Legendary South Korean ADC Bae “Bang” Jun-sik has announced his retirement from professional LoL. Bang’s career spans nearly a decade, but he is most famous for his tenure on SK Telecom T1, where he won back-to-back Worlds championships in 2015 and 2016.
Few LoL pro players can boast to have as long or as decorated a career as Bae “Bang” Jun-Sik. Starting his career on NaJin White Shield, he has been a part of the South Korean pro LoL since nearly its inception, playing his first matches back in 2012. And now, nearly a decade later, he is saying his goodbye to the pro scene on his Instagram account.
The Legendary Team
Bang played on many teams during his career - NaJin White Shield, Afreeca Freecs and Evil Geniuses to name a few - but his legacy was forged during his time on SK Telecom T1. During his five years’ tenure, Bang amassed multiple Worlds Titles, MSI trophies and LCK cups that make him the most successful ADC of all time. Between 2015 and 2017 - right until the Worlds final against Samsung - his team were the undisputed kings of LoL. SKT took down the best and strongest of the LCK and abroad - Koo Tigers, KT Rolster, Samsung, G2 Esports and Fnatic,to name just a few.
His legacy will always be hard to disentangle from the club and the godlike presence of Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok in the mid lane. No one could ever say - with a straight face - that Bang was the biggest carry on his team, unlike what several other ADC could boast that. However, during the three years when SKT were at their peak, Bang was a star bot laner with few rivals - and there were more than a few games where he stepped up to secure the win when a teammate had an off game.
After 2018, he spent two years in the LCS, first on 100 Thieves and then Evil Geniuses, before returning to Korea to play for Afreeca Freecs. His last official games were during the spring split of 2021.
Where next?
In his announcement he stated that he would be ending his professional career to begin military service.This is something that tends to be seen as nearly unavoidable in South Korean pro play. Legendary top laner Kim "Khan"Dong-ha also retired from pro play recently after disclosing that he will be starting his service soon. While several former players have returned to professional LoL as coaches or analysts, this is still too far in the future.
We wish Bang all the best in the future, whatever it may be!
Read More:
- LoL Player of the Month: TL CoreJJ
- G2's New Roster - Yay or Nay?
- Faker Stays with T1 for the 2022 Season
What are your favorite Bang plays? Join us on Discord and let us know!