Hyun-Pyo “XigN” Lee, a 27-year-old professional esports player from South Korea, has announced a temporary hiatus from the Counter-Strike 2 competitive scene to fulfill his mandatory military service. The announcement was shared through his social media account on X.
Reflecting on his journey, XigN stated, “I have played Counter-Strike professionally for nine uninterrupted years, and now it’s time to take a break and recharge. Although I wish to continue playing, I must fulfill my national military duty as a Korean. It’s bittersweet because I felt I was finally mastering CS2 and performing well recently.”
He added, “Throughout my career, I’ve won several tournaments across Asia, but I never had the chance to compete at a Major, which remains a disappointment. However, I have no regrets because I gave my best in every match. I’m grateful to all my teammates, who taught me so much, and to the fans who supported me unconditionally—special thanks to AE and its investors, who enabled us to focus entirely on CS. I’ll return stronger. Thank you!”
XigN began his professional Counter-Strike career in 2015, accumulating nearly $100,000 in prize earnings. Since August of this year, he had been competing under Alter Ego, his last team.
Alter Ego achieved a 7th-8th place finish at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Asia RMR but failed to qualify for the Shanghai Counter-Strike 2 Major. The team currently ranks 98th on HLTV’s global leaderboard.
