A look at some of the most influential AD carries who have retired from professional gaming. This list is presented in no particular order.

Introduction

A marksman not unlike a dancer; both utilize grace, finesse and highly-precise movement to achieve their goals. Whereas the dancer is concerned with artistic displays of expression, the marksman has a different aim altogether – dealing as much damage possible. This is no easy task, however. Anyone can right click; the challenge arises when one must do so as public enemy number one, since the enemy team is generally ready for the chance to punish even the slightest of positional errors with brute force. A good AD carry, therefore, must be highly alert, cautious and possess incredible reaction time. Who are the players that gravitate to this role? Similar to other gamers, they are predominantly young men from different backgrounds, united by a common passion. Some of the following names might be unfamiliar to those new to the scene, but all of these players once held coveted spots on some of the best teams in the world.

LaMiaZeaLoT

Significant Achievements:

Season 1 Championship (2011) – 1st Place

IEM Season VI Cologne (2011) – 3rd Place

IEM Season VI New York (2011) – 1st Place

League of Champions (2012) – 1st Place

IGN ProLeague Elites (2012) – 1st Place

Although Manuel “LaMiaZeaLoT” Mildenberger played on a few teams during his professional gaming career, he is best known for his time on Fnatic. LaMia holds the honor of being the first ADC to win a seasonal championship, as he helped Fnatic defeat against All authority in the Season 1 Championship finals. After Fnatic failed to qualify for Worlds in Season 2, LaMia announced his retirement from competitive League of Legends. This retirement would prove short-lived, however. During a previous trip with Fnatic to Taiwan, LaMia met a girl whom he eventually began dating.

With his obligation to Fnatic concluded, LaMia moved to Taiwan to immerse himself in this foreign culture. It was here that his love for League of Legends would resurface; he played on Team Ozone Taiwan for a few months, but his main focus was on pursuing his intensive study of the Chinese language. LaMia rejoined Fnatic as a substitute in early 2014, but with his education given prime importance, it became clear that he would never fully return.

Woong

Significant Achievements:

OnGameNet LoL Invitational (2012) – 1st

Azubu The Champions Spring (2012) – 2nd

Azubu The Champions Summer (2012) – 1st

Season 2 World Championship (2012) – 2nd

IEM Season VII Katowice (2013) – 5th- 8th

OLYMPUS Champions Winter (2012-2013) – 2nd

IEM Season VII World Championship (2013) – 2nd

Jang “Woong” Gun-woong wasn’t always an ADC. After suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat to sister team MiG Blaze in the Azubu Champions Spring finals, AD carry Locodoco departed from Frost. Originally a top laner, Woong replaced Locodoco in the bottom lane, while Shy was recruited to play in the top lane. This roster (soon renamed Azubu Frost) would prove quite formidable; they proceeded to dominate Champions Summer 2012, which boasted not only the best Korean League of Legends teams, but some of the best international teams as well. Frost made it to the Season 2 World Championship grand finals where they were summarily defeated 1-3 by Taipei Assassins.

In May 2013, Woong announced his retirement as a professional League of Legends player. After a short stint as the head coach for MiG Blitz, Woong joined Locodoco on the ill-fated Korean Quantic Gaming roster. This proved short-lived, as Woong returned to Korea after only a few weeks and left professional League of Legends for good. Woong’s legacy is somewhat of a mixed bag; he was caught cheating on multiple occasions, the most infamous of which resulted in Azubu Frost being fined $30,000. Also, his performance as an ADC was overshadowed by that of his support, Madlife, who was then regarded as a divine being incarnated in human form. With that said, Woong was still part an elite team that placed 2nd at Worlds – how many other AD carries can say the same?

Puszu

Significant Achievements:

LCS Europe Season 3 Summer Playoffs (2013) – 1st

Season 3 World Championship (2013) – 3rd- 4th

Hailing from Estonia, Johannes “Puszu” Uibos played for a number of League of Legends teams including 3DMAX, mouesports, Team NewRoSoft, Tt Dragons, H2k-Gaming, and Fnatic. Puszu’s relatively short tenure on Fnatic was initiated when Rekkles was unable to compete in the LCS, thanks to Riot’s newly implemented age restrictions. While on Fnatic, Puszu was able to enjoy being on the best Western League of Legends team at the time. Fnatic placed first in the Summer Playoffs after a decisive 3-1 victory over Lemondogs and later defeated Cloud 9 in the quarterfinals at Worlds. The semifinals proved much more challenging, as Royal Club ended up destroying Fnatic 3-1.

After Worlds, Puszu was moved to substitute in order to make room for Rekkles, who finally met the new age restricitions. The community had mixed feelings about this move; while Rekkles was certainly recognized for possessing both raw talent and considerable potential, many felt that Puszu had fulfilled his duties rather well and were sad to see him go. Regardless of your opinion on this roster swap, Puszu will ultimately be remembered as a serviceable ADC who helped bring Fnatic to the semifinals at Worlds.

