Clutch Gaming Academy AD carry and former World Champion Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin never wanted to play in the Academy league for the 2018 season, according to his interview with esports site InvenGlobal, published yesterday.
His original goal this year was to join an LCK team, but according to Piglet, an unnamed person promised he’d have a chance to join their team, instead. Piglet didn’t specify which team or which region they were in, but that he was told he’d definitely get the chance to try out for a spot. This person also went so far as to begin discussing contract details with him. Piglet says they didn’t keep their promise.
He had stopped looking for another team entirely, both in the LCK and the NA LCS, while he waited to hear back on the tryout he was promised. Piglet waited too long, and according to him, he lost the chance to join any team before they filled the position he wanted. That was when Clutch approached him with an offer to join its Academy roster, which he accepted.
Piglet mentioned that this all took place during last year’s off-season, but didn’t specify if it was the off-season before the Summer Split or after Worlds. We assume he meant the one after Worlds, as he joined CGA just before the 2018 Spring Split.
There were two reasons Piglet waited as long as he did to hear back from the unspecified person. He “really liked and respected” the person and just really wanted to join that team. Now that the situation is in the past, though, Piglet says that he really hates the person.
Piglet’s been in North America since his time on SK Telecom T1 ended in 2014, so he becomes a resident next year. He says that although he’ll be able to become a resident in this region, and therefore more likely to find a starting spot on an LCS team, this is still the most regretful part of his pro gaming career so far.
