After spending three years away from the professional League of Legends scene, North America might be witnessing an OG LCS mid laner returning to the stage.
Kim “Fenix” Jae-hun has been spotted in the competitive LoL esports global contract database under the TSM brand, marked down as a mid laner for the team and not a coach. This could mean that Fenix will be joining TSM as a substitute player, especially after the team reportedly added Lee “Ruby” Sol-min from Team Heretics for the 2023 Summer Split.
If Fenix is playing for TSM next season, he will either be a full-time substitute or share time with Ruby since the organization also dropped its NA Challengers League roster. As a result, he won’t be able to get some games in away from the main stage, which is key for his return since he hasn’t played in front of a live audience at an LCS level since 2020.
Related: TSM reportedly chooses former LCS Challengers coach to spearhead 2023 Summer Split efforts
The 27-year-old last played for Team Dignitas during the 2020 Summer Split, where he competed alongside familiar LCS mainstays like Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black and Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett. The team finished in seventh place after getting eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of TSM.
Fenix is most-known, however, for his time with Team Liquid, where he was caught up in the whole behind-the-scenes debacle referred to as the Breaking Point era. In 2015, Fenix and the rest of the Liquid roster were featured in an exclusive tell-all vlog released by the team, which dove into the dysfunctional nature of the roster and how toxic some players had become over the course of the year.
Fenix got into multiple arguments on-camera with the coaching staff and fellow teammates, leading to his departure the following year. He found homes with a few other teams afterward, including Gold Coin United and Echo Fox, before stepping away from the pro scene in 2020. Now, he may be making a triumphant return in an era where expectations are at their lowest for TSM as an organization.