Genja

Significant Achievements:

IEM Season VI Kiev (2012) – 1st

Kings of Europe (2012) – 2nd

IEM Season VI World Championship (2012) – 1st

Corsair Vengeance Cup (2012) – 2nd

DreamHack Summer (2012) – 2nd

League of Champions July (2012) – 1st

IGN ProLeague Elites (2012) – 1st

Season 2 Regional Finals (2012) – 1st

Season 2 World Championship (2012) – 3rd- 4th

IGN ProLeague Season 5 (2012) – 4th

IEM Season VII Katowice (2013) – 1st

IEM Season VII World Championship (2013) – 3rd- 4th

LCS Europe Season 3 Spring Playoffs (2013) – 2nd

LCS Europe Season 3 Summer Playoffs (2013) – 3rd

IEM Season VIII Cologne (2013) – 1st

IEM Season VIII World Championship (2014) – 5th- 8th

A highly eccentric player, Evgeny “Genja” Adryushin bounced around on irrelevant teams until finally settling down with Team Empire. Just a few months after Genja’s arrival, Team Empire's roster – Darien, Diamondprox, Alex Ich, and GoSuPepper – was picked up by Moscow Five. These young players were impressive from the very beginning. At their first event, IEM VI Kiev, Moscow Five claimed first place and lost only a single game, with Genja impressing the audience on Kog’maw and AD Kennen. In early 2013, Moscow Five’s League of Legends roster was dropped due to lack of funding, which led to Gambit Gaming acquiring Genja and friends. Season 3 was good for Genja, as Gambit gaming continued to place well in international tournaments and had a decent showing at Worlds. However, Season 4 would prove trying for these Russian gamers. Visa issues, coupled with Alex Ich’s eventual departure, left Gambit Gaming in poor condition. As a result, Genja was moved to substitute, where he remains to this day.

It must be noted that any description of Genja’s career would be incomplete without discussing his rather unconventional item choices. For one, he was quite fond of buying three Doran’s Blades, a decision that, while cost effective early on, delayed important power spikes. On champions such as Corki and Ezreal, who benefit less from attack speed than others, Genja often opted to build Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads in lieu of Berserker’s Greaves. Genja was also a pioneer of Trinty Force Kog’maw; while many analysts and professional players initially mocked this build, it would soon become core. Although Genja is still listed as a substitute for Gambit Gaming, it seems unlikely that he will fully return to professional League of Legends. This is a shame, for with so many people complaining about the stagnant state of marksman itemization, the scene only stands to benefit from Genja’s willingness to defy expectations and experiment with unconventional builds.

WeiXiao

Significant Achievements:

IEM VI Guangzhou (2011) – 1st

Tencent Games Carnival (2011) – 1st

World GameMaster Tournament (2012) – 1st

NVIDIA Game Festival (2012) – 1st

Tencent Game Arena Grand Prix – 1st

OGN Champions Summer (2012) – 5th- 8th

Season 2 World Championship (2012) – 5th- 8th

Enter the Dragon (2012) – 1st

TGA Grand Prix Winter (2012) – 1st

IGN ProLeague Season 5 (2012) – 1st

HPL (2012) – 1st

G-League Season 2 (2012 - 2013) – 1st

NVIDIA Game Festival (2013) – 1st

All-Star Shanghai (2013) – 2nd

LPL Spring Playoffs (2013) – 4th

IEM Season VIII Shanghai (2013) – 1st

LPL Summer Playoffs (2013) – 3rd

Demacia Cup Season 1 (2014) – 2nd

IEM Season IX Shenzhen (2014) – 1st

A bona fide legend, Gao “WeiXiao” Xuecheng is the greatest AD carry to ever play League of Legends. His career was stellar; while on World Elite, WeiXaio dazzled onlookers with his brilliant Vayne, Ezreal, and Corki performances. Winning tournament after tournament, WeiXiao and his teammates dominated the international scene for a significant amount of time. At Season 2 Worlds, World Elite was given a bye directly into quarterfinals. A number of technical difficulties, including failed remakes and connection issues, occurred during their match against CLG EU. Much to the dismay of their fans, World Elite were defeated 1-2.

This didn’t stop WeiXiao, however. World Elite continued their rampage, picking up first place wins at a number of subsequent tournaments, including Enter the Dragon, TGA Grand Prix Winter, and HPL. At IPL5, World Elite defeated some of the best teams in the world, such as Fnatic, Azubu Blaze, Moscow Five and CLG EU, oftentimes without dropping a single game. Facing Fnatic again in the finals, World Elite emerged victorious, winning 3-1. After failing to qualify for playoffs in Season 4, WeiXiao decided to retire. While certainly disappointing, this was nevertheless a wise decision. It would have been tragic to witness the world’s best ADC gradually decline in skill while struggling to recapture his former glory. Not only did WeiXiao have an amazing run, but he inspired the next “generation” of Chinese AD carries, such as Uzi and NaMei.

Conclusion

Although these players dedicated years of their lives to League of Legends, their days of professional gaming have come to an end. The average career of a professional gamer is quite short, with most players retiring after a few years to pursue other endeavors. Many players take the route of Lamia and pursue higher education, while others, such as WeiXiao, opt to focus on streaming. Regardless of which paths they take, these talented players were skilled enough to experience all that professional gaming had to offer them: the thrill of victory, teamwork, traveling to foreign countries, and connecting with fans – all while perfecting their craft. And while these stars may be gone, they are certainly not forgotten.

Photo credits: eSportspedia, Flashignite, Riot Games and MeriStation. Further credit to eSportspedia for player histories.

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