In League of Legends Martin “Rekkles” Larsson is undoubtedly one of the greatest players Europe has ever produced. The Swede has been voted the most valuable player in Europe 4 times, most recently just half a year ago. Now, however, the botlaner voluntarily moves to the 2nd league of LoL. Many are asking, why? The Swede now gives the answer to these questions.
Who is Rekkles?
- For 9 years, Rekkles has been considered one of the best, if not the best botlaner in Europe. Most of his career, the now 25-year-old played for the team Fnatic. From 2015 to 2020, he stayed 5 years in the team, before moving to the eternal rival G2 Esports in 2020.
- Throughout his career, Rekkles has won the championship in the LCS four times and has been voted MVP 4 times. The last time he grabbed the MVP title was when he led G2 to first place in the regular season in spring 2021, but that also ended his “good phase” at G2. After that, everything went wrong, and the team didn’t even qualify for the World Championship tournament in Iceland.
- After the disastrous year 2021, the head of G2 announced a restructuring: Among the players who would leave was Rekkles. But the switch was to Karmine Corp, a French team in the 2nd league. Few could understand that.
Rekkles says: Without KCorp, he wouldn’t have played professional LoL in 2022
What Rekkles says about his switch: The move of Rekkles from the top team of the LEC to Karmine Corp, a French team in the LFL, caused quite a stir.
A showmatch between Karmine Corp and the Spanish esports team KOI attracted more viewers than most matches in the LEC playoffs. During this training match, Rekkles gave an interview.
Regarding the switch, he says what he likes about KCorp is that there is a clear leader of the team with top laner Cabochard. So Rekkles, despite his experience, doesn’t have to take on the leadership role that is expected of him everywhere else:
‘It’s really nice not to have to be that guy anymore. It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.’
Rekkles
Without carrying the sole responsibility for leading the team, he can focus more on his personal development.
Rekkles says he just needed a complete fresh start
Overall, Rekkles seemed to long for distance and a fresh start. He says he has been playing in the LEC for 9 years now and missed the World Championship participation in 2021. Apparently, that had such an impact on him that he even considered quitting professional LoL in 2022 altogether.
But playing at KCorp in a new league and under different circumstances seems to be bringing him the change he needed after 9 years in the LEC.
The move to France also brings a change for the Swede: He now wants to properly learn French, as he plans to stay with the team. He even mentions the year 2025 as a timeframe.
New LoL teams are currently on the rise – Esports is becoming more lucrative
What’s behind it: Especially during the Corona period, some long-time LoL professionals seemed to feel the pressure. Because the highlight of the week, playing LoL “in front of an audience”, suddenly disappeared and matches felt only like a continuation of LoL training.
Especially the professionals, for whom their lives have revolved around LoL for years, apparently sought a change after the pandemic year 2020: Doublelift became a streamer, Bjergsen moved from the mid-lane to the coaching position at TSM, Perkz went to the USA, many others ended their careers and retired. And Rekkles moved to the eternal rival, G2.
But after things didn’t go well for Rekkles at G2, he is now taking the step and moving to the 2nd league. Surely he could have also gone to the USA for a lot of money, but apparently, he is intrigued by the perspective that is offered to him in France. It can be assumed that he is also earning well in France.
KCorp was founded in 2020 by Twitch streamers. This is a new trend among LoL teams: It seems that some new teams founded by influencers are warming up in the 2nd league to eventually buy a spot in the LEC and make a breakthrough there.
In addition to Karmine Corp, there is also a large new esports team in Spain supported by influencer Ibai and soccer star Pique. Also in Germany, an exciting second league team with high ambitions is emerging, backed by a gaming influencer:
German YouTuber founds esports team – directly enters highest German LoL league
