FunPlus Phoenix announce the return of former in-game leader BerLIN a month after his retirement

After failing to make it past the Group Stage of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - China Stage 1, FunPlus Phoenix have been quick to bring former in-game leader Chang "BerLIN" Polin back into the mix. The move, which comes less than a month after BerLIN announced his retirement from competitive VALORANT, means the end of the road for Yang "Shr1mp" Yong at FPX after a short stint with the team.

Returning to the international stage

Having spent his entire professional VALORANT career with FunPlus Phoenix, BerLIN opted to retire from competitive play after the team's early exit at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - China Kickoff. A decision, however, that would turn out to be short lived as FPX announce the return of their seasoned leader.

In his two years with the team, BerLIN was able to lead FPX to two Masters tournaments, as well as VALORANT Champions in both 2023 and 2024. Now, after an early exit at Stage 1 meant the team would fail to book their ticket to the upcoming VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025, the Taiwanese IGL's comeback is expected to turn the squad back towards winning ways ahead of Stage 2 in hopes of securing a place at the final international event of the year: VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions.

Meanwhile, BerLIN's return will mean Shr1mp is left to find a new home after just five official matches in the VCT. With the team in dire need of a jumpstart, it remains to be seen whether the move will prove to be the right one in the end.

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Featured image credit: Liu YiCun/Riot Games