GimGoon Retires From LoL Pro Play

Former FunPlus Phoenix top laner, Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem, decided to retire from professional pro play. He announced the news on Monday, December 27, officially ending his eight-year-long career.

GimGoon first entered the LoL pro scene in June 2013 when he played for a stack of players TAL with who he attended Champions 2013 Summer Qualifiers but failed to qualify for the big league. He later played for VTG Monsters before signing his first professional contract with Xenics Storm in October 2013.

With Xenics Storm, GimGoon successfully made it through Champions 2014 Winter Qualifiers. Although the team could only manage a fourth-place finish, GimGoon’s talent did not go unnoticed.

In March 2014, GimGoon joined Samsung Blue before landing a substitute role in KT Rolster Bullets in June. After spending a few months as a second-string player, GimGoon signed for Energy Pacemaker.All where he has spent over a year.

With Energy Pacemaker.All, the Korean top laner achieved plenty of success. He won LSPL 2015 Summer Playoffs, placed third at NESO 2015, and made it to World Cyber Arena 2015 finals.

The team continued to show a lot of promise in 2016 and made it through the LPL 2016 Summer Promotion. After helping his side qualify for the next season, GimGoon left for GameTalents, where he has spent over a year, however, struggled to achieve much at the highest level of play.

Despite his team failing to win a single tournament title, GimGoon stood out with his performances. And it didn’t take long before he got picked up by FunPlus Phoenix.

GimGoon joined FunPlus Phoenix as the starting top laner in December 2017, which was a decision that defined his career as an LoL esports player. Although the team struggled at the start, FPX found some serious traction in the second year.

The 25-year-old joined FPX for the LPL 2018 season, and while the team got off to a solid start, placing inside the top-five in both LPL Summer and Spring, they couldn’t deliver in the playoffs.

Things changed in 2019 when FPX acquired a new mid laner, jungler, and coach, helping the team propel to the top of the Chinese LoL scene. With a new-look roster, FunPlus Phoenix dominated the LPL.

And while they could only manage a third-place finish in the LPL 2019 Spring Playoffs, the team took off in the latter part of the season.

FPX won the regular season and playoffs in the summer split, securing LPL’s top seed for the LoL World Championship. And while the Chinese powerhouse entered the season-culminating event as one of the favorites, not many expected them to be as dominant as they were.

At the 2019 LoL Worlds, FunPlus Phoenix soon proved to be a class above everyone else. They won the group stage with a 4-2 record and kept their wheels spinning in the playoffs.

In the first round, FPX eliminated Fnatic and added another big scalp in the semis. They decimated the 2018 LoL world champions, Invictus Gaming, with 3-1 and booked a spot in the finals.

FunPlus Phoenix met with G2 Esports on the big stage, and they once again proved just how good they could be. Thanks to an incredible performance from GimGoon, FPX swept G2 3-0 and emerged as only the second Chinese team to win the LoL Worlds title.

GimGoon called it quits on his LoL esports career on Monday, announcing his retirement as a pro player. The announcement wasn’t as surprising since GimGoon has not been active in the pro scene for the entire 2021 season.

Even though GimGoon has achieved everything an LoL esports player can wish for, his team started to struggle in 2020. As a result, FunPlus Phoenix failed to qualify for the 2021 Worlds, ushering in some much-needed changes.

Unfortunately for GimGoon, those came in the top lane, where he got replaced by Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon. As a result, GimGoon could not find a team for 2021, and it seems like he couldn’t find one for 2022 either.

“After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to retire. After playing for so long in the profession, I have always had your support, teammates, and friends, and I have no regrets in my career,” said GimGoon.

GimGoon has not commented on what his plans for the future are. However, some rumors suggest he could start streaming, while others hint at a move to a coaching role.