Link

Link
Retired
Link
Background Information
Name	Austin Shin
Country of Birth	; United States
Residency	NANorth America
Competitive
Role	; Mid Laner
Favorite Champs	; ; ;
Soloqueue IDs	SwiftDestiny, LiNk115, scarra115, MidLink, linkkk, kT Link, kT Zelda, CLG Zelda, younha, kyokt
Social Media & Links

Overview

Tournament Results

Stats

Match History

Austin "Link" Shin is a retired League of Legends esports player, previously substitute mid laner for Team Liquid.

Team History

Combine Role Swaps:No|Yes

Dates:Approx|Exact

	Team	Start	End		Notes
NA	⁠⁠HOODSTOMPGRAVESGG	≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??	Apr 20122012-04-15	≈1mo 14d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠Orbit Gaming	Apr 20122012-04-15^[1]	May 20122012-05-21	1mo 6d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG Black	May 20122012-05-21^[3]	Dec 20122012-12-28^[2]	7mo 7d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG	Dec 20122012-12-28^[6]	May 20152015-05-13^[4]	2yr 4mo	ejel
NA	⁠⁠Cloud9	Apr 20142014-04-30^[7]	May 20142014-05-20	20d	On Loan ejel
NA	⁠⁠Team Liquid	Jan 20172017-01-05^[11]	Jun 20172017-06-22^[9]	5mo 17d	ejel

	Team	Start	End		Notes
NA	⁠⁠HOODSTOMPGRAVESGG	≈Mar 2012≈2012-03-??	Apr 20122012-04-15	≈1mo 14d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠Orbit Gaming	Apr 20122012-04-15^[1]	May 20122012-05-21	1mo 6d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG Black	May 20122012-05-21^[3]	Dec 20122012-12-28^[2]	7mo 7d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG	Dec 20122012-12-28^[6]	Jan 20132013-01-15^[12]	18d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG	Jan 20132013-01-15^[12]	Apr 20142014-04-30^[14]	1yr 3mo	ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG	Apr 20142014-04-30^[14]	May 20142014-05-20	20d	Loaned Out ejel
NA	⁠⁠Cloud9	Apr 20142014-04-30^[7]	May 20142014-05-20	20d	On Loan ejel
NA	⁠⁠CLG	May 20142014-05-20	May 20152015-05-13^[4]	1yr 24d	ejel
NA	⁠⁠Team Liquid	Jan 20172017-01-05^[11]	Jun 20172017-06-22^[9]	5mo 17d	ejel

News

2012
2013
2014
2015
2017

NA	⁠⁠HOOD	March (approx.), Vech, YoDa, LiNk, Hoodstomp, and LemonNation join. e
NA	⁠⁠HOOD	April 15, Vech, YoDa, LiNk, Hoodstomp, and LemonNation leave. e
NA	⁠⁠ORB	April 15, Vech, YoDa, LiNk, Hoodstomp, and LemonNation join.^[1] e
NA	⁠⁠ORB	May 21, LiNk and Hoodstomp leave. e
NA	⁠⁠CLB	May 21, ⁠⁠CLG Black is formed. Sycho Sid, Zuna, LiNk, Hoodstomp, and BloodWater join.^[3] e
NA	⁠⁠CLB	December 28, ⁠⁠CLG Black is disbanded. Sycho Sid, Zuna, LiNk, and BloodWater leave.^[2] e
NA	⁠⁠CLG	December 28, Aphromoo and sayocean (General Manager) join. LiNk joins as substitute. CyberBob (COO) and RealMomGG (CEO) leave.^[6] e

NA

⁠

⁠CLG

January 15,
LiNk moves to starting roster.
bigfatlp moves to substitute.^[12]^[13]

e

NA	⁠⁠CLG	April 30, Link is loaned to Cloud9.^[14]^[15] e
NA	⁠⁠C9	April 30, Link is loaned from CLG.^[7]^[8] e
NA	⁠⁠CLG	May 20, Link returns from loan to Cloud9. e
NA	⁠⁠C9	May 20, Link's loan from CLG ends. e

NA

⁠

⁠CLG

May 13,
Pobelter joins.
Huhi joins as substitute.
Link leaves.^[4]^[5]

e

NA	⁠⁠TL	January 5, Link joins as substitute. vvian, Yusan, and Jynthe leave.^[11] e
NA	⁠⁠TL	June 22, Inori joins. Link leaves.^[9]^[10] e

Biography

Shin hails from North Hills, California in the USA. A former member of CLG Black, Shin became known for his vast champion pool and, in part, his "Lee Sin's Great Escape" video. After CLG Black disbanded, Link joined the CLG main roster as an alternate, and quickly proved himself worthy of a starting position. In his starting role, Link has continuously displayed a high level of play, particularly with regards to innovation, being the first to debut Syndra and Xerath in the 2013 Spring North American LCS. Shin stayed on with CLG's main roster throughout the 2014 North American LCS.

