After their 2019 triumph, FunPlus Phoenix announced their LPL exit following years of disappointing results.
FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) has announced that it will officially exit the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in 2026. Despite its championship-winning peak in 2019, the team has struggled to replicate those successes in recent years, both domestically and internationally.
LoL Worlds 2019 champions
G2 Esports stood just one step away from reclaiming glory for Europe on home soil. But their hopes were shattered in Paris, France, where FunPlus Phoenix dominated the finals with a decisive 3–0 victory. In an unbelievable run throughout the entire tournament, FPX charged forward with a single goal in mind: to bring home China’s second world championship title.
Fresh off their victory in the 2019 LPL Summer Split, FPX entered Worlds brimming with confidence, backed by a roster of rising stars and standout talent. Their lineup featured Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem (retired), Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang (now with Weibo Gaming), Kim “Doinb” Tae-sung (Ninjas in Pyjamas), Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang (free agent), and Liu “Crisp” Qing-Song (Weibo Gaming). Together, they formed the squad that powered FPX’s unforgettable championship run.
FPX leaves the LPL
However, the rising stars couldn’t maintain their momentum, failing to qualify for Worlds 2020. The following year, they entered the tournament as favorites, but their performance left much to be desired. FPX fell short in the Group Stage, raising doubts among fans about whether the team could recapture the dominance that once defined them.
Since then, FPX has neither secured another domestic title nor qualified for any international events, marking a clear decline in the team’s competitive strength over the years. Even with numerous roster changes, strategic overhauls, and repeated attempts to regain their footing, FPX has been unable to recapture the magic that once brought joy to their fans.
On Nov. 17, FunPlus Phoenix announced that it would officially be leaving the LPL. “Because of you, the three letters ‘FPX’ never became an ice-cold symbol. They represented youth once burning brightly, a shared journey etched as a beautiful chapter in the river of time,” the team wrote in its announcement post on Weibo. All the players will now be free agents on the market.
Though this marks FunPlus Phoenix’s farewell to the League of Legends scene, they leave behind eight years of history and talent development, both in the LPL and internationally. We wish all players and staff the very best in their future endeavors.
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