The separation proved short-lived. On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of Huang "Maple" Yi-tang’s return, TALON confirmed the renewal of its partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Esports. “We’re proud to announce that TALON will be renewing our partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Esports (PSG Esports), and that Qatar Airways is joining us as the front-of-jersey sponsor for our League of Legends team,” the Hong Kong-based organization wrote on X. Originally established in 2020, the alliance had been put on hold for the first two splits of the 2025 LCP season.

However, in going solo, TALON Esports seemed to lose its footing in the Pacific league. While PSG Talon had captured eight out of ten PCS titles between 2020 and 2024 — including the last four — TALON fell from its pedestal in early 2025. The team was defeated in the finals of the LCP Kickoff and again in the Lower Bracket final of the Mid-Season. As a result, TALON missed out on both of the year’s initial international tournaments — the First Stand and the Mid-Season Invitational — for the first time since 2022.

A Highly Anticipated Maple–hongQ Showdown

Worse still, the team — which had carved out a reputation in recent years as a serious underdog on the international stage — was thoroughly overshadowed by its successors at the top of the hierarchy: CTBC Flying Oyster. At both the First Stand and the MSI, CFO emerged as one of the tournament highlights. The reigning back-to-back LCP champions elevated the league’s global profile, arguably beyond what PSG Talon had managed in its final seasons.

Now, with a top-tier midlane clash between the rising star Tsai "hongQ" Ming-hong and the veteran Maple, newly returned from retirement, the stakes are high. The head-to-head between a surging CFO and a resurgent PSG Talon hungry to reclaim its crown promises to be compelling — and will serve as a central storyline in the Season Finals, which kick off on July 26. Both teams have been drawn into the same group, the Contender Group, and are set to face each other on August 2.