Ryu Sang-wook, legendary mid laner, occasional jungler, and IEM Season 8 League of Legends world champion, will start for 100 Thieves next season—on their academy team.









The former KT Rolster, Millenium, H2K Gaming, and Phoenix1 player had previously started on the main roster for 100T before moving to a substitute and coaching role. The latest move comes as 100T seeks to balance its quota of import talent after announcing it's new lineup.









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Under the current iteration of the LCS rules, Ryu is still considered an import talent, as he was not on the roster of a team in the LCS or NACS between May 11, 2015 and August 1, 2016, and is not a US or Canadian resident. His status would make it difficult to act as a substitute on a team with two other import players.









Instead, Ryu joins fellow academy players Jacob "Prismal" Feinstein, Kristopher "Fragas" Myhal, Aaron "FakeGod" Lee, and William "Stunt" Chen as part of a roster that has a surprising amount of main stage experience.





In week nine of the NA LCS Spring 2019 season, with playoff hopes a distant memory, 100T academy took to the stage in the place of their main roster counterparts, but failed to improve on their performance.





If 100T has a similarly disappointing run this season, Ryu might find his way back to LCS competition sooner than you’d expect!