Paul "Stend" Lardin has called it a career. In a statement posted on his X account, the 25-year-old announced his retirement after seven years as a professional, including one in Division 2, three in the ERLs and almost two in the LEC. "My relationship with the game has changed," he wrote. "I know I could still be playing, but I don't see the point in continuing if I feel like I can't give everything it takes to reach the goals I dreamed of."
The decision closes a 2026 season that piled up way too many setbacks for a single year. It began at Team Heretics, where a playoffs qualification ended in a first-round exit; Stend was the only player benched afterwards.
He resurfaced at MISA in the TCL, joining mid-tournament during , and finished third, one step short of the final and agonizingly close to the EWC Qualifier. Two weeks into MISA's first TCL split, the organization announced it was , making him a free agent for the second time in two months. picked him up for Summer, in the middle of a season-long collapse, and the team finished last in the LEC with a single win.
