LMS and PCS legend Maple retires from professional League of Legends

"We shall not remember him for his failures but for the glimpse of the hopes that he brought to the audience and fans."

It is with a doleful tone in our voice that we say goodbye to perhaps one of the most legendary players across all minor regions of professional League of Legends, as PSG Talon have announced that Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang is retiring from the game.

After more than 11 years competing across several different leagues, the time has come for Maple to take a step back and enjoy some of life's many other pleasures. Maple has and still is an inspiration for an entire generation of emerging talent from minor regions, and has earned the right to hang back while he looks back with a smile on his face.

Maple - A legend of the LMS

After a short stint with Gamania Bears back in 2013, with whom he won the Taiwanese Regional League, Maple's career truly took off after joining yoe Flash Wolves, then renamed to Flash Wolves, just a few months later.

Despite all of the regional success enjoyed by Maple, it was at Worlds where Maple truly made a name for himself, however. During the 2015 World Championship, Maple and the Wolves stunned the globe by finishing first in their group above South Korea's #2 seed of KOO Tigers.

With their 4-2 record in Group A of Worlds 2015, Flash Wolves also crushed the dreams of thousands of North American fans as Counter Logic Gaming was eliminated from the tournament by Maple and company in the group stage. Despite coming from a smaller league, and region, the Wolves' antics at Worlds 2015 sent a clear message to the rest of the world: the LMS will be taken seriously.

Maple and the Wolves would not look to stop there however, as they repeatedly stunned supposedly bigger teams on the international stage. With Maple leading the charge at Worlds 2016 the following year, for instance, Flash Wolves took a game off both the LCS' Cloud9 as well as then-reigning-World-Champions of Faker and SK Telecom T1.

For their repeated upsets against major region teams at Worlds, Maple and the Flash Wolves quickly became a beacon for all minor region teams, players and emerging talent to look up to. For years, Maple was the embodiment of the David vs Goliath story, and it was nothing short of inspirational.

During his time with the Flash Wolves, Maple earned a staggering nine LMS titles, setting his name in stone before league's reform in 2020.

Traveling the world

Looking to earn his place among the greats, Maple left the Flash Wolves towards the end of 2018 to try his luck on bigger leagues. After competing in the LPL with Suning, LNG Esports and Anyone's Legend, Maple went on to join what was one of the most recognizable esports brands on the planet at the time, North America's TSM.

And though his time abroad may have proven fruitless, Maple's courage in making the decision to take such a leap at the time was immensely commendable, to say the least.

Maple joined the LCS with TSM in 2022, tearing down barriers for minor region players everywhere. (Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Between his time in the LPL and the LCS, Maple returned to home ground, though by then the LMS had already turned into the Pacific Championship Series (PCS). This time with PSG Talon, it did not take long for Maple to remind everyone who he was. In his single year back, the Taiwanese mid laner and PSG won all PCS titles in 2021, while also making it to the semifinals at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).

The mid laner then went on to lift another three PCS trophies with PSG between 2023 and 2024, making Maple a five-time champion of the PCS, on top of his previous nine LMS titles. Truly, a legend of the pacific.

The final tournament of Maple's incredible 11-year-long career came in the form of Worlds 2024. Once more on the biggest stage, Maple and PSG put up consistently crisp and aggressive displays, continuing to inspire minor region teams across the globe. Now, wherever he goes from here, that is exactly how Maple will be remembered: an inspiration.

Maple is a living reminder that there is never a reason not to try your best. (Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

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Image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

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