Superstar LPL mid laner could reportedly miss LoL Worlds 2024

We’re only a couple of weeks away from the start of League of Legends’ 2024 World Championship, but one major Chinese competitor might be losing its superstar mid laner before the tournament even begins.

LNG Esports’ starting mid laner Lee “Scout” Ye-chan might miss League Worlds 2024 due to ongoing issues with a civil lawsuit between him and Edward Gaming, according to a report from Korean news outlet Naver. The 26-year-old was reportedly sued by his old organization when he transferred over to LNG at the end of 2022, which also included a travel ban.

If this reported travel ban is enforced, Scout could miss the entire Swiss stage of Worlds 2024. Additionally, LNG does not have a substitute mid laner on its roster, with the only sub being jungler Zhao “Shad0w” Zhi-Qiang. The team does, however, have an Academy team, but it’d need permission from Riot to field Gong “doing” Heng-Jie as Scout’s replacement.

Scout has been one of the best mid laners in the world over the last several years, having broken out as a star after transferring from T1’s trainee program to Edward Gaming. He won multiple LPL trophies with the organization and even won his first Summoner’s Cup with the team in 2021. He did, however, choose to join a new team after suffering an early exit at Worlds 2022 at the hands of DRX.

Over the last two years, Scout has been an integral part of LNG’s efforts to become a top-three team in one of the most competitive regions in the world. They still haven’t won the LPL during this time frame, but they have made it to back-to-back Worlds. Scout’s absence from the roster would surely spell disaster for LNG since he’s been the motor that powers this roster forward. His efforts in the mid lane helped LNG secure a fourth-place finish in the 2024 LPL Summer Split playoffs, while also winning the Regional Finals over Weibo Gaming.

Especially when looking at the rest of the competition, LNG needs Scout to attend Worlds if they want to have a fighting chance at making a deep run in the tournament. At time of writing, Scout’s reported potential absence from Worlds has not been confirmed by LNG or Riot.