Evi retires after an 11-year career

A major figure of the Japanese scene and the first Japanese player to join a major region, Shunsuke "Evi" Murase announced on Friday, September 4 that he is ending his career as a professional player.

At 30, Evi confirmed on stream, then on his socials, that he is hanging up the keyboard at the end of this season. Eleven years as a pro, twelve LJL titles and six Worlds appearances.

The face of Japanese LoL

Starting out in 2015, the top laner established himself as the cornerstone of DetonatioN FocusMe, the team with which he dominated the LJL for years and represented Japan on the international stage. Alongside Yutapon and Ceros, he embodied that generation of Japanese players capable of rattling teams ranked far above them on paper.

In his farewell message, Evi himself looks back on the moments that defined his journey: the first win over the Brazilian representative that got DFM through the Worlds qualifiers, a DWG KIA pushed to the brink at MSI 2021 before pulling off a comeback, and then the victory over Cloud9 at Worlds 2021 that sent a Japanese team to the group stage for the very first time.

If I've been able to keep going for these eleven years, it's thanks to everyone who cheered me on and supported me. Thank you so much.

A pioneer in the LEC

In 2023, Evi wrote a new chapter by becoming the first — and to this day the only — Japanese player signed by a team from a major region. Wearing Team Heretics' colors in the LEC, he secured a fourth-place finish in the Summer Split playoffs. The adventure lasted only one season, but it remains a symbolic milestone for Japanese esports as a whole.

Back home, he joined Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming, with whom he won the LJL once again and returned to the Worlds stage in 2024.

A tougher final chapter

The creation of the LCP the following year, merging Japan with Taiwan and Vietnam among others, reshuffled the deck. Japanese teams struggled to exist against the Vietnamese and Taiwanese lineups dominating the league, and SHG finished this year's Split 3 in last place. Evi does take one satisfaction from this final season, though: a long-awaited win over GAM Esports, a team he had never managed to beat before.

The player does not directly tie his departure to these results, but this sporting decline after so many years at the top likely weighed on the decision.

Towards a coaching role?

Evi does not intend to step away from the scene, however.

From here on, I'll be in a different position than before, but I want to gradually give back, even a little, of everything Japan's LoL community has given me

he writes, adding that he hopes to pass on his experience to younger players and "continue contributing to Japan's LoL in my own way."

Nothing is official yet, but everything suggests a coaching or mentoring role awaits him. With his regional and international background, he has what it takes to shape the next generation of Japanese players.