“When I play against new players, I get the drive to play better – it’s really fun.”
In an admission North American and Korean League of Legends fans alike will be happy to hear, Jeong "Impact" Eon-yeong has declared he wants to play deep into his 30s - a goal inspired by him seeing Counter-Strike veterans compete way past when esports pros are considered "old."
The Korean top laner, who turned 29 in March, has aged like a fine wine in his LoL career. It started all the way back with Xenics Storm in the LCK in 2012, with an early career cap coming when he (alongside LoL GOAT Faker) won the World Championship in 2013 with SK Telecom T1.
More recently he's led the LCS since as far back as 2015 when he joined Team Impulse, winning six North American titles through the following ten years. His most famous stints have been on Team Liquid between 2017 and 2020 and then again from the start of 2024; incredibly, the veteran was even named Most Valuable Player for his dominant LCS Summer run with second-place Liquid.
While many LoL fans originally thought he would have put away his mouse and keyboard by the early 2020s - Impact himself included - things have changed: The six-time LCS champion now thinks he "might be playing forever."
Counter-Strike pros inspired Impact to play on
While there's plenty keeping Impact competing, one thing truly convinced him to see how long he could stay at the highest level - Counter-Strike. Many professionals in the Valve-made shooter keep roster spots through to their mid 30s, including household names like Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo (34 in May), Finn "karrigan" Andersen (34), and even the most decorated player in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history, Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen, who's 31.
That's exactly who Impact wants to copy. "Mechanics really matter in CS:GO but there are a lot of pros in their 30s," he said in an interview with Ashley Kang. "I want to show everyone I can do it too."
"I actually said in an interview I want to play until I'm 25. Remembering back, it was in 2014, after winning Winter season," he laughed. "I'd go back in time and say that I want to play until I'm 35. I think I can do it and still be good. I'm pretty confident."
There's been less acceptance in LoL than in the Valve game regarding age, though that barrier's starting to lift in the 2020s. Several LCS players are already reaching the cusp alongside Impact, including Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung, 30 in November, and Impact's support teammate Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in, who turned 30 a little earlier in this competitive season.
Elsewhere in the LoL world, players still considered top stars like Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski, and Song "Rookie" Eui-jin are all approaching their 30s. Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen and Choi "huhi" Jae-hyun, both 29, also still compete in the LCS.
Impact should at least crack the 30 mark, considering he's signed through to 2025 with Liquid and will play in the new-look Americas League next year.
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When Impact will throw in the towel
The hope though, the venerated LoL top laner said, was to make it far longer than just his 30th birthday. If he can continue to compete at a high level, Impact thinks he has another half-decade in him at least, if not longer.
"My original goal was that if I personally didn't think that I was in fourth or fifth place skill-wise in my own league, like the LCS, then I'd quit playing," he explained. "But this thought occurred to me - at this rate, I might be playing forever.
"Many generations have passed since I've been playing since 2013. New players will join the league and people change as generations change, right? For example, Bin [Bilibili Gaming's champion top laner] is a player that slowly climbed the ranks starting from 2020. New players motivate me when I play against them. I get the drive to play better, and it's really fun.
"I think," he concluded, "I'll keep playing unless I get really tired of it."
Impact and TL will now continue their Worlds 2024 campaign on Friday when they face Weibo Gaming in the Swiss Stage's 0–1 bracket in Berlin.
The team's campaign opener against LNG Esports was a rocky one, with Liquid slumping to an 8K gold deficit within 34 minutes. Impact had a decent outing on Jax, finishing 4/3/2, though his opposite number Tang "Zika" Hua-Yu contributed more to LNG's storming win by scoring 16 eliminations.
Should TL beat Weibo, they could face likely 1–1 teams like G2 Esports or Top Esports.
Stick on esports.gg for more LoL Worlds 2024 news and updates.
