One of the most controversial topics in European League of Legends esports today is that Fnatic resigned Rekkles once again as their starting AD Carry over Upset, who was heavily attributed as the reason the org had so much success in 2021 and 2022. The question plaguing the minds of the fans is whether or not Fnatic made the right decision to choose Rekkles instead of Upset when it comes to the future of the the team.
Fnatic Resigned Rekkles for 2023!
Fans have mixed reactions as Fnatic recently confirmed that Rekkles is back once again with the team after spending two years away in two different teams and organizations. Long-time fans are happy that the King of Europe is finally back to continue his legacy while competitive fans are not happy that the organization is essentially sacking Upset in favor of a player who has not been performing exceptionally for the past two years.
Upset confirmed that he wanted to stay in Fnatic to compete but Fnatic decided to pursue Rekkles as starting ADC, which meant that there was no room for him to compete with the team. Rekkles will instead be starting the season alongside his new support, Rhuckz, who had an exceptional performance in the 2022 World Championships after acting as an emergency substitute for Hylissang during the Play-Ins Stage of the event.
What Happened to Upset and Hylissang?
Upset was widely considered the top AD Carry of 2021 and 2022 with the statistics of his performances backing up his already impressive highlight reels. However, with Fnatic pursuing their franchise player, it seemed like there was no room for Upset to compete with Europe’s legendary AD Carry for a starting position, even if he believed that he was the more deserving player in terms of current form and performance. Currently, Upset hasn’t joined any team in the LEC and is still apparently signed with Fnatic.
Hylissang also left the organization to joined MAD Lions to support Carzzy, another player who has made a grand return to their home team. Hylissang has been receiving mixed criticism from Fnatic fans for the longest time, mostly being called a coinflip player due to his tendency to play erratically in some games. The circumstance of his departure was bittersweet but fans were happy to give Rhuckz a warm welcome after his performance at Worlds this year.
Why Fnatic Resigned Rekkles Over Upset
Fnatic resigned Rekkles and announced that he will be starting ADC for the 2023 season. We might not give a 100% accurate reason on why the organization chose to do this but we have a general idea on the why most League of Legends teams prefer to choose a star-studded player over a rising star. The probable reason is that players with legendary reputations make more money as compared to new investments.
Rekkles is one of, if not, the most iconic players in the LEC and has a career that has allowed him to reach prominence not just in Europe but internationally as well. His fanbase is large and after receiving a lot of love from the very active French league, his value as a player is extremely high if you’re trying to raise your brand image as an organization. It is no question that Rekkles will bring more sales compared to Rekkles but the question is whether or not this is the only motivation to his return.
Rekkles’ brand may have more value than his skills but that’s not to say that he’s a mediocre AD Carry. Rekkles, at worst, is a consistent ADC who performs at the middle of the pack. He doesn’t show any clear weaknesses but doesn’t really shine either in most of his games unlike ADCs in the modern era who are more willing to take gamebreaking risks that can either help their team win the game or totally costing them the entire match.
Fnatic has invested in a relatively young support who has proved himself in the international scene to play with Rekkles. In addition, Fnatic already has a super-stacked lineup in the Mid, Jungle, and Top lanes with some of the best players who have ever played in their lanes. Fnatic no longer has to play around having a superstar AD Carry because their entire team has been revamped to be good all around. However, that might be good news because there’s a trend that superteams perform poorly.
Chances of Fnatic in the 2023 Season
Fnatic is still projected to be one of the top teams in the LEC 2023 season with a solid team core. Whether or not they have what it takes to be the LEC champions once again is not reliant on Rekkles, but is actually more dependent on Rhuckz’s performance in the support role. The bot lane as a whole needs to step up and be able to play with the team at a higher level than Upset did in 2021 and 2022, which is not an easy task to do.
Fnatic resigned Rekkles as a way to breathe life into the team’s identity that it lost after his departure. However, a brand-new support is now carrying the burden of opening up the bot lane to help him succeed. The rest of Fnatic is also expected to step up now that one of their superstars is gone. Regardless, we believe that Fnatic is still one of the top teams and will definitely make it into playoffs.
Expectations for Rekkles in Fnatic
When Fnatic resigned Rekkles, expectations for him to win the LEC once again has been set. He has been the heart of Fnatic for many years and even though many critics are calling him washed with his former glory way behind him, he is still hungry to prove to the European crowd that he is still the same AD Carry that ruled the bot lane for a decade while he was playing with the organization.
We don’t expect him to be the shining star that he once was, of course, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for him to surprise us with an incredible return to the LEC. There are many great ADCs in the LEC today and he’ll have to work hard to stand among them at the end of the season.
