Sources: Closer, ToongE to join Misa Esports in TCL

After months away from the professional scene, Can “Closer” Çelik is back — and he's coming home. The 26-year-old jungler has signed with MISA Esports for the 2025 TCL Summer Split, sources tell Sheep Esports on Monday. He will be replacing Tayfun "Typhoon" Gümüş in the starting roster.

Per sources, BoostGate Esports AD Carry Lim "ToongE" Ho-seon is also set to join the team to replace Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík, who announced his retirement on June 17.

Earlier this year, just before the Spring Split, Closer made the unexpected decision to retire from competitive play. He returned to Turkey and shifted his focus toward a streaming career. During the offseason, SK Gaming explored the possibility of signing him, but given Closer's preference for his new lifestyle, no formal offer was made.

Misa Esports, however, presented a different opportunity. Based in Turkey and with a clearer understanding of Closer's situation, they succeeded in bringing him back to pro play. Notably, the organization recently hired Ömer Berk "Uberq" Uyguner as General Manager. Uberq, who shares a close relationship with Closer, played a key role in encouraging him to join the team.

Misa Esports has been one of the stronger contenders in the TCL this year. Though they have yet to secure a championship title, they placed third in Winter after a close five-game series and reached the Spring Grand Final, where they fell to BoostGate — ToongE's former team. Still, they qualified for EMEA Masters for the second time in their history and recorded their best performance to date, reaching the quarterfinals.

With Closer’s arrival, the roster gains both maturity and experience, enough to raise hopes of pushing their ceiling even higher this Summer. For them, Closer offers more than just name recognition — he brings years of experience across two major regions. Closer’s return to the TCL marks a full-circle moment in a career that began — and now continues — in Turkey. He first made a name for himself with Royal Bandits (later Royal Youth), helping the team qualify for the 2019 World Championship and clinching the TCL Summer title that same year.

His breakout performances earned him a spot in North America’s LCS, where he joined Golden Guardians in 2020 before moving to 100 Thieves and winning the 2021 LCS Championship. He represented the region at Worlds twice, in 2021 and 2022, before returning to Europe in 2024 to play for Karmine Corp in the LEC. There, he helped revive a struggling roster and proved once again his ability to elevate teams across three major regions. Now, after years abroad and three Worlds appearances behind him, Closer brings that wealth of experience back to where it all started.

With the arrival of ToongE, MISA also brings on board a reigning TCL champion—an addition that may pave the way to finally break through the glass ceiling the team has encountered since the beginning of the year. Though less experienced than his new jungler or his predecessor in the ADC role, the English-South Korean player first cut his teeth at home, competing in the third tier of national play, the LCK AS. He made the move to Europe during the 2024 season, joining the ranks of Forsaken in the Ultraliga.