In League of Legends, the US League LCS is considered the weakest of the major regions. The Belgian Bwipo moved to the USA to Team Liquid in 2021 and was expected to dominate the league, but he failed and was retired from LoL for a year. The Dane Jensen (29) was also dropped from his team in 2022. Now both have teamed up and are dominating the league.
What is the situation in the USA?
- For years, Team SoloMid dominated the US League LCS. They were champions 7 times – most recently in 2021. However, they are no longer participating. The US League has become too unprofitable for them.
- Then the young team Evil Geniuses took over and won twice in a row in 2022 – but they are also no longer playing in the LCS. They have even been accused of endangering the health of their young pro Danny and neglecting their duty of care.
- Currently, FlyQuest is the strongest force in the USA. It’s worth taking a look, and we see familiar faces at FlyQuest: The Belgian Bwipo and the Dane Jensen are the leading players. The special thing is that both had actually already been dropped from their teams.
Bwipo was a star at 20, but then things went wrong
This is what happened to Bwipo: The Belgian top-laner Bwipo had a strong phase in Europe at Fnatic during his youth: From about 2010 to 2020, he played League of Legends and made a name for himself on the top lane. For years, it was basically just a question of whether he or Wunder was the best top-laner in Europe.
But then things didn’t go well at Fnatic. He had to even play jungle for half a year in 2021. Eventually, he switched, when the team fell apart, to Team Liquid in the USA.
There, he was supposed to become the star in 2022, but things only went moderately.
No team wanted Bwipo after 2022
After the year 2022, Team Liquid gave him the option to look for a new team. In LoL language, that means: You better find a new club; you’re no longer significant here.
But that didn’t work out. In a Twitch stream, Bwipo said he inquired about a new contract with all 10 US teams. But no one wanted him (via oneesports).
He could have gone back to Europe, to Team Vitality, but said it didn’t feel right.
In 2023, he even took a complete break from LoL and stepped back. He then worked as a content creator for Team Liquid.
Jensen replaced by Bjergsen and dropped
This is what happened to Jensen: The now 29-year-old Dane Jensen has been playing in the USA since 2015, first for Cloud9, then for Team Liquid. But by the end of 2021, his time had come:
- Although Jensen signed a lucrative contract with Team Liquid in 2020…
- … Team Liquid replaced him with Bjergsen in 2021 and terminated Jensen’s contract.
He went back to Cloud9 but couldn’t hold his position there and had to spend 2023 with the league underdog Dignitas.
Team Liquid in the LCS Finals
This is the special part: Bwipo and Jensen have reunited at FlyQuest and teamed up with the young Pole Inspired.
Now they dominate the league:
- With a 10-4 record, they have won the regular season.
- They have now defeated Team Liquid and Cloud9 in the Playoffs, sending both teams to the Loser’s Bracket.
- In the final, they will face one of the two teams again that they have already defeated to become champions once and for all.
After a year off, Bwipo returns stronger
What has changed for Bwipo? Bwipo says in an interview with Dexerto that the year off has done him good. He thought about his playing and was dissatisfied that he was not “clearly the best top-laner in North America” and was also perceived that way:
- People always wished he would regain the form from 2018 to 2020:
There he could disappear for 15 minutes - but then decide the match with 2 or 3 plays in a few minutes
- Today he plays that way again. He can also take all the risks because he fully trusts his teammates.
In the past, he always looked for a shortcut, just one way to win the next match. He no longer does that, but focuses on playing the best individual LoL he can. Success will follow.
About Jensen, he says: The Dane is probably playing the best LoL of his life at 29.
Bwipo himself feels like he is 18 again. He says FlyQuest, thanks to Inspired, who is reaching a new level, could even shed the “bad habits” of the LCS and play a role at the international tournament MSI.
The guys are experiencing their second or third spring.
In the footsteps of Michael Jordan
What’s behind this: One might almost say that such a thing is not possible in any “normal sport” in the world, that someone steps away for a year and then returns stronger. But Michael Jordan did that in basketball: Jordan announced his retirement in 1993 to play baseball, but came back in 1995 and was simply the best basketball player in the world again.
With all due respect to Bwipo: Even if he becomes the best top-laner in the USA again, it would still be a moderate miracle if FlyQuest were to really achieve more than a surprise success at MSI. The gap to South Korea and China is simply too high.
Second spring or not. Jensen’s career would have actually been over for more than 10 years: One of the best LoL players was banned for life at 18 – exploited a loophole to save his career
