100 Thieves will complete a buyout agreement with Dignitas in the coming days for AD carry Cody "Cody Sun" Sun, who will return to his former team as their starter, league sources told ESPN.
When completed, Cody Sun will pair with William "Stunt" Chen in the 100 Thieves bottom lane, according to sources. Stunt -- who played on 100 Thieves Academy for most of 2019 -- will receive a contract extension and be promoted to the starter role, replacing Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black. Aphromoo is searching for a new team for the 2020 season, sources said.
The buyout of Cody Sun and the extension for Stunt are the third and fourth deals 100 Thieves have completed in the offseason.
100 Thieves declined to comment. Dignitas did not respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, 100 Thieves agreed to terms with former Bombers mid laner Tommy "ry0ma" Le, who could start for the League Championship Series roster if the team does not sign another mid laner in the offseason. The team also brought back former jungler William "Meteos" Hartman, who they traded away in mid-2018. Top laner Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho remains under contract with the team until the end of the 2020 season.
Cody Sun returns to 100 Thieves after an one-year stint with that team that ended with him being benched during the 2018 League of Legends World Championship in South Korea. After a year with Clutch Gaming, now known as Dignitas, Cody will replace Bae "Bang" Jun-sik, who 100 Thieves transferred to Evil Geniuses earlier this week.
In his three seasons in the League Championship Series, Cody Sun has qualified for the world championship every year. During his rookie season with Immortals, Cody Sun showed potential to become a top North American AD carry. The second portion of his season with 100 Thieves in 2018 ended poorly, but Cody Sun bounced back with Clutch in 2019.
The departure of Aphromoo marks a new era for 100 Thieves who came under new management and coaching over the past few months. One of the team's founding League of Legends players, Aphromoo became one of the faces of the team after departing from his role at Counter Logic Gaming in late 2017.
100 Thieves hired former League Champions Korea commentator Christopher "PapaSmithy" Smith in September and former Team SoloMid coach Tony "Zikz" Gray in November.
Meanwhile for Dignitas, the team is in search of players to add to its 2020 roster built around Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon, who received a two-year contract extension worth $2.3 million in guaranteed money over the course of the deal. Dignitas did not renew jungler Nam "Lira" Tae-yoo, let go of mid laner Tanner "Damonte" Damonte and traded away Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme to Cloud9 over the past week.