เมื่อแชมป์โลก League of Legends นำ "การเล่นระดับเทพ" มาใช้ในการเล่นหุ้น……

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜CryptoLeo (@LeoAndCrypto)

League of Legends pro players are flooding into the stock market in droves.

MLXG and yagao are two representative figures among LoL players known for stock trading, one suffered heavy losses, the other pocketed huge gains:

Former LPL pro jungler and current streamer MLXG (real name Liu Shiyu) recently drew attention over lawsuits and debt issues. When he first started investing, he once revealed on stream that he was raking it in from China's A-share market, saying, "I make a month's salary in one day; streaming is just a side gig, stock trading is my main hustle." But after a while, his tune changed to: "Ah, I'm just an amateur—why did I get into this? I've lost everything, even my underwear."

LPL pro player yagao (real name Zeng Qi) was reportedly heavily invested in NVIDIA from 2021 to 2022, then stepped away from the scene, saying he wanted "to live a normal life," while his NVIDIA holdings had actually "made him tons of money." Data shows that buying NVIDIA from 2021 to 2022 and holding until today would yield a return on investment of approximately 500% to 1,400%.

Compared to yagao, the LoL champion exposed yesterday truly deserves the label "making a fortune in silence." He retired early, kept a low profile, but quietly turned the tide on another battlefield. This is imp, the S4 world champion and legendary "Rat King," famous for his pentakill with an arrow in Summoner's Rift.

Imp, who used to shout wildly on stream last year, hasn't broadcast for nearly three months, and even failed to show up on his birthday on June 7. In the past, he usually went live for his birthday to interact and celebrate with fans.

Former pro player Doinb joked on stream: "Imp achieved financial freedom by investing in Korean and US stocks, so he doesn't even need to stream on his birthday anymore." Doinb said he got the info from Samsung Blue coach BanBazi (Choi Myeong-won).

Whether he's truly financially free or not, imp hasn't personally responded. Looking back at his career from debut to now, it's been a life script constantly switching between a power fantasy and a tragedy.

Peak at Debut: World Champion at 19

Imp, real name Gu Seong-bin, was born in 1995 and, together with Faker (born 1996), forged the golden age of Korean esports.

In 2012, 17-year-old imp debuted as an ADC under the ID "4seasons" with MVP Ozone.

In 2013, MVP Ozone was acquired by Samsung Electronics and split into two teams: Samsung White and Samsung Blue. The two teams, with ten players, were known as the "Samsung Ten," the top 10 LoL players in Korea around 2014. They combined Korean-style macro play with individual skill to perfection, sweeping almost all major Korean tournament titles and often staging "Samsung civil wars," considered by many veteran players as the strongest generation in LoL history.

By the 2014 World Championship, both Samsung White and Samsung Blue represented Korea. Although Samsung White never won a domestic LCK title, they were nearly invincible internationally. During S4, they dominated, losing only two matches in total and defeating Royal Never Give Up 3-1 in the finals. At that time, Royal's ADC was the well-known Uzi.

Imp delivered an outstanding performance in the S4 finals, securing crucial plays with the champion "Twitch" (including double pentakills or key teamfights), earning him the nickname "Rat King." The bot lane duo of imp and Mata was considered one of the strongest in the world at that time.

At 19, imp won the LoL S4 World Championship, while Faker at the time hadn't even made it to Worlds.

From LPL Battles to Retirement: Talent's Helplessness and Ex-Wife's Betrayal

Not long after S4 in 2014, the LPL entered the era of Korean imports. Many teams bought Korean players, and imp left Samsung White to join LGD Gaming, becoming one of the most successful early Korean import ADCs, beginning a five-year LPL career.

But for a player who won a world title shortly after his debut, imp's LPL achievements weren't particularly dazzling. During his time in China, he only managed an LPL championship and a runner-up finish, with his best result being reaching the S5 World Championship with LGD.

LGD was considered by Chinese fans as the team with the best chance to win Worlds, seeded first from the LPL. However, due to various reasons, LGD failed to advance past the group stage in S5, finishing in the top 16. Imp then transferred to WE and later JDG, eventually officially retiring on November 19, 2019, ending his eight-year career. The AD prodigy who peaked at debut never won a second career championship.

Unlucky in work but lucky in love, part of the reason for his retirement was progress in his romantic life, as he looked forward to marriage and a stable life.

Moving into streaming, imp earned a decent annual salary and handed over all his savings and streaming income to his wife for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only a year. The couple exposed each other's infidelities and scandals, eventually divorcing. Imp's entire savings remained with his ex-wife. The player who retired dreaming of married life ended up losing both love and money.

The prolonged emotional and financial disputes led imp to heavy drinking and mental health issues; at his worst, he was diagnosed with severe depression in 2022 and exempted from mandatory military service in Korea due to a grade 4 mental disorder.

The Arrow in Hiding: Imp's Second Finals in the Stock Market

After the divorce, imp continued streaming on Douyu, but his erratic and zany style kept his popularity modest.

Around this time, imp began learning about stocks. Coming from Samsung, he had a natural affinity for the semiconductor industry. But his usual eccentric personality meant fans didn't take his "leaked strategies" seriously.

Imp actively shared his investment insights on multiple streams, revealing that he invested in both Korean and US stocks, focusing on semiconductors and tech stocks, and that he had bought into NVIDIA before the AI boom.

"Gosh, if I had been normal yesterday, I could've easily made one or two million. If I had made big money, I would've shared it with you guys—but I didn't."

"Now when I stream, I don't even care about the streaming salary anymore. The streamer is going to get rich again tomorrow. If I can make more than a year's salary in one day, why should I stream?"

One of the most interesting quotes: "My assets have multiplied tenfold from March to October this year... Stocks go up and down; you have to accept that reality first." Someone claimed imp said in his fan group that he used 5 million RMB with 10x leverage to go long on SK Hynix. Data boasted in group chats is often exaggerated, but he did repeatedly talk about "heavy positions in semiconductor stocks" on stream. By 2026, SK Hynix briefly surpassed Samsung to become Korea's most valuable company by market cap, so imp may have indeed made substantial gains.

The Samsung-born player imp, after experiencing career highs and lows, went all-in on semiconductor stocks like Samsung and SK Hynix. "He left Samsung in 2014, but in 2026, he returned to Samsung in another way"—a perfect power fantasy narrative arc come full circle.

Imp, who still hasn't publicly addressed the speculation, might be at home, glass in hand, watching the candlestick charts of SK Hynix and NVIDIA on his screen, reminiscing about his achievements both on Summoner's Rift and in the stock market.

"The arrow has been fired. On a new battlefield, carry!"