BERLIN: After years in regional leagues, Kristian “TynX” Hansen lastly took to the LEC stage in 2021. “It feels so f*****g good to be here,” he says initially of Europe’s League of Legends championship.
He needs to show himself in the European League of Legends scene and have a prolonged profession in this large esports area.
But the dream is rapidly shattered.
His time in LEC ends after only one season. After being kicked out, he felt horrible, he says. And he’s not alone.
Younger participant TynX performed for SK Gaming in the LoL LEC for one season in 2021. — Riot Games/dpa
Young abilities often work for years to get one of the 50 coveted spots in the LEC groups. There they’ve the chance to compete with the most effective, to enhance themselves and, above all, to qualify for the World Championships.
But for a lot of newcomers, the LEC dream ends after only one season. One of them is TynX.
The 23-year-old Danish participant had what has grow to be the standard rookie profession. He first attracted consideration in 2020 together with his efficiency on the European Masters event and was acquired by the German organisation SK Gaming for the LEC at the start of 2021.
Open arms, then a sudden boot
“I knew the coach on SK, we worked together before,” TynX tells dpa. SK had introduced 4 new gamers on board on the finish of 2020. That technique appeared to work and the staff made it into the playoffs, ending sixth.
Despite the comparatively good outcome, TynX was dismissed by SK after one season. “It was a bit of a shock,” he says, “especially because we were playing better than we were expected to.”
Europe’s League of Legends championship LEC can have audiences of greater than half 1,000,000 on-line and offline viewers for high-profile matches. — Riot Games/dpa
The rationalization for the sacking, he says, was very imprecise. After being praised for his growth after the playoffs, he says he was advised after 4 days in coaching for subsequent season that it wasn’t understanding in spite of everything.
“I wasn’t really in a mindset to challenge their opinion, so the conversation ended quite quickly.”
TynX is especially essential of the administration. “Usually you want to give your players a decent time window so they can find something else.” For him, nevertheless, it was communicated too late to seek out an alternate for the summer time, he stated.
For its half, the administration of SK stated TynX merely didn’t adapt rapidly sufficient to the altering recreation and his efficiency declined over the course of the season, says Alexander Müller, Managing Director.
This was additionally mentioned with him very clearly. He was given homework for the break: “He should work relatively hard on his game so as not to lose touch,” says Müller. “But his style of play was unfortunately still not on par with the competition after the break.”
A dynamic had then additionally developed in the staff, which the administration had not been capable of cease. “The entire team made it clear relatively quickly that they wanted another solution. And we then also openly communicated to him that the journey into the summer split as a starter would not continue,” says Müller.
A change between spring and summer time can be removed from ultimate for the organisation, he provides. “You want to avoid that at all costs,” says Müller. The proven fact that TynX couldn’t swap to a different high staff was on account of its efficiency, he says.
LEC: Management of rookies ‘not good’
Several LEC gamers have skilled the identical destiny as TynX in the previous. Paweł “Woolite” Pruski had already performed in the LEC’s predecessor league, the EU LCS, in 2014. But when he made it again to the LEC in the summer time of 2019, he too was changed after a cut up.
“It was a pretty hard time for me,” he says. “I had no motivation,” the 26-year-old Polish participant advised dpa. “For two weeks I was at home doing nothing, only thinking about how I just got to the LEC and now I had to go through the whole process again.”
The League of Legends European Championship LEC is well-known for having some of the youngest star gamers in esports. Teams typically snap up rookies – and but many are failing after only one season in play. The gamers themselves don’t appear to be the problem. — Riot Games/dpa
Time and once more, LEC groups fail on the job of integrating newcomers. Yet it’s not at all times right down to the gamers, but additionally the buildings. “It seems like every other rookie that joins any other team kind of crumbles,” says Tynx. “That is a bit sad to see.”
This is what occurred to Germany’s Steven “Reeker” Chen, who needed to go away MAD Lions after one season. This was not a lot as a result of of a “wrong” participant, however as a result of of the teaching employees’s poor dealing with of the staff, Till Werdermann, MAD’s Director of Team Operations, admitted in an interview with Inven Global.
For TynX and Woolite, one of the most important issues is expectations.
“Teams don’t really do a good job at managing rookies,” says Woolite. They needed outcomes rapidly, however had no endurance. The danger with rookie gamers is there, he says, however groups assume it would work anyway.
“That hurts the rookies in the long term really badly,” says Woolite.
Long-time LEC participant Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu of Rogue additionally expressed considerations in an interview with Dot Esports. Instead of giving young talent time to develop, he stated, groups would maintain swapping gamers after which count on totally different outcomes – which might finally have a destructive impression on the standard of the league.
“It puts an insane mental strain on players,” says Woolite. “You are put in the situation that you can be replaced in any moment if you start slacking.”
LEC masters G2 Esports: Many young avid gamers dream of becoming a member of these professionals in Europe’s LEC championships and on the world stage. — Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games/dpa
This, he says, results in many gamers overexerting themselves, typically burning out earlier than issues actually matter. “In League of Legends you can just disappear in a moment if you don’t adapt,” Woolite says.
The hurdles to returning
Re-entry into the LEC can be typically troublesome for up-and-coming gamers, who should show themselves another time. “If you do look at it historically, there hasn’t been the greatest success rate,” TynX says, wanting on the possibilities of a comeback.
This can be on account of the truth that dropped gamers are likely to have a foul status. Teams would then fairly go for a brand new participant with out LEC expertise. “It’s extremely hard to get noticed again,” says Woolite.
In the meantime, each gamers have discovered locations in the regional leagues. Woolite has been below contract with Misfits Premier in the French league because the finish of 2020. TynX has been enjoying for the MAD Lions junior staff in Spain since May.
His targets wouldn’t have modified after ending in the LEC: “It would be really cool to attend (a world championship).”
Because even when the regional leagues have gotten more and more skilled and enticing, in the tip the last word aim at all times stays, particularly for the young gamers: the LEC and the prospect of a global stage on the World Cup.
And TynX is certain of one factor: “If you are a good player, you will make it back.” – dpa
