Rekkles’ road back to Fnatic in 2023
Martin Larsson, more widely known as Rekkles, is one of the greatest League of Legends players of all time. The 2023 season is going to be his third stint with Fnatic, as we unravel the events that preceded it.
When talking about global ambassadors of the game, Rekkles must be mentioned. The decorated veteran has embodied the story of European League of Legends. But his career after Covid struck took him on a wild journey. Now it’s time to look at how Rekkles can help Fnatic in 2023.
Rekkles returns to Fnatic for the 2023 season
After two disappointing years filled with drama and controversy, Rekkles is coming home. Again. The two years he wasn’t here for Fnatic were arguably even worse. Despite fielding a talented roster with winning experience, not a lot of it happened. Their performances at international events were even more disturbing, with drama overshadowing their performances. And despite 2,5 weeks of promising showings in the 2022 LEC Summer playoffs, Fnatic management was looking for changes. Rekkles is coming back to replace Upset, but he won’t be joined by Hylissang anymore.
After an impressive performance at the 2022 World Championship as an emergency substitution, support Rhuckz got promoted from the academy team. The rest of the top side stayed the same. Rekkles is reuniting with his former G2 teammate, top laner Wunder. Hopefully this roster iteration with big names works out better than the previous one. Fnatic’s mid-lane reigns remain in the hands of Humanoid. Despite a year filled with inconsistent showings, he’s still one of the best at his position in Europe. Hopefully, a coaching and roster change can help him return to elite form. Razork remains Fnatic’s steady presence in the jungle. Being capable of adapting to every meta is a valuable trait in that role, and Jankos made a big career out of it. Hivva and Crusher round out the coaching staff that will be tasked with bringing Fnatic back to its glory days.
— Martin (@RekklesLoL) May 24, 2022
Rekkles leads Fnatic at the 2020 World Championship
Just over two years ago, at the 2020 World Championship, Rekkles and Fnatic were riding high on their revenge tour. Just two years before that, they were facing Jackeylove and Invictus Gaming in the Grand Finals. That 3-0 loss must have hurt. They made IG the first Chinese team to become World Champions. Instead of them being the first European team to bring it home in a decade. So matching up against Jackeylove and reigning LPL champions Top Esports in 2020 held even more value. The stage was set for the quarterfinals at the 2020 World Championship, and Fnatic came to play.
Rekkles came out swinging against the rival that caused him so much pain. Senna was a new champion at the time, but Rekkles made it look like it was his main. He and Hylissang completely dismantled what was perceived as the best bot lane in the world. Bwipo whipped out a surprising Singed pick on the Worlds stage. Fnatic were simply the better team. Jumping out with a 2-0 lead in dominating fashion was what European fans wanted to see. Revenge is best served cold, but is two years enough time? As the entire continent started celebrating prematurely, Sjokz took it a step further with her now infamous ”it starts with success” monologue.
— Martin (@RekklesLoL) May 24, 2022
Rekkles joins G2 Esports
The heartbreak came and went, but what followed suit was even bigger. Rekkles and Fnatic were the first team to get reverse swept in the knockout stage at the World Championship. A collapse of disproportionate measures is not something you can easily rebound from. Especially considering it wasn’t the first time. Fnatic and Rekkles had failed to win an international title multiple times. He had already left them once, joining a super team that would fulfill his dreams. That didn’t work out and we had the first return, but a change of scenery was needed.
Enter G2 Esports, the best European League of Legends team in recent years. They were stealing Fnatic’s spotlight ever since they got into the LEC. They took their star mid laner Caps, which propelled them to that World Championship Final. Now it was time to prey away their most successful player. The perfect villain arc story. The most popular player on the continent with the biggest brand, joining the G2 marketing machine. Sure jersey sales were going through the roof. G2 Esports even partnered with the luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren, and who other than Rekkles to be the face of the campaign. But dollar signs aside, this team was made to win.
— Martin (@RekklesLoL) May 24, 2022
G2 Esports fail to qualify for Worlds
Rekkles wasn’t joining Fnatic’s arch enemies for no reason. G2 was the main reason his catalog was short of a few championships. On the international stage, G2 Esports won the 2019 MSI. In the World Championship the following year, when Rekkles and Fnatic collapsed, G2 advanced. A game 5 loss against the eventual World Champions Damwon KIA, was the only thing that prevented a finals appearance. Unless you were a hurting Fnatic fan, this move made sense for everyone involved. Rekkles being reunited with Caps, creating a super team alongside the former MSI winners. How could it ever go wrong?
Well G2 kicked off 2021 with a roar, finishing with the first seed heading into the spring playoffs. But that’s when trouble in paradise began. G2 barely lived past the miracle run Schalke 04 had, despite being the best team on the continent. Well, their luck ran out in round two. G2 were manhandled by the eventual LEC champions, the MAD Lions, losing 3-1. The lower bracket offered another hope, only to be crushed by Rogue, with the same margin of victory. The summer split didn’t turn out much better. A dominant showing in the regular split followed up by another disappointment in the playoffs. Finishing third and fourth meant that G2 Esports wasn’t going to represent Europe at any international event.
— Martin (@RekklesLoL) May 24, 2022
Karmine Corp save Rekkles from G2
If you know anything about G2 and their former CEO Carlos ”Ocelote” Rodriguez, you would know that this result wasn’t going to cut it. A super team that was paid the appropriate salary but failed to deliver. That wasn’t going to last long. G2 decided to partially blow it up, making everyone but Caps and Jankos available. When nobody wanted to pay the buyout Carlos demanded, the price dropped. But while Mikyx and Perkz managed to get on LEC/ LCS teams, Rekkles wasn’t so fortunate. Stuck on the bench on a minimum wage with no chance to earn his starting spot back. What a dreadful 12 months this had been for the King of the North.
Until the Blue Wall came knocking and the veil was lifted. Rekkles was joining Karmine Corp, the fastest-growing esports organization in Europe. The French fan base was devoted to League of Legends and embraced Rekkles as one of their own. But it wasn’t just the fans. Carlos might have been a former player, but his treatment of his team and players was strictly corporate and profit driven. Carmine Korp offered Rekkles something that he hadn’t felt after leaving Fnatic. A home.
— Martin (@RekklesLoL) May 24, 2022
Rekkles wins 2022 Spring EU Masters
Rekkles on Karmine Corp was like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. But expectations were always plentiful. Rekkles playing in the French LFL against amateur competitive players? That sounded like LeBron James going back to high school. And for a while it did live up to the hype. Karmine Corp finished with the second-best record in the 2022 Spring Split in the LFL. But after a double elimination bracket in the playoffs it was painfully obvious. Karmine Corp was the third best French team in the ERLs. The upcoming EU Masters circuit was an opportunity for redemption. And that’s exactly what they did, securing the trophy by beating two French teams along the way, with a Jinx pentakill worth remembering.
Rekkles had brought the French giant some valuable hardware but no domestic title. Another good regular split effort followed suit, landing them the second seed heading into the playoffs. But all of that went out the window when they lost in the first round of the LFL playoffs. What a fall from grace. Two years ago, Rekkles was hoping to revenge his Worlds Final loss to Jackeylove. Now, he was starting his offseason in early August, after finishing sixth in the French regional league. Thankfully, there is one place Rekkles can always call home, and luckily for us, the orange and black jersey suits him well.
Header: Twitter/ RekklesLoL
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