Rekkles Headed to Korea with T1 Esports Academy

Rekkles shocked the world by deciding to go play in the LCK’s Challenger League what does that mean for the European veteran?

The League of Legends world is in complete and total shock as Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, the veteran ADC newly turned Support, has made a verbal agreement to play in the LCK Challengers League with T1 Esports Academy, according to reports from Sheep Esports. The move is confusing to fans, many of whom already believed that his career has been on a downward trajectory for a while now. 

Western players entering the Korean competitive scene is basically unheard of and has only been done by a select few, and T1 just won the World Championships thanks in part to their current Support, Keira, whom many don’t see T1 parting with anytime soon. With T1 currently pretty secure at the Support position, it’s going to be interesting to see where Rekkles is going to go from here. 

Rekkles King of Europe 

Rekkles started playing League of Legends competitively all the way back at the dawn of the sport back in 2012. Except for extremely short stints with Alliance, Elements, and Copenhagen Wolves, Rekkles would play for Fnatic from 2012 to 2020, donning the iconic orange and black for an eternity in esports years.

Rekkles would have many successful seasons with the organization, though none will be as legendary as that of the 2015 Fnatic squad. Fnatic’s veteran support YellOwStaR would take a young roster comprised of Huni, Reignover, Febivan, and Rekkles to an unprecedented 3rd-4th place finish at the 2015 World Championships, providing hope that Western League of Legends was finally catching up to its counterpart in the east. 

Though Rekkles and Fnatic would miss Worlds the next year, they’d be back in 2017, where they’d fall to China’s RNG, ending the tournament in 5th-8th. In 2018, the team would be back and better than ever as they would start the year taking 1st in the EU LCS Spring Split. They’d have a good showing at the Mid-Season Invitational, placing 3rd-4th, falling once again to RNG. They’d return home and once again dominate domestically, taking 1st place once again in the EU LCS Summer Split before making one of the best runs by a Western team at Worlds, falling just a match short of taking the whole thing. Rekkles would leave the team two years and two Worlds appearances later. 

Rekkles would join G2 Esports for the 2021 season in which the team would be unable to qualify for Worlds. Rekkles would leave the LEC in 2022 to play with Karmine Corp in the LFL before returning to Fnatic in 2023 for the Winter and Spring Splits, in which the team finished at the bottom of the league. He’d announce his role swap to Support in the Summer, and no one truly knew what to think. His going to Korea to play in their Challengers League has only added to the intrigue around the move. 

T1 Riding a High

T1 is currently riding the high of being World Champions as the team won the organization’s 4th Summoner’s Cup Trophy, securing their legacy as the most dominant team in the World once again. T1 is currently treated like the national heroes they are after the team was able to win the championship despite being the only non-Chinese team in the Top 4 and taking down JDG Intel Esports Club, who many had deemed the best team in League of Legends history coming into the tournament. If we have learned anything over time, it is that its best not to question T1’s decisions as no one has proven success like they have.