League of Legends Career

On December 28, 2012, Link joined Counter Logic Gaming as a substitute,^[16] and would be promoted to Mid Laner two weeks after, following Bigfatlp stepping down from the starting roster. ^[17]

Previous to Counter Logic Gaming, Link played as the Mid Laner for CLG Black, Orbit Gaming, and HOODSTOMPGRAVESGG.

2015 Season

For the first eight weeks of the spring split, CLG were never lower in the standings than tied for second place, and the only reason they didn't receive a playoff bye was that they lost a second-place tie breaker to Cloud9 and so ended up in third place. CLG fans called the split CLG's "golden age," but the question still remained whether CLG could perform in the playoffs, especially after a dramatic comeback loss to Team SoloMid the first time the two teams met in the round robin. Ultimately, CLG were unable to perform in playoffs, as they lost to Team Liquid in the quarterfinals and ended the split tied for fifth place with Gravity. After the end of the split, CLG added Pobelter and HuHi to their roster, and Link left the team.^[18] After leaving the team, Link announced his retirement and wrote out an 18-page-long chronicle of his experiences with CLG and opinions on the team that sparked heavy discussion within the community and responses from several of his teammates.^[19]

2017 Season

After not playing competitively in 2016 and instead focusing on studies, Link joined Team Liquid in January 2017, with the intention of splitting games with Goldenglue.

Trivia

Known for running triple gold items on AP carries. (Philosopher's Stone / Heart of Gold / Kage's Lucky Pick)
Before joining Counter Logic Gaming as a substitute, he was a sophomore at UC Berkeley.
Known for his role versatility.
Played for Cloud 9 on an emergency loan deal for two months in 2014 when Hai was hospitalized with a collapsed lung that forced him to miss All-Star Paris 2014 and Cloud 9 requested him as a replacement.
Known for his Great Escape as Lee Sin.
Has a very wide variety of champions he can play including Syndra and Twisted Fate.

Tournament Results

This table shows up to the 10 most recent results. For complete results, click here.

Link Tournament Results
Date	Pl	Event	Last Result	Team	Roster
2017-08-05	3 - 4	Return of the Legends 2017	0 : 2⁠⁠CN	⁠⁠NA	HotshotGG, TheOddOne, Link, Chaox, Chauster
2015-04-19	5 - 6	NA LCS 2015 Spring Playoffs	0 : 3⁠⁠TL	⁠⁠CLG	ZionSpartan, Xmithie, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo, scarra
2015-03-29	3	NA LCS 2015 Spring	12 - 6⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠CLG	Benny, ZionSpartan, Xmithie, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo, Zikzlol, scarra
2014-12-22	2	IEM Season 9 Cologne	1 : 3⁠⁠GMB	⁠⁠CLG	ZionSpartan, Thinkcard, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo
2014-09-11	Q	NA LCS 2015 Spring Promotion	3 : 2⁠⁠CA	⁠⁠CLG	Seraph, dexter, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo
2014-09-01	6	NA LCS 2014 Summer Playoffs	1 : 3⁠⁠DIG	⁠⁠CLG	Seraph, dexter, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo, MonteCristo
2014-08-03	5	NA LCS 2014 Summer	13 - 15⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠CLG	Seraph, Nien, dexter, Thinkcard, Link, HotshotGG, Doublelift, Chaox, aphromoo, Baby, MonteCristo
2014-04-20	3	NA LCS 2014 Spring Playoffs	2 : 0⁠⁠CRS	⁠⁠CLG	Nien, dexter, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo, MonteCristo
2014-04-06	3	NA LCS 2014 Spring	18 - 10⁠⁠RR	⁠⁠CLG	Nien, dexter, Link, HotshotGG, Chauster, Doublelift, aphromoo, MonteCristo
2013-12-22	2	Battle of the Atlantic 2013	0 : 2⁠⁠ATN	⁠⁠CLG	Nien, dexter, Link, Doublelift, aphromoo

Link Showmatch Results
Date	Pl	Event	Last Result	Team	Roster
2014-05-10	3 - 4	All-Star 2014 Paris	0 : 2⁠⁠OMG	⁠⁠C9	Balls, Meteos, Link, Sneaky, LemonNation

Media

2012
2013
2014
2015
2017

April 20, Orbit Gaming Interview [Lost] with Reign of Gaming on YouTube
e
June 20, GESL - ‘first’ lan experience recap + AMA with LiNk on Reddit
e

