Sources: Impact set to join Sentinels

Impact

Impact will play his 12th LCS season with Sentinels

One of the kings of the LCS toplane will continue to fight for his throne. Jeong "Impact" Eon-young will play at least one more year in the LCS by becoming the first toplaner for Sentinels since their announced return to the league in 2026, according to sources close to Sheep Esports.

Two months after he departed from Team Liquid, Impact is joining Sentinels, who make their big return to the LCS in 2026 by taking over the slot left vacant by 100 Thieves. With this move, the Sentinels' roster is now finalized.

At 30 years old, Impact stated that he was not retiring and remained open to new projects, as he conveyed to his fans at the time. The toplaner brings an unparalleled experience to North American League of Legends: he is about to embark on his 12th LCS season and has won no fewer than seven splits in the league (six with Team Liquid, one with Evil Geniuses).

Still one of the best?

Beyond his regional achievements, he is also one of the region’s international spearheads, with eight appearances at the World Championship—seven since arriving in NA, the exception being his 2013 world title win with SK Telecom T1. Only legends Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang and Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok have attended Worlds more times than him in their respective regions. He has also competed in the Mid-Season Invitational four times, reaching the final once in 2019.

However, 2025 has been a mixed year. The Summer 2024 MVP began strongly, winning the first split of the year and competing at the First Stand. Yet, his team underperformed on the international stage, and thus began a spiral of deception as the team appeared dysfunctional.

Impact himself was less impactful than some of his lane opponents like Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau, Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu, or Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami. He registered one of the lowest kill participation rates in the league (54.9%) all year long and showed some deficits in early game metrics (-2.70 CS and -72 gold at 15 minutes). This also reflects the meta state of the toplane in 2025, as it is often considered by specialists as one of the least impactful roles of the five in the game in pro play, but notably in Split 3, Impact posted the third worst KDA in the league at 1.8, across all roles, framing perfectly how difficult the end of the year was. Some fans even doubted his ability to play carry champions. With Team Liquid, Impact ended Split 3 by winning three games and losing ten.