization has been slowly releasing players from their contracts and helping them move on to greener pastures. Just this week, Hanwha Life Esports signed former Griffin bot laner Viper.
Tarzan and Wadid were two of the bigger names on the roster. Tarzan has been with Griffin for multiple seasons, leading the team on its impressive Worlds run in 2019. He hasn’t had it easy over the course of his career, though. He suffered from abuse and mistreatment at the hands of his former coach and recently struggled to impress in the relegation match in which Griffin was ousted from the LCK.
