TSM Part Ways with Cody Sun, Sword, and Hauntzer

League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) franchise, TSM, parted ways with their of their academy players on Friday, September 30.

As revealed, Liyu “Cody Sun” Sun, Rico “Sword” Chen, and Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell are no longer with the organization and are free to explore their options for 2022.

Disappointing Results For TSM Academy

Seeing TSM FTX make changes to their academy team isn’t as surprising, considering the organization hasn’t achieved much in 2021. The squad fell off significantly from 2020 when they made it to the finals of the NA Academy 2020 Summer Playoffs, although they have entered the 2021 season with an entirely new roster.

At the end of the 2020 season, TSM Academy parted ways with all five of its players.

Top laner Niship “Dhokla” Doshi and jungler Winston “Winston” Herold left to play for Not Academy Team. At the same time, mid laner Jackson “Evolved” Dohan left the organization and has yet to found another team to play for.

However, the most notable departures were ADC Lawrence “Lost” Sze Yuy Hui and support Erik “Treatz” Wessén. Lost got promoted to the TSM LCS team, while Treatz joined SK Gaming in the LoL European Championship (LEC).

TSM Academy entered the 2021 season with an entirely new team. The new roster featured top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell, jungler Leo “Babip” Romer, mid laner Rico “Sword” Chen, ADC Liyu “Cody Sun” Sun, and support Christopher “CJ” “Fizzi” Savino.

Unfortunately, the new-look team failed to achieve much. They placed seventh in NA Academy 2021 Spring, which ushered in the first roster change of the year.

In a bid to find more stability, TSM Academy acquired new support in Wang “Yursan” Sheng-Yu, but success never came. Instead, TSM placed fifth-sixth at LCS Proving Grounds 2021 Spring and seventh in the NA Academy 2021 Summer.

After their iffy showing at the LCS Proving Grounds 2021 Spring, TSM Academy signed a new jungler in Young “Hyper” Seo. However, once again, the change did not bear any fruit.

Their worst showing came in September when TSM Academy placed 13-16th at LCS Proving Grounds 2021 Summer.

New Year, More Changes

On Thursday, TSM Academy announced changes ahead of the new season. Even though TSM has yet to unveil their 2022 roster, we know which three players won’t be with the team next season.

As revealed, ADC Cody Sun, mid laner Sword, and top laner Hauntzer are no longer contracted with TSM. All three got cut from the team on Thursday, leaving TSM Academy with only three active members.

TSM Academy have kept only support Yursan, jungler Hyper, and mid laner Ji “Takeover” Cha Hyeun-min, who got signed in April. Along with the three players, TSM Academy also kept their head coach Zhang “Peter” “Peter Zhang” Yi.

With only jungler, mid laner, and support on the roster, TSM Academy is now looking for a new ADC and top laner. While it’s unclear who will fill in the vacant spots, the LoL esports community is mainly interested in what will happen with Cody Sun and Hauntzer.

Two LoL Veterans Enter Free Agency

Cody Sun is a well-known name in the LCS scene. The 24-year-old ADC made his debut in the LCS in 2016 with Immortals and has since played for five different LCS teams.

Over that stretch, Cody Sun achieved plenty, including the title of NA LCS 2018 Spring champions. He also claimed bronze at NA LCS 2018 Summer and the LCS 2020 Spring.

Most notably, Cody Sun has made two LoL World Championship appearances in 2017 and 2019. But, unfortunately, he never placed higher than the top-16.

Like Cody Sun, Hauntzer is an established name in the LCS scene. The 26-year-old has spent three years as a top laner for TSM (2015 -2018) and won three domestic titles.

Before joining TSM Academy, Hauntzer has spent one season with Golden Guardians. However, after GG sold their entire team to 100 Thieves, Hauntzer remained the only player who did not get picked up by 100T, forcing him to join TSM Academy.

While Hauntzer and Cody Sun haven’t achieved much in the academy league, they’re both experienced players. With many LCS teams looking to make roster changes for the 2022 season, there’s a good chance either of them will find a new home.

However, we will have to wait a bit longer to know what the future holds in store for them.