When the League of Legends World Champion turned "godly plays" into stock trading...
- Core Insight: imp, a former League of Legends world champion, achieved financial freedom after a career with early highs and later lows, coupled with a failed marriage, by heavily investing in Korean and US semiconductor stocks. This has attracted industry attention, with his investment path showcasing a successful case of an esports professional transitioning into financial investment.
- Key Elements:
- imp won the LoL S4 World Championship in 2014 as a member of Samsung White, part of the renowned "Samsung Ten," reaching his career peak early on.
- After retiring, imp became embroiled in a property dispute following his divorce, suffered from severe depression, and was exempted from military service in 2022 due to a mental disorder, causing significant personal financial damage.
- Recently, imp had not streamed for nearly three months. Former player Doinb revealed during a livestream that imp had achieved "financial freedom" through his investments in Korean and US stocks.
- imp had previously publicly stated that he bought NVIDIA stock before the major AI boom, and heavily invested in semiconductor stocks like Samsung and SK Hynix, claiming his assets "multiplied tenfold from March to October."
- Data shows that investments in NVIDIA made between 2021 and 2022 have yielded a return on investment of approximately 500%-1400% to date, confirming the high-profit potential of his investment strategy.
Original｜Odaily (@OdailyChina)
Author｜CryptoLeo (@LeoAndCrypto)
League of Legends pro players are flooding into the stock market en masse.
MLXG and yagao are two prominent examples among LOL players who have openly dabbled in stocks, one suffering huge losses, the other reaping massive profits:
Former LPL pro jungler and current streamer MLXG (real name Liu Shiyu) has recently been in the spotlight due to lawsuits and debt issues. When he first started trading stocks, he mentioned in a stream that the A-share market was highly profitable, saying, "I make a month's salary in one day; streaming is just a side gig, stock trading is my main job." But after a while, his tune changed: "Ah, what am I, an amateur, doing messing with this? I've lost my shirt."
LPL pro player yagao (real name Zeng Qi) was reportedly heavily invested in Nvidia between 2021-2022, after which he abruptly left the scene, claiming he "wanted to live a normal life." In reality, his Nvidia bet "paid off massively." Data shows that if you had bought Nvidia from 2021-2022 and held until now, the return on investment would be roughly 500%-1400%.
Compared to yagao, the LOL champion exposed yesterday truly deserves the title of "making a fortune in silence." He retired early, kept a low profile, but quietly staged a comeback on another battlefield. This is imp, the S4 world champion, once hailed as the "Rat King" for his pentakill with the champion Twitch in Summoner's Rift.
Imp, who was often shouting in his streams last year, hasn't been live for nearly three months. He didn't even show up on his birthday, June 7. In the past, imp would usually stream on his birthday to interact and celebrate with fans.
Fellow former pro player Doinb joked on stream: "Imp has achieved financial freedom by trading Korean and US stocks, so much so that he won't even stream on his birthday." Doinb said he got the info from Samsung Blue coach BanBazi (Choi Myung-won).
Whether he's truly financially free, imp hasn't personally responded. Looking back at imp's career from debut to now, it's been a life script constantly switching between triumphant and tragic narratives.
Peak Debut: World Champion at 19
Imp, whose real name is Gu Seung-bin, was born in 1995. Along with Faker (born 1996), he defined the golden era of Korean esports.
In 2012, at 17, imp debuted under the ID "4seasons" for the MVP Ozone team, playing the ADC role.
In 2013, MVP Ozone was acquired by Samsung Electronics and split into two teams: Samsung White and Samsung Blue. These ten players were known as the "Samsung Ten," hailed as the top 10 LOL players in Korea around 2014. The two teams perfectly combined Korean macro-play with individual skill, sweeping almost all major championship titles in Korea, often clashing in "Samsung civil wars." Many veteran players consider them the strongest batch of players in LOL history.
At the 2014 World Championship, both Samsung White and Samsung Blue represented Korea. Although Samsung White never won the domestic LCK title, they were nearly invincible internationally. During the S4 World Championship, Samsung dominated, losing only 2 matches throughout the entire tournament, ultimately defeating Royal Club 3-1 to win the championship. Royal Club's ADC at the time was the well-known Uzi.
