An 18-year-old Frenchman is reportedly set to be the next big thing in League of Legends. Reports suggest that the European perennial champion G2 was willing to spend a considerable amount and part ways with 3 core players to secure the services of ADC Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert (18). However, the French team said no and is keeping what is likely the biggest talent Europe has to offer in LoL.
This was reportedly the deal: The current key source for transfer rumors in LoL esports is “Sheep Esports.” They report:
G2 Esports showed interest in Caliste, signaling to Karmine Corp.
G2 reportedly offered an exorbitantly high transfer fee and also the 3 core players Martin “Yike” Sundelin, Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle, and Steven “Hans Sama” Liv.
However, Karmine Corp. was uninterested in the deal.
18-Year-Old Mega Talent to Play in the LEC in 2025
Why is the young man worth so much? The ADC Caliste is only 18 years old and therefore has not been able to play in the LEC in the current year 2024. Riot has set a minimum age of 18 for the league. However, he signed a 3-year contract with Karmine Corp. and is expected to start in the league in 2025.
Caliste is considered one of the greatest talents in League of Legends that Europe has to offer. He has repeatedly ranked number 1 in SoloQ in EU-West, most recently with a win rate of 63% (via op.gg). In the last 5 seasons, he has achieved the Challenger rank.
His preferred champions currently are Kalista, Jhin, Kai’Sa, Syndra, Lucian, and Ashe.
In the national league in France, the LFL, which is considered the best regional league, he has also impressed. With 5.7 kills per match and 5.4 assists with only 2 deaths, he had a strong average KDA. This stood at 5.6 and was the fourth strongest in the league.
In metrics like “Gold per Minute,” he even led the league in the LFL Spring Split 2024.
Achieving that at the age of 17 is seen as an impressive feat. Typically, young players do not consistently deliver top performances that are enough for the high scores in statistics: The number 1 in KDA in the LFL is the German player Tim “Kduii” Wilders, who is already 24 years old.
Will he be the next star in LoL? G2 seems to think so. However, it’s hard to say whether Caliste’s impressive numbers in the LFL can translate to the LEC. Whether that will be enough to compete with the best bot laners in the world from South Korea and China is another question altogether.
Karmine Corp. also seems to have rejected the deal because managing the salaries of 3 players at that level is not easily feasible.
That G2 is willing to trade not only the two “discarded players” but also the core ADC Hans Sama is already a strong vote of confidence for Caliste. It was already clear after the disappointing exit from the 2024 World Championship that G2 wanted to part ways with the support and jungler: Twitch streamer explains the disappointing performance of Europe and G2 at LoL Worlds – Turns out to be a prophet
