The offseason has yet to even begin, as the free agency window officially opens on the 15th, yet it has been one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. Countless teams have already ‘locked-in’ their 2022 Spring rosters with verbal agreements. Though these deals are not guaranteed and have the potential to fall through, the speculated rosters are becoming more real by the day.
Surprises have come from many teams, such as G2 offloading its roster, EU players making the leap to NA, and amateur players seeing promotions. One of the biggest shocks do not come from the players that have been signed, but rather from those who have not. Some of the most seasoned veterans in the League of Legends esports scene have been overlooked, despite being readily available.
These players may have been passed up for different reasons, though all are currently teamless. This may change between now and the official start of 2022 competitive season, however these are currently the best players not speculated to sign with a team.
5. Mikyx
Mikyx was one of the many victims of G2 Esport’s pre-offseason offload. The star support player has been apart of the G2 lineup since 2018, and was largely considered one of the greatest mechanical supports of his time. Along with winning four domestic titles, Mikyx was also apart of the 2019 roster that won MSI and made 2019 Worlds Finals.
Despite these accolades, no team is currently speculated to pick up Mikyx. Most of the LEC have already locked in their bottom lanes, leaving little room for Mikyx to join a team in Europe last minute. While LCS is still an option, it certainly is shocking that we perhaps won’t see Mikyx in the LEC 2022 season.
4. Doublelift
The most winning player in LCS history was reportedly interested in coming out of retirement for the second time in his career. Recent drama with TSM founder Andy Dinh shed a light on DL’s retirement, and that it was not entirely his choice. The seven-time LCS Champion has reportedly been surveying the market, though to little success thus far.
Though considered by Evil Geniuses, the team has allegedly passed up the veteran ADC to pursue Danny, the younger prodigy with a break 2021 season. It is hard to imagine that Doublelift would stay teamless for long, as even with the break he still holds an immense amount of influence in the community along with being a viable competitive option. Though DL might be open to playing in 2022, it may not happen.
3. Broxah
Broxah was once on top of the world, winning back-to-back LEC (formerly EU LCS) titles and making an appearance at the World finals. In a snap he had an incredibly disappointing year with Team Liquid and ended up on CLG the following year. There are many reasons Broxah may be without a team for 2022. Firstly, in both 2020 and 2021 he faced massively inhibiting visa complications that prevented him from reaching his North American teams.
Secondly, Broxah did not have his best individual performances last year. CLG’s downward tailspin brought both Broxah and Finn with it for the ride, failing to make playoffs both splits. Broxah’s worst career year yet may have tainted his 2022 options, at least for the immediate future. The Danish jungler is expected to make a return to Europe, though likely will have to start at the ERL level if this is the case.
2. Jensen
Jensen revealed on stream that he may not be able to sign with a team for 2022. Notably, his position at Team Liquid is being taken by perennial rival Bjergsen, who is coming out of retirement after a year as TSM’s head coach. The two-time LCS champion should be an appealing pickup to any team. Jensen was one of the best midlaners in the Worlds 2021 group stage, being a major factor in Team Liquid’s near drive to playoffs.
Jensen is also a NA resident, meaning he does not take up one of every team’s two available import slots. Any team looking to build a LCS Championship contending roster should be thrilled to see Jensen as a free agent, however this does not appear to be the case. Evil Geniuses supposedly looked to pick up Jensen along with Doublelift, however chose to go with their academy midlaner instead.
Cloud9 and Team Liquid have filled their midlane positions, leaving only TSM as a potential option among the ‘top’ teams. Anything less, and we may see Jensen sitting out a year.
1. Rekkles
Rekkles’ signing to G2 Esports was widely regarded as one of the biggest moves in offseason history. Similar to the first time he left Fnatic, it did not pan out to expectations. Now, all of the LEC ADC spots have reportedly been filled and Rekkles is left without a team. With a 1.5 million euro buyout, his price tag may be the reason no team has picked him up.
The superstar Swedish ADC will now sit on the bench while an LCS fills his position, an unexpected sight to be sure. The LCS remains an option, however Rekkles has understandably shown apprehension to making a jump to North America. Rosters are filling up almost as quickly in NA as EU, and there may not be a team to join even if Rekkles was suddenly willing.
Unless if one verbal contract falls through, perhaps causing a massive domino effect, it seems that Rekkles will either sit out 2022 or play on an ERL team. Either way, for Rekkles and the LEC, the 2022 season is surely missing out.
Also read:
- Doublelift blasts TSM on stream: “I f**king hate TSM, mostly because of Andy”
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- When are we getting the next episodes of League of Legends: Arcane?
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