League of Legends Team Disbands

Near Airport, the North American League of Legends streamer team spearheaded by Yiliang ‘Doublelift’ Peng, has officially disbanded. The announcement was made via a video on the team’s official YouTube channel, confirming their withdrawal from the upcoming NACL Summer Split (Split 2 of 2025).

From Ambitious Project to an Early Exit

Near Airport was founded with the goal of blending high-level play with streaming entertainment, echoing the spirit of Marc ‘Caedrel’ Lamont’s Los Ratones in Europe. The roster was packed with notable talent including:

• Doublelift – LCS legend and co-founder
• Eugene ‘Pobelter’ Park – Former LCS mid laner
• Mingyi ‘Spica’ Lu – Former TSM jungler
• Vincent ‘Biofrost’ Wang – Ex-support for TSM and CLG
• Ashkan ‘TFBlade’ Homayouni – Popular high-Elo streamer

Despite boasting championship pedigree, Near Airport managed only a fourth-place finish in the Spring Split, falling short in the playoffs after a loss to Convinction.

Diverging Priorities

The disbandment video included reflections from the entire team and head coach Chris ‘Croissant’ Sun, revealing internal disagreements and a lack of unified commitment. According to Pobelter:

We didn’t practice a lot… scrimming one day a week, a lot of conflicting schedules, it made things really hard for us to be the best team possible.

The team’s attempt to balance streaming careers with competitive play proved unsustainable. As Doublelift candidly stated:

I remember those pro days where the only thing in my life that mattered was being the best player I could be. I’m not that guy anymore.

What’s Next?

Although the team is disbanding, there’s no bad blood. The players left the door open for future collaborations in showmatches or streamer events. Meanwhile, Near Airport’s exit has a ripple effect: the upcoming NACL Promotion Tournament (June 19–22) will now see three teams promoted instead of two, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape.

TL;DR

• Near Airport disbands after one NACL split.
• Roster featured former LCS stars like Doublelift, Spica, Pobelter.
• Issues: conflicting schedules, limited scrims, lack of commitment to pro grind.
• The team will remain active in casual and content-focused events.
• NACL will promote three new teams for Split 2 due to NA’s departure.

For fans of the players, the end of Near Airport doesn’t mean goodbye, it just means the content is going back to where it started: online.