After one of the more disappointing Worlds performances by a North American team, 100 Thieves are making changes to their roster. The team is allowing Cody “Cody Sun” Sun and Vietnamese jungler, Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh, to explore free agency for 2019.
Hi guys, im still under contract with 100 Thieves but I am allowed to explore other options. You can contact me through DMs or email: [email protected]
RT’s appreciated! thank you— Đỗ Duy Khánh (@lolLevi97) November 7, 2018
100 Thieves would enter the NA LCS when it would begin franchising in 2018. With backing from an NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, they would collect an impressive roster mixed with youth and veteran leadership. They would also make a big signing for their Academy roster, by picking up Levi from Vietnam’s Gigabyte Marines. It was looking like they were preparing for the future with his signing.
Looking Back with 100 Thieves
In surprising fashion, 100 Thieves would take first place in their first ever season in the NA LCS. Although they would fall to Team Liquid in the Spring Finals, it was a promising start to a brand-new team. Unfortunately, problems would begin to plague the organization ahead of the Summer Split. First, they would trade veteran jungler William “Meteos” Hartman to FlyQuest for Andy “AnDa” Hoang. The circumstances surrounding the trade would become the topic of discussion among analysts and fans alike.
The team would bring in Levi for that year’s Rift Rivals, only for North America to lose to Europe. Afterward, the team would send Levi back to their Academy team for the summer. The 2018 Summer Split would not end up how 100 Thieves must have predicted. After a pretty decent start to the season, they would lose steam in the weeks leading to the playoffs. They would take down FlyQuest in the quarterfinals, only to lose to Team Liquid in the semis. They would then lose to Team Solo Mid in the third-place match. However, due to championship points, they would end up being the second seed for North America at Worlds.
Unsurprisingly, 100 Thieves would flop really hard at Worlds. They would only pick up wins against LMS’ G-Rex but losing every other match lopsidedly. Granted, Fnatic and Invictus Gaming would both end up going to the Grand Finals, but many fans were wishing that another team went to Worlds in their place. Additionally, some complaints from the League of Legends community would flare up about the organization as well.
Cody Sun and Levi: Learning and Moving Forward
100 Thieves would actually bench Cody Sun during their Summer Split playoff run, and they wouldn’t even use him during Worlds. Although the ADC would be in attendance in South Korea, he wouldn’t get a single game in for the team. The community’s complaint stems from the fact that 100 Thieves didn’t let Cody Sun play, even when they knew they were out of the tournament. It is every pro player’s dream to compete at Worlds, and they didn’t even give him that chance.
As for Levi, they horribly mismanaged his situation from the get-go. The trade with Meteos was already a bit of a debacle, but the team never got to bring up Levi anyways. The star jungler would stick on the 100 Thieves Academy team, which many fans know, isn’t the place for a jungler of Levi’s caliber. As a result, many people are glad that both players will get another chance to redeem themselves on other teams.
Cody Sun did underperform nearing the end of the summer, but the team did not play any better with former Academy ADC, Richard “Rikara” Oh. This obviously isn’t Rikara’s fault, as he was forced into an undesirable situation. He had only experienced true LCS competition nearing the end of the split, and now he has to face off against some of the best League of Legends players in the world? Any rookie would have trouble with that.
Final Thoughts
Cody Sun may have been playing a bit lackluster towards the end of 2018. However, his track record shows that at his best, he can be a very good ADC for a team. With a good support system behind him, he could find his groove once again. Levi still has a ton of untapped potential and should be a huge asset moving into 2019. 100 Thieves definitely wasted his talent on their Academy team, and he should be excited to prove himself, wherever he goes. We wish both Cody Sun and Levi the best of luck in their future endeavors.
What are your thoughts on Cody Sun and Levi exploring free agency? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more NA LCS coverage, check us out here!
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