He is back once again. Without a team since the end of his spell with
at the conclusion of the 2025 season,
is set to return to his beloved organization until the end of the 2026 season. The decision, announced this Monday on
Weibo, comes after a disappointing 2026 campaign so far for the team, which recently found itself relegated to the Nirvana Group for
LPL Split 3.At the same time, the organization announced the departures of three players ahead of the remainder of the season. Signed this year to replace TheShy,
failed to convince the team to continue fielding him regularly after Split 1. The same applies to
, who joined for Split 2, as well as midlaner
, who arrived during the season to replace Zhang “Renard” Xingche.
After the end of last season, when Invictus Gaming was eliminated by
in the
Worlds Play-In stage, few expected to see TheShy return to the organization following the decision from both the player and the team to step away from the active roster. After nine seasons in the LPL, including six with iG, as well as a previous year-long break from professional play in 2024, it seemed that the chapter had come to a close for the 26-year-old toplaner. However, given the struggles his former team has faced in recent months, TheShy returns in an attempt to rescue the organization and perhaps make one final push toward qualifying for Worlds at the end of the season.
This year, Invictus Gaming had already shown their limitations during LPL Split 1, finishing at the bottom of the Ascend Group before ending their playoff run in 5th-6th place. During Split 2, despite a few flashes of brilliance and signs of improvement, the team was convincingly swept 3-0 by
and was consequently moved down to the Nirvana Group for Split 3. With TheShy’s arrival, the rest of the roster is expected to remain unchanged, although uncertainty still surrounds the midlane position. Rumors in China suggest a potential return of
to the team after his absence since the end of LPL Split 1.
