LYON fields top-lane substitute amid Zamudo visa issues

South American esports organisation LYON has announced it will field a substitute top laner at the start of the 2026 LCS season.

In a post on the team’s social media channels, LYON COO and founder Carlos ‘Biblos‘ Gibran Ricardo Larrea unveiled that starting top laner Frankie ‘Zamudo‘ Lin received a negative response to his visa application, further delaying his arrival to the team.

While the replacement player has not been revealed yet, the founder stated that he is ‘a very experienced player’ who is already with the team in Los Angeles, with an announcement coming soon.

He further explained that despite the monetary investment and efforts alongside esports specialised agencies, as well as Zamudo’s prior experience as a pro player in the North American Challengers League (NACL), the government deemed his ‘curriculum not enough’ to compete as a professional athlete in the United States.

This is not the first time Zamudo has been troubled by visa issues. The player was supposedly going to make his Tier 1 debut in 2025 during LTA North 2025 Split 2, but complications prevented him from competing. He was then later loaned to Isurus for the third split; however, the team was eliminated early in the playoffs.

In the post, Biblos also touched on the team’s ADC, Kim ‘Berserker‘ Min-cheol. Although the Korean player is also experiencing visa delays, he is expected to play in the first split.

“If something happens, at most he will miss the first and second match… Either way, we’ll have an ADC backup,” added Biblos.

Despite losing one of its young prospects, LYON is still one of the main contenders heading into the 2026 season. Having brought in former FlyQuest jungler Kacper ‘Inspired‘ Słoma and the bot lane featuring Kim ‘Berserker‘ Min-cheol and Jonah ‘Isles‘ Rosario, the team is expected to be among the top four if it lives up to the expectations, even with a substitute top laner.

LYON will have its first official match on January 24th, when the LCS Lock-In officially starts. The tournament will determine the LCS representative for the first international event of the 2026 esports calendar, First Stand.