On Tuesday, Cloud9 has announced the departure of their 20-year-old South Korean midlaner Lee "Loki" Sang-min, who was under contract with the team until 2027. Loki made the necessary and deeply personal decision to return to Seoul to be close to his family, a choice the organization respects, and they have released him from his contract.

Loki spent one year with Cloud9 in the LTA North. During Split 1, the team reached the semifinals of the cross-conference league but fell 2-1 to Team Liquid, the eventual split champions. In Split 2, Cloud9 advanced all the way to the finals and came within a single game of victory against FlyQuest, ultimately losing 3-2. Since second place did not qualify them for the Mid-Season Invitational, their only international appearance was at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, where they were defeated by both FLY and FURIA after traveling for just one day.

In the Summer Split, Cloud9 finished first in the Pick and Play Phase but collapsed in the subsequent series. They first suffered a defeat to Shopify Rebellion, then claimed a hopeful victory over Disguised, before ultimately falling to 100 Thieves. Each of these three best-of-five series ended with a 3-2 scoreline, reflecting closely contested matches but ultimately disappointing outcomes for the team.

A return to Korea

Loki will therefore return to South Korea, where he was developed, after just one year in the LTA North, during which he showed quite promising performances. He began his career in the LCK AS at the start of 2022 with Hanwha Life Esports before moving up to the LCK CL roster, where he spent two and a half years and played alongside several prominent names in the scene, including Shin "Rooster" Yun-hwan, Joo "Duro" Min-kyu, and Lee "Hans SamD" Jae-hoon.

No information is available so far on where he might land next, but it could be either in the LCK or the LCK CL. The South Korean midlaner showed very promising performances during his first year in League of Legends’ tier 1. In 2025, he played 16 different champions across 61 matches. According to DPM, his statistics are often above the league median, ranking among the best in gold per minute, KDA, and gold difference at 15 minutes.