European legend moves to Korea’s second division at 27 – explains the decision that seems so crazy

Rekkles is one of the greatest ADC talents in League of Legends. However, he switched to the Supporter role and joined the T1 Esports Academy team at the end of 2023. In an interview he explains why it was the best decision for him to move to the second division of South Korea.

This is the situation:

  • Swede Carl Martin Erik Rekkles Larsson took an admirable step in his career in the off-season
  • Rekkles is 27 years old and is already one of the old hands in e-sports given his age
  • He joined the South Korean team T1 Esports Academy not as an ADC, but as a supporter. He previously played for Fnatic, G2 Esports and Karime Corp, among others
  • Now he will play in the LCK Challengers League next season. There he will meet young talents. He is already training in South Korea for the coming season and within a short time he achieved Challenger rank in the solo queue.

    In an interview, Rekkles revealed why he chose T1 and no longer stayed in Europe. He also explains why switching to Supporter is the best decision.

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    The decision for T1: a dream comes true

    In an exclusive interview with Daily Esports’ Kim Yong-woo, Rekkles shared why he chose T1 over staying in Europe. The Swede emphasized that T1 had contacted him first. After discussions with manager Becker (Jeong Hoeyun), he felt an irresistible urge to take on the challenge at T1.

    To this he says:

    […]I think that I am someone who wants to take advantage of every opportunity or challenge that comes my way. […] This is not an easy challenge, but I wanted to have a different experience in Korea, such as playing professionally, meeting Korean people and experiencing Korean culture first hand.

    Rekkles via Daily Esports Switching to Support: A new challenge

    The decision for the position of supporter did not come overnight. Rekkles explained that he didn’t want there to be any What If I… moments during the game. After establishing himself as a professional, he didn’t want to do the same thing every day. The move to the support role offered him a new challenge, which he was happy to accept, as he makes clear in the interview.

    I also didn’t want to retire and think what would have happened if I had gone to another team and done something different. As a supporter it was like a new challenge for him and like opening his eyes for the first time. Everything is new and he loves learning new things.

    T1 and South Korea: Making a dream come true

    For Rekkles, choosing T1 and South Korea was not just a sporting decision, but the realization of a dream. The prospect of playing for T1 in Korea was his dream scenario.

    To this he says:

    T1 is the best gaming team and has a great organization. The dream situation I had this time when changing positions was that if I could play in one country, I would play for T1 in Korea.

    I’m living my dream now. Even though I’m in the second team, I have a lot to show as a supporter.

    Rekkles via Daily Esports

    Although he has a long history as one of Europe’s standout players, Rekkles sees his current team experience as a new beginning.

    He highlights:

    Although I’m older and more experienced than the other players, I’m a newbie here. I’ve only been in the support role for seven months. To improve, I think it is necessary to compete in the best region and against the best teams.

    Rekkles via Daily Esports

    Rekkles also stated that he wasn’t too worried about playing in the second division. He has great confidence in the expertise of Korean teams in the way they work.

    He also explained:

    When I was at Karmine Corp in 2022, I was concerned about the league’s management and the poor attitude of some teams in the league. You don’t have to worry about that here because all teams are LCK teams and behave professionally.

    Rekkles via Daily Esports

    With this career move, Rekkles not only continues his own journey, but also contributes to further expanding the boundaries of e-sports. The coming season will show how well the European legend can hold his own in the South Korean league.

    LoL streamer Tolkin also commented on Rekkles’ move: Former Fnatic ADC legend moves to T1, German streamer says it’s a “marketing move”

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