January 13, Pluto Interviews CLG Link - Season 3 NA Qualifiers with Pluto on YouTube
e
March 26, Interview with CLG on Episode 8 of The Pulse with Clutch on YouTube
e
May 13, CLG talks fighting against Azure Cats for spot in LCS with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
May 22, Link talks Blogs, Recent Patch, New Teams, & More [Lost] with Machinima on YouTube
e
June 21, League of Legends LCS [SS WK 2] Link - TSM vs. CLG [Lost] with Machinima on YouTube
e
July 1, Link talks match against Vulcun, the Yi-Sets by Scarra and more with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
July 4, CLG Link: "We knew we wanted to win, [so] we made the calls to win." with Bron Mitchell on YouTube
e
July 13, Doublelift and Link talk about "Playing Dumbly" at the LCS WK 5 with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
July 24, Improving as a Player [Archived] by Link on iBUYPOWER
e
July 26, CLG Link talks Montecristo as Analyst, Dig's Reset Comp, & Next Match [LCS SS WK 7] [Lost] with Machinima on YouTube
e
July 26, Link say's Meteos' play is Beautiful with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
August 30, Interview with Link before the big TSM vs CLG Match with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
September 2, CLG Q and A at Pax Prime 2013 with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
October 15, Link’s Basic Guide to Laning [Archived] by Link on iBUYPOWER
e
November 12, LiNk 'Grilled' (Episode #88) with Thorin on YouTube
e
December 1, IEM Cologne Overview by CLG Link [Archived] by Link on iBUYPOWER
e

February 21, "This split we fixed a lot of [problems] and we’re working towards becoming one of the best teams in NA." -CLG Link [Archived] with William Turton on onGamers
e
February 28, The Importance of Communication and “Shot Calling” by Link on iBUYPOWER
e
March 3, Link discusses match play in Week 7 of LCS with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e
March 22, Link shares his thoughts on CLG in Week 9 (video) with , and on onGamers
e
April 3, CLG Vlogs: Link on CLG roster, the difference of team synergy, and breaking into the top two in NA by , and on Link
e
April 26, Link on NA Relegations by , and on Link
e
April 30, Link Vlog: Going to Cloud 9 for All-Stars by , and on Link
e
May 8, C9's Link discuss defection and filling in Hai's shoes (video) with , and on onGamers
e
May 9, Meteos and LiNk on Day One of All-Stars (video) with , and on onGamers
e
May 12, Hi I'm C9/CLG Link - AMA with , and on Reddit
e
July 13, Link shares his thoughts on what it will take for CLG to get to Worlds (video) with , and on onGamers
e
October 23, ‘Comms’ – Communication by , and on Link
e
December 12, Link + Xmithie iBUYPOWER Vlog: Link makes the cut and the return of Xmithie to LCS by , and on Link
e

January 9, Link iBUYPOWER Vlog: IEM, CLG doge and CLG Benny by , and on Link
e
February 8, Link: "I think I bring a lot more to the team that a lot of people don't realize." (video) with , and on onGamers
e
February 14, NA LCS 2015: Link "They're [TSM] the only team we're having trouble versus." (video) with , and on SK Gaming
e
March 7, Link iBUYPOWER Vlog: LCS so far, the current meta and champion balance by , and on Link
e
March 21, NA LCS 2015: Link "We always have a chance of winning" (video) with , and on SK Gaming
e
November 30, Roommates Link and Benny on the Donezo Manifesto, Life After League, and Current CLG with Travis Gafford on YouTube
e

January 15, LCS: 5 players to watch in 2017 by Xing Li on Dot Esports
e
January 17, Team Liquid's LiNK: The Metagame's Better Than Before with , and on PVP Live
e
January 19, A sit-down with Team Liquid's Link: 'Quite honestly, I don’t really like how I did things or how I ended things' with , and on The Score
e
January 20, Link on the new pick/ban: 'The one problem I have in the 10-ban system is that there is way too little time' with , and on The Score
e

Post-Match Interviews

Date	Tournament	Match	Link
2014-07-13	NA LCS 2014 Summer	DIG vs CLG	Link
2014-07-04	NA LCS 2014 Summer	COL vs CLG	Link
2014-06-15	NA LCS 2014 Summer	CLG vs EG	Link
2014-06-01	NA LCS 2014 Summer	COL vs CLG	Link
2014-04-05	NA LCS 2014 Spring	CLG vs EG	Link
2014-03-07	NA LCS 2014 Spring	CLG vs DIG	Link
2014-03-01	NA LCS 2014 Spring	CLG vs CRS	Link
2014-02-23	NA LCS 2014 Spring	CST vs CLG	Link
2014-02-15	NA LCS 2014 Spring	CLG vs C9	Link
2013-07-27	NA LCS 2013 Summer	VUL vs CLG	Link
2013-06-20	NA LCS 2013 Summer	C9 vs CLG	Link
2013-06-14	NA LCS 2013 Summer	CLG vs CRS	Link
2013-04-19	NA LCS 2013 Spring	CLG vs VUL	Link
2013-04-11	NA LCS 2013 Spring	CLG vs DIG	Link
2013-03-31	NA LCS 2013 Spring	CLG vs CRS	Link
2013-02-27	NA LCS 2013 Spring	GGU vs CLG	Link