LYON register Castle in Global Contract Database, set to join as Dhokla’s substitute

Cho “Castle” Hyeon-seong is set to join LYON in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), as indicated by the Global Contract Database. According to Sheep Esports sources, the Korean player will serve as a toplaner substitute. The 23-year-old player is therefore returning to LYON, he signed a contract that runs through the end of 2027.

After arriving in North America in early 2024 with Immortals, Castle, who developed through the KT Rolster academy system, joined Disguised in 2025, where he remained for five splits. He then left the organization after LYON bought out his contract in the middle of the 2026 Spring Split and put him in competition with Niship “Dhokla” Doshi. Ultimately, he played just three games across two different series during the regular season.

Later, in an interview with Sheep Esports, Castle explained the reason behind his departure: “I felt like I needed a break to recover because too many things happened during Split 2 in such a short period of time. I think that left me exhausted. I also thought that if I was going to make this decision, I needed to make it quickly. I believed that would give me the best chance to return for Split 3.”

Even though LYON has signed Castle through the end of 2027, the team has therefore no intention of making him its starting toplaner for now, although the idea has not been ruled out, according to our sources.

For reference, American-Indian toplaner Dhokla is also under contract through the end of 2027, as are Polish jungler Kacper “Inspired” Słoma and Australian support Jonah “Isles” Rosario. Kang “Saint” Sung-in and Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol, meanwhile, are both contracted through the end of 2026.

As Castle explained in his interview, he had received offers for the Summer Split. According to our sources, those opportunities came from Dignitas, as well as Disguised, where he would have taken on a coaching role. However, neither opportunity materialized due to visa issues. At the time, LYON were the reigning LCS champions after winning the Winter Split, and they went on to win the Spring Split as well, despite Castle having left the team during the Spring Split.

Although the team already has two Korean players in Saint and Berserker, fielding Castle would not violate the league’s maximum two-import rule, as Berserker obtained North American residency after receiving his green card. Inspired, who is Polish, also obtained residency in 2023, while Isles previously held Oceania residency before switching to North American residency.