Europe was once a real force in professional League of Legends. At that time, many players made a name for themselves, among them is Rekkles. The ADC legend was long considered a big star in the European scene. Currently, however, he plays for Korea. Some fans see that as betrayal. But Rekkles explains now why he left Europe.
Who is Rekkles? Carl Martin Erik Larsson is known in the professional LoL scene as Rekkles. He has been playing LoL at a professional level since 2012, most of the time for the team Fnatic. He even stayed there for 5 years between 2015 and 2020, achieving several successes.
- First player in Europe to reach 1000, 1500, and 2000 kills
- Participated in 6 Worlds
- Has the most pentakills in a split achieved by a European
In 2020, he then switched to Team G2. But it didn’t go well there. The head of G2 also expressed negative sentiments towards the ADC. In 2021, he moved to the French team Karmine Corp, and in 2022 he returned to Fnatic. He stayed there until 2023 when the team announced that he was not in the starting lineup.
At the end of 2023, the surprising announcement came that Rekkles was switching positions and was now playing support instead of ADC. His team also changed: he moved to South Korea and began playing for T1’s second division team, which did not sit well with all fans.
Rekkles responds to the criticism that he left Europe
What happened? In a recent post on x.com, Rekkles spoke about the move to Korea and the reasons behind it. This is a response to a post where a user accuses him of leaving Europe the moment it needed him the most.
Rekkles explains how poorly his career went after the move to G2. He had a contract until the end of 2023, but G2 reportedly put him on the bench as early as the end of 2021. Before the contract expired, he moved to Karmine Corp.
Karmine Corp reportedly tried to help him get back into the LEC.
However, his return to Fnatic also did not go well. At the beginning of 2023, his contract was extended until the end of 2024, but he was sitting on the bench and was not in the starting lineup for the Summer Split. Rekkles left Fnatic prematurely in October 2023.
After that, he moved to the second division in South Korea at T1, which was probably the best decision for him.
T1 saved me once again and does everything it can to support me not only during a persistently difficult phase of my life but also to help me as much as possible to create a good situation for me in 2025. The rogues were/are in the region I “left”.
Rekkles on the move to T1 (via x.com)
These are of course just Rekkles’ personal statements on why he left the various teams at the specific times. What happened behind the scenes within the teams is currently not known.
It should also be said that Rekkles is no longer playing at the level he used to, he no longer belongs to the best players in the world. His behavior in the background has also been criticized by the former G2 CEO.
Nevertheless, European professional LoL is no longer at the same level as before. They simply cannot keep up with China and South Korea. Many fans fear that Europe will end up like the US league. This criticism was also voiced by Twitch streamer NoWay: Twitch streamer explains Europe’s disappointing performance and G2 at LoL Worlds – Proves to be a prophet
