America has not played a major role in international tournaments in League of Legends for years. The last time an American team reached the semifinals of the Worlds was in 2018 with Cloud9. Now there are new rumors about the transfers of the team 100 Thieves. And these exactly show why America is so irrelevant.
What are these rumors? 100 Thieves is reportedly planning the new season with two veterans:
- The new midlaner is expected to be Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, strengthening the team. He retired in 2020 after a 0:6 performance at the Worlds, but made a comeback in 2022. He will turn 27 in February.
- The other signing is supposed to be Yilang “Doublelift” Peng for the AD carry position. Doublelift also retired in 2020, but made his comeback already in March 2021. He will turn 30 in July.
- Both would replace the 23-year-old players Abbedagge and FBI. Abbedagge especially impressed with his performance in 2022.
Overall, the roster of 100 Thieves would be very old for a LoL esports team. Currently, they still have the jungler Closer (25), the supporter Huhi (27), and the top laner Ssumday (26) in their lineup.
What is the problem? There has been criticism for some time that experienced players in America are preferred over young “rookies”. This was also said by Doinb, the world champion from 2019, in an interview. He only sees the same players, albeit in a different team uniform.
The signing of Doublelift and Bjergsen would confirm this, even though it is still just rumors. While both are good players, they have achieved little internationally. It is unlikely that they will win a major title as they age. Nevertheless, teams swear by them.
Doublelift and Impact played the first Worlds
How old are the pros in America? Doublelift leads the list in America. At almost 30 years old, he belongs to the old guard. He participated in the very first World Championship in LoL in 2011, back then at Dreamhack in Sweden. He finished in 4th place with Epik Gamer.
With Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black, the team FlyQuest probably has the oldest supporter under a professional contract. He is already 30 and has been playing LoL competitively since 2012. His first appearance at the Worlds was in 2015 with CLG.
Another veteran is the Korean Jeong “Impact” Eon-young. He won the Worlds in 2013 with SK T1, the team of superstar Faker. In early 2015, after a disappointing season in Korea, he moved to America. The 27-year-old is still playing there today.
While there are also some exceptional talents internationally who have played successfully for years, such as the aforementioned Faker (26) or the Korean BeryL (25), who won the Worlds in 2020 with DAMWON and in 2022 with DRX. However, established professionals are often mixed with young talents here.
For example, DRX had younger players like Zeka (19), Pyosik (22), and Kingen (22) in their squad and combined them with BeryL and Deft (26). Thus, they secured the title.
America relies on overseas players: It is also noticeable that many professionals from other regions have played in America in recent years. At the Worlds 2022, three American teams participated, with a total of 15 players:
- The six players Inspired, Closer, Kaori, Abbedagge, Jesen, and Zven came from Europe.
- With Impact, Berserker, Ssumday, and Huhi, there were four Koreans.
- There were two Australians, FBI and Fudge.
- Only Jojopyun (Canada), Vulcan (Canada), and Blabber (USA) actually came from the region.
For comparison:
- All 20 players from Korea came from Korea.
- 19 out of 20 players from European teams came from Europe. Only Malrang is originally from Korea.
- 17 out of 20 players from China also came from China – Kanavi, Scout, and Viper are imports from Korea.
However, the changes are not surprising. The former coach of G2 Esports explained back in 2019: Anyone who moves to America gives up winning in exchange for more money. So, anyone playing in the LCS may not earn international fame anymore, but is at least compensated fairly.
