TSM Hauntzer on near-retirement and returning to LCS

After two and a half years, Hauntzer has made his return to the LCS stage.
TSM Hauntzer on near-retirement and returning to LCS
TSM Hauntzer on near-retirement and returning to LCS /

Five years ago, Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell was at the peak of his pro League of Legends career. From being a staple member of TSM, winning multiple LCS titles, and making multiple appearances at the international level, Hauntzer was at the forefront of competitive League. However, the years following have not been kind to Hauntzer’s career since the glory days.

In 2018, he was a part of TSM’s first failure to make an LCS finals or World Championship in the organization’s history. In 2019, he missed playoffs for the first time in LCS 2019 Summer. And by the end of 2020, he found himself out of the LCS in its entirety.

For two and a half years. Hauntzer was no longer that staple member of the LCS. He was no longer winning LCS titles, nor was he competing for them. However, this past weekend, Hauntzer took the biggest steps of his own career for the first time in quite some time.

During the final week of the LCS 2023 Spring Split, we had an opportunity to sit down with TSM top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell to talk about his return to the LCS stage, his own self-reflections on his career, and how TSM Challengers jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen inspired him to continue his pro League of Legends career.

How to watch LCS 2023 Spring

Viewers will be able to tune into the LCS 2023 Spring Split through the LCS Twitch and YouTube channels.


Published
Sage Datuin
SAGE DATUIN

Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.