The Korean Overwatch team RunAway’s main tank player Sang Hoon “Kaiser” Ryu tweeted that he’s no longer a part of RunAway.

Kaiser has played a pivotal role in helping the team finish as the runner-up in the last APEX Season 2. His phenomenal Reinhardt plays left a deep impression on fans all over the world. Yet, a popular point of discussion was whether Kaiser would remain on the team since RunAway is still an amateur team without regular player compensation. As such, community reactions are divided on the Kaiser’s mid-season departure.

For RunAway, Kaiser’s absence will come as a heavy blow going into the rest of season 3. Without a pillar player to ground the newly-recruited members, RunAway will no doubt have a lot on their plate. In fact, they lost to Afreeca Freecs Blue 3-0 in the first match and barely defeated Kongdoo Uncia after a full series in the second match, highlighting the loss of form from the last season.

Regarding Kaiser’s decision, Team Captain Dae Hoon “Runner” Yoon provided an explanation on his stream. “Kaiser’s family is having financial problems, but we as an amateur team cannot provide monthly salary. Since he’s fluent in English, he’ll be preparing to join foreign teams. I can’t tell you where he’ll end up before an official announcement from the team,” Runner said. “Though he’s leaving in the middle of the season, please wish him the best instead of criticizing him,” Runner reminded the viewers.

Meanwhile, many Korean players are increasingly looking to join foreign teams, as seen with Sang-Beom “Munchkin” Byeon, who joined Laser Kittenz after being canceled by Lunatic-Hai, and EnVyUs’ Hyeon “Effect” Kim who recently reverse swept Meta Athena this season. Fans await Kaiser’s next move with bated breath, eager to know where he’ll be playing.