LYON forced to release Zamudo due to persistent visa issues

The saga of Frankie “Zamudo“ Lin, LYON, and persistent visa issues has come to an end. After 232 days under the Mexican organization umbrella, the promising toplaner prospect and the Pride mutually agreed to part ways, as announced by the team on X on Thursday. Zamudo, therefore, never once featured for the Pride in an official League of Legends match.

Before their LCS 2026 Lock-In match debut against FlyQuest, the decision to let go of the Canadian player was posted on the team’s official X (formerly Twitter) profile. LYON cited immigration and visa circumstances outside of everyone’s control, preventing the team from moving forward with their original plan.

Zamudo was labeled as inactive on January 12. He shared on his official social media his gratitude for the opportunity he received from the organization, but unfortunate circumstances prevented his signing from working out. The player was announced to return for the 2026 season, but was replaced by Niship “Dhokla" Doshi as the Pride’s starting toplaner.

Last year, LYON already announced Zamudo as their starting toplaner for LTA North Split 3 on July 3rd, 2025. The visa ordeal first reared its ugly head on July 25, when the team announced Zamudo would miss the first week of competition. This forced the Pride to field emergency substitute Gerardo Andres "Yayo" Leon Bijani.

On August 1st, the Mexican organization announced Jett “Srtty" Joye as a permanent replacement for the rest of the season. The Canadian was downgraded to LYON Academy and was supposed to play in the Liga Regional Norte (LRN), but regulations impeded him from playing. Eventually, he was loaned to Isurus in LTA South, where he played for the Argentine organization during playoffs and Promotion/Relegation.