Over the last year and a half,
Team Liquid has been led from the jungle by General
Eom “UmTi” Sung-hyeon. Coming over from the LCK, UmTi made a huge splash in North America, winning two domestic trophies alongside his team, and playing in four internationals on behalf of the region. His exuberant personality, good English skills, and aggressive jungling all made him quickly beloved by fans of TL and NA
League. Now, UmTi and Team Liquid have announced his departure, citing struggles with his mental health over the last few months of competition.
This announcement came in a video uploaded to Team Liquid’s YouTube, where UmTi and Head
Coach Jake “Spawn” Tiberi talked at length about the player’s tough decision to step down. They discussed UmTi’s experiences with homesickness and worries about performance inconsistency. The video detailed that as UmTi’s difficulties increased, Spawn told him that, as his coach, he knew UmTi needed to push further. Still, as his friend and a figuratively familial presence, he advised him to leave and prioritize his well-being. The sense that TL was a family for the player and the rest of the squad permeated through the video: UmTi went on to describe how teammates
Sean “Yeon” Sung and
Eain “APA” Stearns were like little brothers, and
Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-In was like an older one.
UmTi’s time in the NA scene came after years of playing in the LCK. There, he made his name on teams like Jin Air Green Wings and
BRION, as a standout player on struggling rosters. The 26-year-old spent years persevering in that league, making his eventual arrival in the LCS and exceptional performance there a true reward for the player and his fans. UmTi finally won trophies, made international events, and met with old LCK opponents there in closer matches than ever. In their video about UmTi’s departure, Spawn highlighted the multiple times TL met with T1 in 2024, coming close to beating the eventual 2024 World Champions repeatedly throughout the year.
While UmTi returns to Korea, TL will now have their jungle position solely occupied by
Ganbat “Yuuji” Ulziidelger, who recently joined the roster, initially alongside UmTi, as they split time during playoffs. Yuuji will be stepping full-time into UmTi’s big shoes and will look to bounce back with TL, after this split’s elimination, come Split 3. Umti ended his farewell video with a heartfelt message to the NA fans who supported him so much during his time here:
“I love you guys.”
