Korean League of Legends star Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho announced a shock retirement from competition on May 7, declaring he will undergo mandatory military service in his home country and then consider a return to streaming or coaching.
The 27-year-old’s announcement today ends a glittering decade-long career in League that included stints at home and abroad, with a Korean championship and four Worlds appearances to his name as well as numerous split finals and three LCS All-Pro Team spots. “I’m not sure if I’ve done that well, but I think I’ve done a good job because there are still a lot of people supporting me,” Ssumday said in his retirement post.
Ssumday is a veteran of both the LCK and the LCS. While he got his start through KT Rolster’s illustrious academy program—which eventually led to a playoff spot at his first Worlds appearance for the main squad in 2015—his popularity grew in the West after a move to North America to play for Dignitas in 2017.
His stint at DIG lasted the year before he made the shift to 100 Thieves in the new org’s inaugural split in 2018, and was an essential piece in the team’s finish at the top of the ladder for the regular split. Ssumday and 100 Thieves reached the split grand final but were bested by Team Liquid before the team was bundled out of Worlds 2018 just shy of a playoff spot.
Ssumday would rule the 100 Thieves top lane for the next four years, claiming his sole LCS championship in 2021 but once again falling just shy of a Worlds playoff spot despite splitting the series against eventual champions EDward Gaming. His tenure at 100T was put on pause in Spring 2023 after a surprising move to Evil Geniuses, but the League veteran eventually returned to 100 Thieves with a vengeance inSummer.
Unfortunately, the squad failed to find its spark of old, ending the 2023 season in eighth place. Shortly after the season wrapped, Ssumday entered free agency but stayed with 100T as a streamer and content creator, with hints of League retirement as early as December. Ssumday said he was keen on remaining in League as a streamer or in a coaching role after his mandatory service in July but was otherwise considering a job outside of the game.