Imp's performance in the S4 finals was stellar. During the tournament, imp delivered key plays using the champion Twitch (including double pentakills and crucial teamfights), which is the origin of his "Rat King" moniker. The bot lane duo of imp and Mata was considered one of the strongest in the world at the time.
At just 19, imp won the League of Legends S4 World Championship, while Faker didn't even qualify for the World Championship that year.
From LPL Stint to Retirement: A Genius's Struggle and Betrayal by an Ex-Wife
Shortly after S4 in 2014, the LPL era of Korean imports began. Many teams spent money to acquire Korean esports players. Imp left Samsung White to join the LGD team, becoming one of the earliest and most successful Korean ADC imports, embarking on a five-year LPL career.
However, for a player who won a World Championship soon after his debut, imp's achievements in the LPL were unremarkable. During his time in China, he only won LPL league championships and runner-up positions. His best result was with LGD, qualifying for the S5 World Championship.
That year's LGD was considered by Chinese fans to be the team with the best chance of winning the World Championship, seeded first in the LPL. But due to various reasons, LGD failed to advance from the group stage at the S5 World Championship, finishing 16th. Imp later transferred to WE and JDG, eventually announcing his official retirement on November 19, 2019, ending his 8-year professional career. The ADC prodigy who peaked at debut never won a second career championship.
Unsuccessful in his career, he sought solace in romance. Part of the reason for his retirement was progress in his personal relationships; he aspired to get married and settle down.
Transitioning to streaming, imp earned a decent annual salary, entrusting all his savings and streaming income to his wife. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only a year. Scandals of infidelity and ambiguous relationships surfaced between the couple, leading to divorce. All of imp's savings ended up remaining with his ex-wife. Imp, who retired hoping for a marital life, ended up losing both his money and his partner.
The prolonged emotional and financial disputes led imp to alcohol abuse and mental health issues. At its worst, he was diagnosed with severe depression in 2022 and was exempted from mandatory military service due to a Grade 4 mental disorder.
The Arrow of Retreat: Imp's Second Finals in the Stock Market
After the divorce, imp continued streaming on Douyu, but his erratic and eccentric streaming style garnered only lukewarm popularity.
It was then that imp started learning about stocks. Coming from Samsung, he had a natural affinity for the semiconductor industry. But due to his often unconventional personality, fans didn't take his "leaked picks" seriously.
Imp frequently shared his investment insights on multiple streams, stating he invested in both Korean and US stocks, focusing heavily on semiconductor and tech stocks. He also claimed to have bought Nvidia well before the AI boom.
"Aish, if I had been normal yesterday, I could have easily made one or two million. If I'd made a lot, I would have shared it with you guys, but I didn't."
"Now, when I stream, I don't even care about the salary. The streamer is going to get rich again tomorrow. If I can earn over a year's salary in one day tomorrow, why should I even stream?"
One of the most interesting quotes: "My assets have increased tenfold from March to October this year… Stocks have their ups and downs; you have to accept that reality first." Someone mentioned that imp said in his fan group that he put 5 million RMB with 10x leverage long on SK Hynix. Such claims in group chats are often exaggerated, but he did frequently review his "heavy bets on semiconductor stocks" on stream. In 2026, SK Hynix briefly surpassed Samsung to become the most valuable company in South Korea by market cap. Imp might indeed have profited handsomely.
Imp, a player from the Samsung organization, after experiencing career highs and lows, went heavy on semiconductor stocks like Samsung and SK Hynix. "He left Samsung in 2014 but found his way back in 2026 through another path." The protagonist's story arc in a triumphant novel has come full circle.
Imp, who still hasn't publicly responded to the online speculation, might be at his residence, holding a glass, staring at the candlestick charts of SK Hynix and Nvidia, recalling his feats on the League of Legends battlefield and the stock market battlefields.
"The arrow has been shot. New battlefield, Carry!"
